Mole poblano

[Jaymes]

I am imagining, smoky, earthy, chocolatey, and spicy.. is that right?

Some don't include chocolate, but the most-famous ones do, and I'd say your description is perfect.

But, do remember that the chocolate flavor isn't overwhelming. And its definitely not sweet. So imagine "smokey, earthy, spicy" with some plain cocoa powder. Not sweet at all.

Mole is one of the greatest dishes in the world.

And, although this is likely no help to those of you that live in such locations as India, my method for acquiring fabulous mole is to be nice to somebody that makes it (Memesuze).

And when I asked her how to best plate the mole she so graciously had given me, she said, "I don't know really. I usually just put a little chicken on a fresh hot corn tortilla and ladle the mole on and fold it up and eat it while standing over the sink watching the juices drip."

Which is just exactly what I did.

[memesuze]

thank you, ma'am - mole-making is a glorious enterprise. My only forays have been with the queen of moles: mole negro. The first time, using Zarela Martinez's recipe, took one long session of about 5 or 6 hours of processing and cooking. Now, knowing what the techniques are, and how to divide up the stages, it takes only about 3 or 4 hours to produce a huge batch for gifts and my freezer. I highly recommend Zarela's recipe for the negro, and don't doubt that any of the other types [7 in all, I think] she prepares would be outstanding. I used The Food and Life of Oaxaca, but her Food from my Heart has similar recipes. There's chiles [i found some chilhuacle negros once and used them in my last batch], dried fruits, nuts and seeds, sherry, chocolate, roasted onions and garlic and tomatoes and I can't remember what else. I encourage you to take it on, especially in a cool month when you don't mind standing at the stove....

[ExtraMSG]

This is probably my favorite mole, manchamanteles. It's a mole with fruit, and so a little sweeter than some. I think it's more accessble than most, especially the mole poblano, which I think is the worst one to be your first mole because it can have such a strong and unusual flavor. Mediocre mole poblanos have turned many people from moles for the rest of their lives.

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgmancha.html

[Tmnoland]

This is probably my favorite mole, manchamanteles. It's a mole with fruit, and so a little sweeter than some.  I think it's more accessble than most, especially the mole poblano, which I think is the worst one to be your first mole because it can have such a strong and unusual flavor.  Mediocre mole poblanos have turned many people from moles for the rest of their lives.

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgmancha.html

This sounds wonderful! Thanks for posting it. I've got to try this.

-therese