A jar of ghost on a cheese board

A jar of jam should not be intimidating. The chilli inside this one is.

Our Bhoot Jolokia jam is a small-batch preserve we make in Jorhat using GI-certified ghost chillies from Khrieliezo Dawhuo's terraces above Kohima. It is, by intent, not a hot sauce. It is a finishing condiment — closer in spirit to a fruit chutney than a salsa, with the heat of a Naga chilli carrying through a long-cooked sugar base. The first hit is smoky and almost sweet. The second hit arrives unhurried, climbs the back of the tongue, and stays for somewhere between thirty seconds and a minute.

A spoon of it on hot rice will end the meal. A quarter-teaspoon of it on the right cheese will redefine the meal.

Here is what it pairs with.

Aged cheddar (2–4 years). The salt in a long-aged cheddar gives the jam something to argue with. The sweetness in the jam cuts the rind-funk. The heat is just enough to make the cheese taste younger. Cut the cheddar in matchbox-sized cubes. A pinhead of jam per cube. A glass of cider next to it.

Manchego or any firm sheep's-milk cheese. The nuttiness wraps the chilli. Almost no other condiment does this — most heat overpowers sheep's milk and leaves you tasting only the chilli. Bhoot Jolokia jam, because of the sugar base, finishes long enough that the cheese gets its sentence in.

Hard goat's-milk cheese. Trickier. The acid in goat will accelerate the heat. Use half as much jam as you think. Pair with a sweet wine to balance.

Soft-rind cheeses (brie, camembert, taleggio). Sparingly, and only on the rind. The cream of a soft-rind cheese will mute the heat for the first two seconds and then it will not. This is a feature, not a bug. Pair with bread and a slow bourbon.

Grilled meats — pork, lamb, duck. The classic Northeast pairing. A glaze of the jam, brushed on the last two minutes of grilling, will char beautifully and carry the heat into the meat itself. Reserve some unheated jam to serve at the table.

Here is what not to pair it with.

Anything cold. Cold cuts heat. The Bhoot Jolokia jam, on cold meat or cold cheese straight from the fridge, will spike. Allow the cheese to come to room temperature for at least twenty minutes before the board goes out.

Anything with raw garlic. Raw garlic and Bhoot Jolokia have a fight on the palate that no one wins. The jam plays well with cooked garlic, charred garlic, smoked garlic — never raw.

Coriander leaf. The volatile oils in fresh coriander and the smoked notes in our jam cancel each other out. Use mint instead, or basil, or no herb at all.

Anything for a young palate. This is not a beginner's condiment. The polite line is not yet.

Quantities, plainly.

For a board for four: one teaspoon of jam, divided across four cheeses. Total. That is the entire jar's job on the night. The rest of the jar — the way we use it most often, in fact — is for slow weeknight cooking. Stir half a teaspoon into a beef chilli at the end. Brush a roast chicken with it the last five minutes of the oven. Mix one teaspoon into the marinade of a leg of lamb. The sugar caramelises, the heat holds, the meal becomes serious without becoming a competitive sport.

A note on opening the jar.

Do not lean over it. Turn your head as you unscrew the lid. The first whiff is the warning the chilli has built into itself. Trust it.

— Kopahi Kitchens.