Why it works: Cumin and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 3,866 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: egg, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Crumble the beef stock cube into a small bowl and dissolve it in a splash of boiling water.
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef mince, break it up and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
Add the sliced red onion and red peppers and cook for 4 minutes, stirring, until softened.
Stir in the ground cumin and the fiery chilli pesto and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in the dissolved stock and add the drained kidney beans. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring, until the mince is cooked through to 160°F (71°C) in the thickest part.
Stir in most of the chopped coriander, reserving a small handful for topping.
Warm the flour tortillas in a dry pan for about 30 seconds per side, or until soft and pliable.
Spoon the chilli onto the tortillas and top with the sliced avocados, reduced-fat mayonnaise and the reserved coriander. Serve straight away.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,866 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Coriander + avocadotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,094 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Beef + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,091 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + coriandertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,948 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Cumin + avocadotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together415 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the kidney beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, cumin, pepper, coriander, flour, avocado, onion):
- Chickpeabetter flavor fit
- Beansbetter flavor fit
- Lentilsbetter flavor fit
- Kidney beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, cumin, pepper, coriander, flour, avocado, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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