How to Make Your Own Delicious Tomato Chutney

The ingredients needed to make sweet tomato chutney

Tomatoes are delicious raw and cooked, on their own or combined with a host of other ingredients. They are also incredibly healthy. So whether you have a bumper crop that you need to use up, or simply like the taste of fresh juicy tomatoes, here’s a quick, easy recipe for delicious sweet, slightly sour, vaguely crunchy and gorgeously garlicky tomato chutney.

Tomatoes Suitable for Chutney

Generally any nice, big juicy tomatoes are suitable for this sweet chutney recipe, including larger Roma-type (or plum) fruit, including Beefsteak and Oxheart tomatoes that are particularly good for making paste and sauces. Even good old Moneymaker tomatoes are good. Whatever is available, choose fruit that is plump and brightly coloured, and make sure it is firm but not hard.

If you are going to use fresh tomatoes you’re going to have to peel them first – which is a good reason to avoid the small varieties. This is because the skin has a tendency to shrivel and it gets tough, and chutney needs to be thick and smooth.

Whilst many recipes specify that the seeds should be removed, this really is not an issue for this chutney recipe because the seeds will cook away to nothing. So don’t fret.

To skin your tomatoes, all you need to do is bring a pot of water (or vinegar) to the boil and drop them in. When the skin starts to crinkle, remove the fruit from the water and let it cool. You will be able to remove the skin effortlessly, toss it out and get started.

Ingredients Needed for Sweet Tomato Chutney

Assemble your ingredients and equipment. Amongst other things like measuring spoons, you will need an electric blender and a 2.8 litre or 3 quart heavy-bottomed pot (preferably with an enamel finish), or a glass container that can be used on a stove top, as well as:

• 1 kg or 2 lbs fresh tomatoes OR two 400 g or 14 oz cans of tomatoes
• head of garlic
• piece of fresh ginger about as long as your thumb and half as wide
• 350 ml or about 12 fluid oz white wine vinegar
• 350 g or ¾ lb of granulated sugar (brown is good)
• 1½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (reduce or increase according to taste)
• 2 Tbs sultanas or ‘golden raisins’
• 2 Tbs blanched and slivered almonds

How to Make Sweet Tomato Chutney

To make the chutney, start by peeling the garlic cloves and chopping them – and yes you do need a whole head, the bigger the better. Also peel and chop the ginger and put it, together with the chopped garlic, into a blender with the wine vinegar until it is smooth.

Put the tomatoes, juice, vinegar, sugar and salt into a suitable pot, add the blended garlic and ginger paste and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer gently (uncovered) for about two hours. The mix should thicken, so increase or decrease heat accordingly. Stir occasionally and then more frequently as the mixture starts to get thicker. You want the chutney to get to a point where it resembles the consistency of thick honey once it cools.

Once the chutney begins to thicken nicely, add the almonds and the raisins and allow the brew to simmer a little longer. Then turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.

To Store

Once the chutney has cooled, decant into bottles (preferably boiled for hygienic reasons) and store in a cold place. Once opened, bottles should be kept in a refrigerator.

Get More Recipes

Enjoy. Tomatoes will always surprise. There is nothing quite like home grown tomatoes.

If you’d like 39 more delicious recipes like this – Pick up our book How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes and get our Tomato Recipes Book for free.  It contains 40 mouthwatering, tried and tested, old family favourite recipes, from all over the world.