Sunday, March 27, 2011

Veggie Cooking: African Chili

I went to college at the University of Montana, that is the heart of mountain beef country and as you can imagine we ate a lot of it.  I met a culinary arts student there who had this wonderful collection of unique recipes. She could make things our of nothing and it would be drool worthy. One day she told us she was going to make a group of us her African Chili.  I admit, I was not as creative of an eater as I am now, but I thought what the hey, she had never steered me wrong before, I'll give it a try.  One bite and I was done. No longer was I afraid of any cuisine, all ethnic groups were fair game, I wanted to try it all!  Before that, my big venture into ethnic food eating was cheep Chinese takeout, not exactly a triumph of culinary expression as it did not even come close to real Chinese cooking.  Now if a country exists on the face of this big oceany ball we call home I want to try its food.  Bring it on, in all its yummy glory.  This simple African Chili recipe was ground beef based, so if you don't like soy, or want to make it with meat just cook a pound of your favorite ground meat and drain and you are all set to go!

 I bring you: African Chili,
(Soy & peanut allergen alert)
Ingredients:
1 lb soy crumbles, or 6 soy burgers chopped, if you grocery story is too far behind the times to have crumbles
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 14 oz can of corn, drained
1/4 cup peanut butter
Hot sauce
Hot cooked rice
Light flavored oil of your choice

Saute the onion in a touch of oil until translucent.  Add the soy crumbles and cook until heated through.  Add the chopped pepper, the tomato sauce, water, and hot sauce to taste and cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.  Mix in the drained corn and cook for another ten minutes.  Mix in the peanut butter and stir until melted. Serve over hot rice.

Several posters have said that they are allergic to the soy based meat substitutes.  I would love to know, if any of you get adventurous enough to try it, how this recipe works with beans instead.  I bet it would be delicious since most of the flavor is from the veggies and the peanut butter.  I would love to know any meat free recipes you have.  Do you have one that doesn't use a soy based meat substitute? Send it my way.  Got a killer recipe for something that is grain based? I would love to try it! I will give it all a go, because leftovers rule in all ways.

Keeping the cooking real,
Kelly, the origami ninja

13 comments:

  1. Ninja you should try West African Mafe (pronounce MaFay). I had it in Mauritania. Its similar to your recipe, except they used goat (or beef) cut into cubes. It has ground peanuts (or peanut butter which we didnt have in our village), dried tomatoes (tomato paste, also not in our village) and okra, which normally I hate but taste suprisingly good and not slimy in this form. I'll dig up the recipe once I get settled and send it to you. -Capitaine de Montréal de métier

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  2. hiya visiting form craft couture and following too x what a yummy sounding meal x could i substitute the soy crumbs for quorn mince ? just easier for me to pick up at the shops ? tfs and hope to see you soon at mine
    xmaggiex

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  3. I think the quorn mince would be fine in this. I have to drive really far to get a food that progressive so I take what I can get. I hope you give it a try!

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  4. Thanks for linking up to Mad Skills Monday!

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  5. Yum! Thanks for linking up to Tuesday Tell All.

    Melissa
    MyCraftieLife.Blogspot.com

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  6. you guys are making me hungry! i love stuff like this,thanks for sharing it at my party!

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  7. Thanks for linking up to Craft Couture Monday! :)

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  8. I'm glad everyone is liking the recipe!

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  9. This sounds delicious! I have a soy & bean chili recipe sort of similar to this one and i LOVE it! Mine doesn't haven't peanut butter in either) I'm holding back on soy at the moment though, so won't be able to try this out. I wonder if lentil will be a suitable substitute...hmmmm.....

    Anyway, tnx so much for linking up at my party again this weekend!

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  10. Love the recipe! The soy burgers and peanut butter make it look really special. I'm a new follower from the Sunday Hop. Come on over and say 'Hi!'
    http://avalon-lion.blogspot.com

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  11. Mmm! This looks soo yummy.. love the soy and the peanut butter combo.. ! Thanks for sharing wtih the Pink Hippo Party!

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  12. Kelly, I love a good backstory that accompanies a delicious recipe, and learning about your college culinary adventures was a wonderful introduction to this unique African specialty!

    Thank you so much for linking to another "A Little Birdie Told Me..." at Rook No. 17.

    Jenn

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  13. This is a another way on how to prepare your dishes with chili, another way to present your chili and spicy dish to your Family and friends, and how yummy it is, especially the peppermint.

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