It is getting colder in Uruguay and we have to lit the stove. Good time for spicy comfort food like Curry’s and Chilli’s.

We’ve been on a real chilli trip lately and there are so many varieties to choose from that you could have chilli several times a week and not have the same dish for months. But, I tend to think of chilli as an ideal comfort food at home.

That’s why I choose this time the Texas chilli recipe, because there are no beans. And that fits well, because to get good chilli beans is almost impossible in Uruguay.

Sadly, we can’t get fresh or dried chilli, like pictured, in Uruguay. But there are ways around, just be creative.

Traditional Texas chilli is a meat chilli with tomatoes and spice. This chilli recipe takes a traditional chilli and adds the smokey flavor of dried Chipotle, Ancho and Pasilla chilli’s to really ramp of the spiciness of this dish.

To get all these different chilli’s is again impossible in Uruguay, but I help myself with a canned chipotle and dried Birds Eye and a sort of Cascabels out of my garden. See my post CHILLI’S – HELP NEEDED.

On the other hand, not everyone of my readers live in Uruguay, so I will leave the recipe original.

Different sizes canned chipotles in Uruguay.

We love chilli because it is a simple one pot dish. I always make a big pot full of it and have lots of leftovers to freeze portions. And – it is healthy and full of flavor.
Since there is always a discussion about the varieties of chilli, the writing of the name chilli and much more, I will post a special chilli article in the coming weeks.

Ingredients.

2 dry Chipotle Chilli’s
2 dry Ancho Chilli’s
2 dry Pasilla Chilli’s

Dried anchos (front left), pasillas (back left) and chipotles (back right). Plus onions and tomatoes.

375-400ml (12 ounces) Mexican beer

I use Negra Modelo, because it gives good dark color to the paste and a nice sweetness to this recipe.

       
In Uruguay, Patricia Porter or Pilsen Stout (even better) will do the same job as the Mexican.

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 medium, yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1kg (2 1/2 lbs) flatiron steak, ground

  As better the meat – as better your chilli dish.

2 large tomatoes, chopped
175ml (5.5 oz) can tomato juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons Ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon Cumin seed, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked sweet Paprika
1 teaspoon dried Oregano

  Clean chilli’s from seeds and stems.

How to do.

Cut chilli’s and remove all stems and seeds .
Heat a saucepan and add chilli’s.
Allow chilli’s to warm – just enough to release their aroma.
Add beer to the saucepan and bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.
In a dutch oven or large chili pot, add 1/2 of the vegetable or
olive oil and brown meat until cooked through.

   Brown the meat in a heavy pan.

In the dutch oven or large chili pot, add remaining vegetable or
olive oil and saute onions and garlic until tender.
Return chilli meat to pan, mix thoroughly.
Add tomatoes and tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce and spices.
Put the chilli’s and cooking liquid in a blender and puree‘.

Best is to receive a smooth dark paste, about 2-3 cups for this recipe.

Strain mixture through a small colander or sieve into the chili pot,
you should have all ingredients together now.
Simmer for 1 hour , stirring occasionally, and serve.

At the end I always stir in a few tablespoons of olive oil, it gives the whole
dish a wonderful shine. Then ready to garnish and serve.

This time garnished with some cheddar cheese on yoghourt and sliced spring onion.

Tips.

Fresh baked cornbread makes a great compliment to this chili. See pic above.
If you don’t have it or can’t bake it yourself, use french baguette.
Garnish with coriander and some sour cream. I you made it very hot serve
some yoghourt or sour cream aside. A lovely cool strong beer goes well with chilli.

You can use leftover chilli in Chilli Enchiladas.
Here, oven browned, with black olives and cheese.