TOMATO KETCHUP

When the British were in India, last century, they introduced tea and cricket to the Sub Continent.  A mandatory tea break was imposed on the factory workers' day and so the love of tea drinking in India was born and encouraged.  However, with their usual ingenuity, the Indians spiced up the tea with ginger and cardamom, producing their own version of chai, now brewed and drunk on every street corner, no matter what the time of day !

Similarly with cricket....those traditional, tranquil 5 day matches, have been spiced up for the IPL, with cheer leaders and razzamatazz and all the 'Bollywood' style 'beautiful people' and gossip, to create crowd pleasing entertainment.

But a seemingly forgotten influence of the British, has found its way onto every supermarket shelf in the country and that is.... 'tomato sauce'!  This is the most well stocked section of any grocery shop ! Rows and rows of bottles and varying types of packs of tomato sauce, are lined up with military precision with far more varieties on offer, than you'd find anywhere else in the world !   Running your eye over the display, starting with the Rolls Royce of tomato sauces, 'Heinz Tomato Ketchup', there's:  Tomato Ketchup without onion or garlic (religious preference), 'Fresh Tomato Ketchup', 'Tomato Sauce Regular', 'Tomato Sauce with Chili', 'Sweet Chili Tomato Sauce', 'Hot Tomato Sauce', 'Spicy Tomato Sauce'.  Then there's a choice of consistency - 'Runny', 'Squeezy' 'Thick' and....even 'Tomato Sauce for Pizza'  !!