About mole[]
Mole (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulli or molli, "sauce" or "concoction") is the generic name for several sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. Outside of Mexico, it often refers to a specific sauce which is known in Spanish by the more specific name mole poblano. The word is also widely known in the combined form guacamole (avocado concoction). In contemporary Mexico, the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar to one another, including black, red, yellow, colorado, green, almendrado, and pipián.
Types of mole[]
- Mole Amarillo uses Ancho, Costeño, and Guajillo chiles, green tomatoes and tomatillos, onion, garlic, clove, cumin, black pepper, cilantro, chilcoxle, and hoja santa or pitiona, depending on the type of mole vessel.
- Mole de cacahuate, or "Peanut Mole", made of ground peanuts and chiles, is typically served with chicken.
- Mole Chichilo is one of the less common moles, with an odd ashy flavor. It has Chilguacle Negro, Mulato, and Pasilla chiles, tomatillos and tomatoes, cloves, black pepper, and corn dough. Avocado leaves add a hint of anise flavor.
- Mole coloradito has a brick red color and a simple taste. It uses Ancho and Pasilla or Guajillo chiles, almonds, sesame seeds, tomatoes, garlic, oregano, cinnamon,banana, crackers, and sugar.
- Mole Mancha Manteles has a strong Ancho chile flavor and is often used to dress plantains and pineapple.
- Mole negro is the most difficult to prepare. Traditionally, black mole has six different kinds of chile peppers, Chilguacle Negro, Mulatto, Pasilla, Ancho, Guajillo, and Chipotle, although many sauces that carry the name contain fewer. The ingredient list is very long, featuring many seeds, nuts, spices, herbs, citrus and chocolate.
- Mole poblano, whose name comes from the Mexican state of Puebla, is a popular sauce in Mexican cuisine and is the mole that most people in English-speaking countries think of when they think of mole. Mole poblano is prepared with dried chili peppers (commonly ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle), ground nuts and/or seeds (almonds, indigenous peanuts, and/or sesame seeds), spices, Mexican chocolate (cacao ground with sugar and cinnamon and occasionally nuts), salt, and a variety of other ingredients including charred avocado leaves, onions, banana and garlic. Dried seasonings such as ground oregano are also used. In order to provide a rich thickness to the sauce, crushed toasted tortillas, bread crumbs or crackers are added to the mix.
- Mole rojo is lighter red and spicier than Coloradito. It uses Ancho and Guajillo chiles, onion, tomatoes, pecans, peanuts, sesame, garlic, oregano, chocolate.
- Mole verde achieves its distinctive green color from the toasted pumpkin seeds that form the sauce's base. As well as using ingredients such as Romaine Lettuce, cilantro, epazote, and tomatillos (also "tomate verde" or "miltomate" in Spanish).