Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1 large onion
1 green chili
1 orange chili
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you only
have mild)
1 tsp paprika
500g lean minced beef
1 beef stock cube
½ tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp sugar
Directions
Chop the onion and the chilies
Peel and finely chop 2 garlic cloves
Put your pan on medium heat. Add the oil and leave it for
1-2 minutes until hot. Add the onions and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for
about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and slightly translucent. Add the
garlic, chilies, 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder or 1 level tbsp mild chilli
powder, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp ground cumin. Give it a good stir, then leave
it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Brown the 500g lean minced beef. Turn the heat up a bit, add
the meat to the pan and break it up with your spoon or spatula. The mix should
sizzle a bit when you add the mince. Keep stirring for at least 5 minutes,
until all the mince is in uniform, mince-sized lumps and there are no more pink
bits. Make sure you keep the heat hot enough for the meat to fry and become
brown, rather than just stew.
Make the sauce. Crumble 1 beef stock cube into 300ml hot
water. Pour this into the pan with the mince mixture. Add ½ tsp dried marjoram
and 1 tsp sugar and add a good shake of salt and pepper.
Simmer it gently. Bring the whole thing to the boil, give it
a good stir and put a lid on the pan. Turn down the heat until it is gently
bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes. You should check on the pan occasionally
to stir it and make sure the sauce doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan or
isn’t drying out. If it is, add a couple of tablespoons of water and make sure
that the heat really is low enough. After simmering gently, the saucy mince
mixture should look thick, moist and juicy.
Add the beans. Drain and rinse 1 can of black beans (410g
can) in a sieve and stir them into the chilli pot. Bring to the boil again, and
gently bubble without the lid for another 10 minutes, adding a little more
water if it looks too dry. Taste a bit of the chilli and season. It will
probably take a lot more seasoning than you think. Now replace the lid, turn
off the heat and leave your chilli to stand for 10 minutes before serving, and
relax. Leaving your chilli to stand is really important as it allows the
flavours to mingle.