Anita’s famous tomato chutney

By popular demand, here is the recipe for my famous tomato chutney.  It is somewhat modified from Madhur Jaffrey, An Invitation to Indian Cooking:

Sweet and spicy tomato chutney

1 head of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped (yes, a whole head)

a piece of fresh ginger, 2 in long, 1 in thick, 1 in wide, peeled and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

2 lbs tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/8-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

Put garlic, ginger and 1/2 cup vinegar in blender and puree.  In a heavy-bottomed pan place tomatoes, the rest of the vinegar, sugar, salt. Bring to a boil, then add contents of blender.  Lower heat and cook very slowly for 1 1/2 hours or more, uncovered, until thick.  Add cayenne after about a hour, tasting to see how hot you want it.  I use 1/8 teaspoon of the hot cayenne I get at the co-op.  You can also use hot red pepper flakes. Stir frequently especially toward the end or it WILL stick and burn because of the sugar.  It should be as thick as honey with some chunks (this depends on how much you chop the tomatoes)– it should coat the back of a spoon when it is done.  It will be dark, dark red.  You can put it in canning jars and process or just put it in jars and keep it in the fridge — it keeps a while and it is good on anything.  Try it on a cheese sandwich.  It is amazingly good.  Makes about 2 cups, depending on how juicy the tomatoes are (if they’re really juicy it will make less).  The recipe can be doubled.