Chilli Con Carne

Greetings to all fellow home chefs here on the East Coast of Africa and around this beautiful world we live in. 

Today we are going to share our yummy Chilli recipe with you. Sounds great hey.

I have been making this dish for years using various ground meats, ingredients and spices and what I love about this recipe is it is so easy to make, low on the budget strings and will send your taste buds to another level.
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• 2 Tbsp. olive oil.
• 500g lean minced beef.
• 410g can red kidney beans (can use baked beans in tomato sauce)
• 1 large onion.
• 1 red pepper sliced and chopped.
• 1 tsp. ground cumin.                                                  
• 1 tsp. paprika.
• 3 Tbsp. Brown or white vinegar.
  
• Salt and Black pepper to taste.
• 2 Tbsp Mrs Ball Chutney (smooth apricot jam).
• Optional 2 birds eye chillies, piped, remove deveined  and diced.
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped.
• 1 beef stock cube..
• 400g can chopped tomatoes.
• 2 tbsp. tomato purée.
• 3Tpsp Worchester sauce.
• Optional for those that enjoy hot stuff (1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder) 
• long grain rice, 
• soured cream, to serve.

• Place a medium to large frying pan size on the hob
• Turn heat up to medium. 
• Add the oil and heat for about 1 minute.
• Add the onions, stirring until the onions are soft, and translucent.
• Add garlic, red pepper, paprika, ground cumin, birds eye chillies, .
• Give it a good stir, then leave it to cook until you get the beautiful aroma from the spices.
  
• Add the meat to the pan
•  Keep stirring and prodding and breaking the mince until all the mince is in uniform size  and there are no more pink bits.
• Make sure you keep the heat hot enough for the meat to fry and become brown, rather than just stew.

Making the Sauce

• Crumble 1 beef stock cube into 250ml hot water.
• Pour this into the pan with the mince mixture and stir.
  
• Add chopped tomatoes.
• Add Worchester sauce, vinegar, chutney, tomato purée.
• Bring to the boil, give it a good stir and put a lid on the pan.
• Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 - 30 minutes
• Check on the pan occasionally to stir it making sure the sauce doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan or isn’t drying out,.
• If it is, add ½ cup water.
• Simmer gently.
• The saucy mince mixture should look thick, moist and juicy.
• Bring on the beans!!
• Drain and rinse 1 can of red kidney beans (if using Baked beans in tomato sauce do not rinse, empty all into the mince) stir them into the  pot
• Bring to med heat, and gently bubble without the lid for another 10 minutes, adding a little more water if it looks too dry.
• Taste a bit of the chili and season. According to one's taste. 
• It will probably take a little more seasoning. 
• Now replace the lid, turn off the heat and leave your chili to stand for 10 to 20 minutes  before serving.
  

Plating

• White or brown bread.
• A dollop of sour cream
• Any pasta.
• Start your day with a fried egg on toast topped with Chili con carne.
• Use as a casserole with creamy mash potatoes and cheddar cheese baked in your oven.
• Pita bread filling
• Filling for pancakes.
• With Putu Pap (an African dish made from mielie meal.
• Filling for home Pastry Pies.
• White or Brown Rice.
• Corn Bread (see recipe below)
• Bean Salad.

Cornbread Recipe

Meat Loaf

Mango Salad

This article was printed from Home-Cooking-Haven.com.com

Oven Temp's

Cooking Terms and Tips

Al Dente: Usually applied to Pasta, means cooked until just done, but not soft. The pasta should still maintain some "bite:

Barbeque:  To cook foods over coals, known as a Braai in South Africa (The best in the world for this type of cooking).

Baste: To moisten food for added flavor and to prevent drying out while cooking.

Blanch: To cook briefly in boiling water to seal in flavour and color.

Bouquet Garni: A tied bundle of herbs, usually parsley, thyme, and bay leaves that are added to flavor soups, stews, and sauces but removed before serving.

Braise: Two cook first by browning, then gently simmer till done.

Bread: To coat with crumbs or cornmeal before cooking.

Broil: To cook on a rack or spit during or over direct heat, usually in and on top.

Brown: Two cook over high heat, usually on top of the stove, to brown food.

Caramelize: To Heat sugar until it liquefies and becomes a syrup.

Core: To remove the seeds or tough woody centers from fruits and vegetables.

Cream: The butterfat portion of milk.   Also to beat ingredients, usually sugar and a fat, until smooth and fluffy.

Cube: To cut food into small ½ inch cubes.

Cut In: To distribute a solid fat in flour using a cutting motion, with 2 knives used scissors-fashion or a pastry blender, until divided evenly into tiny pieces.  Usually refers to making pastry.

Croutons: These are tiny cubes of toasted or fried bread, used as a garnish.

Coriander:  Also known as Dhania.

Dollop: A spoonful of soft food such as whipped cream or mashed potatoes.

Dot: To scatter butter in bits over food.

Dress: To coat foods such as salad with a sauce.  Also, to clean fish, poultry or game for cooking.

Drippings: Juices and fats rendered by meat or poultry while cooking.

Drizzle: To pour melted butter, oil, syrup, melted chocolate, or other liquid back and forth over food in a fine stream.

Experiment:   Always keep to the basics, but, take out and put in spices etc. to your tastes.

Fines Herbs: A mixture of herbs, normally parsley, chervil, chives and tarragon used to flavor fish, chicken and eggs.

Glace: To coat foods with glossy mixtures such as jellies or sauces.

Julienne: To cut into long thin strips match-sticklike in shape

Macerate: To soak in flavoured liquid; usually refers to fruit

Picked Over:  If you are working with lentils or other beans you might sometimes find a few little rocks that managed to sneak their way in, picked over means to make sure there are none left in what you are going to be using.

Poach: To cook gently over very low heat  is barely simmering liquid just to cover.

Puree: To mash or grind food until completely smooth. Usually in a food processor, blender, sieve, or food mill.

Ragout:  The basic method of preparation involves slow cooking over a low heat.

Reduce: To thicken a liquid and concentrate its flavor by boiling.

Render: To cook fatty meat or poultry - such as bacon or goose - over low heat to obtain drippings.

Sear:  To brown surface of meat quickly over a high heat, to seal in juices.

Simmer: To cook in liquid at just below boiling point, with only a few bubbles breaking the surface.

Skim:  To remove surface foam or fat from a liquid.

Seep:  To soak in a liquid just under the boiling point to extract the essence i.e. Tea.

Truss: To tie whole poultry with skin or skewers so it will hold its shape in cooking.

Whip: To beat eggs or cream with a wire whisk, eggbeater or electric mixer which increases the volume as air is incorporated into the eggs or cream.

Zest: The outer, colored part of the peel of citrus fruits.

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