I come from the place that invented chili so I feel I have the authority to school all of you on this dish. The perfect chili is made using the following ingredients:

Lots of chopped onion and garlic

All of the below in equal parts (at least a tablespoon of each and DRY spices only):
- Cayenne pepper
- Cumin
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Masa harina, the kind used to make corn tortillas -- if you can't find it in the store or can't track down a Mexican eatery that will sell you some, I'm sure there are places online you can find it. This is to thicken the chili to a stew-like consistency. If you absolutely need a substitute, make a paste from cornstarch and water.

A huge heaping portion (i.e. at least 2 tablespoons) of:
- Chili pepper

Enough of the following to taste:
- Salt
- Ground black pepper

Ground meat (beef or turkey) or vegetarian substitute (for this recipe, let's say 2 lbs of)

1 can of tomato sauce

2 cups of water

At first sautee the onions, garlic, and ground meat/soy "meat" together (in a small amount of oil), then after about ten minutes add the spices (minus the masa harina/cornstarch paste), then after about five more minutes add the tomato sauce and water, stir, let simmer for a little, sip the broth, and add enough salt and pepper to suit your tastes. Then let the whole thing simmer for about 30 minutes, then add the masa harina/cornstarch paste, then simmer for another 15 minutes, then ta-da, you've got chili.

You may choose to add pinto beans that have already been cooked until they're soft; the best homemade pinto beans are cooked with a fatty pork product of some kind (option for vegetarians: soy bacon cut into the stew) and flavored with a teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and oregano (again, dry spices only), and again enough salt to fit your taste. This will make a nice big pot of pinto beans you can pour into plastic containers and freeze. If you can find vermicelli pasta at your supermarket, you can make Mexican fideo and serve with the beans for a cheap dinner I've grown up with and adore. However, if you don't want the beans in the chili, that'd be fine.

I think you can make a really respectable bowl of "red" and fit whatever dietary choice it is you've made -- omnivore who eats red meat, omnivore who abstains from red meat, or vegetarian/vegan. What you can easily mess up on is the actual recipe itself. And hardly anyone east of the Mississippi River and west of the Pacific coastline makes a decent bowl of "red", I've found. I think it's time for those of us who live between those boundaries to correct that. This is my little attempt to do so.

Also: Authentic Mexican savory dishes that use chocolate (a.) only use the bitter kind of chocolate, (b.) use a smallish amount of it, and (c.) use it in a dish called "mole" (MOH-leh). It's a really complicated stew that uses about 40 different ingredients, including chocolate and a paste made from peanuts, takes forever to make, and uses very little meat, traditionally poultry or pork. In the end you're left with a slightly bitter, strong, super-thick kind of sauce with a little meat in it that you serve on top of Mexican-style rice or use as the filling for tamales. Mole should be brownish in color. Another chocolate thing Mexicans typically like is a frothy chocolate drink made from a paste of slightly sweetened chocolate and cinnamon that's blended with boiling hot water until it gets as thick as European hot chocolate. And then there's another hot chocolate drink that's actually half chocolate, half masa harina, sweeter than the aforementioned drink, and traditionally served around Christmas time by Mexican communities in the U.S. It is unbelievably rich and I can only drink a small shot glass full of it. But oh, this is supposed to be a thread about chili, sorry. I can ramble on and on about this stuff....

Well I did it!!! And am pleased to report it was amazing - even if I do say so myself

Used my original recipe but added a fresh green & red chilli, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. Plus some Green & Blacks...
Also topped with touch of cheese (red leicester)

I did however forget to put my kidney beans in - not to worry as I don't like them {I pick them out } but it was still fab and got the seal of approval from my friend who is a fantastic chef!!!

Guess what I'm having for dinner again tonight?

woohoo, i knew i wasnt crazy with all my diferent herbs and spices. thanks ksister

Excellent work Rainbow Girl.

1lb Mince Beef
1 large onion
1 Green Pepper
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
Rounded Tbsp Flour
2 tbsp Chilli Powder (or as much or little as you need for your taste)
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Cumin
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
1 Large Can Tomatoes
1 Can kidney beans
Oil for cooking

Chop onion and pepper sweat off in the oil with crushed garlic.

Add mince and until browned - drain excess fat

Add flour, Chilli Powder, Paprika, Cumin, and Tomato Puree - stir well

Add Tinned Tomatoes and kidney beans and simmer for 1hr 30 mins for best results (this can be shortened if time is an issue)

My usual chilli method is fry one chopped onion, one or two garlic cloves finely chopped or pressed, a bit of root ginger finely diced and one seeded and chopped bird eye chilli until the onions are nice and soft. THen add the mince, fry until browned and sprinkle in an oxo cube. Then add a can of chopped tomatoes, simmer for a few minutes, then add a good squirt of tomato ketchup, ground cumin, paprika, tabasco or econa hot chilli sauce, and three or four twists of black pepper and salt to taste. Let all that lot simmer for five to ten minutes minutes or so, drain and add kidney beans and them simmer for at least another 15 mins.

Best served with rice and garlic bread, yum yum.