Bowl O’ Red Chili

Bowl O’ red chili is a famous Texas recipe which gets its striking red color strictly from the red chilies of Texas. Texas is well known for its hot chilies and this recipe has a fiery taste perfect for a chili lover. This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 pound lean beef, boneless and chopped into half inch cubes (do not ground the beef)
1 cup onions, chopped
1 tablespoon cornmeal, yellow
¼ can beef broth and a cup of water
½ teaspoon sugar, brown
½ teaspoon oregano, dried
½ teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper, ground
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided into 3 batches
½ teaspoon pepper powder, freshly ground
Salt to taste
For garnish:
1 tablespoon red or green pepper, chopped

Red Chili Method:

• Divide 1 pound of beef into three equal batches and cut into half inch cubes. Season these cubes with salt and pepper and leave aside. Preheat a Dutch oven on high flame with a batch of vegetable oil in it. Add one batch of beef cubes and cook on all the sides till it is evenly brown; it may take approximately 6 minutes. Add more oil if needed. Similarly cook the remaining 2 beef batches till cooked evenly. Take a large bowl and transfer this beef in it, leave aside.
• Reduce the heat of the oven to medium and cook chopped onions for about 5 minutes till brown. Add chili powder, garlic, cumin, red pepper, brown sugar, cornmeal and oregano to the onion mixture and stir for another 30 seconds.
• Add the reserved meat, water and beef broth to this seasoning along with salt and stir further. Let the spices get cooked with the beef to give beef a juicy and spicy flavor. After a boil reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer until the meat turns tender. You can stir occasionally in between to prevent beef sticking at the bottom of the pan.
• After an hour or two the beef will be thoroughly done. Serve hot garnished with chopped red pepper.

Health Tip:

Choose only lean cuts of beef. Trim all the visible fat layers before cooking. Texans are very particular about their food and this recipe keeps in mind all their considerations. The beans should not be stirred with this recipe, they may be served separately, and same goes true with canned tomatoes. This is because neither beans nor tomatoes should impart a red color besides the chilies.