Passport & Plate - Slum Dog Chillionaire
Canada | Sunday, March 1, 2015 | 3 photos
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 lb ground pork
1 1/2 lb ground chicken
2 tsp sea salt
1 cup Shiraz
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
12 medium hothouse tomatoes, diced
2 (5.5 oz) cans tomato paste
1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1-2 red Anaheim peppers, set aside 1/3 for garnish
1 (19 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
SPICE BOMB
4 tbsp pure chili powder
4 tbsp garam masala
3 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp sage, minced
2 tbsp cilantro, minced
2 tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp cracked mustard seed
1 tsp cayenne pepper
GARNISH
Tex-Mex shredded cheese
1 avocado combined with ½ cup sour cream
1 tbs lime juice
chopped green onions
red sweet pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large, heavy skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat.
2. Add ground pork to skillet and cook, stirring and breaking into bite-size chunks, for 2 minutes.
3. Add ground chicken to skillet and continue to cook, season with sea salt, continue stirring and breaking meat into bite-size chunks, until chicken and pork are browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
4. Add Shiraz to skillet and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, for 1-2 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer.
5. SPICE BOMB: In a bowl combine chili powder, garam masala, curry powder, sage, cilantro, ginger powder, paprika, ground cumin seed, cracked mustard seed, and cayenne pepper. Stir to blend evenly.
6. Add spice bomb to skillet and cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes– mixture should get a bit dry.
7. Transfer meat mixture to slow cooker and set to high heat.
8. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, garlic, peppers, and chickpeas. Stir to combine.
9. Cover and cook on high heat for 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
10. Seed then crush avocado fruit in bowl while adding lime juice – crush to desired consistency then stir in sour cream.
11. Spoon chili into clay bowls. Sprinkle with Tex-Mex cheese, top with a dollop of avocado/sour cream mixture in the centre, garnish with green onion and reserved red sweet pepper.
The story behind this recipe
The Slumdog Chillionaire Story
My name is Steven Mitchell and I produce TV shows for Food Network Canada.
In 2010 I was looking for the next great food show idea. Competition shows were the rage, but the competitors were all highly trained chefs, competing for “Top Chef” honours. However, I found a whole world out there of amateur cooking competitions, where a home chef can earn prizes of trips, appliances, food, and substantial sums of money. The Holy Grail being, the Pillsbury Bake-Off™, with a $1,000,000 prize. Here was my angle, but to fully understand one of these cook-offs, I had to enter one.
The ZANTAC CHILI CHALLENGE was looking for competitors to create an original chili worthy of their product. It sounded like fun, and I had just completed producing “Everyday Exotic”, where host Roger Mooking turned everyday meals into unique, ethnic dishes. Inspired, and with a love for Indian cuisine, I decided I could substitute chili spices, beef and kidney beans with curries, pork & chicken and chick peas just to start. I played with temperatures and cooking times that would work in a competitive arena, and after 20 test runs, came up with my recipe. I just needed a catchy name that reflected my East Indian styled chili.
My “Slumdog Chillionaire” recipe sailed through the on-line voting component and propelled me to compete in Ottawa at the semi-final challenge. Out of 12 competitors from various regions of Ontario, I ended up winning the Central Canada Semi-Final and was invited to compete in the National.
The Zantac Chili Challenge was an intense experience. Competitors from Western, Central, and Eastern Canada all met at the Calphalon Kitchens, Toronto, for the showdown. As it turned out, I placed second to the reigning champion, Mad Mike Callahan’s, “Black Pig BBQ’s Screeching Banshee Pork Chili.” The man went to South America for his Ghost Peppers and personally smoked and dried them after all.
I currently produce the hit FNC series, “You Gotta Eat Here!”
