Perhaps the most famous chilli recipe of them all is the chili con carne. There are a million different recipes online and everyone has their own take. This chilli con carne recipe is a simple base recipe that you can adapt and tweak as you like.
Ingredients:
4 fresh chillies
2 tins of tomatoes
1 squirt of tomato puree
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of ginger paste
A tin of kidney beans
1 kg of lean mince beef
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Method:
Heat the oil in a large pan. Once hot add the finely chopped garlic, ginger and onions. After a few minutes the onions should begin to darken in colour. When this happens add the mince and stir continuously until it has lost its red colour.
Next add the finely chopped chillies, chopped tomatoes, kidney beans and a squirt of tomato puree. At this point you can also throw in a glass of red wine if it takes your fancy. Simmer on a low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
Serve with a good portion of plain rice or jacket potato and large big dollop of natural yogurt.
Chilli Con Carne Recipe Adaptions
Once you’ve perfected the base recipe some simple tweaks will boost the flavour. I like to add a teaspoon of cumin powder and paprika to add a bit of a depth of flavour. Some people swear by adding a small amount of dark cooking chocolate to chilli however personally i’m not a fan.
Forgive me if I’m missing something obvious here, but how much lean beef mince do you need for this recipe, and how many people does it serve?
Sam – I use about 500g which serves 4-5 people.