Apart from the spaghetti and rice, what's the difference between them? Aren't they both just mince in a tomato sauce?

Thanks.

Hmmmmm, one might have chilli and one might not

The Chilli.

% of horsemeat

The spices - usually chilli, paprika, cumin, sometimes cinnamon and even chocolate all go in chilli, whilst Spag bol will have more Italian spices like bay leaf, basil, oregano. And most chilli has kidney beans in it.

Pretty much this but oregano is popular in that part of the world also.
and you can add corriander to the list.

I would also say that apart from 'regular' paprika using smoked gives it more depth or you can use smoked chillies such as chipolte and ancho.


I started a thread about the similarities in ingredients between Mexican and Indian food
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1425782

Not much once they're in freezer bags, hence why I occasionally get the wrong bag out and end up hastily refreezing it.

I usually stare at the freezer bags for a while, playing 'spot the kidney beans'.

I usually thaw it before I decide to cook pasta or rice.

You may as well say what's the difference between Chilli con Carne, Spag Bolognaise, Shepherds Pie, Cottage Pie, Moussaka, Lasagne or any other meat sauce based dish.

I've mentioned this before on here but isn't it strange how we are stuck in our ways.
We don't eat bolognaise with rice and don't eat chilli with pasta
and we don't eat curry with noodles


Just generalising. Just last night I had a Thai green curry with tagliatelle.

Chili is spicy and has cumin, ragu' is not meant to be spicy as far as I am concerned and has a tomato-based sauce to which you add herbs like oregano or basil at the most.
I am always surprised when I see the extra-spicy jars of "bolognese" sauce in the supermarket, as I am not used to eating it with chillies in it (I am Italian and let me say nobody really calls it bolognese in Italy... spaghetti also is a precise type of pasta but you call spaghetti (alla) bolognese every pasta dish with ragu' it seems).
Ah chilli con carne is made with beef mince, bolognese should have a mix of different meats, like beef, pork, veal.

The original bolognese only contains a small amount of tomato concentrate, and the original chili con carne contained no tomatoes nor beans.

Clearly things have evolved since then.

I think there are a few pond differences - chilli made with mince is very much a British thing; service it with rice is also more of a British thing (think 1970s Delia). Apparently the authentic American chilli is made with diced beef.... the use of kidney beans is also not mandatory - think the chilli you see added to burgers/hotdogs etc on Man V Food.

Good comparison between UK and US chilli variants is here - http://www.fedrest.com/chilliconcarne.html

Proper spag bol has thyme in it

We? Who is we?
I eat chilli or spag bol with anything. Even with mash, jacket spud, in a toastie or on a pizza base

Just generalising

At the risk of sounding argumentative I always have rice with bolognaise because I don't like pasta!

We actually have bolognaise with rice all the time as I prefer rice and its easier to microwave a couple packets instead of cooking pasta! Lazy I know but very yummy.

Ugh. Of course any two americans will argue over what's "real chili", I think you'll find most will agree that neither mince nor tomatoes are found in chili.

Chili has shredded or chopped beef, and pureed red chiles, not tomatoes.

beans, chilli, mushrooms

Lol, at least chilli!!!

Eh....kidney beans.

Me too .. havent tried the pizza base yet

some or all of these.

herbs, tomatoes, peppers, chili, beans, carrots, celery