Growing up, every single member of our family was involved in the yearly tradition of making tomato ketchup for the year. Whether it was my dad bringing tomatoes in bulk, or mom cooking and stirring the sauce, or kids cleaning the glass jars in hot water, or dadi running the show on the entire process from the kitchen floor, everyone had a hand successfully jarring tomatoes ketchup! We RARELY ever used store-bought tomato ketchup. When we moved to The States, we started buying ketchup from the grocery store, and to be honest none us liked it, but due to lack of time (and consumption 11 people —> 5 people) it was just more convenient. When my grandma came to visit us for the first time, the only thing I wanted her to make was tomato ketchup before she left. We made about 48 Oz., hoping it would last about 6 months, but honestly it was so good, we finished it in 3 months. For comparison a typical ketchup bottle is ~32Oz and take 4-5 months to finish.

While making large quantity of ketchup, be sure to use some sort of preservative, sodium benzonate, so that you can use it throughout the year. My recommendation is to make this once every 3 months, this way use are making organic gourmet ketchup with no additives, just veggies and spices! My mom and I make tomato ketchup using this recipe 3-4 times a year.

This tomato ketchup is a simple recipe that packs a lot of flavors! The onions/garlic can easily be optional, if you want to make Jain tomato ketchup. You can make it mild, sweet, tangy to your liking by adjusting the spices. The natural flavor of the tomatoes are so vibrant and truly feels like you are eating TOMATO ketchup. The key is to make sure there is as little water content as possible. Test the blend multiple times by doing a splatter test. If there is water leaking from the splatter, continue cooking the sauce. Savor it with all snacks or even use it as a base for some gravies!

All the spices used in this recipe are masaldani staples. This is homemade tomato ketchup is super easy to make. Great to enjoy with all snacks! The recipe is completely vegetarian and vegan friendly!

Spice Bag 1: Lal Mirchi | Spice Bag 2: Garam Masala

Serving Size: ~32 Oz. | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients

• 3 lbs ripe tomatoes

• 2 large red onions

• 4 inch Large Ginger

• 1 Full Garlic head

• 5 tbsp. Salt

• 5-6 tbsp. Sugar (depends how sweet tomatoes are)

• 2 1/5 tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar

• 1 tbsp. Ground Black Pepper

Spice Bags:

• 5 tbsp. Lal Mirchi (red chili powder)

• 5 tbsp. Garam Masala

• 2 5x5 cheesecloth squares

Equipment:

You will need a glass jar with a tight lid to store the ketchup

Preparation:

• Wash tomatoes, onions, and ginger in warm water

• Cut tomatoes and onions in 4 pieces, and ginger into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook the garlic and chopped veggies in a pressure cooker. (~ 2-3 whistles)

• Which the veggies cook, make 2 spice bags, one with Lal Mirchi and one with Garam Masala

  • Tie the spice bags several times to make sure the spices are tucked away well (pictured above)

• Let the veggies cool after pressure cooking. Blend and strain the mix into a large heavy-bottomed pot.

  • Try to squeeze the pulp dry

• Drop the spice bags and cook on low heat for ~3 hours. Add salt, sugar, and black pepper to the mix. Stir occasionally.

  • After 45 minutes test the blend thickness. A good test is to take a spoon of sauce and splatter on a plate. Rotate the plate to see if the splatter moves around. If there is water it will release to the edges.

  • Once there is little water content, the splatter will not move much. AKA, we’re ready to bottle!

• Remove from heat, mix in the vinegar

• Take a clean glass jar and ladle the sauce in, leave some space at the mouth of the jar. DO NOT tighten the lid on the jar until the sauce cools overnight.

• Store in the refrigerator and keep the lid locked tight!

Serve:

• Serve with any snack you love to eat with ketchup!