Greetings Hivers, our household Cincinnati Chili recipe is always evolving and changing, and it's been nearly a year since I last posted the current state of this recipe in our household.
Beans and tomatoes were two of the ingredients I selected for the @LotusShares Plant Power Cooking Challenge | Week #5, so when I found myself preparing this dish for the family, what is usually a weekly occurrence, I decided I would share with you this slightly updated recipe, one that Monkey-B loves most of all.
Cincinnati Chili is easily one of the most well-known regional dishes of the USA, and it actually has Macedonian roots, originally used as a topping for hot dogs. This sauce was very similar to Greek style pasta sauces, and eventually Tom Kiradjieff combined it with with spaghetti, creating what would become the legendary dish.
My version is #plantbased, so it lacks cheese and ground beef, two standard ingredients, and I purée the onions and favor elbow pasta over the traditional spaghetti. I also add coriander and turmeric, giving a little bit of an Indian kick, but I think this dish still pays homage to the original.
🍅 Cincinnati Chili Ingredients 🧅
Main Ingredients
- red kidney beans (rajma) | 1 cup
- elbow pasta | ½ kg
- tomatoes | 6-8 medium-sized
- white onions | 2
- garlic | 4 cloves
- cumin seed | 1 tsp
- cocoa powder | 1 tbsp
- coriander powder | 1 tsp
- chili powder (American style) | 1 tsp
- paprika | 1 tsp
- powdered Madame Jeanette chilies | ¼ tsp (🔥🔥🔥)
- cinnamon powder | ½ tsp
- turmeric powder | ¼ tsp
- allspice powder | ⅛ tsp
- sea salt | to taste (roughly 1 tsp)
Chili-ccesories
- fried tempeh and/or tofu
- raw diced onions
- hot sauce
- saltines/crackers
🔥 Cincinnati Chili Preppin'👨🍳
STEP 1
Soak the beans in water at least 6 hours before cooking, preferably overnight if possible. Chop the onions and purée, set aside. Chop the tomatoes and purée, set aside. Chop the garlic and slice the tofu and reserve.
STEP 2
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion pureé, a pinch of salt, and begin sautéing on low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
STEP 3
After a few minutes add the cumin seeds. Continue sautéing on low heat while occasionally stirring. Reduce the onions in volume by half.
STEP 4
Add the chopped garlic and continue sautéing and stirring until the garlic is fragrant and translucent, and the onions have become a caramelized paste.
STEP 5
Now add all the powdered spices, mix to incorporate, and sauté with the onion paste until fragrant.
STEP 6
Now add the tomato pureé, salt to taste, and increase heat to medium, and simmer until the tomatoes are reduced in volume by half. Next, add the drained beans, 1½ cups of water, bring to a simmer and put the lid on the pressure cooker. Reduce heat to low and bring to a whistle three times, then turn off stove and allow steam to escape before investigating for deliciousness.
STEP 7
While waiting for the steam to escape you can cook the pasta in plenty of salty water and fry the tofu and tempeh in a bit of vegetable oil. Drain the pasta and serve with the tempeh, tofu, chili, hot sauce of your choice, some crackers, and most importantly, fresh diced onions.
The key to delicious tofu is to combine the crispy with the soft. To do this, fry a thinly sliced block, wait for it to cool, and then slice thinly lengthwise.
If you don't have a family with a good sense of humor to enjoy your Cincinnati Chili with, I suggest you find a chili partner that you can trust with your deepest and darkest secrets.
It's all about playing with your food, and that's why kids love this dish so much. At Cincinnati Chili restaurants, this dish is served ready to eat, but we love to let the kids build their own, and the increases engagement with the meal, something we engaged Hivers can apprecialove.