Homemade tomato ketchup 5/5 (1)

Tomato ketchup needs no introduction as the entire world is so familiar with it and it has become a household necessity. It’s the most sought-after sauce from kids to adults. It is so versatile; can be used as sauce, dip, spread, dressings, base for Chinese gravies, list goes on…🤩🤩.

Tomato ketchup is basically a condiment which has a cocktail of flavours like sourness, sweetness, spiciness. It’s purely made of ripened tomatoes 🍅🍅, cooked with onion, garlic, spices like cinnamon cloves, chilli powder and balanced with sweetness from sugar and tartness from vinegar and tomato 🍅 itself. This homemade tomato ketchup is a boon to the moms, who have fussy eaters at home. They can let their children eat with no ration as it’s absolutely homemade. Also, to those, whose daily diet consumption is based on ketchup only, can consume this ketchup guilt free, as it has no preservatives.

I can say this recipe is one-pot dish as it involves sautéing, cooking and simmering in the same vessel. Only grinding is done in the mixer, otherwise it’s an absolutely hassle free as minimal vessels are used. Regarding storage, it is preservatives free, so it has a life of maximum a month in refrigerator. I have provided more tips in the notes section below, read it carefully.

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Heat a deep bottomed pressure pan or pressure cooker with olive oil or any neutral oil, add chopped garlic, chopped onion, sauté well in medium flame for a minute.

Then add chilli powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, salt and chilli garlic paste (refer notes). Mix well.

Immediately add chopped tomatoes.

And close the pan with the lid.

And pressure cook for 6 whistles.

Once the pressure is released, strain the mixture from liquid part with a slotted ladle and let it cool down for a while.

Grind them into a smooth fine paste utilizing the liquid part as well.

Then strain them in the same pan through a strainer to discard the seeds and skin of the tomatoes yielding a smooth fine paste.

Heat the pan with the strained mixture and add vinegar.

And add Demerara sugar.

And Light brown sugar. Combine well.

Let it simmer in medium flame for 20 minutes. Keep stirring in intervals.

Later simmer for 5-10 minutes according to your requirement for the consistency.  Keep in mind that it thickens slightly on refrigeration.

Let it completely cool down, yields roughly 1 litre. Store it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator (refer notes for detailed storage tips).

Delicious, finger licking homemade tomato ketchup 🍅 🍅 🍅 is ready, can be served with fries🍟, momos 🥡, satays 🍢, tacos🌮, burgers🍔, pizzas🍕, wraps🌯………. the list is endless…😍😍

Recipe card

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Cuisine: International

Category: Accompaniments

Yields: 1 litre (roughly)

Author: Manimala

Ingredients:

Tomatoes – 1 ½ kg

Olive/neutral oil – 2 tsp

Chopped onion – ½ cup

Chopped garlic – 2 tsp

Chilli powder – 1 ½ tbsp

Cinnamon powder – 1/8 tsp

Clove powder – 1/8 tsp

Salt – to taste

Chilli garlic paste – 1 ½ tsp (optional)

Vinegar – 2 tsp

Demerara sugar + Light brown sugar – ½ – ¾ cup (as required)

Instructions:

1. Heat a deep bottomed pressure pan or pressure cooker with olive oil or any neutral oil, add chopped garlic, chopped onion, sauté well in medium flame for a minute.
2. Then add chilli powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, salt and chilli garlic paste (refer notes). Mix well.
3. Immediately add chopped tomatoes and close the pan with the lid and pressure cook for 6 whistles.
4. Once the pressure is released, strain the mixture from liquid part with a slotted ladle and let it cool down for a while.
5. Grind them into a smooth fine paste utilizing the liquid part as well. Then strain them in the same pan through a strainer to discard the seeds and skin of the tomatoes yielding a smooth fine paste.
6. Heat the pan with the strained mixture and add vinegar and sugar (I added Demerara sugar and Light brown sugar, refer notes). Combine well.
7. Let it simmer in medium flame for 20 minutes. Keep stirring in intervals.
8. Later simmer for 5-10 minutes according to your requirement for the consistency.  Keep in mind that it thickens slightly on refrigeration.
9. Let it completely cool down, yields roughly 1 litre. Store it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator (refer notes for detailed storage tips).
10. Delicious, finger licking homemade tomato ketchup 🍅 🍅 🍅 is ready, can be served with fries🍟, momos 🥡, satays 🍢, tacos🌮, burgers🍔, pizzas🍕, wraps🌯………. the list is endless…😍😍

Notes:

• Always buy red, ripened tomatoes, also make sure you select a variety that h is tangy enough. Natural sourness is better than adding more vinegar.
• For sautéing, use any neutrally flavoured oil; can be olive oil or any refined oil. This is to ensure the flavour of oil doesn’t dominate.
• Quantity of flavouring and seasoning agents can be manipulated. It depends on the sourness of the tomatoes you choose and your personal requirements.
• I used chilli-garlic🌶🧄 paste. This can be prepared easily at home. Soak the deseeded 10 Kashmiri red chillies in hot water for 30 minutes, then grind them with 1 tbsp chopped garlic into a fine smooth paste (add very little water for grinding if required). You’ll use only 1 ½ tsp, the remaining paste can be stored in refrigerator and can be used for any curry preparation. This inclusion is optional, it can be skipped, but adding this gives an extra punch to the end product with respect to colour and flavour.
• Here, I doubled up the quantity while preparing as I had some other plans. I’m stating this because you shouldn’t panic seeing my quantity of the ingredients and the end product and compare with yours.
• Vinegar plays a key role in preserving perspective and also helps to improve the tanginess if your tomatoes lack it. So, be careful about the quantity of vinegar you use.
• Adding sugar also depends upon your sourness of the tomatoes, here I added both Demerara sugar for mild sweetness and light brown sugar for intense colour and sweetness. Add ½ cup both put together and then gradually increase to 3/4^th cup if needed.
• Coming to the storage, it has a shelf life of 3-4 weeks in refrigerator. As we didn’t add any preservatives, like store-bought ketchup, be mindful while handling it. Take only required quantity from refrigerator, don’t use wet spoons or hands as moisture is the first enemy to its life. If you feel, you cannot consume 1 litre in a month, store half the portion in the freezer, and use other half storing in the refrigerator section. By freezing you can increase the life of ketchup more. As I mentioned early, I doubled up the quantity, I kept half the portion in the freezer to improve its shelf life.
• Stay tuned in for more interesting sauce recipes in coming week, I’ll reveal few sauces made from tomato sauce as well, stay excited and intrigued 🤔👩‍🍳👩‍🍳.