Authentic Mole Poblano
Mole Poblano Auténtico
The crown jewel of Puebla cuisine: a deep, complex sauce built from a trinity of chile mulato, chile ancho and chile pasilla, layered with toasted nuts, seeds, warm spices and Mexican chocolate, bathed over poached chicken. A celebration dish that takes hours but rewards with one of the most extraordinary flavors in Mexican cooking.
Prep
1 hour 30 minutes
Cook
2 hours
Servings
10
Difficulty
Hard
1 Ingredients
- 5 chiles mulato, deveined and seeded
- 4 chiles ancho, deveined and seeded
- 3 chiles pasilla, deveined and seeded
- 2 chiles chipotle secos (optional)
- 3 tbsp reserved chile seeds
- 1/4 cup ajonjolí (sesame seeds)
- 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 4 medium jitomates
- 1 medium white onion, quartered
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 dry corn tortillas (or 1 bolillo roll)
- 1 stick canela (5 cm)
- 3 cloves
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp anise
- 1/2 tsp Mexican orégano
- 100 g Mexican chocolate (Abuelita or Ibarra)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 ripe plátano macho, optional
- 6-8 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup manteca de cerdo (or vegetable oil)
- Salt to taste
- 8-10 pieces cooked chicken (thighs and legs)
2 Instructions
- 1
Wipe the chiles clean with a damp cloth, devein and remove seeds (reserve 3 tbsp of seeds for later). Toast each chile on a comal for 10-15 seconds per side without burning. Soak in hot water for 30 minutes.
- 2
Separately toast on the comal: reserved chile seeds (1 minute), ajonjolí (2 minutes), pepitas (2 minutes), peanuts (3 minutes), almonds (3 minutes), and raisins (30 seconds). Set each aside.
- 3
Char the jitomates on the comal for 10 minutes, the onion for 8 minutes, and the garlic for 5 minutes. If using plátano macho, fry slices in a little oil until golden.
- 4
Lightly toast canela, cloves, peppercorns, cumin and anise on the comal for 30-60 seconds. Toast the tortillas (or bolillo) until crisp.
- 5
Blend in batches: first batch — drained chiles with some of their soaking water until smooth. Second batch — charred jitomates, onion, garlic with broth. Third batch — toasted seeds, nuts, raisins, spices and tortillas with broth.
- 6
In a heavy pot, heat the manteca over medium heat and fry the chile paste, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes until darkened and fragrant.
- 7
Add the jitomate mixture and cook 5 minutes, stirring. Add the seed-and-spice mixture and stir to integrate.
- 8
Gradually pour in the remaining chicken broth to reach a thick velvety consistency. Add the chocolate and sugar, stir until dissolved.
- 9
Lower heat and simmer the mole for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes so it does not stick. Adjust salt, sweetness and chile balance to taste.
- 10
Add the cooked chicken pieces and warm through. Serve in deep plates, ladle plenty of mole over each piece, finish with a sprinkle of toasted ajonjolí. Accompany with arroz rojo and warm corn tortillas.
💡 Tips from the Kitchen
- →
Mole tastes even better the next day — make it ahead and reheat gently with extra broth if it thickens.
- →
Strain the mole through a fine sieve before the final simmer if you want a silkier texture.
- →
Adjust dulce-picante-salado balance at the very end — every batch is different depending on the chiles.