The legend of chilli

One of the most famous dishes of Texas is the chilli con carne, which was originally a nutritionally balanced combination of beans in a spicy tomato sauce.

According to food historians and “chilli experts'', a simpler version of this popular dish was known to the ancient Aztec and Mayan cooks, although many historians believe that chilli con carne as we know it today is an American recipe with Mexican roots.

True origins

True to its Mexican origin, “con carne'' is a Spanish phrase that means “with meat'', and although chilli was an intrinsic feature of Indian and not Spanish cooking, the con carne is by no means an Indian invention.

The word “chile'' was first mentioned in an 1857 book titled Chile Con Carne written by S. Compton Smith. However, there is an endless and controversial debate between food historians on the true origins of the bowl of red itself.

Chilli for the people

Whether the concept of chilli crossed borders or not, many agree that the chilli con carne in all its various forms further evolved in Texas, to the extent that the signature bowl of red is now the State Dish.

Around 1880, William G. Tobin of San Antonio, Texas, produced the first canned chilli con carne, to be named after him. Just before Tobin was about to open the first chilli-canning factory, he passed away and the project failed.

Nevertheless, the idea of commercialising chilli soon took off, and the first printed chilli recipe was to appear in 1880 in Mrs Owen's Cook Book.

Jail chilli

In the late 1800s, Chilli even became very popular in the Texas jail system, given that it was a cheap source of nutrition — bad cuts of meat, chilli peppers, spices and herbs that mixed to make a pleasant-tasting “Texas jail chilli''.

Chilli aficionados love their con carne made of beans, ground beef, and take special care with the spicy sauce — which they consider the most important ingredient.

Although chilli con carne is available in restaurants all over the US and can also be made at home or bought readymade in supermarkets, it is slowly taking hold of a strong and growing fanbase of chilli lovers all over the world.

The writer is an International Student Correspondent for NOTES, studying at the University of Sydney, Australia.