Hot Chilli Jam
By Rachel Davies 
There’s something very satisfying about homemade condiments. Making them means that I can potter around in the kitchen at a time that suits me.
Sometimes cooking when a meal actually needs to be made, and stomachs are growling, is stressful. We’re hungry, and we want food now!
But making something like this chilli jam can be done in my own time, on a lazy weekend when pots bubble away, and I can happily pass long hours in the kitchen without noticing them pass.
Is there something a bit smug about homemade condiments too?
Maybe you don’t agree, but it does seem to go beyond the call of duty. You might have put very little effort into making them, but the jar of chutney with a handwritten label does seems to say, “I really made an effort here”.
This hot chilli jam is similarly very little effort. But I do think it’s worth it.
You can play around with the heat by trying different chilies. I used standard big red chilies from the supermarket, as I had a glut left from a cookery class. These chillies don’t have enormous heat, so feel free to play around with the quantities if you have something a little more fiery.
Once the chilli jam is packaged away, bring it out at times when you need something a little more interesting with your meal, or simply when you want to demonstrate what a great cook you are!
Hot chilli jam
Makes one jar
Ingredients
8 chillies, deseeded
3 garlic cloves, peeled
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
150ml white wine vinegar
200g soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Method
- Either finely chop the chillies, garlic and ginger, or blitz them in a food processor.
- Add the chilli mix to a medium saucepan along with the tomatoes, spices, vinegar and sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until syrupy and thickened.
- Add the fish sauce and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
- Pour into a clean glass jar. This should keep for at least a month in the fridge.
Use alongside meat, fish, and cheeses or to perk up most dishes!
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