For thickening , I cover the meat chunks in the spices and then add a good chuck of corn flour and mix it all together , then brown the meat in batches in a Skillet and then set aside, then toss in some wine or beer to loosen up all the crispy goodness in the skillet and then start browning onions , garlic chilies and then add the meat back , more spices stir up a bit , then in goes the tomatoes , beans stock, cup of coffee , etc and then bring to simmer and leave for a while.
The corn starch on the meat seems to do a decent job of thickening the chilli.