What is Chili Powder? If Learning How to Cook With Spices, Find Many Chili Powder Recipes

What is chili powder? Chili powder is usually a mixture of different spices blended together to add to any spicy dish to increase the heat. It’s not to be confused with cayenne pepper, which is similar in look, but is much hotter. Different brands will offer you a different level of spice, but for the best taste, you should try making your own.

Making Your Own Chili Powder

While you can buy chili powder from the store, you’ll gain a better understanding of what is chili powder if you make your own. There are thousands of chili powder recipes to choose from, so the best advice is to get hold of the best spices you can afford and try different combinations. You’ll find that a combination of:

• Ground cumin


• Garlic powder or minced garlic cloves


• Cayenne pepper


• Paprika


• Dried oregano


• Ground coriander

This combination will give you the best and most authentic taste. These are all fairly common spices, so they shouldn’t be too hard to obtain. You should be able to get hold of all the spices pre-ground, but you’ll find you get a more intense flavor if you can get hold of fresh pods and grind them yourself. An old coffee grinder will give you a very fine powder, but you can also use a mortar and pestle for a slightly rougher texture. You’ll also find another answer to the question “what is chili powder” in the smell that arises from your creation.

Choosing The Right Chilies

Whether you’re making your own chili powder or buying a pack from a store, you can usually work out how spicy the final result will be by looking at the types of chilies used to make the powder. The following are grown in the United States year round:

• Chipotle - These will give your powder a mild and smoky flavor


• Habanero - The hottest of the hot. These take a while to dry out, so buy them several days in advance of making your own chili powder


• Poblano - These give a sweet and medium hot flavor, and come pre-dried.

Cooking With Chili Powder

The best answer to “what is chili powder used for?” is simply to add a bit of a kick to your dish. However, too much of it will ruin the other flavors, and most chili powder recipes will ask for a tablespoon or less. The following is a very simple but warming chili con carne:

• 3 cups chopped onion


• 2 pounds beef. You can use either stewing beef or minced, depending on what you want the final texture of your chili to be. Either way, season your beef with salt and pepper before cooking it.


• 3 tablespoons jalapeno pepper


• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds


• 6 mashed garlic cloves


• 1 tablespoon chili powder, though you can add more to make it more spicy


• 14oz beef broth


• 14oz beer


• 1 cup red wine


• 2 tablespoons dried oregano


• ¼ cup white wine vinegar

Get the heaviest pan you can find, as you’ll be cooking this dish for a while. A cast iron dish covered in enamel will be your best option as they retain heat well, but whatever you choose, make sure it has a snug fitting lid.

Heat some oil in the pan, and fry off the beef till it goes brown. There’s quite a lot of beef, so you might need to do this in stages.

Add the onion to the pan, and sauté for 5 minutes until they’re soft. Add the spices and garlic and sauté for a further 1 minute

Add the red wine, and use it to scrape up any browned bits of meat stuck to the pan

Stir in the oregano and remaining liquids and leave for an hour and a half, or until the beef is tender.

You’ll work out what is chili powder is for when you taste it, as you’ll either need to add more powder or serve it with plenty of yogurt.

Return from How to Cook with Spices from What is Chili Powder
Return to Home Page from What is Chili Powder

New! Comments