Mole de cazuela: what it is and how to make it step by step

What is it?

Mole de cazuela is the ancient technique for making traditional Mexican moles in a glazed clay pot, through a precise sequence of toasting, grinding and long simmering of chillies, seeds, spices and other ingredients that can number more than 30. It is the technique that defines Mexican Baroque mestizo cooking and especially Oaxacan and Puebla cuisines, both world gastronomic heritage. A well-made mole requires between 4 and 12 hours of preparation and ingredients worked in stages: first the dried chillies are deveined and toasted, then seeds and nuts are toasted, then they are hydrated and ground, and finally they are slowly simmered in fat to concentrate the flavours. It is a living technique, passed from cook to cook over 500 years, and ranks among the most complex preparations in the world, comparable to South Asian curries or French mother sauces.

Origin and history

The mole de cazuela technique has a mestizo origin in the New Spain Baroque. Sauces of toasted, ground chilli are pre-Hispanic: Father Sahagún (Historia general, 1577) describes as early as the sixteenth century the Mexican 'mulli' or 'mole', which simply meant 'sauce'. The conquest brought Asian spices (cinnamon, clove, pepper), Mediterranean nuts (almond, sesame) and European convent techniques, which fused with the Mesoamerican sauces in the convents of Puebla and Oaxaca during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Legend attributes to the convent of Santa Rosa de Lima in Puebla (seventeenth century) the creation of mole poblano by Sor Andrea de la Asunción to honour the viceroy Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz, although researchers such as Cristina Barros point out that it is a collective evolution over hundreds of years, according to Larousse Cocina. The seven Oaxacan moles (negro, rojo, coloradito, amarillo, verde, chichilo, manchamanteles) consolidated their present form in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The grinding technique passed from the metate to molcajetes and then to the mechanical mills of the twentieth century, today coexisting with premium artisanal preparations. México Desconocido documents the importance of the glazed clay pot, ideally from Atzompa, Oaxaca, or Capula, Michoacán, as a utensil that provides a mineral flavour and allows controlled slow cooking.

Characteristic ingredients

The mole technique in a clay pot has precise sequential phases. Phase 1 (toasting): The dried chillies are deveined and cleaned (ancho, mulato, pasilla, chipotle, guajillo, chilhuacle depending on the mole), and toasted on a comal until they crackle slightly without burning (if they burn, they turn bitter). Seeds are also toasted (sesame, pumpkin seed, almonds, peanuts, walnuts) until golden, whole spices (clove, pepper, cinnamon, aniseed), and dried fruits (raisins, prune, sliced plantain). Phase 2 (hydration and grinding): The toasted chillies are hydrated in hot water for 15 minutes. Everything is ground on a metate or in a blender with a little broth until a very fine thick paste is obtained. Phase 3 (frying): Lard or oil is heated in the clay pot, and the mole paste is fried until it concentrates and darkens (10-20 minutes). Phase 4 (long simmering): The broth of the poultry or meat (turkey, chicken, pork) is added and it is cooked over a low heat for 2-4 hours, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Metate chocolate is added at the end if used. The texture must be like a thick cream that coats the back of a spoon. Each cook has a unique recipe; some moles contain more than 30 ingredients (Oaxacan black mole) and others fewer (yellow mole).

Cultural significance

Mole de cazuela is the most complex and prestigious technique of traditional Mexican cooking and a pillar of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (traditional Mexican cuisine, 2010). Oaxacan and Puebla moles are considered pinnacles of world Baroque mestizo cooking. The technique requires months of learning and hours of work, which makes it a festive dish: no traditional mole is prepared for an everyday meal, but for weddings, baptisms, quinceañeras, the Day of the Dead, Christmas. The mole economy sustains markets such as the 20 de Noviembre of Oaxaca with its aisles specialising in mole pastes, and traditional cooks such as Abigail Mendoza (Tlamanalli, Oaxaca), Mariana Orozco, and Carmen 'Titita' Ramírez (El Bajío, Mexico City) are international ambassadors. Festivals such as the Mole Festival in San Pedro Atocpan (Mexico City), the International Mole Festival in Puebla, and the Mole Fair in Chilapa, Guerrero, attract thousands of visitors. The mole technique has also been recovered in international haute cuisine by chefs such as Enrique Olvera with his mole madre (cooked for years, feeding a new pot with the previous one), a conceptual technique of Pujol that synthesises tradition and innovation.

Frequently asked questions

How many ingredients does a traditional mole contain?

It varies greatly. An Oaxacan yellow mole may contain 6-10 main ingredients. A classic Oaxacan or Puebla black mole has 25-35 ingredients: 5-7 types of dried chillies, 4-6 types of seeds and nuts, 5-8 spices and aromatics, dried fruits, chocolate, bread, tortilla and broth. The most elaborate moles can exceed 40 ingredients. The quantity and proportion are what distinguish each family recipe.

Why is it cooked in a clay pot?

The glazed clay pot (ideally from Atzompa, Oaxaca or Capula, Michoacán) provides several advantages: 1) Even, constant heat thanks to its porosity and thickness. 2) A subtle mineral flavour imparted to the sauce. 3) It allows controlled slow cooking without the risk of burning. 4) A characteristic aroma that develops with use. 5) A cultural tradition that respects the original technique. Modern industrial pots work, but the result is slightly different.

How long does it take to make a mole?

A simple mole (yellow, green) may take 2-3 hours. A traditional Puebla or Oaxacan black mole takes between 6 and 12 hours of preparation: 2-3 hours to devein and toast chillies and seeds, 1 hour of hydration, 1-2 hours of grinding, and 3-4 hours of slow simmering. That is why it is a festive dish and many families make large quantities to store frozen for months. Commercial pastes are modern shortcuts.

Where does the mole technique come from?

It originates in Mesoamerica as a pre-Hispanic technique of toasted and ground chillies called 'mulli'. It evolved into its present Baroque form in the convents of Puebla and Oaxaca during the sixteenth-eighteenth centuries by fusing with Asian spices from the Manila Galleon, European nuts and colonial culinary techniques. It remains alive in traditional kitchens of central and southern Mexico, especially in Oaxaca, Puebla, Guerrero, Tlaxcala and Mexico City.