​Tomato Kasundi (hot relish)

This is for those of you who love fire in your relish, but just look at the wonderful array of spices to add a mellow earthiness to this extraordinary tomato relish.
You’ll need to set aside a little time to cook it. I suggest starting Friday night and setting aside a good chunk of Saturday to do this properly - there are no shortcuts. I would also suggest you dig out some smaller jars to store this - maybe 200ml.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp Black mustard seeds
2 cups malt vinegar
250g fresh ginger
20 cloves garlic
30ml vegetable oil
30 fresh mild large red chillies
2.5kg fresh ripe tomatoes
2 Tbsp ground turmeric
6 Tbsp ground turmeric
1-2 tsp chilli powder (adjust up or down according to personal taste)
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 Tbsp salt to taste

Method

1. Soak mustard seeds overnight in vinegar. Purée in blender then add ginger and garlic and blend until smooth.
2. Heat oil until smoking. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in turmeric, cumin, chilli powder. Add garlic and ginger/mustard mix, tomatoes, halved chillies (remove the seeds for a milder finish), sugar and salt.
3. Simmer for about an hour until pulp and oil starts to float on the top.
4. Pour into sterilised jars and allow to stand at least a week before using to develop the character. It will keep for months.

Serve with Indian food or cooked meats. Add a dash to mussels for a rich zing of flavour. Be adventurous!