People (I'm looking at you, Texas) can be pretty authoritarian about what constitutes "real" chili.
If you ask me, if it has 1. chili powder, 2. cumin, 3. tomatoes, and 4. a protein (meat and/or beans), it's chili.
You can put whatever other spices you want, and you can (and should!) add beans. You can (and should!) serve it over rice.
In Cincinnati, they add cinnamon and serve it over spaghetti---and it's still chili.
Do you make chili, and if so, how do you like it?
We eat chili every week. Ground meat, tomato can, chili powder, onion, fresh jalapeno, pinto beans. Sometimes other types of beans, sometimes ginger root or garlic... over white rice. I like to put butter on my rice before chili.
i make 3 different kinds of chili, texas red( no ground beef, beef tips, kidney beans cooked in the same seasoning served on the side) your basic kansas chili( ground beef, kidney beans, tomato sauce, william's seasoning) and carnitas chili( chunks of pork loin, tomato sauce, william's seasoning, black beans). white chicken chili IS SACRILEGE! because it AIN'T chili,it's spicy chicken& bean soup.
the only thing i serve chili over is my burritos, rice goes on the side, and the concept of spaghetti or any pasta? also sacrilege. :cheers:
* for the record, no i do NOT put onions, peppers, jalapenos or chunky tomatoes in the chili i eat, but i do saute them and serve on the side if we have company. and i will put them in if it's for catering job, at client's request. *
If I make chili, I make it hot.
With corn bread.
One of the more popular dishes here in Germany is Chili con carne. It always includes corn, kidney beans and ground beef or pork. Germans eat their Chili con carne with baguette, or any type of bread, and nothing else. About two years ago a co-worker made a big pot of Chili con carne for our shift at work. I told her that I would bring some "toppings", she was confusded and assumed bread. Well, I literally blew everyone's minds when I brought tortilla chips, sour cream, nacho cheese, shredded cheese, pickled jalapeños, guacamole and sliced green onions to the table. Most loved it, some thought it was strange, some refused my toppings.
Either way, personally I like to add stuff to my chili. Be it saltine crackers, tortilla chips, sour cream. Plain chili is kind of boring in my opinion.
I prefer ground beef in my chili. It can be spicy but not too hot. I have no special ingredients, but sometimes I will add garlic but not always. Oh, and as much as I love beans I prefer none in my chili. I will eat chili with beans if it is served like that but when I do my own it is usually bean-less.
My chili is made of coarse ground beef, cooked with LOTS of chili powder and seasoning salt with a bit of garlic and minced onion thrown in for flavor.
Then I with it a large can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles and red kidney beans (I buy the Van Trapp's Red Kidney Beans with Chili Gravy).
Serve over a bowl of tortilla chips.
It will clear your sinuses and put hair on your chest!