Day 113: Mexico and Pollo con mole

Buenas, Raffies!

Today we are going to Mexico and we are not going to make Tacos. We are going to make Pollo con mole!
Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce that has its origins in prehispanic Mexico. The Aztecs and the Mayas used chocolate and cocoa beans regularly as an ingredient for sauces.
Mole is traditionally made out of chili and chocolate. Its actual origin is wrapped in legends, but one thing is for sure: there are countless variations and recipes.

Mole poblano is a recipe of mole originated in the city of Puebla. It is a sauce, poured over fried guajolote, the Mexican turkey. Its main ingredients are different varieties of chilies and bitter chocolate. Nowadays, the turkey is often substituted by chicken.

If you want more information about mole (the texts are in Spanish):

• Curiel Montiagudo, José Luis (2004). «Construcción y evolución del mole virreynal». Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes. Consultado el 7 de enero de 2016.: http://www.cultura.gob.mx/turismocultural/cuadernos/pdf12/cuaderno12.pdf#page=25
• Flores y Escalante, Jesús (noviembre de 1993). «Nuestro mero mole». Breve Historia de la Cocina Mexicana. Consultado el 7 de enero de 2016.

As for the recipe:

1 tbsp sesame seeds

5 peppercorns

1 bar of chocolate

1 tomato

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic

1 chicken, cut into pieces

1 cinnamon stick

60 g chile mulato

60 g chile ancho

60 g chile pasilla

50 g almonds

3 slices of old bread

1 c chicken stock

2 oranges, juice

salt

pepper

sugar

oil

Start by frying the chicken. Set the chicken aside.

Heat up a pan and toast separately the chilies, the sesame seeds, the cinnamon and the pepper corns. Set them aside, separately.

Heat up some oil and fry the almonds. Set them aside, too. Now fry the bread and set it aside.

Melt the chocolate with the sesame seeds, the pepper corns, the almonds, the bread and the chicken stock.

In another pan, heat up some oil, fry the chopped tomato, until the peal starts coming off. Add the chilies, the crushed garlic, the onions, the orange juice and salt and sugar. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Now mix the two sauces and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes, until the sauce gets thick. In case the sauce should be too thick, add some more chicken stock.

Now add the pieces of chicken and cook for a couple of minutes more.

Serve with white rice.

It was the first time I had ever eaten chocolate in a savoury sauce and it was delicious. I find it difficult to explain the flavour to you. It has something to it that is simply delicious and so unusual . You ought to try it, if you haven't already! I myself will be trying as many moles as I possibly can and I will definitely go to Mexico asap!

Love,

Raffi