Rhubarb and tomato chutney

Last week I had intended to make two varieties of chutney and chilli jam, but having weighed out my fruit I don't have nearly enough tomatoes to make all three. I refuse to buy overpriced fruit and veg from the supermarket for chutney, and since it was Good Friday neither the market nor the greengrocer's were open. I decided to make an experimental rhubarb and tomato chutney instead.

For the chilli jam I need 10 red chillies. I bought £1 worth from the market, giving me about four times the amount I need. I'm going to add more than usual to the chilli jam to give it more of a kick, but also add some to the chutney. 

First, though, I needed to sterilize my jars. This is the boring bit of chutney making, especially when you don't have a dishwasher. I left them in very hot soapy water for about 20 minutes then rinsed them in very hot water. After that, they go into the oven, which has been heated to 150 degrees C. As I was going out in the afternoon, I switched the oven off and left them to dry for a couple of hours. 

Rhubarb and tomato chutney ingredients

• 700g rhubarb
• 2 very large onions (about 950g-1kg)
• 1335g very ripe tomatoes
• 500g sultanas
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 5 red chillies, finely chopped and seeds removed.
• 300ml malt vinegar
• 300g soft brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons curry powder*
• 1/2 tablespoon mustard powder

  How to make rhubarb and tomato chutney

1. First skin the tomatoes. To do this, place 3 or 4 in a large Pyrex bowl. 

• Pour over boiling water from the kettle to cover. 
• Leave to stand for about 5 minutes.
• Remove 1 tomato with a slotted spoon and peel - the skin should come off easily if the tomatoes are ripe. Don't try and crowd too many tomatoes into the bowl at once or the skins won't slip off easily.

2. Chop the onions roughly.3. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a large preserving pan and add the onions.
4. Fry for a few minutes, then add the crushed garlic cloves and curry powder.
5. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the pan.
6. Add the remaining ingredients.
7. Stir, without boiling, till the sugar dissolves.
8. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the chutney thickens - about 1.5-2 hours - a wooden spoon scraped across the bottom on the pan should part the chutney.
9. Leave to cool slightly then pot into warm jars. 
10. Leave to mature for at least 2 months before eating.  

*For the curry powder, I used a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, which I found here: 
http://www.loulies.com/curry_powder/