Mole

You may have gathered from my blog that food is a significant part of the cultural experience I am enjoying during my year in Mexico. One especially delicious part of the food here is Mole - the name for several Mexican sauces (and dishes based on these sauces). There are many different types of 'mole', some quite different from one another, including black, red, yellow, green, and one of my favourites pipián (made with sesame seeds).

Perhaps one of the most famous of these sauces is Mole Poblano, which as its name suggests originates from the state of Puebla (luckily for me where I am living). Mole Poblano is found on almost every menu in Puebla and is a spicy chocolate and chilli sauce usually served over chicken or turkey, eaten with rice - and of course tortillas!! Although you can buy the sauce commercially, there is nothing like the home-made mole or the mole which is also home made, but sold in the mercados. Check out the picture of the different moles for sale in the mercado at Santa Ana. The beauty of the mole sold in the mercados, is all you need to do is mix and heat it with chicken stock to prepare. So it is tasty and convenient.

Due to to myriad of ingredients in Mole Poblano and the time it takes to prepare, people tend only to make it at home for special occasions. Recipes vary from family to family, however typically, Mole Poblano contains dried chilli peppers (ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle), ground nuts and/or seeds (peanuts, almonds and/or sesame seeds), spices, Mexican chocolate (cacao ground with cinnamon, sugar and sometimes nuts), salt, and a variety of other ingredients including charred avocado leaves, onions, banana and garlic. Dried seasonings such as ground oregano are also used. In order to provide a rich thickness to the sauce, crushed toasted tortillas, bread crumbs or crackers are added to the mix.

At a recent fiesta I attended for a baptism, the baby's grandmother prepared mole for the fiesta which was attended by well over 100 people. Although she had assistance from family and neighbours, it still took several days to prepare the Mole Poblana. The result was delicious and included below is a photo of the massive cassarole dish of Mole Poblano plus a plate of mole served with chicken and rice. Following this dish too were the mandatory frijoles. All absolutely delicious and very filling - and that was before the gigantic cake was served!!

I would love to enjoy Mole Poblano back in Australia and can learn to make it here, however I am not sure I'll be able to locate all the ingredients required. So please let me know where I can locate the special ingredients, especially the dried chillis.