Squid Chili

The other day I actually got to make a dinner JUST FOR ME! Ahhhhhhhh, bliss. Of course I had to make other stuff for the rest of the clan. Why? Well, firstly, I thought B.I.L. would be heading out to teach before dinner so I hadn't planned anything for him --turned out that not only would he be around for dinner but that I would also have to give him a ride to the U. And M.I.L. is having teeth probs so it was going to be something soft yet tasty for her. Wifey-Poo had some tummy probs so she was wanting something very mild and light.

Needless to say, I ended up making four completely different main courses. But the one I had was THE BEST! Mine was the chilli, of course.

Normally if I'm going to make chilli then I'll get the beans soaking the night before. I did not have that luxury this time so it meant extra cooking time for the beans, but that's ok since I can do loads around the house and grounds while the beans simmer, no worries.

So, here is what I did for my Squid Chilli!

To a large pot, I added the following:

150 gm dried berlotti beans
8 dried curry leaves
1/2 an onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
sprinkle of sea salt
lots of water

I put it on to boil and boiled till almost no liquid left, added a few more cups of water and boiled it down again till the beans were soft.

Into a hot, oiled wok I added the following:

1 squid tube --cleaned, sliced into rings, and blanched*
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp chilli paste (use the kind that's at least 90% thai chillis)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp dried basil
sprinkle of sea salt


*if you blanch the squid rings after cleaning and slicing then you can use them in any sauces and any cooking length without them going "tough" or "chewy".

I seared all that in the wok for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring/tossing regularly. I deglazed the wok with 2 glasses of shiraz and cooked it down till there was only a bit of liquid left.

The contents of the wok were then added to the pot with the cooked beans (and all that other stuff). One can of peeled roma tomatoes was added along with 2 tsp of chilli powder.

Simmered down till it was thick but not sticking and then served up! I did grate some fresh onion and cheddar cheese over the top of my bowl and I used some of my wholemeal flatbread as scoopers.

This was darned good! No reason why this can't be done for pretty much any type of meat you want to use in the chilli. Ground roo (kangaroo) instead of the squid would be particularly nice I think, as would moose.