Homemade Tomato Ketchup Recipe

Homemade Tomato Ketchup using Farm fresh tomatoes…

When I tried this recipe for the first time, my kids were very skeptical to try it. They looked at it with doubting eyes; smelled it suspiciously and then finally, reluctantly, tasted it. And, the verdict…it was a smashing hit! and I got a big thumbs-up for this. Phew, it isn’t easy to pass these tests I say. My kids, like all the others out there are very very particular about their sauces and ketchup. Well, now you can have my tried and tested recipe. I am sure you and your kids are going to love it!

So, when you look for recipes for tomato ketchup, most of the recipes use canned tomatoes. Well, I didn’t want that. I wanted to use my own organic fresh produce to make homemade tomato ketchup from scratch. What’s the point of using canned stuff, you might as well buy the damn tomato ketchup off the shelves then?

I wanted to use my farm grown tomatoes in the recipe to make sure my ketchup was 100% organic. And I had some surplus harvest this week and you know what it means when I have surplus right? Yes, my mind gets all excited about experimenting with recipes for preserving these extra produce. Remember when I made a whole jar of marinara sauce a couple of weeks back? Well, let’s say this is one such accidental discoveries of mine.

In this recipe I have used only fresh tomatoes and fragrant spices, most of which you can find it in your pantry except for probably “All Spice” and “Apple cider vinegar” which is not a common staple in an Indian household, but can be easily procured from any supermarket nowadays.

I used heirloom tomatoes from my farm and chose the most ripest and reddest (I know it’s not a word) ones to get the right colour. Because what’s a tomato ketchup without its characteristic colour, right? And the kids would out-right reject it if it doesn’t appeal to their eyes.

Look at that colour! that too without any added colourants or additives!

So let’s get started, shall we?

RECIPE

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes – 2 kgs
• Onion – 1 chopped
• Red Chilli – 1 big (or 2 small)
• Garlic – 1 clove
• Salt – 1 ½ tsp
• Brown sugar – 5 tbl sp
• All spice – ¼ tsp
• Apple cider vinegar – ½ cup

In a cheese cloth tie the following 3 ingredients into a small pouch OR instead add a pinch – 1/8 tsp of each if you have them in powdered form:

• Cloves -4
• Bay leaf -1
• Cinnamon – 1 (one inch long)

Procedure:

1. Wash thoroughly and chop the onion and tomatoes.
2. Place a large saucepan or a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat.
3. Add the ingredients into the pan – chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, red chilli, salt, brown sugar, All spice and Apple cider vinegar
4. Add the spice pack or the powdered version to this
5. Let all this cook down for 30 minutes
6. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool completely
7. Blend and strain the mixture using a stainer
8. Once again cook the strained mixture for another 30 minutes or till it thickens to your preferred consistency
9. Tomato ketchup is ready

Note:

• You can adjust the salt and sugar levels to your taste towards the end but the above measurements worked well for me.
• I personally added clove and cinnamon powder just a pinch each instead of whole and added a whole bay leaf along with other ingredients. Do not shy away from using these ingredients thinking it might give an Indian twist to the ketchup. It won’t, trust me.
• Do source “All spice” if you can, because though a small amount it imparts that necessary taste to the ketchup. But if you can’t find it, don’t worry about it. Just skip it.

How long can you store it? It stays good in the refrigerator for 3 weeks. I can’t guarantee more than that as there are absolutely no preservatives added in this to prolong it’s shelf life and that’s how I want it to be.

How to store it? It’s always better to store it in a glass container as tomatoes are acidic and may react with plastic. And it’s always better to store in stainless or glass and avoid plastic containers for food.

I hope you will try this recipe and try to replace the omnipresent “store-bought concoction” with your very own “homemade tomato ketchup”

So, what are you waiting for? Grab those tomatoes and get going!

And don’t forget to share your feedback in the comments sections. I would love to read how you liked it.

One more store-bought staple crossed off…yay!!!

Until next time

Kalpana