Vegetarian Chili II

By Hklbrries

This chili is made with the big, dark red dried peppers that are appearing in more and more supermarkets. If you can't find them, just use 3 to 4 tablespoons of your favorite chili powder. You can use canned beans if you wish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried kidney beans or pink beans
• 6 dried Anaheim or New Mexico chiles
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 cup hot bouillon
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried

Preparation

Step 1

Soak the beans overnight; drain and rinse. Add water to cover, bring to a boil again and simmer gently for an hour or more, or until the beans are tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, prepare the chiles: Remove the stems and seeds and discard. Tear the pods into pieces, place them in a bowl and cover them in boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes. Put chiles and their soaking water in a blender and blend to a smooth puree.

Place the bulgur in a bowl and pour the hot bouillon over it; soak for 15 minutes.

In a second pot, cook the chopped onion, garlic and green pepper in 1/2 cup of the bean cooking liquid until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice, breaking up the tomatoes. Add the chile puree, cumin and oregano; simmer gently. Add the soaked bulgur to the vegetable mixture. Stir in the cooked beans. Simmer the chili for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking; add some of the bean liquid as needed if the chili is too thick.

Anaheim chiles vary in heat; if the chili is too mild for your taste, add a little cayenne pepper. Serve the chili with non-fat tortilla chips and a green salad.