Mole Maker

In the central state of Puebla, every family has their own recipe for the iconic food, mole poblano — an earthy, spicy-sweet sauce of myriad ingredients (chiles and chocolate, nuts and seeds, aromatic vegetables and ripe fruits) whose elaborate preparation is a multiday ritual. Served over chicken, pork, or the traditional turkey, the thick, rich, brick-colored mole is the centerpiece at weddings, holidays, and other family gatherings. See The Pride of Puebla by Betsy Andrews »

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole1-1500×1000.jpg — Santa Carrillo stirs a simmering *cazuela* of mole poblano, the rich, flavorful sauce of chiles, nuts, spices, chocolate, and other ingredients that is the iconic dish of Puebla, Mexico.

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole2-1500×1000.jpg — Luz Maria Leonor Gonzales dips a tortilla in her mole poblano to make a dish she calls *envueltos*, or wraps: mole-dipped tortillas rolled and topped with shredded chicken, sliced white onions, and more mole poblano.

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole3-1500×1000.jpg — Some of the ingredients for mole poblano (clockwise from top left): fried tortilla and bread, lard for frying the sauce, boiled chicken for dousing with sauce, fried plantains, chile seeds, and cinnamon and brown sugar

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole4-1500×1000.jpg — The women of the Tlapaltotoli Daniel family--Maria Gabriella Sandre de Tlapaltotoli, left; her sisters-in-law, from left, Maria del Refugio, Saray Tlapaltotoli Daniel, Angelica Tlapaltotoli Daniel, and her mother-in-law Juana Daniel Lopez--add pork ribs to their mole poblano, which will infuse the meat with its flavor.

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole5-1500×1000.jpg — Ana Elena Martinez, a chef and bakery owner in Puebla, Mexico, prepares ingredients for mole poblano, slicing a ripe plantain, which she will fry and puree to combine with other items for the sauce.

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole6-1500×1000.jpg — After two days of communal cooking, the women of the Tlapaltotoli Daniel family, natives of Cholula, a town near Puebla, sit down to the fruits of their labor: spicy, fruity bowls of mole poblano served over turkey, chicken, and pork ribs.

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole7-1500×2250.jpg — Maria del Refugio hands her mother, Juana Daniel Lopez, ingredients to fry as part of the preparation for mole poblano. Each woman has a specific job to do in the complex mole making process.

httpswww.saveur.comsitessaveur.comfilesimport2012images2012-077-SAV149-Mole8-1500×2250.jpg — Mole poblano for about 40 Tlapaltotoli Daniel family members is cooked for many hours in an enormous *cazuela* set over a wood fire. The lipped clay platter in front of the *cazuela* is a *comale*, used to cook tortillas that are served alongside the mole.

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Mole Maker

In the central state of Puebla, every family has their own recipe for the iconic food, mole poblano — an earthy, spicy-sweet sauce of myriad ingredients (chiles and chocolate, nuts and seeds, aromatic vegetables and ripe fruits) whose elaborate preparation is a multiday ritual. Served over chicken, pork, or the traditional turkey, the thick, rich, brick-colored mole is the centerpiece at weddings, holidays, and other family gatherings. See The Pride of Puebla by Betsy Andrews »