Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Very interesting tip for Mexican dried chiles...

I've just discovered by accident that if I toast dried chiles (ancho, New Mexico) right on the stove burner until they're darkened and getting brittle, this removes all of the heat from the chile. I've been making chile pastes for Mexican food lately, and made one version without toasted chiles, the other with toasted. I was totally shocked - the untoasted version was too hot for most people at dinner to eat. But the toasted version had no heat at all.

I've never seen a mention of this in any Mexican recipes, even when they call for toasting the chiles. So it might be a fluke, but it's happened three times now. I just toast several of the chiles (they're pretty big) then soak in boiling hot water until very soft. Then I puree with some of soaking liquid, fresh lemon or lime juice, a handful of raisins that I've soaked along with the chiles (for a sweet note), and some cumin. I don't measure, just add the lime/raisins to taste for a sweet-tart balance. Then add salt at the end. The pastes are wonderful for grilling fish or spreading on corn/flour tortillas. I even added some to panfried firm tofu for tacos and it was great.

So if you like chiles and Mexican food but can't take the heat, try toasting the chiles and see what happens. I've been totally amazed.

- Heather

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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