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Ingredients
6 pieces chicken: 3 half breasts, 3 thigh-legs
1 small onion, halved
9 cloves garlic, unpeeled
10 dried ancho chilies (see note)
1 dried pasilla chilies (see note)
4 large plum tomatoes, stem end removed
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 slices stale country bread
½ cup sesame seeds
15 blanched almonds
10 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
3 whole cloves
1 2-inch stick cinnamon, preferably Mexican canela or Sri Lankan, in pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
32 grams carbs; 83 milligrams cholesterol; 543 calories; 19 grams monosaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 39 grams fat; 10 grams fiber; 524 milligrams sodium; 22 grams protein; 5 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large pot, boil 12 cups salted water. Add chicken, onion and 3 garlic cloves. Reduce to simmer. Cook 25 minutes or until chicken is just cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate, and keep warm. Pour broth through a sieve into a bowl; reserve.
- Step 2
Stem and seed chilies. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, roast chilies 3 to 5 minutes until they smoke and blister. Transfer to a medium bowl, and cover with boiling water. Soak for 20 minutes.
- Step 3
In same skillet, roast remaining garlic cloves and tomatoes over medium-high heat 12 to 15 minutes. Turn to blister all surfaces. Garlic should be soft and tomatoes evenly covered with brown/black spots. When garlic cools, remove skin.
- Step 4
In same skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add bread, and fry until pale gold, about 2 minutes, turning once. Remove bread from skillet. Add sesame seeds, almonds, peppercorns, oregano and cloves. Cook, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, until fragrant and seeds are lightly colored. Reserve.
- Step 5
Drain chilies, discarding soaking liquid. Transfer to a blender with ½ cup reserved chicken broth. Puree, pushing down and scraping sides, as needed. In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add paste made from chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes, until paste darkens and oil is absorbed. Transfer to pot chicken was cooked in.
- Step 6
In blender, puree fried bread, roasted garlic, tomatoes, seeds, almonds and spices with 2 cups broth. Scrape down sides as needed. Transfer to pot with chili paste.
- Step 7
Place cinnamon in blender with ¼ cup broth. Puree. Press through sieve over chili paste mixture. Add 1 quart broth to pot, stirring to combine. Increase to high heat. Bring to a boil. Add sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cook 40 to 50 minutes, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Step 8
Add reserved chicken. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Serve with rice and corn tortillas.
Chilies are available in Latino markets and many large supermarkets.
Private Notes
Comments
Added 2 teaspoons of cacao to make it more rich. I shredded the chicken and put it in tacos, would work for tamales too. Next time I will mortar and pestle cinnamon before mixing with stock as it is too hard for an immersion blender. To prepare ahead of time just keep in 3 containers: the blended chilis mix, all other prepared wet ingredients, and the chicken. One all combined into the pot, the mix will spit while it is still very liquid, keep stirring it.
Just finished making this. I feel a bit as if it's a recipe I had never met. I have made mole before and I know that it's a lot of work and a lot of detail but I found this recipe frustrating and am not that happy with the final result. One annoying thing - Step 3, it's unclear what to do with the tomatoes once they are cooked. Set aside? That's what I ended up doing. I also added some mexican chocolate for more flavor.
Just finished making this. I feel a bit as if it's a recipe I had never met. I have made mole before and I know that it's a lot of work and a lot of detail but I found this recipe frustrating and am not that happy with the final result. One annoying thing - Step 3, it's unclear what to do with the tomatoes once they are cooked. Set aside? That's what I ended up doing. I also added some mexican chocolate for more flavor.
Added 2 teaspoons of cacao to make it more rich. I shredded the chicken and put it in tacos, would work for tamales too. Next time I will mortar and pestle cinnamon before mixing with stock as it is too hard for an immersion blender. To prepare ahead of time just keep in 3 containers: the blended chilis mix, all other prepared wet ingredients, and the chicken. One all combined into the pot, the mix will spit while it is still very liquid, keep stirring it.