Life without Chili powder

I asked on Facebook and in a couple of emails to friends for some imput on what every one's favorite american foods were. This is what I have so far:

Philly cheesesteak
hamburgers
hot dogs
chili dogs
corn dogs
green bean casserole
BLT
Pie
bbq
mac and cheese
clam bake
crab cakes
stone crabs
sub sandwiches
sloppy joes
fried chicken
gumbo
jambalaya
pizza
french fries
tuna melt
meat loaf
pancakes
chili
huevos rancheros

I loved how the answers varied depending on where you grew up. Everyone from New Orleans had a full on cajun/creole list and the people from the NE never mentioned anything like the people from the south did.

Of course hamburger restaurants are the top producing restaurants as far as fast food, and really you can get a hamburger just about anywhere ( even the polo lounge for christs sake). Right behind hamburgers is mexican food though. Mexican and Chinese food have been eaten in USA since the 1800's so the cuisine is part of the American palate now.
So here in comes the challenge this week. I was trying to make chili and cajun food without chili powder. You can't get chili powder here at all. Somewhere back in the day, probably like 2 generations back we didn't have the incredible variety of dried spices and spice blends we have now. The first commercially produced chili con carne came out in the early 1900's and cajun and mexican food had been eaten in homes before that, so surely there was a way to make it without chili powder right? I started with chili, here is what I did. Now I like my chili with beans. I know if your from Texas this is a big no no, but I'm not from Texas so pfft.

try it out if you want and see what you think:

Chili con carne


250 gms ( that is about 1 cup) of red beans, kidney beans ( really any beans you like, it will just change the color if you use black or white beans but you can use black, white, pinto , red, kidney)
soak the beans in water over night with 1 tsp each of onion powder, garlic powder, coriander and cumin, they will need about 3-4 times the amount of water you used for beans so 4 cups of water if you use 1 cup of beans)

350 gms (3/4 lb) hamburger meat, ground chuck is fine
500 g tomato puree ( I know some chili purists say no tomato either , but I like it, so its in there. this is like 2 cups )
2 Anaheim chili's chopped( the 8 inches long or so sort of thin green ones)
1/2 habenaro chopped( or more if your daring and wear gloves please !)
3 cups beef broth
1 bell pepper chopped
2 onions chopped
6 cloves garlic sliced
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp oregano
Olive oil

In a very large thick bottomed pot or dutch oven, pour in the beans and soaking water , throw in a bay leaf and bring to a boil. skim the scum of for the first 10 minutes of boiling , then lower the heat to a low boil and cover and cook for an hour or so.Remove the bay leaf, most of the water should be absorbed or boiled off at this point. If at anytime during cooking the beans become dry, add some beef stock. In a frying pan put a tbsp or so of oil and add the onions and garlic, cook for 5-8 minutes on medium heat until translucent. Add the chili's and peppers. I recommend wearing gloves when chopping chili's or your hands will burn for hours afterwards. Salt to taste and cook for about 10 minutes or so, then add the hamburger and oregano and sweet paprika( you can sub turkey burger, chicken burger tofu even for beef if you don't want to use beef)cook until meat is done, but don't let anything brown. Add all this to the beans along with the tomato sauce and remaining beef broth. bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover the pan and let simmer for 2-3 hours, checking occasionally to be sure nothing is sticking to the pan, stir when you check it and taste for salt and heat. At this point the beans should be cooked through and you should have a good idea what the heat index is . If it is not hot enough , add some cayenne. If its too hot you will need to serve with a spoonful or more of sour cream on the top to bring it down a few notches. You can serve with cheese too to reduce the heat. Let the pot cool and refrigerate over night, this incorporates the flavors. Reheat an hour or so before you want to eat and correct the seasoning. I like cornbread with chili, but you can serve with chips, over a hot dog, over french fries, with or without cheese, on eggs , or all alone !


let me know if this is clear or if the directions are hard to follow ok !! I made mine with a full habanero, but I think its far too hot for anyone in France to eat so I backed off on the chili in the recipe, a full habanero is pleasantly spicy to me, but very hot to others, so experiment away and remember to wear gloves !!!