Written by Our spice exploration this month is about chili powder. Chili powder is not a single spice. Chili powder is a blend of spices. Chili powder spice mix is composed chiefly of roasted chili peppers and other spices including cumin, oregano and garlic powder. Sometimes chili blends can contain salt, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, mace, even nutmeg. Chili powder should have a pungent smell and brilliant color.
Fresh and Aromatic
Chili powder blends in the USA date back to the late 1800’s. That is when the gentlemen Pendery and Gebhardt patented the first commercial blends. Prior to the commercial blends, chili powder was generally made fresh daily by the household’s individual recipe. Most blends consist of about 80% ground chili peppers.
Chili powder is used most commonly in american Tex-mex or american mexican cooking. Chili powder is used in chili con carne, taco meat, chili sauce, enchilada sauce, quesadilla’s and to flavor meat. Chili powder can be used in salsa, beef jerky, beans and pozole.
Chili powder is amazingly easy to make. I found several recipes out on the internet, but the one that inspired me was this from the Homesick Texan. She made home made chili powder sound so good, that I had to try to make it. It was very simple.
When buying chili powder, look for a busy supermarket or specialty store with high turnover. The volatile elements in chili powder, once ground start to lose their flavor as soon as it is exposed to air. Look for bright color, indicating the freshness factor. Another useful hint is to buy your chili powder from the latino or mexican area of your store. There is usually a spice rack of bagged spices, you will find prices much lower here than in bottled spices. The brands El Guapo and Miravalle are both reliable for pre-ground chili powders or the dried peppers.
Here is the recipe I used to make my first home-made chili powder blend.
6 casabel or gaujillo chili’s, stemmed, seeded and broken up
6 new mexican chili nuevo’s
8 chili japones (small chili)
4 Tbsp whole cumin seeds
4 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp smoked paprika
Toast the peppers and cumin seed, shake the pan pretty consistently so it all gets nice and toasty. Be careful about inhaling the fumes off the peppers as they toast, the fumes can irritate. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Place in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and blend until powdered. One other hint, don’t lift the lid to the food processor until all the “dust” has settled. The aroma is tantalizing, the color is especially keen. Can’t wait to use this chili powder blend in my next batch of chili sauce. Store this away from light in a airtight container, should keep about 2 months.
