TOMATO SAUCE / NO ADDED PRESERVATIVES/ STEP WISE METHOD & VIDEO

This homemade ketchup is full of Tomato Goodness , No pastiness, No Sugary taste…. The texture is rich with tomatoes.  My daughter loves to have ketchup that's when i decided to try making it at home as the store bought has less tomatoes or its high on sugar and preservatives. In this recipe i did not add any Preservative. This sauce stays good for 30 to 40 days if you Refrigerate. Here a very important thing is to  make sure to Sterilize the Jar properly as we are not adding any Preservative. You can also halve or reduce the recipe further proportionally.

 If you wish to increase the shelf life , there is a preservative added to the sauce – sodium benzoate so that its shelf life is more. 

Once you start making sauce at home you will not buy store bought 

Do try and share you comments

INGREDIENTS

• Tomatoes 2 kg ( you will get 1 litre and little more sauce )
• Garlic  15 to 16 medium garlic cloves
• Ginger 2 pieces of about 3 inch
•  Dry Red Chilies 3 to 4  deseeded and halved
•  Raisins 1/4 cup
•  Apple Cider Vinegar or White Vinegar 1/2 cup
• Salt 1 tbsp
• Brown sugar or Regular 6 to 7 Tbsp
• Celery little (optional )

METHOD:

TO COOK TOMATOES

• Rinse the tomatoes well in water. 

• Peel and rinse the garlic, ginger and  chop them.
• Halve and deseed the dry red chilies.
• Rinse the raisins and keep aside.
• Now in a large casserole or pot or a 4 to 5 litre pressure cooker, add the chopped tomatoes.
• Add the chopped ginger, garlic, raisins, halved dry red chilies,vinegar, ,celery and sugar

• Mix well and keep the pot or cooker on a low to medium flame on the stove top.
• Keep on stirring at intervals.
• When the tomatoes soften, switch off the fire. The softening takes about 25 to 27 minutes.

• When the mixture is slightly hot or warm, blend the puree with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. If using a regular blender, then don't add too hot of the tomato mixture

• Make a smooth puree.
• With a strainer which is not very fine, strain the puree very well directly into a pot or a large sauce pan.
• Strain very well.

Now Lets sterilize the jar.

• First rinse the jar. in a large sauce pan heat water till it reaches its boiling point - meaning it has begun to boil. 

• Immerse the jar and its lid in the hot water. continue to boil the water along with jar for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the jar with the help of clean tongs and place the jar inverted on a thick towel kept on the kitchen tabletop. let the jar dry naturally.

FOR MAKING THE TOMATO SAUCE

• Keep the pot or pan with the strained tomato pulp on the stove top,

• On a low to medium flame, simmer the pulp till it starts thickening and reaches a ketchup like consistency. It Takes about 35 to 40 minutes.

To Check The Consistency:

 Spread the tomato sauce on a plate. There should be no water droplets from the sides. You can see a slight separation happening. This is alright. But if you want a thick ketchup sauce like the ready made ones, then you have to cook more till the tomato ketchup coats a spoon and remains like that.

• Pour the hot tomato sauce in the sterilized jar. close tightly with the lid.
• Let the tomato sauce cool and be kept aside for some hours or a day.
• Then keep it in refrigerator and use after 1 or 2 days.

Serve tomato sauce with any snack or appetizer.