Nanna's Relish

I have a sprawling, single, tomato plant (that was all I got planted before my surgery) - it's a low-acid orange tomato, and the bush has taken over half the vegie patch! There have been kilos of tomatoes, and the inevitable need for tomato chutney!

I haven't made this recipe before - but it's been in the family for a very long time. It's my grandmother's recipe, and my absolute favourite. It brings back many memories! The name 'Nariel' is from my great-grandfather's property. It has a great spicy flavour - from curry and mustard - and is wonderful with cold meats, cheese sandwiches, and many other things!

Nanna Jean's 'Nariel' Tomato Relish

• 2.5 kg ripe tomatoes - skinned (oops, I missed that bit!).

Chop the tomatoes, put in a large bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt. Cover, stand overnight.

• 1 kg onions - sliced.

Place in a bowl, sprinkle liberally with salt. Cover, stand overnight.

The next day, drain off the liquid from both tomatoes and onions. Combine them in a large pan, press down, and just cover with best quality vinegar (I used cider vinegar). Bring to the boil.

Add 750g sugar.

Next, make the spice paste!

• 3 Tbspn mustard powder

• 2 Tbspn curry powder

• 1/2 handful of salt (a fairly random measurement!)

• 1 large cup plain flour

• More cider vinegar (~ 1/2 cup)

Gradually mix the dry ingredients with the extra vinegar to make a paste.

Add the spice flour paste to the saucepan, mix well. Simmer together for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to avoid the mixture sticking to the base.

Bottle in hot jars, seal while hot.

I found it took a lot longer than 2 hours to cook to a reasonable thickness. You can thicken it further by mixing in either a mixture of flour and vinegar, or cornstarch and water.

If you're using a gas stove, use a heat diffuser to keep the heat as minimal as possible.

Enjoy!

Printable recipe