Name: Chilli Tomato Relish
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 800 g Diced Tomatoes ((canned or tinned)); 2 Brown Onions ((diced, 270g once chopped)); 1 Red Onion ((diced, 360g once chopped)); 250 g White Sugar; 250 g Brown Sugar; 10 g Curry Powder ((2.5 tsp)); 16 g Salt ((2 tsp)); 9 g Pepper ((3 tsp)); 4 g Mustard Powder ((2 tsp)); 8 g Mustard Seeds ((2 tsp)); 250 g White Vinegar; 8 g Garlic Powder ((2 tsp)); 3 g Onion Powder ((2 tsp)); 3 g Ginger ((1 tsp)); 6 g Fennel Seeds ((2 tsp)); 9 g Chilli Flakes ((3 tsp)); 1 sprig Fresh Rosemary; 20 g Corn Starch ((add a little water to this to make a slurry))

If you love things a little spicy, then you're going to adore this chilli tomato relish made with canned tomatoes, onions and dried chilli flakes. This vibrant gourmet relish will warm your taste buds with an array of warming spices, without burning them off.

This recipe was so much fun to develop. It's been in my mind for a while and I loved testing various iterations until we found just the perfect amount of spice and warmth. This ticks all the boxes!

If you love my simple tomato chutney recipe, but you love chilli, then you must try this chilli tomato relish!

A jar of chilli tomato relish sitting next to a stack of sourdough crostini. One of the crostini has been loaded with cheddar cheese and a big dollop of chilli tomato relish.

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

Simple Pantry Ingredients - while this chilli tomato relish is gourmet in flavor, it is made with simple pantry ingredients. There's nothing that will break the bank or warrant a trip to the store. It's fantastic for emergency gifts!
More Than Just Chilli - many chilli relishes use only chilli, but this spicy tomato relish recipe uses the warming tones of ginger, fennel, mustard seeds and curry powder alongside dried chilli flakes to build a complex spicy profile that builds but does not burn.

A jar of chilli tomato relish shown sitting alongside a stack of sourdough crostini. One of the crostini has been loaded up with a slice of cheese and dollop of spicy tomato relish.

Ingredients

Chilli Flakes - the level of heat in this spicy tomato relish will depend on the type of red chilli flakes you use. You can increase or decrease the level of heat to suit your taste. I like a chilli heat that builds and enhances, but doesn't burn my taste buds.
Herbs and Spices - this vibrant chilli tomato relish uses basic herbs and spices you probably already have in your spice draw to create a warm glow that builds as you eat it. I love the depth of flavor created by using chilli alongside ginger, garlic, onion and mustard.
Fresh Rosemary - I use a sprig of fresh rosemary in this recipe, but you can replace it with a sprinkle of dried rosemary if you don't have fresh.
Tomatoes and Onions - canned tomatoes are all you need for this relish, alongside some red and yellow (brown) onions. Nothing fancy and super budget friendly. These vegetables form the body of this relish.
Corn Starch - I've used a little corn starch to thicken this relish into a spreadable consistency. The corn starch thickens, but doesn't cloud this relish.

How To Make Spicy Tomato Relish

Finely dice the onions (I generally just stick them in a food processor as I hate chopping onions). Add these to a heavy based saucepan, along with the diced canned tomatoes, white sugar and brown sugar, vinegar and herbs, spices and chilli. Put the sprig of rosemary in whole.

All of the ingredients necessary to make chilli tomato relish layered in a stainless steel pot.

Stir everything together and slowly bring the pot to a boil before reducing the heat to a slow simmer. Stir the relish well every 5 minutes or so as its simmering. You want to keep an eye on it at this stage so the bottom doesn't catch, but you don't have to stir it constantly.

Allow the chilli tomato relish to simmer for around 40 minutes.

Now, add the corn starch slurry and stir it until it's all dissolved. At this stage you really want to stir it quite frequently to stop the bottom of the pan catching.

A large stainless steel pot of chilli tomato relish ready to be put into jar.

While the chilli tomato relish is simmering for the last 20 minutes, pour boiling water into your jars and allow to sit for a few minutes before carefully emptying them out.

Using a stainless steel jar funnel and ladle, carefully fill the jars, leaving around 1cm head room at the top of the jar. Place the lids on and seal immediately.

A photo showing the chilli tomato relish being poured into glass jars using a stainless steel jar funnel and ladle.

At this point you can just leave the jars to cool on the counter and store in the fridge. Alternatively, if you are familiar with canning, you can place the sealed jars into a saucepan of water and boil for 10 minutes to make the chilli tomato relish shelf stable.

Recipe Tips

Use more chilli if you like a really spicy chilli hit, it's totally up to you. I prefer using dried chilli as it's more predictable than fresh.
A wider saucepan is best for this spicy tomato relish as it allows the moisture to evaporate from the pan more easily and evenly and leaves you with a glossy relish.

Equipment

One of the things I love about making chutney and relishes is that I don't need a lot of specialised equipment. But just in case you really want to go all in, here are some of the things that you'll see me using that do make life much easier!

Kitchen Scales - I love that I can make chutney and relish easily with a kitchen scale. Once my recipe works, I know I can make it over and over again with the exact measurements. If you don't already use a kitchen scale for cooking and baking, I highly recommend you look at the benefits (you can read about why weighing your ingredients is important here).
A large stainless steel pot - wider pans work best for chutney and relishes because they allow the moisture to evaporate more easily, leaving you with a glossy, flavorful chutney or relish. I use a 24cm, 5L casserole pot to make my chutneys. If you want to make larger batches, you would of course need a larger pot, but I find 5L works really well for the quantities in my recipes.
Jar Tongs for canning - these are the funny red tongs you'll see in some of my photos. They make it so much easier to pick up hot jars!
Stainless Steel Jar Funnel - I love using this when filling my jars as it prevents mess and spills and keeps the rims of the jars clean.
Jars - I tend to use whatever I have on hand. If making batches for gifts, I tend to use either 120ml jars or 300ml jars (I usually just buy these from discount stores because then I don't mind if the jars don't come back). If canning relish and chutney for my own fridge, then I tend to use 500ml jars as we go through a lot of it! I love using the same wide mouth jars that keep my sourdough starter in.

Shelf Life and Storage

When I make this spicy tomato relish I generally seal the jars while hot and let them cool on the counter before placing in the fridge. The jars will last at least 6 months sealed in the fridge, but honestly, ours seem to disappear! If you visit my house, you'll probably go home with a jar along with a fresh loaf of sourdough bread and a dozen eggs.

If you want your spicy tomato relish to be shelf stable, you will need to place the sealed jars into a water bath and boil for 10 minutes.