Mole (sauce)

Mole
Chicken in a dark red mole
TypeSauce and marinade
Place of originMexico
Main ingredientsChili pepper, spice and nut

Mole (Spanish: [ˈmole]; from Nahuatl mōlli, Nahuatl: [ˈmoːlːi]), meaning 'sauce', is a traditional sauce and marinade originally used in Mexican cuisine. In contemporary Mexico the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar, including mole amarillo or amarillito (yellow mole), mole chichilo, mole colorado or coloradito (reddish mole), mole manchamantel or manchamanteles (tablecloth stainer), mole negro (black mole), mole rojo (red mole), mole verde (green mole), mole poblano, mole almendrado (mole with almond), mole michoacano, mole prieto, mole ranchero, mole tamaulipeco, mole xiqueno, pipián (mole with squash seed), mole rosa (pink mole), mole blanco (white mole), mole estofado, tezmole, clemole, mole de olla, chimole, guacamole (mole with avocado) and huaxmole (mole with huaje).

Generally, a mole sauce contains fruits, nuts, chili peppers, and spices like black pepper, cinnamon, or cumin.[1]

While not moles in the classic sense, there are some dishes that use the term in their name. Mole de olla is a stew made from beef and vegetables, which contains guajillo and ancho chili, as well as a number of other ingredients found in moles.[2]

  1. ^ "What Is Mole?". Food Network. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ "Prepara un rico 'mole de olla'" [Prepare a delicious mole de olla] (in Spanish). Mexico City: Terra. July 7, 2010. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2010.