I’m a newly wed with no background in cooking whatsoever. I come from a Desi family where food is the center of life.  My husband on the other hand doesn’t have the same love for Desi dishes and it can be challenging to make things he will enjoy.  My mom’s recipes are generally wasted on his taste buds, so its always nice to find something both easy to prepare and delicious.

One dish we both agree on is Chili con Carne.  It’s not Desi, it’s actually Spanish or Mexican but because its so spicy I love it.  I looked up a few recipes online and played around with the ingredients to my own taste.  My Chili con Carne is meat heavy and I have made it with both black beans and kidney beans, each version was delicious and you can choose whatever you prefer.  The great thing about Chili is that a lot of the ingredients can be stocked in your pantry for a later date, you can substitute things that are missing, add veggies as you like and still create a great tasting Chili.  I recently made this as a side for a dinner party.  I took some pictures of the ingredients but got too busy during the actual party to take pictures of the finished product.

For Kinza’s Chili con Carne you will need the following:

• 1lb Ground beef
• 1 Onion
• 1 Bell Pepper (Green, Red, Orange or Yellow, whatever you like or can find)
• 6 Mushrooms
• 2 cans Kidney beans (can substitute Black beans)
• 2 cans Corn
• 1 can Tomatoe Sauce (can substitute Tomatoe soup, paste, diced tomatoes, or 3 fresh tomatoes)
• 1 teaspoon Hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
• Salt (to taste – generally I add 1 teaspoon of iodized table salt)
• Pepper (to taste – generally I add 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper)

Serves 10-12.

First, saute the onion in the pot for a few minutes, making sure it doesn’t burn.

Then add the ground beef.  Brown the beef, and then drain the excess liquid.  My mom doesn’t mind leaving the liquid in, I just feel healthier draining it.

Now add the rest of the ingredients, beans, corn, tomatoe sauce, bellpepper, mushrooms, and hot sauce.   Add the red chili powder (I recommend adding half a teaspoon at a time to gauge the spice level).    Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and let simmer for forty minutes.  Stir occasionally to ensure the Chili isn’t burning at the bottom.

You can taste the chili as it cooks to check if you’d like to add the rest of the red chili powder or if its already spicy enough for you.