Matilda's Tomato Chutney

This chutney works as a condiment with all sorts of food, we use it in place of tomato sauce or ketchup on burgers. It's great when we put together a plough-mans lunch, or add it on sandwiches.  We have also found its great with sausages and mash, and as a side on an after dinner cheese board or spread on crackers as a pre-dinner drinks snack.

INGREDIENTS

·         1 ½ kilos ripe tomatoes (vine ripened are very good)

·         ½ kilo onions (we use brown)

·         ½ kilo sugar

·         2 teaspoons of salt

·         Pepper to taste

·         1 tablespoon curry powder

·         1 ½ tablespoons mustard

·         2 tablespoons plain flour

·         Vinegar – white (don’t use brown or apple cider)

METHOD

·        Slice tomatoes and onions evenly

·        In a large boiler add the onions and tomatoes

·       Add the salt & sugar

·      Cover with vinegar

·       Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on

·       Mix the curry powder, mustard & flour together into a paste with a bit of vinegar to a thick consistency like cream and then power slowly into the chutney mix stirring while doing so

·       Add a few grinds of pepper

·       Simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on

·       Taste for any salt or sugar adjustment

·       Put a teaspoon of the mix onto a plate and let it cool – to check the thickness you should be able to turn the plate upside down and not have the mixture fall off straight away.

·       If it’s too runny mix another tablespoon of plain flour in vinegar to make a paste and add to the chutney mix.

PRESERVING JARS

·         You will need about 4 x 350gram preserving jars (buy them from supermarket– red and white lids)

·         Wash in very hot water

·         Spoon the hot chutney mix in

·         Put the lids on and turn upside down on a protected surface and leave until cool

Bruce's Tomato Chutney

Discover this easy tomato chutney recipe, the perfect way to complement a piece of hard cheese; try this recipe today. Perfect on toast with a chunk of cheddar.

INGREDIENTS

•             2 kilos ripe roma tomatoes

•             3/4 kilo onions (we use brown)

•             2 capsicums (red Bell Peppers) 

•             3/4 kilo sugar

•             2 teaspoons of salt

•             Pepper to taste

•             2 tablespoons plain flour

•             Vinegar – Red wine & Balsamic 50/50 (don’t use white, brown or apple cider)

METHOD

•             Slice tomatoes and onions evenly

•             In a large boiler add the onions and tomatoes

•             Add the salt & sugar

•             Cover with vinegar

•             Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on

•             Mix the flour together into a paste with a bit of vinegar to a thick consistency like cream                      and then pour slowly into the chutney mix stirring while doing so

•             Add a few grinds of pepper

•             Simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on

•             Taste for any salt or sugar adjustment

•             Put a teaspoon of the mix onto a plate and let it cool – to check the thickness you should be                 able to turn the plate upside down and not have the mixture fall off straight away.

•             If it’s too runny cook for a further 20 minutes, then if its still too runny mix another                              tablespoon of plain flour in vinegar to make a paste and add to the chutney mix.

PRESERVING JARS

•             You will need about 6 x 300 gram preserving jars (red and white lids)

•             Wash in very hot water

•             Spoon the hot chutney mix in

•             Put the lids on and turn upside down on a protected surface and leave until cool

Oven roasted  capsicums (Bell Peppers) are a nice addition to this recipe in place of fresh ones. 

Pickled Beetroot

Pickled Beetroot.

If like us you found it hard to get canned pickled beetroot after leaving Australia here is a recipe that may interest you.  We have found fresh beetroot in market stalls and all the major supermarkets in Malaysia and Thailand. It may have been there in Indonesia but we were not looking at the time. 

1              large beetroot

1              cup water

1/2           cup white vinegar (5% acid) (see the note further down) (Start with a 1/4 cup)

1/4           cup sugar

1/2           tsp peppercorns

1              bay leaf

1/2           tsp prepared mustard or ½ tsp mustard seeds (mix in water first to dissolve)

3/4           tsp salt
1/2           Stick of cinnamon or leave it out, we think it adds a nice flavor

Ready for peeling, doesn't look very pretty just yet

Peel the beetroot with a vegi peeler then wash thoroughly.

Peeled and washed ready to slice

Cut the beetroot into slices

Sliced into rounds, you could make julienne strips if you want

Place the beetroot into a saucepan and add the other ingredients and bring to the boil.

In the pot ready to go, make sure the slices are covered

 

Simmer for 25 minutes or until a beetroot slice can easily be pierced with a fork.

Pack beetroot into hot sterilized jars and top up with vinegar mixture.

Seal and store in a cool place.

We used to make up a large batch and store away for the future, but now we just do one beetroot and put it straight into the fridge after it has cooled in the saucepan.

This recipe keeps well in fridge for many months.

Notes: Be careful of the acid content of the vinegar purchased in asia, we got 25% acid and burnt the lining of the mouth doing a taste test. We have also found some brands of vinegar certainly taste stronger than others, so the only way around this is to taste test early and adjust the water vinegar ratio.

The finished article

 If like us you will just put the beetroot into the fridge in a container you can experiment with the sugar content but if you are bottling the beetroot I wouldn’t as sugar is a natural preservative.