chilli con carne !

i shamelessly admit that this is similar to noel's chilli , with a few exceptions of course...i maintain mine is a mexican version (haha) and it's capable of standing as a dish alone...but still simple. furthermore, with the heat wave now, i was too lazy to obtain the fresh tomatoes.

what you need ar?

500 g minced beef (doesn't matter whether it's premium or lean)
1 whole white onion, chopped ( i tend to shape them as rings, but diced also can lar)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 whole red chilli (note that they're actually called capsicums here) , cored , seeded and diced
5 small red chillis (erm...a.k.a cili padi...the thin ones...not capsicums) , chopped...of course , to be truly mexican , you'd add jalapenos here...but i can't seem to find any .
1 standard 400 g chopped/diced tomatoes
1 standard 400g red kidney beans, drained
1 cup beef stock/water mixture
5 teaspoons ground cumin seed
3 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander

how liao?

in your pot , sautee the onion and garlic on a low fire until soft . then , chuck in the minced beef and cook the mince until it loses its reddish pink colour....make sure to break the meat up hor ( a fork will execute this just fine ) . add in the can of tomatoes (with the juice hor) , the diced capsicum and the chopped small chilllies . stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes ( let the meat absorb the main flavour hor ) . next , add in the beef stock/water mix and season with the ground cumin, chilli power and ground coriander . cover the pot and simmer over gentle heat for 45-60 minutes ( depending on your desired consistency lor ) . finally , add the drained red kidney beans and cook for another 10-15 minutes . tenga...fruir la aji .

warning : please never underestimate the spiciness of this recipe under any circumstances .

notes: you may wish to season with some fresh ground black pepper as well but i don't think it makes much of a difference and for those of you who are willing to be adventurous , add a couple of blocks of dark chocolate too (make sure it's >70% cocoa hor)...and you'll have dark chocolate chilli con carne .

extra note : i realise that the amount cannot be finished within a single siting ( unless you share) but that was done on purpose...because chilli tastes better a day old...or more :)

Tags: chili con carne beef budget recipe