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Mole poblano served

Mole Poblano

Making mole isn't easy, but it doesn't have to take all day long. In this recipe I will show you how to make authentic Poblano mole in just a couple of hours!
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 12 people
Calories 227 kcal

Ingredients
  

Seeds

Fruits and fried

To blend

  • 3 cups of chicken broth
  • Cooking water of chilies, the necessary
  • 60 gr of Mexican chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita, or dark chocolate and on top a little brown sugar or piloncillo)

Instructions
 

  • Let's start by cleaning our chiles. We use scissors to cut and clean the chiles because we have to remove the stems, the veins, and the seeds, which are the spiciest. If you want to get some extra spice, you can keep some seeds.
  • We use 3 processes for everything, basically. Roast, fry, and blend. Let's do it!

Roast

  • Start with chiles. You can use a griddle, or put them directly into charcoal.
  • Set the pan at very high heat, and soon you'll see them smoking. Keep the kitchen well ventilated because this smoke tickles the throat.
  • When water is near boiling and after a couple of minutes of roasting chili, place them into that water. This will hydrate them, and make them release their flavor.
  • Now, let's go to the spices. Here we have cumin, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and something very important for our mole: anise.
  • We toast the spices because this makes them release a stronger flavor.
  • At the same time, we roast our tomatoes. Don't be afraid to let them burn a bit. That smoked flavor is great for the mole.
  • The last thing to roast will be sesame seeds, and this is quick, so keep an eye on them.

Fry

  • Continue with the next process, which is to fry the rest of the ingredients. It usually takes a lot of time because many people fry each thing separately. After all, some things have different cooking times.
  • To speed up as possible cook similar ingredients at the same time, like, for example, nuts.
  • Put almonds and peeled peanuts in hot vegetal oil. After a couple of minutes, get them out when they are brown.
  • Mole poblano have a bit of a sweet taste at the end, and that comes because it has many fruits. Raisins and plums give it a delicious touch.
  • Finally, plantain add sweetness to the dish, and a soft texture. We'll use two. And remember, the darker, the sweeter.
  • Cut the plantains, but before that, take out the sides, and trace the folds with a knife to peel them.
  • Slice the plantain in thick slices.
  • Continue frying, and now let's add another more complex carb, bolillo bread.
  • Then, let's make the sauté seasoning of garlic and onion. Fry these at a medium-low heat temperature until the onion gets translucent.

Blend

  • The third and last process is, forgive the repetition, to blend everything. As they are a lot of things, I like to separate them into 2 groups.
    In the first group, we have our nuts, seeds, and spices, that we process a bit, just what people usually do in a mortar, but here.
    Then, add plums, onion and garlic, and plantain.
    And to help the blender, add chicken broth.
  • Blend for several minutes until everything is well processed.
  • Transfer to a container because the blender has to work on the second group, which has our chilies with much of the water where they got hydrated, the toasted bread, and the tomatoes.
  • Let the machine do the hard work and in a matter of minutes, you'll have a thick sauce. Then, transfer to another container.
  • Now you have two mole purées, so prepare your clay pot.
    One important step before cooking everything is to strain both purées because they may have pieces of seeds and little things that wouldn't let you have that mole silky texture.
  • For the first group, and then the other. There's one last ingredient missing for your mole, and that is chocolate.
  • People usually use Mexican chocolate bars, which usually have a bit of unrefined brown sugar, or brown sugar.
  • But if you don't find that in your country, you can use very bitter dark chocolate.
    And then also add brown sugar after that.
  • Take the chocolate pieces and put them piece by piece into the clay pot.
    Stir well and don't forget the salt.
  • Stir little by little, cooking at medium heat for at least 1 hour. Don't leave it because the chocolate may stick onto the base and burn.
  • After that time, it will look thick and change its color and flavor.
  • By now, your house will be filled with the traditional scents of Mole Poblano.
  • Now, get ready to serve and top with sesame seeds to make it look even more beautiful.

Notes

Keyword Mole, Mole poblano