Tortillas

Tortillas

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (wheat or maseca) depending if you want wheat tortilla or corntortilla

1/4 cup shortening (or lard — you can substitute butter or cold vegetable shortening)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup water (warm)

Directions:

With a pastry blender or back of a fork, blend flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening, until it resembles coarse meal.

When well combined, slowly add water until soft dough forms. Add additional warm water as necessary.

Knead for 5 minutes.

Separate into 12 portions for small tortillas and 6 portions for large tortillas. Heat a pan or griddle over medium heat.

Roll each ball of dough out into a round shape,  or press in a tortilla press.

Place each raw tortilla on the hot pan and cook on each side for about 1 minute. If it puffs up at all, you can poke a hole in the puffed area to release the steam. Cook it until it is no longer doughy. I use to press on the tortilla with a spatula to make it puff.

Remove from the pan and place onto a plate covered with a towel. Use the edges of the towel to pull over the tortillas as you cook them, to keep them warm.

Texas-Style Chili

 Texas-Style Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds

1 ½ teaspoons whole coriander seeds

1 kg chicken

1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra as needed

1 large red onion, chopped, plus extra chopped onion for serving

5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 red and 1 yellow peppers

1 can kidney beans

1 can chickpeas

3 tablespoons masa harina or 1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces (optional)

2 tablespoons ground pure chile powder, such as pasilla, Chimayo or ancho

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Diced fresh tomatoes or 1 can crushed tomatoes

0,2 dl unsweetened chocolate

9 Whole dried large chiles, such as New Mexico or guajillo, ancho chilis, chipotle

Chopped red cabbage, red onions (fresh cilantro), sliced avacado, turkish yogurt, slices of lime, fritos or warmed flour tortillas, for serving

Instructions:

In a small heavy skillet, toast cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. In a mortar and pestle, or in a coffee grinder, grind to a powder and set aside.

Divide chicken into parts and sprinkle with salt.

In a large, heavy pot over high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Brown the chicken parts and remove from pot.

To the empty but crusty pot, add onion, garlic, chopped peppers, masa harina or tortilla (if using), chile powder, cumin-coriander powder and oregano. Cook, stirring, until onion has softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, whole dried chiles and 1 quart water. Put in chicken parts and let them simmer in the broth. Let it gently simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is fork-tender.

Remove the chicken parts from the broth. In a grinder grind the chilies and the onions and the ingredients of the broth. Place a sieve over the pot and run the grinded chilimix through the siev. Use a spatula to get the mix through the sieve.

While waiting for the chili mix to go through the sieving clean the chicken from the bones and cut or tear into small pieces.

Place chilimix in the pan back on the stove and add the chickenpieces, the beans, the chickpeas, the chocolate. Simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and  add salt if necessary.

Serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate. The chili tastes best one or two days after it is made.

Reheat over low heat if necessary and serve in bowls, sprinkled with chopped onion, red cabbage, yoghurt, avacado, lime and cilantro. Add Fritos for crunch, or dip tortillas into the spicy gravy.

You can freeze the chili in portions and have great meals for lunch and supper long time ahead. 

If you want more heat in the chili choose hotter chilis!

Make your own tortillas to go with it. Homemade Tortillas