Zamanikha — Tomato Adjika for Winter
Zamanikha is a wonderful winter preserve — a spicy tomato relish that makes any dish better. On a cold day, opening a jar of this fragrant treat brings back the warmth of summer and lets you taste it all over again. Zamanikha is endlessly useful — from spreading on a slice of bread to stirring into side dishes and all kinds of meals as you serve or cook them.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
Wash the tomatoes, remove the stems and any tough spots, pat them dry, and cut them into pieces.
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Step 2:
Grind the tomatoes however is easiest for you — any tool that can turn them into a purée will do. I ran everything through a blender until it reached the right consistency.
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Step 3:
Then I poured the tomato purée into a saucepan and added the oil.
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Step 4:
Stir the sugar into the tomato juice to dissolve it, and simmer for about half an hour.
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Step 5:
Meanwhile, prep the other ingredients. Wash the bell pepper, remove the seeds and stem, and cut it to whatever size suits your grinder (it depends on what you'll be grinding everything with).
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Step 6:
Peel and rinse the garlic.
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Step 7:
Remove the seeds and stem from the chile and cut it up.
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Step 8:
Grind the garlic together with the peppers.
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Step 9:
Add it all to the tomato mixture. Right at the end, about 3 minutes before turning off the heat, season with salt to taste and add your favorite spices.
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Step 10:
During the last fifteen minutes, while all this goodness cooks down, sterilize the jars and lids. Set them aside — they need to be completely dry inside.
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Step 11:
Is our zamanikha ready? Ladle it into the jars right away. Seal them and let them cool.
- A few more tips. For a delicious, fragrant zamanikha, buy the freshest, ripest vegetables. Try to make it in season, when you won't overpay for fresh produce. If you like a spicy adjika, add the garlic and chile as I do in this recipe; if not, cook them along with the tomatoes. Don't over-salt — taste it at the end and add more salt only if needed. If you're making a large batch, choose a wide pot rather than a tall one (so the heat reaches everywhere) — that way the whole mass cooks down evenly. As it cooks, remember to stir regularly; if it scorches, the flavor is ruined. It's best to pack zamanikha into small jars.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Tomatoes - 23 kcal/100g
- Sweet pepper - 27 kcal/100g
- Garlic - 143 kcal/100g
- Granulated sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Vegetable oil - 873 kcal/100g
- Salt - 0 kcal/100g
- Spices dry - 240 kcal/100g
- Chili pepper - 40 kcal/100g
