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Spicy Black Bean Chili

A hearty chili made with black beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices, broth, and topped with yogurt and cilantro.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spicy Black Bean Chili

Time1 to 1½ hours

Ingredients

Directions

Soak the beans

  1. Combine the beans and water in a large saucepan.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  3. Reduce the heat.

  4. Simmer for 2 minutes.

  5. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

  6. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.

  7. Drain and rinse the beans.

Make the chili

  1. Cook the onion and garlic in hot oil until tender.

  2. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt, and ground red pepper.

  3. Cook and stir for 1 minute.

  4. Add the beans, vegetable or chicken broth, undrained tomatoes, and sherry or water.

  5. Bring to a boil.

  6. Reduce the heat.

  7. Cover and simmer for 1 to 1½ hours or until beans are tender.

Serve

  1. Ladle the chili into individual bowls.

  2. Top with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and sprinkle with cilantro.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

735Calories
59 gProtein
33 gFat
46 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 16 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Dairynot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together983 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Beans + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,188 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Dry black beans
Provide the main body and texture of the chili after long simmering.
Onion and garlic
Build the savory base flavor as they soften in hot oil.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture that help form the chili's sauce.
Vegetable or chicken broth
Adds liquid and savory depth for the beans to cook in.
Chili powder
Supplies the core chili flavor and aroma.
Yogurt or sour cream
Adds cooling creaminess that balances the spice.

The step that matters

Soaking and simmering the beans until tender. Dry beans need full hydration and long, gentle simmering to soften evenly; adding acidic tomatoes too early can toughen their skins, so timing the beans to finish fully tender matters.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, chicken):

  1. Turmericfits better
  2. Rosemaryfits better
  3. Corianderfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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