How To Prepare a Basic Chile Powder
Why purchase chile powder when you can easily prepare pure chile powder in minutes!
Ingredients
- 3 ounces dried chile ancho pods that is the weight before removing the stems and seeds
- coffee grinder
- comal or griddle
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles. Place chile pods on a preheated comal(griddle).
- Toast for about 20 to 30 seconds per side. The chiles will become aromatic and you should see a light smoke.
- Never leave them unattended or they can burn and become bitter.
- Tear the chiles into smaller pieces. Place pieces into a coffee grinder and grind in batches until you have a fine powder.
- Three ounces (without the stems and seeds) yields about 6-7 loose tablespoons of powder.
- One average 1 large pod (ancho pepper) yields about 1 1/2 tablespoons of powder.
Notes
Easy Enchilada Sauce!
How to rehydrate the fresh ground chile powder to yield a delicious enchilada sauce!
1/2 c chile ancho powder (or a blend of chile powders)
1 c almost boiling hot water
1 tsp cumin seeds or 1 1/2 tsps. powder
1 tsp oregano
3 large cloves of garlic
1/2 of a small white onion
Salt, to taste
4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth
2 tbsps. naturally rendered pork lard or avocado oil
In the blender, combine the 1/2 c of chile powder and hot water. Cover tight, letting some of the steam release first. Blend on high until you have what looks like a chile paste. Pour in 2 cups of broth, cumin seeds, oregano, garlic, onion and salt, to taste. Blend on high until smooth.
Pour the sauce into the preheated lard in a large saucepan. Pour 1 cup of broth into the blender jar and swish it around to get all the remaining sauce in the jar. Pour this into the saucepan. Continue cooking sauce for 20 minutes. If you are happy with the consistency, taste it for seasoning. I thinned mine out with 1 more cup of broth and let it cook for another 10 minutes.