Vegan Sweet Potato Chili with Mulato Peppers
A one-pot chili recipe that is as healthy as it is tasty! This hearty vegetarian bean chili is packed with vitamins from sweet potatoes and shepherd peppers and elevated by mulato peppers.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3 dried mulato chiles (or other variety)
- 5-6 dried round chiles (or other variety) can be optional
- 3 fresh Thai red chiles (or other variety) *see notes can be optional
- 4-6 sweet peppers, chopped (after removing the stem and seeds) aka shepherd peppers or "Sweet Twisters"
- 2 onions, diced small (around 1 cm)
- 2-4 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 large sweet potato, roughly diced into chunks (around 3 cm)
- 1 can diced tomatoes 28 oz
- 2 cans beans **see notes 19 oz each
- salt to taste
- 1-2 tbsp masa, cornmeal, corn tortilla, makai poha or other corn thickener ***see notes optional
- avocado, cilantro to serve
Instructions
- De-stem (and optionally deseed) the mulato chiles. In a pan, toast the mulato chiles on each side (10-30 seconds) until fragrant. Toast the round chiles until fragrant. Put toasted dried chiles into a heatproof bowl, cover with hot or boiling water, and let stand for 10-30 minutes. (See section on rehydrating chiles for more info and shortcut options.)
- In a blender or food processor, blend the rehydrated chiles along with their soaking water together with the fresh Thai red chiles (de-stemed) and optionally, a handful of the chopped sweet peppers. Add more water if the consistency is too thick. You should end up with a smooth, pourable puree. If using tortilla to thicken the chili, blend at this step (see note ***).
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions until translucent. Add oregano and cumin and fry until fragrant (10-30 seconds).
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Add the can of diced tomatoes, chili puree, and chopped sweet potato and sweet peppers. Rinse the cans of beans and add to the pot. Also add the masa or corn flour, if using, at this step (see note ***).
- If the ingredients are not already submerged, add enough water to cover. Stir and bring to a boil. Then simmer, stirring occasionally, over low-medium heat for 20-30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are cooked.
- Season with salt to taste. Serve with avocado, cilantro, or other garnishes.
Notes
*This recipe as written has medium heat, you may want to adjust the amount of chiles according to taste. If you are substituting chili varieties, adjust for heat and amount.
** I used a can of black beans and a can of red kidney beans. Almost any variety of canned beans will work. Pinto, kidney, and black beans will work especially well.
*** These ingredients thicken the chili. Omit if you do not have any or prefer a thinner sauce. If you are using tortilla, blend 1-2 small corn tortillas with the rehydrated peppers. If you are using masa or corn flour, blend with the peppers or sprinkle into the pot. I used makai poha, a South Asian dried corn flake product that is uncooked, which I tossed into the chili with the other ingredients.