3 Bean Chili

We love to have meals replete with vegetables in the winter. That's the season in which we get the best veggies in Delhi, so salads, freshly made soups, baked and roast vegetables are very welcome. Yesterday was one of those meals since we had just harvested a great crop of Lollo Rosso lettuce from our garden and had many other veggies on hand.

The first time I had Chili - which I have blogged about earlier - was in Seattle years ago. Due to an unusual stroke of luck, dad and I were both working on a client project and had to travel to Seattle. While there, the client took the team on a walkabout of the city. After a couple of hours, dad was tiring out so the two of us decided to opt out of the rest of the walk and look for dinner. We found a tiny but cozy establishment near Pike's Place Market and spied vegetarian Chili on the menu. It was a fabulous intro to the dish, with complex flavours, a chunky texture and a topping of browned cheese. I have recreated it innumerable times since.

Yesterday's version was a little different. Beans are a family of edibles that have always fascinated me. Not the green kind but the dried ones. So any soup recipe that calls for beans is always tried out. Yesterday, since we happened to have three varieties of beans on hand, I decided to make an experimental Chili.

Ingredients:
3 cans of cooked beans ( I used one of aduki, one of butter beans and one of black beans), rinsed and drained
2 onions, finely chopped
4-5 pieces of garlic, crushed
2 tomatoes, grated, with their juice
1 cup tomato puree
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp unsweetened chocolate powder
Salt to taste
2-3 chillies, chopped fine
1 green capsicum, 1 red capsicum, chopped
2 cups yellow pumpkin, diced
2 cups water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs (optional)
Finely minced coriander leaves for garnish

Heat the oil; add the garlic and onions and stir until translucent. Add in the cumin and coriander powder and mix well. Add in the chillies, tomato puree and grated tomatoes, the capsicum and pumpkin and the 2 cups of water. Let it come to a boil and simmer for about 10-12 minutes until the pumpkin is half cooked.

Add the beans, chocolate powder and a touch more water if required, the chili powder and paprika and the salt. Mix well and taste to check seasoning - we like it spicier so I probably added more than 1 tsp chili powder. Then let simmer on medium flame for about 15-20 minutes more.

Ladle it out into oven-proof bowls and top with the grated cheese ( and breadcrumbs if using). Pop into a pre-heated oven at about 175 degrees for 5 minutes or till cheese is melted. Garnish with minced coriander.

Serve as is or with a dash of sour cream and Pico de gallo ( tomato salsa).

Our dinner yesterday consisted of a salad with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and walnuts in a feta and olive oil dressing, a potato each baked in its jacket with a dash of Amul salted butter and the 3 bean Chili. Healthy and delicious!