El traditional mole Mexican is a thick sauce with various forms of preparation in different regions of the country. Generally, the following ingredients are used in its preparation: mulato chili, ancho chili, chipotle, pasilla chili, chocolate, almonds, peanuts, pecans, sesame seeds, tomato, raisins, tomato, onion, garlic, cloves, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, anise, among others.
With the mixture of all the mentioned ingredients, the logical thing is that there is a sauce with a high nutritional content and unforgettable when savoring it. So the Mexicans love their traditional mole and they used to accompany it with turkey (turkey in other places) and in current times it is more common to accompany it with chicken.
There are many versions of how to make a traditional mole, whatever the version, doing it is a lot of work, especially if the grinding is done in metate (made with volcanic stone), as the indigenous ancestors did. The work is so strong that some grandmothers do it advancing part of the work the previous days.
El traditional mole It is made in Mexico in all kinds of celebrations: birth of a baby, baptisms, marriage, birthdays and even the day of the dead. From generation to generation the necessary knowledge is transmitted to obtain a balance between so many different flavors present in the ingredients and thus, in the end, obtain the exquisite mole.
History of the traditional Mexican mole
History traditional poblano mole It is not so transparent, there are different versions of its origin, among which three versions stand out, each of which is described below:
prehispanic origin
Those who claim that the traditional mole It has a pre-Hispanic origin. They say that before the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, the Aztecs already made a dish they called "mulli". A word from Nahuatl that means sauce, which is said to have already included among its ingredients various kinds of chili and cocoa, later called chocolate, which were ground using metate made of volcanic stone.
As it happens with all the preparations that are part of the traditions of the towns, with the passing of time, as the tradition spreads, modifications also occur that never end, since there are always chefs and ordinary people who They like to experiment with different flavors.
Saint Rose Convent
In this version of the origin of the traditional mole It was given in 1681 in the Convent of Santa Rosa by a nun named Sor Andrea de la Asunción. Who came up with the idea of grinding a series of ingredients, supposedly by divine inspiration, and making a sauce with them. It is stated that during the preparation of the dish that occurred to him, the mother superior appeared in the kitchen and mentioned the word "muele" pronouncing it as "mole". Although supposedly the nuns present in the kitchen corrected her, if that was her origin, mole was born and mole stayed.
Accidentally
Another version affirms that the first traditional mole It was created by accident when preparing a special dinner for a bishop. Fray Pascual had the task of coordinating the preparation of the menu for such an important event. It is said that at some point Fray Pascual saw the kitchen so disorganized that he collected all the leftover ingredients in a container.
He was about to take them to the cupboard when he tripped and all the leftovers he had collected accidentally fell right into the pot where the turkey was cooking. According to what is stated, the turkey was very liked with that improvised sauce due to the circumstances. In this version it is not said why it was called a mole.
Whatever the origin of the traditional mole, the important thing was that one day he came to stay among the Mexicans, who highly value their traditions. Within which is the elaboration of the mole. Over time instead of eating the mole with turkey, as was originally done. Then the mole was changed to be accompanied more commonly with chicken.
Traditional mole recipe
Ingredients
2 chicken pieces
1 plátano
3 chocolate bars
1 roasted tomato
100 g peanuts
150 gr sesame
150 gr mulatto chilies
100 gr cascabel chile
100 gr colored chili
100 gr pasilla chile
3 golden tortillas
100 gr pumpkin seed
3 garlic
3 chocolate bars
1 plátano
Half roasted onion
Oregano
Cumin
Buy
Sal Island
Preparation
- To prepare traditional mole you have to clean, chop the chicken into pieces and cook it. Reserve.
- Clean the chiles, removing the veins and seeds and soak them in hot water until soft. Then grind and strain them.
- Brown the pumpkin seeds, the sesame seeds and the peanuts; grind with the rest of the ingredients. If you use a blender, you can add part of the chicken broth and strain it after blending.
- Fry the already ground and strained chiles in four tablespoons of oil; add the rest of the ingredients already ground and strained. When it starts to boil, add the chicken broth until the desired thickness is obtained and cook, stirring, until a trace forms on the wooden spoon and the sauce does not come together.
- Add the chicken pieces to the ready mole. You can also serve the chicken on plates and bathe it with the mole.
- There is nothing left to taste. Enjoy!
Tips to make a delicious mole
- To clean the chilies used in the preparation of the traditional mole, it is advisable to use gloves so as not to end up with red eyes.
- There are always variations in the taste of the amount of spiciness that each participant of the meeting likes where the delicious mole will be enjoyed. Therefore, it is convenient to use part of the chiles in the preparation and with the rest to make a very spicy sauce, which can be added to their plate by those who wish.
Did you know …?
The traditional Mexican mole represents a complete and restorative food in itself. I do not believe that there is any vitamin, mineral or important element for the benefit of the organism that is not present in the mole.
The surplus of the mole used for a celebration can be frozen and rehabilitated the day when you want to consume it.
