Make Mine Mole

Mole is one of the iconic dishes in Mexican cuisine, deeply connected to special occasions and celebrations — and this is no coincidence. Moles are more than just sauces; they encompass many foundational ingredients of our gastronomy, such as corn, chili peppers, tomatoes, and quelites. At the same time, mole is the result of centuries of evolution, refinement, and reinvention across generations. It’s no surprise that many of Mexico’s best restaurants feature mole as a signature dish.

Mulli in Náhuatl

I want to turn your attention away from the dog, though, and back to the physical challenge that grinding mulli used to be. Long before the convenience of a Ninja blender, the tool of choice was a metate, a flat stone slab used with a smaller hand-held stone for grinding. Given the physical effort required to prepare mole, it’s no surprise that it was often made for religious ceremonies or extremely special festivities.

Mole in Spanish

Without the arrival of the Spanish, mole would have remained a much simpler combination of ingredients. However, due to the vast trade networks the Spanish had already established, many mole recipes became far more interesting.

During the 300 years that Mexico was a Spanish colony, mole — and Mexican cuisine as a whole — integrated new flavors from around the world. Ingredients such as garlic and pepper came from the Middle East, cilantro from the Caribbean, anise from Egypt, cinnamon from Sri Lanka, cloves from Indonesia, saffron from Spain, and sesame seeds from India met chiles, maize, tomatoes, and quelites. The flavors of Mexican cuisine, especially the flavor of mole, changed forever. Almost at the end of the colonial period, in 1817, chocolate was invited to this ever-growing list of mole ingredients.