It’s pretty hard to find smoked chipotle chilis in Helsinki, in fact I’ve never seen them, so I just used a cheap Pirkka-brand sauce called “Meksikolainen kastike (The Mexican Sauce) – salsa chilpotle”. It is actually imported from Mexico, and is pretty chipotley, but I guess real chipotle chilis would make the chili even better – and add a lot of heat!

On Sunday, I baked a seitan log, crumbled it in an electric shredder, and stored the crumbles in the fridge for future use. Now, I could just measure out 2 dl of crumbled seitan to make this chili. In case there’s no seitan log in sight, textured soy protein bits would be a good substitute.

Chipotle Seitan and Bean Chili:

• 500 g tomato sauce (or crushed tomatoes)
• 2 dl crumbled seitan log
• 380 g package cooked mixed beans, rinsed well
• 2 red onions, finely cubed
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons salsa chipotle
• 1 tablespoon wheat flour

First, I fried the onion and the garlic on medium heat until they had softened, for about 10 minutes. Then I added the rest of the ingredients except wheat flour to the pan, and stirred until the sauce started bubbling. I covered the pan and let it simmer for about half an hour.

Now, I tasted the sauce and adjusted the saltiness, and then sprinkled the wheat flour over the pan. Flour thickens the sauce, which makes filling the tortillas easier. I stirred the chili with a wooden fork until all of the flour was incorporated, and kept on stirring until it started to bubble again. Now, I set the temperature on low heat, covered the pan, and let it a brew up for an hour or so, until it was dinner time. I garnished the chili with frozen parsley, but chopped cilantro would have been even better.

Cumin Yogurt Sauce:

• 2 dl plain unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 green bell pepper, finely cubed
• 1 big clove garlic, pressed or finely grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• freshly ground black pepper
• finely sliced red onion for garnishing purposes

First I took aside a teaspoonful of green bell pepper cubes for garnish. Then I mixed everything up, and garnished with the onion slices and bell pepper cubes. Now, I refrigerated the yogurt sauce for 30 minutes or so.

Then we filled our soft corn tortillas with a pile of seitan stew, yogurt sauce, and cubed cucumbers. This recipe makes enough to fill 8 tortillas.

Yogurt Sauce:

• 1,2 dl plain soy yogurt
• 4 tablespoons finely ground almonds, toasted
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Tomato Mint Relish:

• 2 medium tomatoes, finely cubed
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (or other hot chili sauce)
• 1 teaspoon dried mint

I thoroughly combined the ingredients for each dish and served immediately.