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Sweet Chilli Jam Recipe
Nando's sweet chilli jam is a tomato jam at heart, sharpened with apple vinegar and warmed with red onion and bird's eye chilli. This version follows the order of ingredients on Nando's own label.
Prep
Cook
Serve
Kcal
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp (about 60g) tomato paste
- 300g granulated sugar
- 150ml water
- 120ml apple cider vinegar
- 1 small red onion (about 60g), very finely chopped
- 4 large red chillies (about 55g), finely chopped, seeds removed from half
- 2 red bird's eye chillies, finely chopped (1 for milder, 3 for hotter)
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 tsp fine salt
- A few drops of gravy browning (optional, for the darker colour)
Step 1
Blitz the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste with a stick blender or in a blender until smooth. This gives the jam its even red base; the texture comes later from the onion and chilli.Step 2
Very finely chop the red onion, red chillies and bird's eye chillies into pieces no bigger than a grain of rice, and crush the garlic. Wear gloves for the bird's eye chillies, and keep the seeds from only half of the red chillies.Step 3
Put the blitzed tomatoes, sugar, water, apple cider vinegar and salt in a wide, heavy pan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has fully dissolved and you can no longer feel grains on the back of the spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes.Step 4
Add the onion, chillies and garlic and bring to the boil, then turn down to a steady simmer, uncovered. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes and more often towards the end, until it has reduced by about half and a spoon drawn across the bottom of the pan leaves a clear trail for a second.Step 5
Stir in the cornflour mixture and the distilled vinegar and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the jam turns glossy and loses any cloudy look. Add the gravy browning now if you are using it, a drop at a time.Step 6
Spoon a little onto a cold saucer and chill for 2 minutes, then push it with your finger. It should wrinkle slightly and hold its shape. If it runs, simmer for another 5 minutes and test again. It thickens a lot as it cools, so do not take it too far.Step 7
Pour into hot, sterilised jars, seal and leave to cool completely, then keep in the fridge. It tastes best after a day, once the chilli has settled into the jam, and keeps for up to a month.
What's in Nando's sweet chilli jam?
Nando's label lists tomatoes (30%), sugar, water, apple vinegar, tomato paste, red onion, red chilli, cornflour, spirit vinegar, African bird's eye chilli, garlic, citrus fibre, caramel colour and salt. There are no red peppers or ginger in it.
Is Nando's sweet chilli jam spicy?
Nando's sells it as Medium. The sweetness comes first and the heat builds slowly from the bird's eye chilli. Use one bird's eye chilli for a milder jam, or three with all the seeds for more kick.
What do Nando's serve sweet chilli jam with?
It comes with the halloumi sticks, and it works just as well on grilled chicken, in a burger or wrap, with chips, or on a cheese board. Warm a spoonful with a little water to turn it into a glaze.
How long does homemade sweet chilli jam keep?
In a sterilised jar in the fridge it keeps for up to a month. Always use a clean spoon, and throw it out if you see mould or it smells fermented.
Why is my chilli jam runny, or too thick?
Test it on a cold saucer: after two minutes in the fridge it should wrinkle when pushed. If it is runny, simmer for another five minutes. If it sets too firm once cooled, stir in a splash of hot water.
What it actually is
Nando's sells this as a Medium heat condiment, and its label tells you most of what you need. The first ingredient is tomatoes, at 30 per cent, followed by sugar, water, apple vinegar and tomato paste. Red onion (4.7 per cent) and red chilli (4.5 per cent) come next, with African bird's eye chilli in the spice blend. So it is a sweet tomato jam with chilli running through it, closer to a relish than to the clear, pepper-based chilli jams most recipes make.
What most versions get wrong
Most copycat recipes, including the earlier version of this page, build the jam on red peppers with ginger and rice vinegar. That gives a bright, thin pepper flavour and the wrong colour. There is no pepper or ginger on Nando's label. The tomato and onion base is what gives the deeper colour and the rounder, savoury sweetness, and apple vinegar keeps it softer than a sharp white-vinegar chilli jam.
The ingredients that matter
Tinned chopped tomatoes give a more consistent result than fresh ones, which vary in water and sweetness. Use apple cider vinegar for the main acidity and a spoonful of plain distilled vinegar at the end, which mirrors the two vinegars on the label. Keep the onion and chilli finely chopped rather than blended, because the small pieces suspended in the jam are part of the texture. Bird's eye chilli brings the slow, building heat; ordinary red chillies alone make it sweet but flat.