“KhatHa-MeetHa-TeekHa Tomato- Strawberry Jam” … a delicious fruity flavored spiced jam with balanced sweetness and tangy taste ... unlike store bought jams this one is slightly thinner in consistency and goes well served with panpolo (neer dosa), parathas or spread on bread, toast, crackers biscuits, brun pav etc or just enjoy one spoon of it as it is too, I often do so whenever I open the fridge, tastes wonderful … strawberries are in season now and tomatoes are always available … as no preservatives are included the shelf life is limited to 6-8 days when stored in fridge … go ahead and do try out this jam, sure to be loved by young and old alike... Yummillicious ...
** Homemade jams are something I enjoy trying out as we love to relish it with dosas, well I must admit I have developed a sweet tooth recently. I always prepared jams or spiced chutney with fruits like strawberry, figs, papaya, peru, apple, mango etc. and with tomatoes. This time I just tried out this spicy- tangy- sweet jam with addition of both strawberries and tomatoes together. Though the taste of strawberry rules in final taste, it was surprisingly delicious and we enjoyed it with panpolo (neer dosa) for breakfast.
** I have written about tomato jam in detail in my jam post before and anything about it will be repetitive. As for strawberry jam, I was surprised to note that I had not blogged it and I wonder how that happened, coz, I remember clicking pictures as I make it a point to prepare it every year. I guess I will need to browse through old drafts and retrieve the same. Anyways, do try this one out, it is easy to prepare and if you have young children at home, it is that much more better to make them relish homemade dishes.
** Here is my own method of preparing “KhatHa- MeetHa- TeekHa Tomato- Strawberry Jam” … my style, that can be enjoyed with dosas, applied on toast, bread slices, roti, parathas, tastes wonderful ….
** Ingredients :
Ripe Tomatoes : 6-8 large sized
Strawberry : ½ kg
Sugar/ Shakkar/ Sakkara : 2 cup (approx)
Lemon/ Limbiyo/ Nimboo : 1 medium sized
Kala Namak/ Black Salt : ¼ tsp
Edible Red Food Colour : 2 drops (Optional)
Homemade Cow’s Ghee/ Toop : 1 tsp
** Spices to be added :
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 2 tsp
Dry Ginger Powder Shunti Pitti : 1 tsp
Cardamom/ Ellaichi/ Yellu Powder : ½ tsp
Cinnamon/ Tike Sali/ Dalchini Powder : ½ tsp
Nutmeg/ Jaikai Powder : ¼ tsp
** Wash and drain 6-8 large sized ripe tomatoes. In a large vessel, bring to boil about 2 liters of water and when bubbles appear add the tomatoes and continue to boil on high heat till you see cracks appearing on the surface of tomatoes. Remove and keep it aside covered until it cools down and you are able to handle it.
** The outer skin will have loosened by now, remove from water and peel off the outer skin with the help of a sharp knife. Slice off the stem side portion if it’s a little bit hard and them roughly chop them into small pieces. Add the pieces into a kadai/ pan and mash with a potato masher until all tomatoes are mashed well.
** Wash, drain well the fresh, juicy, deep red colored strawberries. Slice off the top stem portion and cut them into small pieces taking care to see that you do not press them too hard while doing so, lest the juice snoozes out and if does put it in the bowl along with the cut pieces, it is needed too as we will not be adding in any water while preparing the jam, so be careful while cutting the strawberries.
** Add the cut strawberry pieces to the mashed tomatoes in kadai and cook it on medium heat, stirring often. After about 5 minutes the strawberries too will have softened now keep mashing them together with the help of potato masher as you keep cooking them. Be careful, as the jam tends to splutter a lot, stay far from heat while cooking and if it splutters a lot, then lower the heat in between for a few minutes.
** As the mixture cooks and is mashed well, it begins to thicken. Now add sugar, mix well until it has all melted and then add in all the mentioned spices, salt, color and mix well taking care to see that they are evenly mixed and not left as lumps anywhere, this is absolutely necessary step. Continue cooking stirring often for even thickening of the jam. Continue cooking stirring often and when the quantity condenses to half.
** Add freshly squeezed juice of lemon along with ghee, mix well and continue cooking few minutes more until the jam thickens well and there is no water leaving from the sides of jam. A spoon of jam when put on a plate should remain still without losing shape. The texture is thicker while its still softer and thinner textured than stone bought jams. Mix well remove from fire and keep aside to cool a bit, then pour into sterilized bottle or into any airtight container and store in fridge and use as and needed.
** “KhatHa-MeetHa- TeekHa Tomato- Strawberry Jam” is done and ready to be served. You can serve it any way you desire like by spreading it in a layer on bread or topping it on toast, scones, biscuits or serving it along with dosas, roti, parathas etc. I usually enjoy this one with panpolo (neer dosa) or tandla bhakri (rice dosa) and it tastes awesome. I also love eating it spread on bread or brun pav and yes, the most heavenly feeling of all time is when I just enjoy a spoon full of the jam as it is and trust me I do that every time I open the fridge door to remove anything I need for cooking and to my horror the whole lot is over in 4-5 days. Do try this jam when strawberries are still available, I ensure you that children are sure to love it, so will your family and friends.
** Note : The amount of sugar actually depends on individual taste. You may increase or decrease as per your liking, but I think the said amount needs to be added for the jam to remain good for a few days, as is its shelf life. Again, you can adjust spices, especially chilly powder to suit your family preferences. However, in my opinion jams should be mildly spiced and should not rule out others for balancing of taste. If you do not have the mentioned spice powders at home, then just add them whole in mixer grinder and grind fine, sieve it and use the same as mentioned in the recipe. Once again, I repeat, that as no preservatives are included while preparing this jam, the shelf life is limited to maximum 6-8 days when stored in fridge properly.
** Sharing a common link below to all “Jam” recipes shared below which includes lot of information which you may browse through in leisure and try out …
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