Making Chili Powder

A while back I posted about the chili peppers that were sent to me by the Marx Foods company. I pondered over many many recipes. Would I make chipotle brownies, a robust chili, chili oils or some other concoction? I decided I would focus on using all of the sample chili peppers and make my own special chili powder that I could then use in some of my cooking. I am a huge fan of Southwest flavors and thought this would be the best way for me to use the peppers. The results of making my own chili powder were comparable to the first time I made Martha Stewart's one bowl chocolate cake. I said I could never go back to a box mix. I can now never go back to store made chili powder. The difference is unbelievable. Spices are such a key ingredient to a recipe that this trial has inspired me to do more research on creating my own.Yes, I used a huge variation of peppers for my chili powder which a basic store chili powder cannot compete with, but the intense flavor was unbeatable. I ended up with a robust chili powder that when used in small amounts can add a slight amount of heat to when used in larger quantities adds an incredible spice to a dish.

I made two batches of chili powder. The first was just a small amount so I could get the hang of what I was doing and to ensure creating chili powder was the right way to go. I learned that using my Cuisinart mini chop was not the best route to take for chopping and grinding the peppers. It just did not make a fine enough powder. I purchased a coffee bean grinder at Target and that did the trick! Still not as fine as what I see from a store brand chili powder, but fine enough for me.

Since I used such a variation of chilies; from ancho (dried poblanos that provide a hot/sweet taste) to Aji Cereza (extremely hot; rank just below habanero) I cannot provide the exact recipe to create the chili powder I made as I did not count how many of each I had. The chilies I had the most of were ancho and chipotle (dried, smoked jalapenos that are very hot and smoky) and to those I added the rest of the ones that Marx Foods had sent:

Aji Amarillo: Peruvian yellow chili; medium to hot
New Mexico: dried Red Anaheim chilies; mild
Aji Panca: very mild with a fruity taste
Aji Limo Rojo: related to habanero, but not as hot

Making chili powder is pretty easy. Once you figure out what chilies you are going to use, just follow the directions below. I would highly recommend wearing rubber gloves during this process. If you do not wear gloves you can wash your hands and two hours later go to rub your eye or face in be in big trouble as it will burn like heck depending upon the heat of your chilies!

Recipe for making Chili Powder

Choose your peppers. Your canvas is open and you decide the heat level. I really encourage those who are not fans of hot things to try making their own chili powder using mild and sweet chilies. You really will taste the difference in your recipes. Below are just a sample of what I used.

Cut off the stems of the peppers and then cut in half to remove the seeds. Being the chili head I am of course I saved the seeds!

Place the peppers in a skillet and heat for about 3-4 minutes per side. Be very careful not to burn the chilies. If you do, it will really impact the flavor of your chili powder. If you are using chilies on the extreme hot end of the scale, be careful sniffing what is heating up before your eyes. When you heat the chilies and the heat is released from the pepper, the smells can be extremely strong and make you cough a little. Lets just say I am talking from experience!

Remove chilies from the skillet and place in a spice grinder. As noted above, I started with a mini chopper, but then switched to a coffee grinder as my chopper did not grind enough. Before placing in the grinder you can certainly use some kitchen scissors to chop up the chilies a little. At this point I added a few shakes of cumin, garlic, oregano, cloves, and allspice. Next, turn on your grinder and chop and grind away. Once you get to the texture you want let the powder sit for a few minutes before removing the cover of the grinder. Experience talking again here. If you remove the cover immediately, the dust has not settled yet and will produce another cough or two!




If I had not seen the offer to try the chilies I would never have thought to make my own chili powder. I was really pleased with the results and look forward to trying it again. I have made two recipes to date with my creation. I made chili cream cheese with the first batch of chili powder and a shrimp and pasta dish with round two. I hope you will visit again to see these recipes. Both of these were made on a whim and a figure out as you go dish and what I found so inspiring was that the basis of each dish was a spice combination that was truly my own.

Have you ever ground your own spices? Do you find a difference between your own vs. store bought?