Baja Chili Con Carne - Easy Chili recipe

 

Baja dear readers is a part of Mexico that borders California and Arizona it's cities include Tijuana, where Caesar Salad was invented and Ensenada which lays claim to Chili con Carne, but then Texas also believes it invented this dish we all love, I suppose the only thing bigger than Texas is the Yanky ego. No wonder Herb took up the trumpet. When I was growing up my Mum and Dad loved Herb Alpert and the Tijuana brass...

Anyway I had some Baja quesadillas from this stand pic top and loved their version of the chili filling, a bit of research and cooking and I think I have recreated the flavour of a Baja style chili con carne, which is very easy to make.

Ingredients:-

1lb Beef mince
Onions
Chillies to taste
Garlic
Oregano
1/2 Green pepper (if you have one)
Chilli powder to taste
Tin toms
Tin red kidney beans
tsp Cumin
tsp Worcester Sauce
tsp Peanut Butter
tsp sugar
2 tsp drinking chocolate/cocoa

Method
Brown mince and remove, add finely chopped onions, fry till clear, add finely chopped green pepper, and then add minced garlic, then finely chopped chilli, I leave a couple with stalks on and I also used a dried Kashmiri chilli. Fry gently for five minutes then add the cumin and fry until you can smell it then chilli powder, then the toms and the rest of the ingredients. 

Simmer for ten minutes and then add back the mince and cook for thirty mins. Adjust for seasoning, and serve either with rice or quesadillas...

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