Ingredients
The tomatoes
- 500 gripe tomatoes
- firm and red
- deseeded if very juicy
The rest
- 1onion, very finely chopped
- or spring onions
- 3green chillies, chopped
- or to taste
- 3garlic cloves, crushed
- a bunch coriander, chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- black pepper
Sometimes added
- 2cm ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoonoil
- a pinch of sugar
- a few curry leaves, shredded
To serve
- with rice
- with farata
- with briani
- at room temperature
Directions
- Squeeze the tomatoes in your fist. Deseed the tomatoes if they are juicy. Drain off any liquid that collects. Salt it only shortly before serving. All three of them genuinely help.
- Wash with soap and plenty of water. It is best within a few hours. Make small quantities each time. Wash and then dry all the tomatoes. Use ripe but genuinely firm tomatoes. Overripe ones are watery and soft. Cut all of the tomatoes in half. Scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Removing them keeps it far thicker.
- Crush all the tomatoes by hand. Squeeze them in your fist over a bowl. Crush them roughly rather than finely. Pieces should remain visible in it. Chop them finely with a knife instead. Let the crushed tomato sit briefly. Pour some of that collected liquid off. That keeps the whole chutney thick. Chop the onion very finely indeed. Chop it as fine as you possibly can.
- Rinse the chopped onion in cold water. Drain and dry it thoroughly after. Spring onion needs none of that. Chop all of the chillies finely. Pull the green stems right off. Chop them as fine as you possibly can. Large pieces give sudden hot bites.
- Chop all the coriander finely. Use a very sharp knife for it. Chop it cleanly in one single pass. Put the crushed tomato in a bowl. Add the onion, chilli and garlic. Crush it to a paste with salt first. Use the flat of a large knife.
- Stir the chopped coriander through it. Add it shortly before serving. Keep some back to scatter on top. That keeps it all looking fresh. Squeeze all the lime juice in. Add it in and taste as you go.
- Adjust it all to your own taste. Add the salt and then taste it. Salt draws water from the tomato. Add it shortly before serving only. It should be sharp, hot and fresh. Adjust all of it to your taste. Add a pinch of sugar if needed. Good ripe tomatoes need none at all.
- Taste it before adding any at all. Judging it takes a careful look. Drain a little off if it is watery. Put it in a small bowl on the table. Cold tomatoes lose their flavour. Make it fresh rather than chilling it. People take a little onto their plate. Drain it before serving leftovers.
Technique
- Salt it only shortly before serving, since salt draws water out of the tomato and salting early makes it watery. Deseeding the tomatoes and draining off collected liquid help for the same reason — the seeds sit in a watery jelly that carries most of the water.
- Green chillies carry real capsaicin, which transfers readily to hands and then to eyes and skin — wear gloves, wash with soap and plenty of water since water alone does not remove it, or rub oil on first.
- This is a raw uncooked relish, best within a few hours: the tomato waters as it stands and the herbs darken. Make small quantities and make it fresh rather than keeping it.
Substitutions
- Crushing the tomatoes by hand, squeezing them in your fist over a bowl, gives a good rough texture and is quickest; chopping finely with a knife is slower but neater and more controllable, and a few cooks crush them on the ros kari. All are genuinely done.
- Grated ginger, a little oil, a pinch of sugar and shredded curry leaves all appear in versions; a pinch of sugar corrects underripe tomatoes, which taste sour and flat, though good ripe ones need none.
Variations
- This chutney is chunky rather than smooth with pieces visible, which distinguishes it from satini cotomili, ground to a smooth paste. Both are fresh uncooked relishes sitting on the same table.
- Chop the onion very finely and rinse it in cold water to mellow it, drained and dried after, since raw onion is strong and coarse pieces dominate a mouthful; chop the chillies fine too, since large pieces give sudden hot bites.
- Serve it at room temperature rather than chilled, since refrigerating dulls the tomato and cold tomatoes lose their flavour. Pomme d’amour means love apple, an old French name for the tomato that Mauritian Creole preserved while standard French moved on to tomate.
History
Crushed tomato with onion, chili and coriander, the everyday relish set beside rice, farata and briani.
Frequently asked questions
What is Satini pomme d’amour?
Satini pomme d’amour is a sauce & condiment from Mauritius: fresh tomato chutney with coriander and chili. Crushed tomato with onion, chili and coriander, the everyday relish set beside rice, farata and briani.
How long does Satini pomme d’amour take to make?
Satini pomme d’amour takes 20 minutes of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes about 300 g. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Satini pomme d’amour?
Yes, within limits. Crushing the tomatoes by hand, squeezing them in your fist over a bowl, gives a good rough texture and is quickest; chopping finely with a knife is slower but neater and more controllable, and a few cooks crush them on the ros kari. All are genuinely done. Grated ginger, a little oil, a pinch of sugar and shredded curry leaves all appear in versions; a pinch of sugar corrects underripe tomatoes, which taste sour and flat, though good ripe ones need none.
What is the most important thing to get right in Satini pomme d’amour?
Crush all the tomatoes by hand. Squeeze them in your fist over a bowl. Crush them roughly rather than finely. Pieces should remain visible in it. Chop them finely with a knife instead. Let the crushed tomato sit briefly. Pour some of that collected liquid off. That keeps the whole chutney thick. Chop the onion very finely indeed. Chop it as fine as you possibly can.
