Mole Poblano
A traditional Mexican feast for honoring the dead on Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb Mulato chilis
- 1/2 lb Pasilla chilis
- 3/4 lb Ancho chilis
- 1/2 lb Lard
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 2 Medium onions
- 2 Corn tortillas, broken into pieces
- 1/2 Dried bolillo (french roll), or 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup Raisins
- 3/4 cup Almonds
- 6 tbsp pepita (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 cup Sesame seeds
- 1 tsp Anise
- 2 Cloves
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 3 tablets Mexican chocolate (or to taste)
- 2 8 oz can Diced tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes, diced)
- Salt and Sugar to taste
- 2 Chickens, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Prepare your chickens (if you are not using already cooked chicken) by cutting them into pieces and simmering them in a large pot with a number of vegetables like celery, onions, carrots, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer for 35-45 minutes.
- Preferably wearing gloves (these dried chilis can both burn and stain your hands) and a good pair of scissors cut the stems off the chilis. Slice lengthwise down the chilis and remove the seeds from the inside of the chilis.
- Heat 1/2 cup of lard in a large skillet. Working quickly and using tong, fry each chili for only a matter of seconds, until just soft. place in sautéd chili in a large pan of hot water to soak.
- Dry fry the sesame seeds until just turning golden.
- In the same lard, sauté the garlic and onion until golden brown. Add the tortillas, bread, raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and half the sesame seeds, the anise, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, chocolate, and tomatoes and sauté them well. Add the drained chilies and broth and let simmer on low for 10 minutes.
- Put the entire mixture in a blender and purée until smooth. This may need to be done in two or more batches.
- In a large pan, heat the remaining 1/2 cup of lard. Strain the mole mixture through a metal strainer into this pan of heated lard.