Chocolate Chili

I love chili and can have it anytime of the day. I try out different versions as well.You can see two versions already posted  here and here and few else are in queue waiting for their turn.  Long time back I have heard about the use of chocolate in traditional Mexican chili recipes and recently tried out the recipe from Vegnews which had not just chocolate but coffee as well. It was simply IRRESISTABLE.

Ingredients:
Dried Beans: 1/2 cup presoaked and cooked or canned beans (I used pinto beans and pink beans)

Olive Oil: 2-3 tsp
Onion: chopped 1 small : around 4-5 tbsp
Carrot: 1/4 cup cubed /minced
Garlic: 1-2 cloves

Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp +
Chilli Powder: 1 tbsp +/-
Paprika: 1/2 tsp +/-
Oregano: 1/4 tsp
Pepper: 1/4 tsp +
Salt: as  per taste

Tomato: 1/2 cup chopped

Tomato paste: 3-4 tbsp  OR Puree : almost 1/2 cup

Chocolate: 1/2  oz semi sweet or dark, grated

Chipotle in adobo sauce: 1 small or as per taste (chopped /minced)

Sugar: 1/4 tsp + (omit if using semi sweet)

Espresso Coffee :2-3 tbsp or more as needed
Water: as needed (I used the water in which the beans were cooked)

Preparation:
Presoak the dried beans overnight and cook till  done in the pressure cooker or stovetop as per convenience.Keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep pan,add onion,garlic and carrots and cook for a few minutes until they soften. Add in salt,pepper and all the spice powders and also sugar (if using dark chocolate). Saute for a minute. 

Add in tomatoes chopped,tomato puree/paste and chopped/minced chipotle. Stir well and cook for a few more minutes till the tomatoes start to cook.

Add in the beans,coffee and the water to this and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and let it cook uncovered for about 30 -45 minutes stirring occasionally so that the tastes are well blended and the required thickness is reached. 

Serve as a side with rice/tortillas or as a wholesome soup topped with lowfat cheese slice  and garnished with chocolate gratings.

I enjoyed it as both and everybody licked their bowls clean. Ummmmmmmmm.. 

The aroma while adding the chocolate is GREAT.You savour the feeling as if you are savouring a cuppa of hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon and chilli on a snowy day. It truly lifts your mood. Chipotle as usual adds the smoky authentic chili taste and overall it has all the qualities and taste needed for a comforting chili.I am not sure about the coffee addition as the coffee added just a  mellowed sharpness and it could be because I had add just 2 tbsp of it - I had mixed 1/2 tsp powder with 2 tbsp of water and added to the gravy. But it does blend with the total taste of the gravy and does not stand out of line. 

Go make your own and enjoy as the few spoonfuls I have saved goes to AWED:Mexico,at MyTastyTreats, an event by DK.

Whole Wheat Tortilla - Mexican Cousin of Indian Rotis?

Tortilla ( spelt tor-thee-ah), meaning "little cake (torta) in Spanish is a general term for a variety of foods and also refer to corn or wheat based flatbreads in Mexico and other Latin countries. Depending on  the flour used to make them, the Mexican tortillas differ in texture and a wide variety and flavours are available. Each region has its own version of flatbreads and there are definitely similarities between few of them atleast.Though  the name sounds exotic,we can say that the rich in fat tortilla is definitely a cousin of the humble Indian roti. And I too found the transition from roti to tortilla easier when I tried Sunita 's recipe of Whole Wheat Tortillas.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 3 cups

Baking Powder: 1 tsp  (reduced from the original 2 and 1/4 tsp)

Salt: 1.5 tsp

Vegetable Oil: 1 tbsp 

Milk: 1-2 cups

Preparation:

Mix together flour,salt,baking powder and oil. Add in warm milk 1 cup at a time and stir in  to get a sticky loosely formed dough. I had to add another 1 cup of milk to get a similar dough.It depends on the flour you are using. Mine definitely required extra milk as it looked like coarse sand with the original mentioned milk quantity.

Knead for two minutes to get a firm soft dough on a floured surface. Keep the dough in a bowl and let it rest covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes. It is necessary to let the dough rest else it may turn elastic and it may not properly roll out.

Take the rested dough,divide into smaller pieces and shape each into a round and rest in a bowl covered with a wrap for another 10 minutes.

Take a round, pat it into a thick disc within hands dusting it with little flour and then roll it out with a rolling pin from centre to outwards,until you get a elongated disc as thin as you want. Don't over work the dough as it will turn to be stiff. Keep the disc covered with plastic wrap or damp cloth till cooking time. Do this with each round/disc you have.

In a dry skillet or komal cook each tortilla 30 seconds per side on high. Keep covered with a napkin until ready to eat. 

Serve it with choice of sides or stuffed with rice,cheese or veggies. I served it with a chocolate chili made with pinto and pink beans.

If you love rotis you will definitely like tortillas. What differs the tortilla is the rich in fat content -traditionally lard or pork fat was used while making the dough. But here we had added just 1 tbsp of oil. Also the bresence of baking powder gives it a slightly puffed look- it puffs up a little on cooking and the insides look little layered as well. There are different versions  for the tortillas some without baking powder but this version works out for me. With whole wheat it is much more healthier as well.

The tortillas are off to AWED:Mexico at MyTastyTreats, an event by dear DK along with Two Bean Chocolate Chili which I will be posting later.