Go Back
Print

My Grandfather’s Spicy Tomato Ketchup

Ingredients

  • 1 kg ripe tomatoes , unpeeled, chopped if large
  • ½ small onion , diced
  • 1-2 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped

Whole spices in fabric bag (*)

  • 5-6 cloves
  • 2 black cardamoms , cracked open to release flavours
  • ½ tsp whole black peppers , cracked open to release flavours
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1-2 small pieces cinnamon or cassia bark

Ground spices

  • ½ tsp nutmeg , freshly grated if possible
  • 1 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
  • 2 tsp mustard powder
  • 40 g sugar (with extra available to adjust to taste)
  • 50 ml cider vinegar (with extra available to adjust to taste)
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Sterilise your jars and lids. I boil my lids in a pan on the stove for 20 minutes before laying them out to dry on a clean tea towel. I sterilise my glass jars in a hot oven, leaving them in the oven until I’m ready to fill them.
  • Place tomatoes, onion, garlic and bag of whole spices into a large pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to stop the tomatoes catching at the bottom before they release their own juices.
  • Cook until soft.
  • Allow to cool a little. Remove spice bag.
  • Blend into as smooth a puree as you can.
  • Press through a sieve to remove skin and seed residue.
  • Place the sieved liquid into a pan with the nutmeg, chilli powder and mustard powder and bring to the boil.
  • If your liquid is quite thin, boil longer to thicken. The time this takes can vary wildly. In the past it’s taken anything from just five minutes to half an hour!
  • Add the vinegar and sugar and continue to cook until the sauce reaches ketchup consistency.
  • Add salt.
  • Taste and add additional vinegar or sugar, if needed.
  • Remove the sterilised jars from the oven and pour the ketchup into them while both ketchup and jars are still hot.
  • Seal immediately with sterilised lids.
  • Once cooled, label and store in a cool, dark cupboard.

As this recipe has only a small volume of sugar and vinegar (both of which are preserving agents), you may prefer to store the ketchup in your fridge and use within a few weeks. We have stored it in a dark cupboard, eaten it many, many months after making, and been just fine. However, we are not experts in preserving or food safety, so please do your own research and decide for yourself.

    Notes

    Instead of wrapping my whole spices in muslin tied with string, I use fill-your-own teabags for speed. These are easy to fish back out of the pot and throw away once used.