This easy tomato chilli jam is a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy condiment made with tomatoes, sugar, chilies, ginger, garlic, and a dash of lemon juice. It is a finger-licking condiment that enhances any food that you like to pair. This jam is made without pectin. Isn’t it interesting? Yes, it thickens naturally with the natural pectin present in tomatoes, which gives a beautiful spread consistency.
I’m a big fan of making jams and other condiments. Today, I decided to try my hand at making tomato chili jam. Since tomatoes are very cheap in my place, I wanted to make the most of them.
Initially, I had planned to make a plain tomato jam, but I wanted to add a bit more kick that I could use in other recipes for glazing and filling desserts. I’m thrilled with the final product; both the flavor and the beautiful glossy red color turned out perfectly.
Why’ll love making this recipe?
- Tomato chili jam is easy to make with just a few ingredients from your pantry.
- You can use this jam in many ways: as a condiment, marinade, glaze, or dipping sauce.
- Its sweet and spicy flavor surprises both kids and adults.
- Adding tomato chili jam to any dish boosts the flavor and enhances the overall taste.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes—Choose ripe red tomatoes (I used Indian country tomatoes) that are sweet and slightly tangy, and ensure they have a lower water content.
- Red chillies—This jam requires mildly hot and flavorful red chilies. I soaked dry red chilies in water for a few minutes.
- Sugar—regular granulated sugar.
- Lemon juice—fresh lemon juice.
- Ginger—to add an extra flavour to the jam.
- Garlic—A few garlic cloves with ginger give the jam an extra flavor.
- salt
See recipe card for quantities
Instructions to make tomato chilli jam recipe.
- In a pan, add chopped tomatoes over medium heat.
- To the chopped tomatoes, add sugar.
- Next, add sliced chilies, chopped ginger, and minced garlic.
- Finally, add in salt.
5. Stir well until the sugar completely dissolves.
6. Cover the tomatoes and cook them until they become soft and mushy.
7. The tomato starts boiling and bubbles up a little on top.
8. The water begins to thicken in the tomato-chili jam.
9. The water’s all soaked up, and now you’ve got a shiny tomato jam in the pan. Just turn off the heat!
10. As the tomato and chili jam cool down, it’ll start to thicken up.
11. For a smooth consistency of the tomato chili jam, transfer the cooled tomato mixture to a food processor and pulse it for a few seconds.
12. This is the expected consistency.
13. Transfer the ground tomato chilli jam to a pan.
14. When the tomato puree thickens and begins to swirl in the pan, add freshly squeezed lemon juice. This acts as a natural preservative for tomato chili jam.
15. To check for the perfect consistency, add a drop or two of jam mixture to a small plate of water. If the jam mixture stays intact without dissolving, the tomato chilli jam has reached the perfect consistency.
16. Turn off the heat and let the jam cool completely.
A delicious spread of tomato chili jam without pectin is ready to enjoy with your favorite meal.
Substitutions for chilli tomato jam
- Tomato Alternatives – Instead of country tomatoes, you can use cherry tomatoes or canned tomatoes (a convenient option if fresh ones aren’t available).
- Sugar – You can swap sugar with coconut, brown, light brown, or jaggery.
- Chillies – Replace dry chilies with fresh red chilies. Avoid using fresh green chilies, as this will mix the jam’s color to red and green.
Variations
- Spicy – you can add extra chilli to make it spicier.
- Kid-friendly— You can skip chillies in this jam and make it kid-friendly.
You can see some kid-friendly jam recipes like Homemade Mixed Fruit Jam,Black Grape Jam Recipe on my website!
Easy Tomato Chilli jam uses
Tomato chili jam is a great condiment, and many would love it. Its sweet and spicy combination taste is just right and makes a great addition to anything for a tasty kick. It’s great spread on toast, crackers, or sandwiches for an extra burst of flavor. It’s also a great topping for a cheese platter! Plus, when used as a glaze on grilled meats, roasted veggies, or seafood, it gives everything a delicious caramelized crust. Give it a try—you’ll love it!
Use it as a dip for fries, nachos, or veggies, or stir it into pasta sauces, salad dressings, and marinades for extra flavor. Whether you’re jazzing up a burger or drizzling it over eggs, tomato chili jam adds a fun twist to both everyday meals and gourmet creations. Enjoy!
Storage
Fill a sterilized jar ( How to sterilise jar for jams and preserves ) tomato chilli jam to the rim. Turn the jar upside down for a few hours to create a vacuum, then store it in a cool, dry place. The unopened jam will last for months. After opening, keep it in the fridge and always use a clean, dry spoon.
Top Tip
The top tip I want to share is how to achieve a bright red color in your jam. Grinding the tomato mixture for a few seconds helps to blend the pulp and the skin together, resulting in a vibrant red hue.
FAQ
Yes, you can use tinned tomatoes to make tomato chili jam! Drain the excess water and adjust the sugar and acidity while preparing.
Yes, you can definitely use cherry tomatoes for tomato chili jam, as they are a great choice! They are naturally sweet, have soft skin, and have a beautiful color.
If you’re not a fan of garlic, feel free to skip it!
If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know your feedback in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Happy Cooking!
Related
Looking for other jam recipes like this? Try these:
Best pairing for tomato and chilli jam
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
Recipe Card📖
Easy Tomato Chilli Jam
Ingredients
- 1 kg tomatoes
- 1¾ cup sugar
- 4 dry chillies or fresh red chillies
- 1 inch ginger
- 3 cloves garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a pan, add chopped tomatoes over medium heat.
- To the chopped tomatoes, add sugar.
- Next, add sliced chilies, chopped ginger, and minced garlic.
- Finally, add in salt.
- Stir well until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Cover the tomatoes and cook them until they become soft and mushy.
- The tomato starts boiling and bubbles up a little on top.
- The water begins to thicken in the tomato-chili jam.
- The water’s all soaked up, and now you’ve got a shiny tomato jam in the pan. Just turn off the heat!
- As the tomato and chili jam cool down, it’ll start to thicken up.
- For a smooth consistency of the tomato chili jam, transfer the cooled tomato mixture to a food processor and pulse it for a few seconds.
- This is the expected consistency.
- Transfer the ground tomato chilli jam to a pan.
- When the tomato puree thickens and begins to swirl in the pan, add freshly squeezed lemon juice. This acts as a natural preservative for tomato chili jam.
- To check for the perfect consistency, add a drop or two of jam mixture to a small plate of water. If the jam mixture stays intact without dissolving, the tomato chilli jam has reached the perfect consistency.
- Turn off the heat and let the jam cool completely.
- A delicious spread of tomato chili jam without pectin is ready to enjoy with your favorite meal.
Notes
Nutrition
Asokan D
Lovely tomato chilli jam!
JAYANTHY
Thank you so much!