Video:How to Make Chili Powder

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Transcript:How to Make Chili Powder

Hi, my name is Lea Elleseff for About.com Food, and today we're going to make our very own chili powder. A good reason for making your own spices at home is because they'll be a lot fresher, and more delicious than the store bought variety.

Homemade Chili Powder Ingredients

Here's what we'll need:

• 6 dried red peppers
• 6 dried arbol chili peppers
• 3 dried chipotle chilies
• 1 1/2 tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 tbsp. oregano

Alter the Chili Powder Spiciness

This recipe is going to get us a very hot chili powder, so if you'd like something milder replace the red chili peppers with the ancho or mulato chili peppers. And remember to wash your hands after handling the peppers because they are very hot and if you get them in your eyes or mouth it will really hurt.

Prepare the Chili Peppers

First you'll need to prepare the peppers. Do this by cutting off the stem, slicing the peppers in half, and scraping out all of the seeds. You'll want to remove the seeds and stems because they are the spiciest parts of the pepper, and they won't grind very well.

Toast the Chili Seasoning

Now toast the cumin and the pepper in a pan on low heat for about 5 minutes. Let everything cool completely after 5 minutes for 1 minute.

Grind the Chili Powder

Now put the roasted ingredients, the garlic powder, and oregano in a spice mill or blender and grind the ingredients together until they form a fine powder. Now this delicious blend of spices is ready to be used in stews, chilies, beans, and other dishes that could stand a good kick in the pants.

Thank you for joining me, to learn more visit us on the Web at food.about.com.