I’m a big fan of lists. Grocery lists. To-do lists. Not to-do lists. To-read lists. Covet lists. I-totally-want-to-drink-that lists. I’m-jealous-of-your-hair lists. Wake-up-early-and-change-the-world lists. Sweep-the-dang-kitchen-floor lists.
My favorite, and most recent list is the Summer Bucket List: a dreamy list of things I want to do while the sun (and I) stay up late. Do you have one of these lists? ooh I hope so! Tracy and I have talked about our Summer Bucket List on the Joy the Baker Podcast (are you hip to that yet!?). Here’s a peek at the Bucket List happenings:
– Go on and Get Crafty!
– Walk around New York City like I know what’s up! Sometimes this is hard for a California girl… but I’m totally doing it riiiight now!
– It’s time for a public dance spectacle. Oooh ya. It’s real. As soon as I learn some moves I’m doing this!
– Eat too many hotdogs, in a pool, wearing floaties, during sunset. Sounds like the weirdest, most romantic eating contest ever. Awesome.
– Beach bonfire. With a trampoline. Does this only happen in The Big Lebowski?
Also on my list: Make Homemade Ketchup! It’s happening!
Yes… you can totally buy ketchup at the grocery in a squeeze bottle. Pffft. It’s so satisfying to make and majorly easy to customize. Buck-it! It’s summer!
Ketchup starts with onion, garlic, and spices.
Did you know that ketchup has so many spices in it? Heck yes! A good base to start with is clove, allspice, mustard powder, and smokey paprika.
As a kick in the pants, I added a big bit of yellow curry powder!
Other ketchup heavy-hitters are: crushed canned tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato paste. It just needs a good boiling. About an hour of slow boiling turns this mixture into a luscious ketchup creation.
I like to blend the ketchup with an immersion blender and strain it through a fine mesh strainer.
No seeds and super smooth!
… Just look at this! This is inappropriately exciting.
The presence of ketchup really just means one thing: FRENCH FRIES!!! You best believe I’m showing you how to make these little fried potato gems on Friday. Get your ketchup going in preparation. It’s totally a weeknight activity.
The curry in this ketchup lends a subtle yet really enticing flavor to the mixture. It’s sweet and round, has just the right amount of acid, and the combination of clove, mustard, paprika, and curry really just knows how to work. I love that I can boil this in my kitchen. It feels like magic.
I hope you’re inspired to make this! We have fries in our future!
Homemade Curry Ketchup
makes about 3 cups
recipe adapted from What’s Gaby Cooking and Saveur
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground yellow curry
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika
big pinch ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Place oil in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. I used a 3 quart sauce pan and it seemed like the perfect fit. Saute onions until they are transparent, tender, and begin to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add the tomato paste, salt, and all of the spices to the pan. Stir until the tomato paste is evenly distributed, and the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add brown sugar, vinegar, and crushed tomatoes. Stir to combine.
Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Mixture will thicken to a ketchup consistency. Stir occasionally.
Remove pan from heat, and use an immersion blender to blend to the chunky ketchup smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can carefully place the warm ketchup in a regular blender to blend smooth. Just be sure to leave the blender lid slightly ajar so the warm contents don’t burst. After using either an immersion or regular blender, strain ketchup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. This will remove any unwanted seeds.
Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Store ketchup in glass jars in the fridge. Ketchup will last for up to 1 month in the fridge!
Samanthemofthesun
YUMMMMY!!! Just tried it, and it is faboosh. For me, I would add about 1/2 as much sugar, but that is just because I like it a little less sweet. Other than that, 2 thumbs up. I am taking it to a cook out tonight and am confident it will be a huge hit! Thanks so much!
Sophie @ happyspinach
So, this post really gave me a kick in the pants to finally get around to making homemade ketchup… I finally did it this morning (not yours, I have to wait until I get my braces off because curry powder stains them all yellow! Yuck!), and it was so delicious!! I can’t wait to give your recipe a try!
Seanna Lea
My husband is a Heinz guy (from the right area of PA), so I’ll have to try this one on him right after I perfect my own ketchup recipe.
Megan
Curry ketchup is a staple in Berlin. They are mad for it. Mad. They eat it on sausages and call it Currywurst. You should do a version!
Stacey
Love the ketchup jars. Where did you find those?
joythebaker
the jars are just from a restaurant supply store.
Jess
Oh yes sir! Curry is my go-to for low-sodium homemade ketchup. And yours looks totally luscious.
Tina Yates
Thank you for saying “buck it” How fun : )
Joy
Could I just leave out the curry for regular ketchup? The hubs isn’t a curry fan…
joythebaker
yes! just leave it out! no problem.