East Indian Tomato Chutney

Chutneys add flavour to every Bengali lunch: they are incredibly versatile. Tamatar chatni is a good dip for savoury snacks such as pakoras or bhajis.

Picture by Liz Ryves-brown

Makes approximately 300g/11 oz of chutney

500g (1 lb 2oz) tomatoes

1 tbsp vegetable oil

¼ tsp nigella seeds

¼ tsp brown mustard seeds

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp medium-hot chilli powder

½ tsp salt

100g (3¾ oz) caster sugar

2 tbsp liquid pectin

Preparation:

Immerse the tomatoes in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from the water, peel and discard the skin, then coarsely chop the flesh and set aside. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the nigella and mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin and chilli powder, and mix. Stir in the tomatoes and fry over a low heat for a couple of minutes. Add the salt, cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

Roughly mash the tomatoes. Stir in the sugar and simmer uncovered for 7 minutes. Pour in the pectin, stir well, then boil the mixture rapidly for 2 minutes until quite thick. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Spoon the chatni into an airtight jar. Store in the refrigerator for upto 2 months.

Makes approximately 300g/11 oz of chutney

500g (1 lb 2oz) tomatoes

1 tbsp vegetable oil

¼ tsp nigella seeds

¼ tsp brown mustard seeds

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp medium-hot chilli powder

½ tsp salt

100g (3¾ oz) caster sugar

2 tbsp liquid pectin