-
Put a large colander or strainer over a bowl or pot, then pour canned tomatoes into colander.
-
Sprinkle with a bit of salt and leave to drain until the liquid has drained off, this might take a few hours.
-
When tomatoes have drained, set them aside and pour the accumulated tomato water/juice into a saucepan along with the cloves, cumin, coriander, ginger and red pepper flakes.
-
Using a potato peeler, carefully remove remove the zest from the lemon in as large strips as possible, throw these into the saucepan as well.
-
Turn burner to medium heat and let the mixture come to a boil, then lower heat slightly.
-
Let mixture boil until it has reduced and thickened considerably, about 30 minutes.
-
Carefully remove cloves and lemon zest using a spoon, turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in about two tablespoons of sugar.
-
Keep reducing the liquid until you’ve reached a thick almost syrupy state, it will burn if you’re not careful!
-
When liquid is syrup-like, dump in the drained tomatoes, stir and cook for another 15 - 30 minutes until mixture is no longer watery.
-
Season mixture with salt and black pepper, then add the Tabasco and stir well.
-
Taste for seasoning: Your tomato jam should be sweet and tomato-y with a definite warmth from the spices and a bit of a kick from the Tabasco. Some like it sweeter than others, so feel free to add more sugar if it’s not sweet enough for your palate. In much the same way, feel free to add more Tabasco if it’s not hot enough for you.