Auckland Sauce

Ingredients

• 900 ml (approximately 1 seer) tomato juice (Fresh tomato juice is preferred. 1 seer is roughly 900ml or about 2 lbs of tomatoes juiced.)
• 450 g (approximately 1/2 seer) moist sugar (unrefined raw sugar or soft brown sugar) (Used to make a syrup with the tomato juice. Soft brown sugar or raw cane sugar are close modern equivalents.)
• 450 g (approximately 1/2 seer) raisins (To be ground with vinegar. Sultanas may also be used.)
• 450 g (approximately 1/2 seer) tamarinds (Use block tamarind (with seeds and fibres). To be ground with vinegar. Remove large seeds before grinding if possible.)
• 450 g (approximately 1/2 seer) dry dates (Use dried dates, not fresh. Remove stones/pits before grinding.)
• 450 g (approximately 1/2 seer) fresh ginger (Peel before grinding. This is a large quantity and gives a strong ginger heat.)
• 125 g (approximately 2 chittacks) garlic (Peel cloves before grinding. 1 chittack is approximately 58g, so 2 chittacks is roughly 115–125g.)
• 58 g (approximately 1 pow) salt (1 pow (also pau) is roughly 58g or about 1/4 seer. Use fine table salt or sea salt.)
• 29 g (approximately 1/2 pow) dried red chillies (1/2 pow is roughly 29g. Adjust to your heat tolerance. Use whole dried red chillies.)
• 250 ml (enough to grind the ingredients) white wine vinegar or malt vinegar (for grinding) (Used during grinding/blending of the fruit and spice mixture. Use the same quality vinegar as the main quantity.)
• 2 quarts (approximately 1.9 litres) best quality white wine vinegar or malt vinegar (Use the best quality vinegar available — it forms the base of the sauce and preserves it.)
• 6 leaves (a few) bay leaves (tejpat / Indian bay leaf if available) (Tejpat (Indian bay leaf, Cinnamomum tamala) is the traditional choice and has a different flavour to European bay leaves. Use whichever you can source. They are removed at straining.)
• 1 tablespoon per bottle (a little per bottle) sweet oil (mild olive oil or refined vegetable oil) (Used to seal the tops of filled bottles and prevent mould. A mild, flavourless oil is best if tejpat-style olive oil is unavailable.)
• 1 teaspoon per bottle (a few per bottle) whole black peppercorns (Dropped into each bottle to help prevent mould during storage.)

Instructions

1. 1Pour the tomato juice into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the moist sugar (soft brown sugar or raw cane sugar) and stir over a medium-low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture thickens slightly into a light syrup. Set aside off the heat. Tip: stir continuously to prevent the sugar from scorching on the bottom of the pan.
2. 2Before grinding, prepare your ingredients: pit the dry dates and remove any large tamarind seeds; peel the ginger and garlic. Place the raisins, tamarinds, dry dates, ginger, garlic, salt, and dried red chillies into a blender or food processor. Add enough vinegar (from your grinding vinegar allowance) to help the blades move — add it gradually, a splash at a time. Blend to a rough, thick paste. It does not need to be completely smooth as the mixture will be strained later. Work in batches if your blender is small.
3. 3Pour the blended fruit and spice paste into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or preserving pot. Add the two quarts (approximately 1.9 litres) of best quality vinegar. Stir well to combine everything into a unified mixture. Also add the tomato syrup prepared in Step 1 and stir again.
4. 4Place the saucepan over a medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Once boiling, add the bay leaves (tejpat / Indian bay leaf if available, otherwise standard bay leaves). Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 20–30 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mixture has reduced and the flavours have melded together. The sauce should smell deeply aromatic. Be careful — the mixture can splutter as it bubbles; use a long spoon and keep the heat moderate.
5. 5Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly — about 10 minutes — so it is safer to handle. Set a large fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with muslin (cheesecloth) over a large bowl or jug. Pour the mixture through in batches, pressing the solids firmly with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids and bay leaves left behind. While the strained sauce is still warm (but not boiling), carefully ladle or pour it into sterilised glass bottles. To sterilise bottles: wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well, then place in a 120°C (250°F) oven for 15 minutes and allow to cool slightly before filling.
6. 6Once the sauce has been poured into bottles, drop a few whole black peppercorns into each bottle — these help prevent mould from forming during storage. Then carefully pour a small amount of sweet oil (mild olive oil or refined vegetable oil) over the top of the sauce in each bottle — about one tablespoon per bottle — to create a thin sealing layer. Do not stir. This oil layer sits on top and acts as an additional barrier against spoilage.
7. 7Cork or seal each bottle tightly. If using cork stoppers, press them in firmly. If using screw-top lids, tighten securely. Place the sealed bottles in a warm, sunny spot — a sunny windowsill or outdoors in the sun — for a few days (3–5 days is typical). This sunning process helps the sauce mature and develop its flavour, and was a traditional method of further preserving the sauce. Bring the bottles indoors at night if temperatures drop significantly or if rain is expected. After sunning, store in a cool, dark cupboard.