Recipe - Mole Poblano (Mole From Puebla)

2 ounce Ancho chiles
4 ounce Pasilla chiles
1 ounce Chipotle chiles
1 cup Vegetable oil
8 pound Plantains; very ripe (black)
and peeled
1 pound Almonds; blanched
4 pound Raisins
1 pound Peanuts; shelled and skinned
2 pound Sesame seeds
4 Garlic bulbs
1 tablespoon Fennel seeds
1 8" piece canela/ cinnamon
stick
3 Cloves
7 Mexican chocolate tablets;
broken and chopped
10 Tortillas; burnt to black
25 Black peppercorns
One half pound White sugar

Stem, seed and devein the chiles. Put One half cup of oil in a skillet and brown
the chiles uniformly. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and put the
chiles in a large bowl or stockpot.

Slice the plantains into large slices and cook in the same oil until they
are light brown, then put them in the bowl with the chiles. Fry the
almonds, raisins, peanuts, sesame seeds, and garlic separately in the oil,
adding more oil if necessary. Add all to the bowl.

Mix the fennel seeds, canela, cloves, chocolate, tortillas, peppercorns,
and sugar. Blend the mixture in a blender, in batches, adding a little
water at a time until all the ingredients are blended. Pour the blender
ingredients into the bowl and mix.

To make the paste, add a few cups of the mixture to the blender and puree
with a little water until it is the consistency of peanut butter. Empty
into another large bowl or pot. Continue pureeing a few cups at a time.

Heat One fourth cup of oil in a large, deep pot and fry the paste for 15 minutes.
CAUTION: The paste splatters, so fry carefully! Reduce the heat and simmer
at the very lowest possible heat for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Mole paste is traditionally served diluted with broth as a sauce over
chicken and/or rice.

[ SOURCE 1998Ap http://www.melissas.com/ ] Hanneman/Buster

Notes: As written, starting with 8lbs of plantains, this recipe makes 20
lbs. of paste, which can be refrigerated for months or frozen. Mole sauce
with chocolate, cinammon, almonds, etc.

Recipe by: A Cook's Tour of Mexico by Nancy Zaslavsky

Posted to MCRecipe Digest by KitPATh phannema@wizard.ucr.edu on Apr 17,
1998