How to Make Your Own Mole from Scratch (Without a Shop-Bought Paste)

The mole you deserve to make at least once in your life

There is a moment in the life of every lover of Mexican cooking when you decide you are going to make mole from scratch. Not from a packet. Not from a concentrated paste. From scratch. With 25 ingredients toasted individually, ground with patience and cooked slowly until something magical happens: the flavours fuse into a sauce that is more than the sum of its parts.

It is a whole-day project. It requires planning, specific ingredients and, above all, patience. But the result - a deep, velvety, complex mole, with layers of flavour that reveal themselves with every spoonful - is a culinary experience that few things in the world can match.

This guide takes you step by step through the complete process, with specific adaptations for ingredients available in Spain.

The ingredients: the symphony of 25 notes

Mole poblano is a symphony where each ingredient is an instrument. None dominates - all contribute to the whole. Here they are grouped by family:

The chillies (the backbone)

• 6 ancho chillies (dried, large, dark red)
• 4 mulato chillies (similar to ancho but darker and smokier)
• 3 pasilla chillies (long, thin, almost black)
• 2 dried chipotle chillies (or 2 chipotles in adobo from a tin)

These chillies are found in Mexican shops in Spain. If you cannot find mulatos, double the amount of anchos. If you cannot find pasilla, use a little more ancho with a teaspoon of bitter cocoa.

The nuts and seeds (body and texture)

• 50g almonds
• 40g peanuts
• 30g pumpkin seeds
• 30g sesame seeds
• 30g raisins
• 3 prunes

The spices (depth)

• 1 cinnamon stick (Mexican if possible, or Ceylon cinnamon)
• 3 cloves
• 5 black peppercorns
• 3 allspice berries
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon aniseed

The aromatics and others

• 3 large ripe tomatoes
• 1 large white onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 corn tortillas (dried or day-old)
• 1 slice of sliced bread or a stale bolillo
• 40g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cacao)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt to taste
• Lard or oil (for frying)
• 1 to 1.5 litres chicken stock

The process: step by step

Step 1: Prepare the chillies (30 minutes)

Open the chillies, remove the seeds and veins. Keep a handful of seeds - you are going to need them. Heat a comal or large pan without oil over medium heat. Toast each chilli for 15 to 20 seconds per side, pressing with a spatula. They should change colour slightly and release their aroma. Do not burn them - a burnt chilli makes the whole mole bitter.

Place the toasted chillies in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Leave to soak for 20 to 30 minutes until soft.

In the same pan, toast the reserved chilli seeds over low heat, stirring constantly, until they are dark (2 to 3 minutes). Set aside.

Step 2: Toast the nuts and seeds (20 minutes)

In the same dry pan, toast separately (each ingredient has its optimal time):

• Almonds: 3 to 4 minutes until golden
• Peanuts: 2 to 3 minutes
• Pumpkin seeds: 1 to 2 minutes (they puff up and pop)
• Sesame seeds: 1 minute (they brown very fast - watch out)
• Raisins and prunes: 30 seconds (just so they puff up)

Also toast the spices (cinnamon, clove, pepper, cumin, aniseed) briefly - 30 seconds, just until they release their aroma.

Step 3: Prepare the aromatics (20 minutes)

Roast the tomatoes and the onion (quartered) and the garlic (with skin) directly in the pan or under the oven grill until charred outside. Fry the tortillas and the bread in a little lard or oil until well browned, almost toasted.

Step 4: Grind everything (30 to 45 minutes)

This is the most important step and the most laborious. You need to blend everything into as fine a paste as possible. In Mexico the metate is used; at home, a powerful jug blender.

Blend in batches:

• Batch 1: Soaked chillies (drained) + roasted tomato + roasted onion + garlic. Add a little of the chilli soaking water if you need liquid.
• Batch 2: All the nuts + toasted seeds + spices + fried bread + fried tortilla + raisins + prunes. Add chicken stock to make blending easier.

Pass each batch through a fine sieve, pressing with a spoon to extract all the sauce and leave behind only the fibrous remains. This step is crucial - the texture of the mole must be velvety, without lumps.

Step 5: Cook the mole (2 to 3 hours)

In a large, heavy pot (a cocotte or Dutch oven), heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of lard over medium-high heat. When it is well heated, pour in the sieved sauce all at once - careful, it will spatter. This is the "refrito" and it is what integrates the flavours.

Reduce to low heat and cook, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon so it does not stick to the bottom. The mole should bubble gently, not boil furiously.

After 1 hour, add the chopped chocolate and the sugar. Stir until they dissolve. Taste and adjust the salt. If it is too thick, add chicken stock. If it is watery, keep reducing.

Cook for a total of 2 to 3 hours. The mole is ready when it has the consistency of a thick cream, a dark reddish-brown colour, and when you taste it you cannot distinguish individual ingredients - everything has fused into a single, complex flavour.

Step 6: Final adjustment

The last 30 minutes are for adjusting. The mole needs balance between sweet, salty, sour and bitter:

• Too bitter? Add a little more sugar.
• Too sweet? A splash of vinegar or lime juice.
• Lacking depth? More chocolate or a little instant coffee.
• Not spicy enough? Add toasted and ground chilli de árbol.

"Mole is not measured by a recipe - it is measured by the palate. Every mole is different because every cook is different. And they are all right."

Serving

Mole is traditionally served over pieces of cooked chicken or turkey. Bathe generously and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top. Serve with red rice and hot tortillas.

The mole improves the next day - the flavours integrate more with resting. Freeze portions in zip bags: frozen mole lasts 3 months and keeps all its flavour.

Is it worth the effort?

Making mole from scratch is an act of love. It is laborious, requires many ingredients and takes hours. But when you taste that first bite - when you feel the layers of flavour unfold in your mouth, the gentle warmth of the chillies, the depth of the chocolate, the complexity of the spices - you understand why we Mexicans consider mole the greatest creation of our cooking.

Find all the chillies and ingredients in our directory of Mexican shops in Spain, explore more Mexican recipes and try artisanal moles in Mexican restaurants that make them from scratch.