Mole (sauce)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mole (MOH-leh, IPA: /ˈmo.le/)is the generic name for several sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. In addition, it is also a way of designating a dish most of the rest of the world would consider a soup. In English, 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 mole).
In contemporary Mexico, the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar to each other. The most popular kinds come from the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca, and there is an annual national mole fair in the town of San Pedro Atocpan in the Milpa Alta borough of Mexico's Federal District, on the southern outskirts of Mexico City.
Mole poblano, whose name comes from the Mexican state of Puebla, is a popular sauce in Mexican cuisine. Mole poblano is prepared with dried chile peppers (commonly ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle), nuts, spices, Mexican chocolate (cacao ground with sugar, cinnamon, and sometimes nuts), salt, and a variety of other ingredients including charred avocado leaves. Various stories exist about its invention, but none are generally accepted.
One of the more popular servings is mole poblano de guajolote, or turkey prepared with mole poblano. Mole is often used to prepare chicken or cheese-filled enchiladas; it is also frequently ladled over chicken, rice, or chipped potatoes.
The recipe was refined by the nuns of the Order of Santa Clara to impress visiting political and church officials in Mexico in the 17th century.
Mole can be bought ready-made from local markets or supermarkets. It comes as a kind of paste or powder that can vary in color from deep black to green or even yellow depending on the ingredients used. In modern supermarkets and corner shops mass-produced mole is sold either canned, in glass jars, or in cubes that can be dissolved in water or, more appropriately, broth.
The word mole comes from the Nahuatl word mōlli, which means "sauce", "mixture", "concoction," or "stew". The accented form molé, occasionally seen in English, is not correct Spanish orthography, as the stress in mole is placed on the 'o', and no accent mark is needed. However, this may be done to emphasize the fact that the final 'e' is pronounced and to differentiate the sauce from the burrowing mammal, the mole.
In Guatemala, "mole" refers to a dessert composed of boiled chunks of plantain in a chocolate/spice sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
