Puebla-Style Chicken in Mole with Three Chiles and Chocolate

What you need

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.8 kg (4 lb), cut into 8 pieces
• 1 white onion, half left whole, half roughly chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 l (12 cups) water
• 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 4 ancho chiles, about 50 g (1 3/4 oz)
• 4 mulato chiles, about 50 g (1 3/4 oz)
• 6 pasilla chiles, about 45 g (1 1/2 oz)
• 1 dried chipotle chile, optional, for a little smoke and heat
• 80 g (6 tbsp) lard, or vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp almonds, skin on
• 2 tbsp raw peanuts, shelled
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, hulled
• 5 tbsp sesame seeds, divided
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp anise seeds
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 piece Ceylon cinnamon stick, about 5 cm (2 in)
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 pinch dried thyme
• 1 pinch dried marjoram
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 1 tomatillo, husked and rinsed
• 1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces
• 1 slice stale white bread or bolillo, about 30 g (1 oz)
• 75 g (2 1/2 oz) Mexican table chocolate, or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Put the chicken, the whole onion half, 2 cloves of the garlic, the water and 1 tsp of the salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer gently until the thickest piece reads 74 °C (165 °F) inside, 40-45 min.

2. 2

   Lift out the chicken and set aside. Strain and keep the broth; you need about 2 l (8 cups).

3. 3

   Meanwhile, wipe the ancho, mulato, pasilla and chipotle chiles clean, pull off the stems and shake out the seeds. Keep 2 tbsp of the seeds.

4. 4

   Char the tomatoes and tomatillo in a dry pan over high heat, turning, until blistered and soft, 8-10 min.

5. 5

   Heat half the lard in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Fry the chiles a few at a time for 10-15 seconds per side, just until they swell slightly and smell toasty. Burnt chiles make the sauce bitter.

6. 6

   Move the chiles to a bowl and cover with 1 l (4 cups) of the hot broth.

7. 7

   In the same fat, cook the chopped onion and remaining garlic until soft, 3 min. Add the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds and peanuts. Cook, stirring, until the raisins plump up, 2-3 min.

8. 8

   Add 3 tbsp of the sesame, the saved chile seeds, cloves, anise, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon, allspice, thyme and marjoram. Stir until the sesame turns golden, 3 min.

9. 9

   Add the tortilla and bread and fry until crisp, 2 min. Stir in the charred tomatoes and tomatillo.

10. 10

    Pour in the chiles with their soaking broth, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 min. Turn off the heat and let it stand, covered, for 30 min so everything softens.

11. 11

    Blend the mixture in batches until completely smooth, adding a little more broth if the blender struggles. Push it through a sieve for the silkiest sauce.

12. 12

    Heat the remaining lard in the cleaned pot over medium-high heat. Pour in the purée all at once; it will spatter. Stir until it darkens and thickens, 5 min.

13. 13

    Stir in the chocolate, the remaining salt and enough broth to give a sauce that coats a spoon. Simmer over low heat, stirring often so it does not catch, for 30-40 min.

14. 14

    Toast the remaining sesame in a dry pan until golden, 2-3 min.

15. 15

    Add the chicken to the mole and simmer until heated through, 10 min. Taste and add salt, or more broth if it has thickened too much.

16. 16

    Serve the chicken covered in mole and sprinkled with the toasted sesame.

Imported from patijinich.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.