Saturday, April 16, 2011

Indian Masala Chili

Yum
 It's cold and rainy today so I thought I would make a fiery chili to warm me from the inside out. This is not your typical Texas style chili.  My chili is filled with healthy ingredients and a lot of spices used in Indian cooking to give you a taste explosion with every bite.

Ingredients:
1lb of lean ground meat (chicken, beef, turkey, etc..)
1 medium onion chopped
2-3 green chilies chopped (seeded for less spice)
2 cans of black beans (or favorite chili bean) drained and rinsed well
1 (28oz) can Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans (see note)
1 (15oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 cup water or chicken broth
salt and black pepper to taste
lime juice (about 1-2 tsp)

 The spices:
2Tbs of Chili con carne powder
1Tbs Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1Tbs Garam Masala powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
Red chili Powder or red chili flakes (to taste)
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste


Directions:
Step 1 brown ground meat well and set aside.   Then heat pan with 1 Tbs of canola oil medium high heat and add the cumin seeds.  Allot seeds to sizzle for a few seconds and become fragrant, but not burned.  Then add onion, green chilies (and some salt) and saute for a few minutes.

Now add the spices listed above.   Fry until fragrant without burning about 1 minute.  Then add the browned ground meat, diced tomato and black beans with the water or chicken stock.  Salt as needed. Cook for 10 minutes.

Then add lime juice and can of Bush's Beans or 1-2 Tbs of brown sugar.  See note below regarding baked beans.





Note: I recommend the Bush's baked beans for the chili because it not only gives the sweetness I want for the dish, but it also adds another bean to my chili.  Now I am not affiliated with Bush's at all, but I compared their label with other baked beans and they use all natural ingredients and don't use high fructose corn syrup so that is the reason I pick them.  Again, if you don't want to add any commercial products to this chili, just add some brown sugar.  You can also add more cans of beans like kidney or chickpeas to the chili if you want more beans in your chili.

Simmer for another 5 minutes and taste for salt and seasoning.Serve hot with cornbread, naan, sour cream, tortilla chips or my spicy creamy guacamole dip.
Serves 6-8.  Enjoy.





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