<p>I add half a can of stewed tomatoes (regular or Mexican style) to my ground beef and dice it up pretty well. It adds a nice “something” to the taste and texture, imo.</p>
<p>A dash of cayenne pepper will be very similar to Indian or Thai chili powder. All three come from smallish red hot peppers that are similar, if not identical botanical species.</p>
<p>I’ve successfully made corn torttilas from masa harina mix. The secret is a tortilla press from tex-mex market for a couple bucks. It’s a little alumimum press. You put a ball of dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and squeeze it out think between the plates of the press. Once you’ve got them flattened, you just brown them on a dry cast iron skillet.</p>
<p>The tortilla press is also the perfect tool for making perfect Indian chapati breads or, even better, puffy puri breads.</p>
<p>Alas, all that has been parked by the side of the road as breads are the obvious place to start in a strategy of eat less and move more.</p>
<p>mantori…just bought some smoked paprika from Amazon…sounded like a nice addition to my spice cabinet. CC is bad for my budget!! I’m sure I’ll love it though. Thinking about the Indian Chili Powder…but my research said it was very similar to cayenne…like idad says! </p>
<p>idad…I have the metal press and bags of masa. They didn’t come out like I thought though. I do think I need more practice…</p>
<p>Just thought I would add that at Indian grocery stores you can buy most spices at a really great price. I buy coriander, cumin, chili powder, tumeric etc and buy 1 or 2 lb bags for the price you would pay(or even less) for an ounce or two at the regular grocery stores.</p>
<p>Sounds like maybe you needed a little more moisture in your masa dough. I used my press more for Indian breads as I actually prefer a flour tortilla for Mex – although the homemade corn tortillas hot off the skillet are pretty darn good.</p>
<p>Rick Bayless has an interminably detailed treatise on making corn tortillas in this cookbook (which is worth buying just for the Yucatan Achiote Grilled Sea Bass Taco recipe:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Baylesss-Mexican-Kitchen-World-Class/dp/0684800063[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Baylesss-Mexican-Kitchen-World-Class/dp/0684800063</a></p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.penzys.com%5Dpenzys.com%5B/url”>http://www.penzys.com]penzys.com[/url</a>] is the place for ordering spices in bulk. Their stuff is Triple-A quality across the board and pretty cheap in bulk. Coriander seed and cumin are ideal candidates for buying in whole form and grinding it yourself (in a plain coffee grinder). Cumin is so easy to grind you can even do it in mortar and pestle. Makes a big difference as both of those spices loose their pungency quickly after being ground.</p>
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There was an implicit wink by my ‘real Mexican…’. Some of this is probably regional. I’ve noticed for example that Tex-Mex is different from what we usually have out here. I prefer what we have here. I thought it was strange when I went to a Mexican restaurant in NM or Texas and they had no rice, no refried beans, and no shredded beef (only ground). Some places offer both ground beef and shredded but most places around here, including the hole in the wall places, all owned by people from Mexico, use shredded beef - probably because it’s usually tastier to most people than ground beef. But to each his own.</p>
<p>I have noticed the similarity between the *flavor *of Indian chili powder and cayenne pepper powder, and I do love cayenne pepper, but I’ve been disappointed by its low strength. The Indian stuff always seems to have more of a kick, but it’s entirely possible that I just haven’t had the “good” cayenne pepper. I’ve always gotten it at a regular grocery store, never at an authentic—I don’t know—Cajun grocery store…?</p>
<p>Penzy’s cayenne pepper will put hair on your chest. I had to learn to cut the amounts in recipes when I started cooking with it. Grocery store cayenne has no kick. </p>
<p>All of the hot chile powders come from slender red chile peppers, usually a couple inches long. Similar chiles are grown and used in cooking in every warm climiate region of the world.</p>
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<p>In my experience from living in Texas for 42 years, I can say that it is unusual (while not necessarily unheard of) to find a Tex Mex restaurant which doesn’t serve rice and refried beans. Tacos are usually made from ground beef, though there is the occasional restaurant which does the shredded beef thing. </p>
<p>Texas is a very big state, though, so I guess I need to qualify that my experience is pretty much limited to North Texas and the Austin/hill country area.</p>
<p>^^ My experience in Texas is limited as well - to Dallas and El Paso (as far as I can remember). It seemed that they use black beans rather than refried, use ground beef more than shredded, and often no rice. It’s funny - I had to really hunt around El Paso to just find a Mexican restaurant in a city comprised of a hispanic majority. I asked them why this was and they said they tend to either eat at home (Mexican food) or go to Mexico across the border to eat since it’s so close. Around here there are zillions of Mexican restaurants from little shops (some very good) to fancy places.</p>
<p>I noticed the same thing in NM which seemed to be mostly Tex-Mex.</p>
<p>But yes, even in one area the style can change. It’s just that around here shredded beef is the norm and ground beef pretty unusual but not unheard of. Arizona seemed to be more similar to here in style.</p>
<p>Maybe someone from Mexico who’s a gastronome can fill us in.</p>
<p>To get that soft (mushy?) texture, cook the meat for about 4-6 hours in a crock pot. (after a high heat saute on the stove) Season as you wish, but be sure to include a bit of diced onion, ,splash of beer and tomato—which should add some moisture to the mix.</p>
<p>Come to think of it- I never use ground beef for tacos. I like fish or beefalo, but if I go out to a food cart for tacos, [I</a> always get lengua.](<a href=“El Camion Seattle : The Most Authentic Mexican Food in Seattle : Menu”>El Camion Seattle : The Most Authentic Mexican Food in Seattle : Menu)</p>
<p>My husband just marinated his own flank steak for steak tacos this past weekend . . . mmm, delicious!</p>
<p>Mmm, lengua! Tongue is also a good substitute for ham in ham-and-baked-beans.</p>
<p>I keep two jars of pureed chiles in my fridge: one is just chipotles pureed straight from the can, and the other is ancho chiles. These are a bit more complicated. You buy the whole, dried chiles, sear them in a hot pan until they start to brown, then remove seeds and stems. Soak them in hot water for a bit. Pop them in the food processor and pulse, then add a little of the reserved soaking liquid to make a paste. Both of these are great for any Mexican dish, and for marinades.</p>
<p>Ca town with many mexican places from sit down to taco stands. It is a mix between ground beef and shredded beef. I like them both. I make ground beef tacos at home and I also don’t get that muchy texture. I don’t think chipotles in adobe are the answer. They have a distinctive taste and it is not the flavor you get at the restaurant. I love several places that add chunks of potato to their taco meat. Also we have quite a number of authentic places where the tacos are only served on soft corn tortillas never fried. The beef in these cases is usually carne asada. Another meat flavor I haven’t been able to duplicate at home.</p>
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<p>In Dallas, most Tex-Mex restaurants serve refried beans and tacos made from ground beef. Some restaurants offer black beans instead or as an alternative to refried beans. You can find Mexican restaurants which don’t feature Tex Mex, but instead offer what they claim to be more “authentic” Mexican food. One of our favorite restaurants in Dallas styles itself as “Mexico City dining.” They offer great seafood and steaks, and other dishes you would never find at a Tex Mex restaurant. Now that I think about it, I don’t know if there is a bean of any variety to be found there.</p>
<p>mantori- You need Gebhardts chili powder to get the ellusive TexMex flavorings.
Use lean ground beef passed through your grinder twice, then brown and simmer.
Pinto beans, soaked, cooked in a pot, drained, mashed, and refried with lard, then simmered until creamy.<br>
Cook and eat next day giving the flavors time to meld in fridge.</p>