FoodieAtlas
Recipes around the World
Mole poblano is not a recipe to attempt casually: authentic versions include at minimum four to six dried chili varieties (ancho, mulato, pasilla, chipotle), each toasted and soaked separately; tomatoes and tomatillos charred until blackened on a comal; a small amount of dark Mexican chocolate stirred in at the end; plus cumin, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin seeds, sesame, and often raisins or plantain — 20 or more ingredients cooked in stages and blended into a thick, almost black paste that then fries in lard before turkey or chicken stock is added to thin it to sauce consistency. The dish's origin story places it at the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in Puebla, where nuns prepared it for a visiting archbishop — whether true or not, Puebla's claim to mole is uncontested. A good mole takes a skilled cook two days; the flavor — bitter, sweet, earthy, complex — cannot be replicated by any shortcut.
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and toast the chiles for about 1-2 minutes until they become fragrant. Be careful not to burn them.
Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Let them soak for about 20 minutes until they become soft. Drain and set aside.
In the same skillet, toast the raisins, almonds, sesame seeds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, black peppercorns, and anise seeds until fragrant.
Remove from the skillet and set aside.
In the skillet, heat the lard or vegetable oil over medium heat.
Add the torn tortilla and stale bread, and fry until golden brown.
Add the chopped onion, minced garlic, and chopped tomatoes. Cook until the vegetables are soft.
Add the soaked chiles, toasted spices, fried plantain, and the cooked vegetable mixture to a blender. Blend until smooth, adding chicken broth as needed to reach a smooth consistency.
Pour the blended sauce back into the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Stir in the chopped Mexican chocolate and cook until melted and well combined.
Add more chicken broth if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt to taste.
Simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a large pot, combine the chicken, chicken broth, quartered onion, garlic, bay leaf, and salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside.
Place the cooked chicken on a serving platter and pour the mole sauce over the top.
Garnish with additional sesame seeds if desired.
Puebla's complex multi-chili sauce with chocolate; served over turkey; 20+ ingredients; takes 1-2 days to make properly.
Puebla, Mexico; convent tradition; Aztec pre-Hispanic sauces evolved and expanded through colonial-era ingredients.
Dried chilies (ancho, mulato, pasilla, chipotle), Mexican chocolate, lard, tomato, tomatillo, cumin, cinnamon, plantain, pumpkin seeds, sesame.
Toast and soak each chili type separately — they have different intensities and require different times; the chocolate goes in last and should barely melt in, not dominate.
Turkey (traditional) or chicken, white rice, black beans; Oaxacan mezcal or dark Mexican beer (Negra Modelo).