Tomato Quetta

Make this with ripe tomatoes at the height of summer and you’ll have a bright red relish to use for the rest of the year. Adapted from an old recipe that can be found in country cookbooks from the 1930s, it is mysteriously named after a city in what is now known as Pakistan.

MAKES: 4 x 500 ml (16 oz) jars

INGREDIENTS

2.5 kg (5 lb 8 oz) ripe tomatoes

4 garlic cloves, crushed

5 cm (2 inch) knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 30 g/1 oz grated ginger)

1 small red chilli, chopped (keeping the seeds if you want extra heat)

330 g (11½ oz/1½ cups) raw sugar

100 g (3½ oz) sultanas (golden raisins)

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sea salt flakes

2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour

METHOD

Sterilise your jars and lids using a method outlined here. Keep them warm until you are ready to use them.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Using a small sharp knife, make a cross on the base of each tomato and place in the boiling water for 1 minute. When you see the skin starting to peel away from the cross, remove the tomatoes from the boiling water. Leave to cool, then peel the skin away.

Using your hands, crush the tomatoes into a medium heavy-based saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients, except the flour.

Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and leave to bubble away for up to 45 minutes, or until the mixture is thick. At this point, remove a small amount of the tomato mixture with a cup and add the flour. Blend to a smooth, runny paste, then stir back into the chutney.

Carefully ladle the chutney into the warm jars, leaving a 1 cm (½ inch) gap at the top of each jar. Using paper towel, clean the rims of the jars, then screw the lids on and leave until cool.

Eat straight away, or store in the pantry for up to 6 months. Once opened, store in the fridge.