Are tomatoes and eggplant allowed in the Tayyibat system? The vegetables that only pass cooked

Short answer

Yes, but under conditions. In the Tayyibat system, tomato, eggplant, bell pepper and onion are kept vegetables, as long as you eat them cooked. The tomato even asks for three conditions that add up: peeled, deseeded and cooked (the Attaybatte preparation). Eggplant is eaten cooked only and stays an occasional dish. Bell pepper is eaten cooked only. Onion is eaten cooked, never raw. Raw, they fall back on the set-aside side (khabith, the word Dr Diaa Al-Awadi uses for what the system puts aside). Cucumber and lettuce are set aside. For the full list of kept vegetables, see the article on the vegetable list: this one stops at the vegetables that need preparation.

The table: kept on conditions, set aside

This table gathers the vegetables of this article. The first four are kept, but only with the condition shown; the last two are set aside.

The condition makes all the difference: the system does not judge the vegetable by itself, it judges how it reaches the plate. A raw tomato in a salad and a tomato that is peeled, deseeded and then simmered are not the same food in the eyes of the system.

The tomato: three conditions that add up

For the tomato, the site's food page speaks of three cumulative conditions: this is the Attaybatte preparation. The tomato must be peeled, deseeded and cooked, with no half measures. Raw, with its skin or with its seeds, it is set aside. The system keeps only the flesh of the tomato, cooked, without skin or seeds. The conditions do not make up for one another: a tomato cooked for a long time but kept with its seeds stays set aside. In practice, a raw tomato in a salad or as a garnish is out, while a simmered tomato sauce passes if it was prepared this way. The tomato page gives the details.

Peeling and deseeding a tomato for a sauce

The gesture is the one used in the site's recipes, a common kitchen technique. Cut a cross at the base of the tomato, dip it for sixty seconds in boiling water, then take it out: the skin comes away easily. Cut the tomato in half and scoop out all the seeds. Then add the flesh to the dish and let it cook through in the sauce. Two dishes on the site use this base. Moroccan whole wheat couscous starts with four tomatoes blanched for sixty seconds, peeled, halved and deseeded, and Tayyibat couscous with freekeh takes up the same broth of lamb, onion and tomato. In both, the tomato goes with a cooked, blended onion. This aromatic base (cooked blended onion and peeled, deseeded tomato) replaces the classic base of onion, tomato and cumin, and cumin is not part of the kept list.

Eggplant, bell pepper, onion: cooked, never raw

Eggplant is eaten cooked only, and the system treats it as an occasional dish, not part of the weekly rotation. Roasted, it is among the cooked vegetables the site mentions. Watch the preparations that come with it: mutabbal and baba ghanoush mix eggplant with yogurt and garlic, and they are excluded. The eggplant page sums up its status. Bell pepper follows the same rule: cooked only, roasted, sautéed or simmered; raw, it is excluded. Onion is kept cooked (soup, stew, tagine, sauté), preferably finely chopped or blended so it melts into the sauce; raw in a salad, it is excluded. If you remember one landmark: everything kept here is kept cooked. To go further, you can get the free extract of the guide, sent to the email address you leave.

Frequently asked questions

Is a raw tomato in a salad allowed? No. In the system, the raw tomato is excluded; only the tomato that is peeled, deseeded and cooked is kept. Does a well cooked tomato pass with its skin or seeds? No. The three conditions are cumulative: with skin or with seeds, the tomato is set aside even when cooked. Is eggplant part of the meals of every week? No. It is kept, cooked only, but the system makes it an occasional dish, outside the weekly rotation.