Easiest Tomato Chilli Chutney Recipe

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: The Easiest Tomato Chilli Chutney is a vibrant and flavorful condiment that brings a perfect balance of sweet and spicy to your meals. Its rich, savory taste enhances a variety of dishes and adds a delightful kick to every bite.

We adore boldly flavored foods, whether they’re spiked with pungent chillis, like these chutneys or my Best Ever Cornbread, or rich with buttery garlic, like our Garlic Bread from Scratch or Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter, or brimming cumin or curry powder. And if you love making your own spice blends for baking, check out Make the Perfect Homemade Mixed Spice for an aromatic blend that contains coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice.

Table of Contents

• What is Chutney?
• Tools You Need
• Key Ingredients and Why
• How to Make Tomato Chilli Chutney
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• Tomato Chilli Chutney Make Ahead & Storage Instructions
• FAQs
• More Condiment Recipes

What is Chutney?

• Chutney is a condiment made from fruits, vegetables, and/or herbs with vinegar, sugar, and spices. The word chutney is now broadly applied to anything preserved in sugar and vinegar.
• The name chutney comes from the Hindi word chatni, a variant of the word chatna, which means to lap up or to lick. Early versions of this condiment were first made in the Indian subcontinent around 500 BC and were intended to stimulate the appetite, enhance the flavor of food, and aid in digestion.
• By the mid-18th century, chutney became very popular among the English living in India. In order to be able to safely ship chutneys back to England, more sugar and vinegar were added to prolong their shelf life. This led to the Anglo-Indian spicy, sweet, tangy flavor profile of preserved chutneys. Probably the most famous of this type is Major Grey’s Chutney.

Tools You Need

• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Glass measuring jug
• Kitchen scale (optional)
• Chopping board
• Chopping knife
• Large saucepan
• 8 oz Jam jars
• 6 oz Jam jars

Key Ingredients and Why

Tomatoes

• Tomatoes, with their bright and juicy vegetal flavor, are the star of this chutney.
• Use peak-season tomatoes for the best flavor, and make sure they are not too ripe, as they can get mushy once you chop them.
• We used beef tomatoes, but you can also use Roma.

Red chili peppers

• Red chili peppers give the chutney heat that contrasts with the slightly sweet tomatoes.
• Use peppers with the level of heat you’re comfortable with.

Ginger

• Ginger gives the chutney zesty, pungent, spicy warmth.
• Peel the skin before you grate it as the skin can have a bitter flavor. You can peel the ginger with the back of a spoon or a paring knife.

Golden brown sugar

• Golden brown sugar contributes warm sweetness to the chutney.
• Golden brown sugar is simply granulated sugar with a touch of molasses stirred in. It has a richer, more pronounced flavor than the more neutral sweetness of granulated sugar.
• If you can not find golden brown sugar, you can use regular white sugar.

Red wine vinegar

• Red wine vinegar gives the chutney a lovely tang and a beautiful color.
• Additionally, red wine vinegar helps preserve the chutney.
• This vinegar is made from fermenting red wine. It contains no alcohol since the wine has been converted into acetic acid.

Fish sauce

• Fish sauce brings wonderfully pungent saltiness to the chilli.
• Fish sauce is loved for its umami flavor, which means it is deeply savory and meaty.
• It might not be a common chutney ingredient, but fish sauce gives delicious flavor. If you can not find fish sauce in stores, then it can be substituted with soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce.

How to Make the Easiest Tomato Chilli Chutney

Tomato Chilli Chutney

Prepare the ingredients 

1. Quarter the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds. Dice them and place in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Finely chop the chilis, garlic, and ginger and place in the saucepan.
3. Add the sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce.

Cook the chutney

4. Put the saucepan on high heat and bring to a boil.
5. Turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. As the chutney simmers, use a metal spoon to remove the scum that rises to the surface (if you don’t remove it, it will make the chutney cloudy).
7. When the mixture is reduced by half, remove from the heat.

Jar and refrigerate the chutney

8. Wash four 8-ounce jam jars and lids in hot soapy water and dry well.
9. While the jars are still warm, fill them 1/2-inch from the top with the hot chutney.
10. Screw on the lids and let them cool at room temperature for six hours.
11. Place them in the fridge. The chutney will keep for four months.

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• One-stop shopping. All of the ingredients for this recipe can be found in any well-stocked grocery store. Jam jars can also be found in some grocery, homewares stores, and also online. I used both 8 oz jam jars and 6 oz jam jars for my chutneys.
• Use chillis carefully. Add the red chilis gradually and taste as you go. You may need more or less, depending on the chili you use and your personal taste. Also, be sure to protect your hands with gloves when chopping chillis as the capsaicin (what makes it spicy) can stay on your fingers long after you have washed your hands.
• Choose the tomato you like. Any large variety or color of tomatoes can be used for the tomato chutney. Just make sure they are not mushy or over-ripe.
• Make it vegetarian. To keep the tomato chutney vegetarian, you can replace the fish sauce with soy, tamari, or Worcestershire sauce.
• Customize the flavors. You can also add onions, coriander seeds, or curry leaves.
• Wash before filling. The jars do not need to be sterilized. They only need to be washed in hot soapy water. Wash the jars just before filling them with hot jam so that they are still warm when you are filling them. This will keep the jars from cracking.

The Easiest Tomato Chilli Chutney Make Ahead & Storage Instructions

• Chutneys are a perfect make-ahead food because they contain natural preservatives like chillis and vinegar.
• Our chutneys last in the fridge for four months, which is perfect for me, but if you need them to last longer, you can freeze them.

FAQs

• What is chutney, and how is it different from jam?
  • The flavor profile of chutney makes it different from jam. Jams are cooked with sugar and are very sweet in flavor. They are generally consumed spread on baked goods like bread or scones, or layered into cakes.
  • Chutneys can be a touch sweet but are also usually flavored with vinegar, and the flavor is more spicy and sour.
  • Chutneys are used as a condiment for savory dishes.
• What is the difference between chutney and pickle?
  • The main difference is that pickles are made with whole or large pieces of vegetables whereas chutneys are more like sauces or pastes.
  • Pickles are marinated or fermented in spiced oil or brine for a period of time before they are consumed, whereas chutneys are usually sweeter and made with fresh ingredients.
• I can’t tolerate spicy food. Can I make this milder?
  • Yes, you can reduce or even eliminate the chili peppers from the recipes.
  • Chilis do help preserve the chutneys, so chutney without chilli may have a shorter shelf life.

More Jarred Recipes

• Easy Orange Marmalade
• S’more Pie Jars
• Simple Syrup
• Homemade Mincemeat