Texas Chilli

What have I been doing? I hear you say. The last six months have been pretty hectic, we've relocated 4500 miles away to Houston, Texas. Now that we're all settled it (and all my kitchen gadgets have arrived) it's time to start cooking again.

Where better to start our Texas adventure than with a Texas Chilli

I used a pre-blended chilli mix "Chilli 3000" available from Penzeys in the US. I'm not usually a fan of pre-blended mixes and would always make my own for Indian etc. I figured I couldn't go wrong in the home of chilli though.

Texas Chilli

Serves 4
olive oil
1 kg beef, I used chuck steak
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt + Pepper
1.5 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp cumin, ground down in a mortar and pestle
400g can tomatoes
2 tbsp flour

• in a heavy pan brown the beef in olive oil, you probably need to do this in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan
• remove beef and set aside
• add onion and garlic to the pan and saute until soft
• add chilli powder and cumin and cook for 1-2 mins
• return the beef to the pan and the tomatoes and season
• simmer over a low heat for 40 mins
• if sauce is too thin add a little flour (mixed to a paste with water) to thicken

serve with Basmati (or Texmati) rice