Mole is a Mexican sauce that can refer to a variety of sauces containing chocolate and other ingredients. It was invented in the late 17th century and can be used in soups, stews, and traditional Mexican dishes. Different types of mole use different ingredients and spices, and can come in different colors. Making mole at home can be challenging due to the difficulty in finding certain ingredients.
The Mexican sauce called mole (pronounced moh-lay), actually refers to a number of different sauces. These are often casually referred to as any Mexican salsa that contains chocolate, but such individual salsas or dishes made with it can use many different ingredients. The name is either a derivative of the Aztec word molli which translates to stew or sauce, or is thought of as a blend of ingredients.
There are many origin stories for mole, most agree that the sauce was first invented in the late 17th century and was an attempt to blend New World ingredients such as chocolate with spices from the Old World. Many believe it may have been an invention of Sister Andrew of the Santa Rosa Convent, as a way of thanking the Archbishop for building the convent in Puebla de Los Angeles, Mexico.
Mole Poblano may be a dish that many are familiar with. It is usually made with poultry, chicken or turkey, cooked together with gravy. The sauce often comes in a paste form, which becomes smooth when heated. You can actually buy mole paste, though chefs naturally recommend making your own. The spices in it may include pepper, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, coriander and cloves. The spice blend features the mix of sweet and savory that exemplifies any good sauce.
This sauce can come in different colors. Green Mole, for example, focuses on adding tomatillos to get the green color. This may be called mole verde and often includes pumpkin seeds. Black mole, or mole negro, includes the chilhuacle negro pepper, which makes the sauce a deep dark brown. Yellow Mole often uses Guajillo or New Mexican chiles to make a yellow to light brown salsa.
Mole sauce of all types can be added to any soup or stew and tops many traditional Mexican dishes. Enchiladas smeared with salsa are quite common in Mexico. Many Mexican cuisine experts believe that residents of the state of Oaxaca produce the best varieties in Mexico, offering seven different types. In Veracruz, the green type differs from other forms because it does not include pumpkin seeds.
Making mole at home can be fun, but the ingredients—especially cocoa beans—can be hard to come by. Most chefs suggest the alternative of melting Ibarra chocolate, also called Mexican chocolate. If you’re having trouble finding ingredients, such as specific chiles to prepare the various types, Mexican or Latino grocery stores are the best places to look.
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