Big Tasty Chili

There are a myriad of ways to cook chilli and to be honest I usually just throw in a bit of this and a bit of that from the spice rack.  This is an approximation of what I would usually do, based on my standard kitchen cupboard, if I’ve got them in I might use dried ancho chillies. Tins of kidney or pinto beans are great for bulking this out and this also works well with veggie mince. Serve with tortilla wraps, rice, nachos or sweet potato fries.

Gear

• Chopping board
• Sharp Knife
• Large saucepan
• Pestle and Mortar

Big Tasty Chili

Ingredients

• 1 large onion – finely diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 green chillies and 2 red chillies (sliced) (pick whatever you are comfortable with)
• ~2 tbsp good quality vegetable oil
• 500g of beef or steak mince (you could use braising steak and slow cook this)
• 2tbsp tomato puree
• big squirt of tomato ketchup
• 1 tin of plum or chopped tomatoes
• 1 beef stock pot (Knorr type)
• 1 or 2 green peppers chopped into bite size chunks
• (If doing a veggie version I also add a few sliced mushrooms)
• 1 tin of red kidney beans
• 1 tin of pinto beans
• 1 or 2 tsp of cornflour (to thicken)
• Sea salt
• Chilli sauce to taste – so many to choose from, staples in our house include encona and cholula
• (Optional – bunch of chopped fresh coriander to serve)

Spice Mix – Grind in a pestle and mortar

• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1tsp black pepper corns
• 1 tsp cayenne chilli powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp good quality cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (just a hint for flavour)
• Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Put the oil in the saucepan on a low/medium heat.
2. Add the diced onion and sweat for about 5-6 minutes with a pinch of salt until translucent.
3. Add the garlic along with the green and red chillies; cook for another minute.
4. Turn the heat up and add about half of your spice mix to the pan.  Followed by your mince, bash the mince up to separate it.
5. Add in the second half of your spice mix along with the tomato puree and a squirt of ketchup. Stir thoroughly to cover all the mince.
6. Keep frying for a couple of minutes until very little to no pink colour remains. Then add the green peppers.
7. Continue cooking for another couple of minutes, but do not allow anything to burn, the heat should not be too high.
8. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and add the stockpot. Swill out the tin with about half a  ‘canful’ of water and add to the pan.
9. Stir and lower the heat, bring to a gentle simmer.
10. Open and drain the beans and add to the chili.
11. Continue simmering for about 15 minutes, then add salt and chilli sauce to your taste. If the sauce is too thick add a bit of water, if too thin then stir in a teaspoon of cornflour to thicken.
12. At this point you can serve, although chili is often best left to cook/sit for a bit as it usually allows the flavours to develop and the meat to tenderise. By all means leave it off the heat for a while and then heat up before serving.