Well, you don't mention what the recipe is, so my advice might change, but.. since poblanos are usually so very mild I'd just substitute a green bell pepper and add a little of the mild chamayo powder. I always have bell peppers in the freezer. If you don't have bell pepper, then just go for a bit of the mild chamayo. If you think you'd like a bit more heat and the dish would benefit from the smokiness of the chipoltes that's also an option.

There really isn't a good sub for Poblano because it has a wonderful taste all it's own. So I suggest the same as coconut did - a bell pepper or just omit it.

I thought Anchos were dried Poblanos. Couldn't you soak your Ancho and use that?

noinwi

Thanks for that info, I never knew they were the same.

I guess I will try crumbling one or two into the dish and see how it turns out.

I'm about to start dinner and just checked back to see if there were any more replies

The recipe already has bell peppers in it but that would have been another good idea.

Thanks everyone

I'd add the chipotles....just a bit...

I rehydrated an Ancho Chili and the dish was so good. Served with roasted potatoes and yams as well as steamed broccoli. My 10 yr old dd said a rainbow plate means a healthy plate and it sure was pretty as well as very tasty.

So what was the dish/recipe? The flavors of chilies changes quite a bit when they are roasted/dried, much as the flavor of a plum changes when it becomes a prune or a grape becomes a raisin. Dried herbs also have different flavors than fresh ones. In some cases, dried or reconstituted can be substituted, and it appears that in your situation, this was the case. That's why I'm curious as to what you made! I've never substituted dried/reconstituted chilies for fresh, but I have done the reverse, by roasting the fresh chili.

Lars

Here you go Lars:

Spiced Chicken Breasts with Poblano and Bell Pepper Rajas
Try this with warm tortillas.
4 servings

* PREP: 40 minutes
* TOTAL: 40 minutes

Recipe by the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen

Photograph by Lisa Hubbard
January 2010
Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, cracked
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
* 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 2 red and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2x1/4-inch strips
* 1 large fresh poblano chile, cut into 1 1/2x1/4-inch strips
* 1 medium red onion, halved, sliced 1/4 inch thick
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

*
Mix coriander and cumin. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and half of spice mixture.
*
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, poblano, and onion; saut� until almost tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to medium bowl.
*
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add chicken. Cover; cook until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Push chicken to 1 side of skillet; return poblano mixture to skillet. Stir remaining coriander mixture and lime juice into poblano mixture; saut� until heated through, 2 minutes. Mix in cilantro.

L2K,

I don't doubt that the dish you made was delicious. However, I want to add that, although poblanos and anchos are the same chiles, poblanos are green and fresh while anchos are ripe and dried. So they are different.

IMO, very close substitutes for poblanos are either fresh Anaheims or canned green chiles. Canned green chiles are available chopped or whole.

Jim

That looks like a great recipe for using Ancho chilies! I think they would give it a richer chili flavor, but you really would not have needed to reconstitute them. You could have used them dried with the seeds removed and then chopped instead of sliced. If you used large pieces of Ancho chilies, there could be a problem of the skin remaining in large pieces, which you could remove if you find them. I probably would have used two Anchos instead of one, but then I particularly like Ancho chilies.

Lars