Tomato Kasundi

Summer is officially over!  I bought the last of the tomatoes that Sharon Alexander had left in her market.   She is closing down for the season today, and the tomatoes she had left were marked down and had seen better days, but I knew they would be fine for this canning project.   I cut off the spots that weren't looking too good.   I also threw in some of her green tomatoes since I didn't have enough ripe ones.    She had lots of her home grown red peppers on the clearance rack, and some ghost peppers too that I used for the hot peppers.    This sauce was delicious when I simmered some chicken breasts in it for dinner the other night.   This morning, I had some with my omelette.   I plan on using it for a sauce with some garbanzo beans for lunch this week as well.   I found this recipe on the Ball website, but I modified it for what I had in the larder.  Perfect end of the season canning project!

Tomato Kasundi
(makes about 4 pints)

5 pounds tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp salt
3 red bell peppers
1 large onion, small diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3 ghost peppers, chopped
3 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
¼ cup brown mustard seeds
3 tsp turmeric
2 Tbsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups brown sugar

Pre-heat broiler. Toss chopped tomatoes with salt and set aside in a colander to drain excess liquid.   Broil whole bell peppers turning every few minutes, until skins are charred. Remove peppers to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, let rest 15 minutes or until skins easily peel off. Seed and chop peppers.  Toast black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper and turmeric in a small skillet for 2 minutes over low heat, until fragrant. It smells fantastic! Combine chili peppers, garlic, ginger and spices in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to puree. Add a tablespoon of the vinegar to loosen if paste is too thick.

Heat vinegar and sugar in a large pot over medium heat, add pureed seasonings and bring to a simmer. Add onions and red peppers. Strain tomatoes and add to seasonings in pot. Simmer, stirring frequently until all tomato liquid has evaporated and the kasundi is thick, between 60 and
90 minutes.


Prepare boiling water canner while kasundi is cooking. Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use, do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands. Ladle hot kasundi into a hot jar leaving a ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are
lled. Process jars 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid, let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed.