Karl’s Four Chile Chili Powder

I had made a chile chicken and was kind of locked into recipes South of the Border for my leftover dishes. To season my chicken tacos and chili chicken soup, I made a batch of chili powder. This was enough seasoning for both dishes.

Karl’s Four Chile Chili Powder

Note: Many people add ground onion and garlic to their chili powder, but I prefer to uses fresh ingredients for these flavors. Cumin and coriander, other common additions, would distract from the chilies’ flavors that I am trying to emphasize.

I am using four chile powders in this recipe. California chile powder which is mild but flavorful. Hungarian paprika which add the warm flavor of ripe peppers and a slight complimentary bitterness, but has very little in the way of heat. Poblano chili powder which is also not too hot with a dried fruit/slightly grassy flavor. And finally, Chipoltle chili powder, which is extremely hot with a fruity-smoky molasses flavor (See Lucky Peach).

Note: If you cannot find Poblano chile powder, you may substitute the more readily available Ancho chile powder.

Karl’s Four Chile Chili Powder

Ingredients

½ Tbs. California chile powder
½ Tbs. Hungarian paprika
½ Tbs. Poblano chili powder
⅛ tsp. chipoltle chili powder
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
½ tsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Directions

1. Put all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Note: Makes about 2 tablespoons.