Cincinnati Chili - Five Way 🌶️ Ital Version - A Household Favorite
Greetings Hivers, our household Cincinnati Chili recipe is always evolving and changing, and it's been nearly a year since I last posted the current state of this recipe in our household.
Beans and tomatoes were two of the ingredients I selected for the @LotusShares Plant Power Cooking Challenge | Week #5, so when I found myself preparing this dish for the family, what is usually a weekly occurrence, I decided I would share with you this slightly updated recipe, one that Monkey-B loves most of all.
Cincinnati Chili is easily one of the most well-known regional dishes of the USA, and it actually has Macedonian roots, originally used as a topping for hot dogs. This sauce was very similar to Greek style pasta sauces, and eventually Tom Kiradjieff combined it with with spaghetti, creating what would become the legendary dish.
My version is #plantbased, so it lacks cheese and ground beef, two standard ingredients, and I purée the onions and favor elbow pasta over the traditional spaghetti. I also add coriander and turmeric, giving a little bit of an Indian kick, but I think this dish still pays homage to the original.
🍅 Cincinnati Chili Ingredients 🧅
Main Ingredients
- red kidney beans (rajma) | 1 cup
- elbow pasta | ½ kg
- tomatoes | 6-8 medium-sized
- white onions | 2
- garlic | 4 cloves
- cumin seed | 1 tsp
- cocoa powder | 1 tbsp
- coriander powder | 1 tsp
- chili powder (American style) | 1 tsp
- paprika | 1 tsp
- powdered Madame Jeanette chilies | ¼ tsp (🔥🔥🔥)
- cinnamon powder | ½ tsp
- turmeric powder | ¼ tsp
- allspice powder | ⅛ tsp
- sea salt | to taste (roughly 1 tsp)
Chili-ccesories
- fried tempeh and/or tofu
- raw diced onions
- hot sauce
- saltines/crackers
🔥 Cincinnati Chili Preppin'👨🍳
STEP 1
Soak the beans in water at least 6 hours before cooking, preferably overnight if possible. Chop the onions and purée, set aside. Chop the tomatoes and purée, set aside. Chop the garlic and slice the tofu and reserve.
STEP 2
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion pureé, a pinch of salt, and begin sautéing on low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
STEP 3
After a few minutes add the cumin seeds. Continue sautéing on low heat while occasionally stirring. Reduce the onions in volume by half.
STEP 4
Add the chopped garlic and continue sautéing and stirring until the garlic is fragrant and translucent, and the onions have become a caramelized paste.
STEP 5
Now add all the powdered spices, mix to incorporate, and sauté with the onion paste until fragrant.
STEP 6
Now add the tomato pureé, salt to taste, and increase heat to medium, and simmer until the tomatoes are reduced in volume by half. Next, add the drained beans, 1½ cups of water, bring to a simmer and put the lid on the pressure cooker. Reduce heat to low and bring to a whistle three times, then turn off stove and allow steam to escape before investigating for deliciousness.
STEP 7
While waiting for the steam to escape you can cook the pasta in plenty of salty water and fry the tofu and tempeh in a bit of vegetable oil. Drain the pasta and serve with the tempeh, tofu, chili, hot sauce of your choice, some crackers, and most importantly, fresh diced onions.
The key to delicious tofu is to combine the crispy with the soft. To do this, fry a thinly sliced block, wait for it to cool, and then slice thinly lengthwise.
If you don't have a family with a good sense of humor to enjoy your Cincinnati Chili with, I suggest you find a chili partner that you can trust with your deepest and darkest secrets.
It's all about playing with your food, and that's why kids love this dish so much. At Cincinnati Chili restaurants, this dish is served ready to eat, but we love to let the kids build their own, and the increases engagement with the meal, something we engaged Hivers can apprecialove.
Wow!! This looks sooooo good.. I've never made chili, and now I want to try haha.. the addition of tempeh sounds absolutely mouth-watering. I'm gonna have to give this a shot at some point soon!
Do try, you won't be let down. Would love to see your personal twist on it. Most folks don't puree the onions, but that's one of many things I changed from the original way. !ENGAGE 20
I'm not sure I'll be pureeing much anytime soon what with the way my blender operates... I really need to get a new one! Haha.
I'll give it a go. We've got a week coming up filled with rain so chili sounds pretty enticing in that case.
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tokens.The fun is in plating it yourself and putting what you like and the amount you want. Really looks tasty 😍.
Thank you, yes it's always nice to play with your food a little first before eating. !ENGAGE 10
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tokens.amazing! I want to eat that food! congratulations on your awesome and intimidating post haha
Thank for stopping by, Monkey-B can be fierce and intimidating at times, especially if you try to take her bowl of Cincinnati Chili. !ENGAGE 10
Hahahaha😂😊
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tokens.You always teach me something about exotic food but this time you've introduced me to Cincinnati chili which I have not heard about.
Wish I could sit on the floor with you guys and eat the food that you both cook.
This recipe made made it within a few hours of the Canada border, but never crossed over I guess. We hope to enjoy a meal with you in person one day. We've begun STEP 1 of 14 of the USA immigration process, it only took 3 years to acquire all the paperwork for STEP 1, so we'll see where this goes. !ENGAGE 20
Oh my gosh that's insane! Much like the world right now.
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Everything looks good, I love the photos of you and all your content, every time I see a new post from you and read it makes me feel completely confident as home photos and moments are great and finally see you all enjoying your food
a and also see this girl hahahaha I love it, greetings
Thanks for the kind words. I try and provide something personal in every post. Monkey-B obviously stole the show with this one though. Cincinnati Chili is something she goes berserk for. !ENGAGE 30
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tokens.It seems Rajma is your favourite beans as I already have seen one Rajma recipe previously. I rarely eat these Rajma beans but now started to think about it. Rajma Chawal or Rajma with bread is a common combination but I never imaging Rajma with Pasta...completely new for me! Thanks for sharing such an amazing recipe with a detailed procedure and description.
Enjoyed your post as usual!
I do love rajma, but there are also very few varieties of beans and lentils available in Suriname, so it's among the tastiest. I wish it was my idea to combine pasta and beans, but I give credit to Macedonian-American immigrants. I do occasionally put cooked pasta in my rasams, another favorite family food. Thanks for stopping by. !ENGAGE 40
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tokens.its funny that on the first photo I did not expect that many ingredients. I love chillie and I love it spicy but something tells me that this would burn my stomach away. 😂
It does look simple, but there's a lot going on under the surface, true. You can control the spiciness with your choice of chili powder(s). To make it non-spicy, purely paprika powder is the way to go. !ENGAGE 15
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tokens.This is a great idea, mixing beans with pasta. We usually have red sauce pasta, it is a very innovative idea to add red beans. I Will definitely try. Thanks for sharing.
Italian food is delicious, but a tomato sauce with pasta never fills me unless I have some protein, so this dish is a bit heartier for vegans/vegetarians. Let us see how you combine beans and pasta, would love to see. !ENGAGE 15
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tokens.This is another food of our favorite families!!! and the special food of monkey's B.
Yes, I think it easily Monkey-B's favorite. !ENGAGE 10
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tokens.I don't know what kind of bubble I grew up in but never heard of Cincinnati chili haha. Obviously chili yes but can't even remember eating it with noodles. I believe we ate it with bread. Looks so very tasty and is making me hungry! I'll try making funny faces like Monkey B when eat my dinner too :)
Ohio is borderline east coast, but still culturally midwestern. Perhaps if it was a Pennsylvania dish you might've caught wind of it. There are several different Cincinnati Chili fast-food chains in Indiana-Kentucky-Ohio. There is fierce competition in this niche market, but I can eat at none of them because there are no vegan options. !ENGAGE 30
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tokens.Another delicious meal Justin! Absolutely love it 💚😘👌
Thanks chef, a simple but delicious meal, and a Monkey-B favorite. !ENGAGE 10
My pleasure Justine! When the kids like it, that's the best reward 😍
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tokens.Thank you too 😍