Why it works: Tomato and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,402 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 5 as a side dishIngredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Toast the cumin seeds in a dry small pan over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, shaking the pan, until fragrant. Tip them onto a plate to cool.
Spoon the yogurt into a bowl and stir until smooth.
Stir the cooled cumin seeds into the yogurt.
Fold in the deseeded diced tomato and the diced cucumber.
Stir in the chopped coriander.
Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving, or serve straight away.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Tomato + cucumbertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,402 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,866 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Tomato + coriandertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,966 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Cumin + tomatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,272 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Cucumber + coriandertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together875 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the cumin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (yogurt, tomato, cucumber, coriander):
- Cuminthe original
- Dillabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against yogurt, tomato, cucumber, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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