Instant Salsa 5/5 (1)

Salsa in Spanish refers to any kind of sauces which are used as condiments, dips, filling even as a salad dressing. It’s so indispensable in Latin American cuisine such as Tacos, Burritos, Quesadilla, etc. Apart from Mexican dishes, I also used salsa as a condiment in my fusion cooking like Tacos golkappas.

It’s made of either roasted or raw tomatoes complemented with onion, garlic, roasted pepper, jalapeno (Mexican chilli), cilantro/coriander and seasoned with some spices. It can be prepared a day before and can be used in the recipes the next day. If it’s prepared raw it has a storage life of  2 – 3 days. If it’s cooked it has storage life for at least a week.

As I mentioned above it can be eaten raw or cooked, and are usually served at room temperature. I generally prefer the cooked method as I want the garlic and onion to be sautéed to get rid of the pungent raw flavour.

This is a vegan friendly diet as well. This tasty and delicious Salsa is made with firm and ripened tomatoes either you can go for Roma tomatoes or Bunch tomatoes according to the availability at stores. I used bunch tomatoes in this recipe. If you are looking for a authentic Mexican Salsa, click this hyperlink, try it and relish it.

This instant salsa is made so quickly with the available ingredients at home. I skipped the roasting of tomatoes. My key ingredient in this salsa is tomato ketchup which instantly adds the taste and texture to it. It can be prepared in 5 minutes so quickly that even if you have some unplanned guests at home, it’s so handy.

As regular salsa, it can be used as filling in authentic Mexican Vegetarian Tacos, or Tacos golkappas, Palak / Spinach Tacos under my Kitchen secrets or as dips for nachos, as dressing for salads.

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Heat a pan with 2 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, sauté well in medium flame for 2 minutes till it turns golden brown.

Then add finely chopped onion with little salt, sauté for a minute or two. Then add green and red Jalapeno, sauté.

Later, add a cup of finely chopped tomatoes, then red chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and sugar. You can skip sugar as tomato ketchup add enough sweetness. Then, add chopped coriander / cilantro, mix well and close it for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes, open the lid, tomatoes would have turned mushy, now add a cup of tomato ketchup, mix well, let it boil for a minute, then add ¼ cup water, stir it.

Finally add chopped pineapple and give a final stir and let it simmer for a minute till it comes to a salsa consistency (water should have evaporated and reached saucy consistency).

Transfer to a bowl, your instant Mexican salsa is ready to be topped in the tacos or as a dip for Nachos.

Recipe Card:

Preparation time:  5 minutes

Cooking time: 8 minutes

Cuisine: International – Mexican

Category: Accompaniment / Dip

Serves: 6

Author: Manimala

Ingredients:

Onion finely chopped – 1 cup

Tomato finely chopped – 1 cup

Pineapple chopped – 1 tbsp

Tomato Ketchup – 1 cup

Jalapeno red – 1 tsp

Jalapeno green – 1 tsp

Garlic chopped – 1 tsp

Coriander/Cilantro – ¼ cup

Red chilli powder – ¼  tsp

Cumin powder – ¼  tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tbsps

Instructions:

1. Heat a pan with 2 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, sauté well in medium flame for 2 minutes till it turns golden brown.
2. Then add finely chopped onion with little salt, sauté for a minute or two. Then add green and red Jalapeno, sauté.
3. Later add a cup of finely chopped tomatoes, then red chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and sugar. You can skip sugar as tomato ketchup add enough sweetness.
4. Then add chopped coriander / cilantro, mix well and close it for 2 minutes.
5. After 2 minutes, open the lid, tomatoes would have turned mushy, now add a cup of tomato ketchup, mix well, let it boil for a minute, then add ¼ cup water, stir it.
6. Finally add chopped pineapple and give a final stir and let it simmer for a minute till it comes to a salsa consistency  (water should have evaporated and reached saucy consistency).
7. Transfer to a bowl, your instant Mexican salsa is ready to be topped in the tacos or as a dip for Nachos.

Notes:

• This is not a traditional version of salsa, as the recipe name says it’s instant version. I have shared the authentic Mexican Salsa, check it if you are looking for it.
• Tomato ketchup adds enough sweetness, so forget adding sugar, as we felt it was on bit higher side. So, keep sugar as optional. After adding everything, finally check the taste, if needed then add it.
• I used canned pineapples 🍍, because they impart sweetness as they are soaked in sugar syrup. Try with fresh pineapple also, I’m not sure if it may impart bitterness later.
• Kids liked the sweetness and tanginess from tomato ketchup, they didn’t find much difference between the regular and this instant version. It was absolute hit.
• As regular salsa, it can be used as filling in authentic Mexican Vegetarian Tacos, or Tacos golkappas, Palak / Spinach Tacos under my Kitchen secrets or as dips for nachos, as dressing for salads.