Mole amarillo
Mole amarillo, also called amarillito, is a yellow to orange Oaxacan mole built on cooked chile purée, thickened with corn masa and flavoured with herbs such as hoja santa, with no chocolate or dense nut mixture.
Mole negro
Black mole · Mole negro oaxaqueño
Mole negro is the darkest and most elaborate of Oaxaca's seven moles: dried chiles and seeds are toasted and charred, ground with nuts, spices, bread and chocolate, then fried and simmered into a thick black sauce.
Overview
Mole negro is the best-known of the seven moles of Oaxaca. Its name means black mole, and the colour comes from deliberately charred chile seeds and, in the traditional recipe, the rare chilhuacle negro chile.
The sauce is a thick paste rather than a stock. Several dried chiles, seeds, nuts, bread, plantain and chocolate are toasted, ground, fried and simmered. It is one of the most complex moles, with twenty or more ingredients in many recipes.
Sources for this section
History
The sauce draws on Indigenous ingredients and on later colonial additions. Cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, almonds and raisins arrived through the trade routes, including the Manila galleons, and the mixture was refined in the convents of Puebla and Oaxaca.
Puebla and Oaxaca both claim the origin of the mole family, and the accounts do not settle the question. Whether chocolate was an early ingredient is also debated.
Sources for this section
Preparation
Cooks clean, seed and toast each chile separately. Under-toasting leaves the sauce flat and over-toasting produces bitterness, so the chiles are watched closely. Some seeds are charred for colour.
The toasted chiles are soaked and ground with fried onion, garlic, tomato, nuts, seeds, bread, plantain and spices. The paste is fried in fat, thinned with broth and simmered slowly until it is thick and glossy.
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Variants and related sauces
Mole negro differs from the other Oaxacan moles: mole coloradito is brick-red, mole amarillo is yellow and mole verde is green. Recipes for mole negro vary widely, and cascabel or other dried chiles often stand in for chilhuacle.
Sources for this section
Use
In Oaxaca it is prepared for patron-saint feasts, for the dead and for funerals.
Sources for this section
History
Mole negro draws on Indigenous ingredients and later colonial additions. Accounts of the trade say cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, almonds and raisins reached Mexican kitchens through trade routes, including the Manila galleons, and that the blend was refined in the colonial convents of Puebla and Oaxaca.
Oaxacan accounts present mole negro as the best-known of the state's seven moles, and as a dish made for patron-saint feasts, for the dead and for funerals. No dated source the sources cite fixes the first mole negro, and the origin of mole as a family is disputed between Puebla and Oaxaca.
Ingredients
Chilhuacle negro chilescleaned, seeded and toasted; some seeds are charred
Amount not stated
cascabel is a common substitute when chilhuacle is unavailablePasilla chilescleaned, seeded and toasted
Amount not stated
Mulato chilescleaned, seeded and toasted
Amount not stated
Ancho chilescleaned, seeded and toasted
Amount not stated
Chocolate
Amount not stated
Plantainfried until dark
Amount not stated
Bread or tortillatoasted or fried
thickens the paste
Sesame seedstoasted
Amount not stated
Almondstoasted
Amount not stated
Peanutstoasted
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Onionsliced and fried
Amount not stated
Garlicfried
Amount not stated
Tomatoroasted or fried
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Lard or oilfor frying the paste
Amount not stated
Broth
Amount not stated
thins the paste while it simmersMethod
- Clean, seed and toast each dried chile separately over low heat until fragrant and pliable. Too little toasting leaves the sauce flat; too much makes it bitter.
- Char some of the chile seeds, since the sources tie the sauce's colour to them.
- Toast or fry the nuts, seeds, bread, plantain, raisins and spices, then fry the onion, garlic and tomato.
- Soak the toasted chiles and grind them with the fried ingredients and chocolate to a smooth paste, using a metate or blender.
- Fry the paste in hot lard or oil until it darkens and loses its raw edge.
- Thin with broth and simmer slowly, stirring, until the sauce is thick and glossy. Adjust salt and sweetness before serving.
Places
Oaxaca
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceOaxaca lists mole negro among its seven moles. The sources give no single town of origin.
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Sources
WikipediaHistory · Method
Mole saucePuebla and Oaxaca both claim the origin of mole, and the evidence does not settle it.
Mole negro uses two or more of ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle chiles, with charred ingredients and more chocolate for the black colour.
Chocolate is described as most likely a later addition to moles.
Cited in: History; Use
WikipediaHistory · Method
Oaxacan cuisineMole negro is the best-known of Oaxaca's seven moles, with twenty to thirty-plus ingredients including several chiles, plantain, chocolate and tortilla.
The chiles must be toasted well but not burnt to achieve the colour.
Cited in: Overview; Variants and related sauces
Food RepublicHistory
The 7 Moles Of OaxacaOaxaca's seven moles are regional family members, with mole negro the best known.
Modern AdventureHistory
The History and Flavors of Traditional Oaxacan FoodCinnamon, cloves, black pepper, almonds, raisins and sesame came with the Manila galleon trade and reached Mexican kitchens.
Mole negro is prepared for patron-saint feasts, to honour the dead and for funerals.
Cited in: History; Use
Dora's TableMethod
Oaxacan Mole NegroChiles are cleaned, deseeded and toasted individually; under-toasting leaves the sauce flat and over-toasting makes it bitter.
Cited in: Overview; Preparation
Lili et GordoMethod
Oaxacan Black Mole: A Treasure of Mexican CuisineTypical recipes add onion, garlic, tomato, peanut, almond, raisin, sesame seed, spices and bread for thickening.
Cited in: Preparation