How to Make Tamatiesmoor for Pap and Wors in Under 5 Minutes
Quick Recipe Summary
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Red Gold Concentrate
- ½ cup water, stock or wors pan juices
- 1 teaspoon oil or butter, if required
- Black pepper to taste
Method
Mix everything in a warm pan. Simmer for two to three minutes until thick and bubbling. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve over pap with boerewors.
Total time: Less than five minutes.
A good tamatiesmoor can turn a simple plate of pap and wors into proper comfort food. The problem is that traditional tamatiesmoor usually requires chopping onions and tomatoes, frying everything slowly, and waiting for the sauce to reduce.
When supper needs to be ready quickly, that process can take longer than cooking the wors itself.
Red Gold Concentrate provides a much faster way to make a rich, tomato-and-onion smoor with the deep flavour of roasted ingredients. There is no need to chop onions, peel tomatoes or simmer a sauce for half an hour.
With a few spoonfuls of Red Gold Concentrate, you can prepare a thick, savoury tamatiesmoor for pap and wors in less than five minutes.
What Is Tamatiesmoor?
Tamatiesmoor is a traditional South African tomato-and-onion sauce or relish.
It is commonly served with:
- Pap and wors
- Braaivleis
- Boerewors rolls
- Vetkoek
- Eggs
- Mince
- Leftover meat
- Rice or samp
A basic tamatiesmoor normally starts with chopped onions fried in oil. Fresh or tinned tomatoes are then added and cooked until they soften and form a thick sauce.
The flavour is simple, but the cooking time matters. If the tomatoes and onions are not cooked long enough, the smoor can taste watery, sharp or underdone.
Why Traditional Tamatiesmoor Takes Time
Fresh tomatoes contain a large amount of water. They need time in the pan before they become thick, sweet and rich.
Onions also need to soften and brown before they develop their full flavour. If they are rushed, they can remain crunchy and slightly bitter.
Making traditional smoor therefore involves several steps:
- Chopping the onions.
- Chopping or grating the tomatoes.
- Frying the onions until soft.
- Adding the tomatoes.
- Simmering the mixture until the excess water cooks away.
- Adjusting the seasoning.
This method works well when you have time. It is less convenient when the family is hungry, the pap is already cooked, and the wors is coming off the fire.
The Faster Solution: Red Gold Tamatiesmoor
Red Gold Concentrate already contains fire-roasted tomatoes, oven-roasted onion and oven-roasted garlic.
These ingredients have already gone through the slow part of the cooking process. The tomatoes are concentrated, the onions are softened and the roasted flavours have had time to develop.
That means you can use Red Gold as the flavour base for a quick tamatiesmoor rather than starting with raw vegetables.
The result is a sauce with:
- Deep roasted tomato flavour
- Cooked onion richness
- A gentle roasted garlic background
- Less excess water
- No raw tomato taste
- No chopping or peeling
You simply loosen the concentrate with a little water, stock or wors pan juices and heat it for a few minutes.
Five-Minute Red Gold Tamatiesmoor for Pap & Wors
This recipe makes a thick, rich smoor that can be spooned over pap and served alongside boerewors.
Preparation Time
1 minute
Cooking Time
3–4 minutes
Servings
Approximately 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Red Gold Concentrate
- ½ cup water, beef stock or wors pan juices
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil or butter, if needed
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, optional
- A small pinch of sugar, optional
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Choose Red Gold No Burn, Mild or Hot according to the amount of chilli heat you prefer.
Method
- Remove the cooked wors from the pan and keep it warm.
- Leave approximately one teaspoon of the wors juices or cooking fat in the pan. If you cooked the wors over the fire or in an air fryer, add one teaspoon of oil or butter to a small saucepan.
- Add four tablespoons of Red Gold Concentrate.
- Pour in half a cup of water, stock or wors pan juices.
- Stir the mixture over medium heat until smooth and bubbling.
- Simmer for two to three minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce reaches the thickness you prefer.
- Taste before adding salt. Add black pepper, Worcestershire sauce or a small pinch of sugar if required.
- Spoon the hot tamatiesmoor over pap and serve with the wors.
How Thick Should Tamatiesmoor Be?
- Tamatiesmoor for pap should normally be thick enough to sit on top of the pap without immediately running into the plate.
- For a thicker smoor, use slightly less liquid or cook it for another minute.
- For a softer, more sauce-like smoor, add another tablespoon or two of water or stock.
- Remember that the sauce will thicken slightly as it stands.
Use the Wors Pan for More Flavour
The easiest way to add even more flavour is to prepare the smoor in the same pan used for the wors.
After removing the wors, you may notice small browned pieces and savoury juices at the bottom of the pan. These contain concentrated meat flavour.
Add the Red Gold Concentrate and liquid directly to the warm pan. Stir while gently scraping the bottom. The browned flavour will mix into the sauce and create a richer smoor without adding more ingredients.
Do not use burnt or blackened pan juices, as these can make the sauce bitter.
Can I Make It Without Wors Drippings?
Yes. Wors drippings add flavour, but they are not essential.
Heat a teaspoon of butter or cooking oil in a saucepan and follow the same recipe. Beef stock can be used instead of water for a slightly meatier flavour.
For a meat-free meal, use vegetable stock or plain water.
Optional Additions
The basic recipe is designed to be fast, but you can adjust it to suit the meal.
For a Sweeter Tamatiesmoor
Add a small pinch of sugar or half a teaspoon of chutney.
Only add a little at a time. The aim is to soften the tomato acidity, not turn the smoor into a sweet sauce.
For a Smokier Braai Flavour
Add a small pinch of smoked paprika.
Red Gold already brings roasted flavour, so very little additional spice is needed.
For a Creamier Smoor
Stir in one or two tablespoons of cream, plain yoghurt or evaporated milk after removing the pan from the heat.
This creates a milder, creamier sauce that works particularly well with spicy wors.
For More Heat
Use Red Gold Hot or add a little chopped fresh chilli.
For a mixed group, prepare the smoor with Red Gold No Burn or Mild and place Red Gold Hot on the table for those who want more heat.
For a Chunkier Smoor
Add a small handful of halved cherry tomatoes and cook them in the sauce for two to three minutes.
This is optional. The Red Gold Concentrate already provides the roasted tomato and onion base, so the recipe still works without fresh tomatoes.
Can I Make Tamatiesmoor in a Microwave?
Yes. This is useful when the stove and braai are already busy.
Place the following in a microwave-safe bowl:
- 4 tablespoons Red Gold Concentrate
- ½ cup water or stock
- 1 teaspoon butter
- Black pepper to taste
Mix well and microwave for one minute. Stir, then microwave for another 30 to 60 seconds until hot and thickened.
Allow the sauce to stand for one minute before serving.
How Much Red Gold Concentrate Should I Use?
A useful starting ratio is:
One tablespoon Red Gold Concentrate to two tablespoons liquid.
Use less liquid for a thick relish and more liquid for a pourable sauce.
For four servings, four tablespoons of concentrate is normally enough. For a larger family meal, double the recipe.
Because Red Gold Concentrate is concentrated, it is better to start with a smaller amount and add more after tasting.
What Can I Serve With Red Gold Tamatiesmoor?
Although pap and wors is the obvious choice, the same quick smoor can be used with many other meals.
Serve it with:
- Boerewors rolls
- Grilled steak or chops
- Meatballs
- Fried or poached eggs
- Vetkoek and mince
- Leftover roast meat
- Samp
- Rice
- Mashed potatoes
- Braaibroodjies
- Grilled chicken
- Beans or lentils
It can also be used as the tomato base for a quick shakshuka-style breakfast or mixed into mince for an easy weeknight meal.
A Faster Way to Get Slow-Cooked Flavour
The secret to rich tamatiesmoor is not a long ingredient list. It is properly cooked tomatoes and onions.
Red Gold Concentrate gives you those cooked, roasted flavours without requiring you to start from raw ingredients. By adding a little liquid and heating it for a few minutes, you can create a thick tamatiesmoor while the pap and wors are still hot.
There are no onions to chop, no tomatoes to peel and no watery sauce to reduce.
Just spoon, stir, heat and serve.