30-Minute Mole

Delicious! This recipe made mole, which I grew up eating and was missing dearly, accessible.

Hmm, I think this can be a great, relatively easy mole if you omit the dark chocolate (keep the cocoa powder). I love chocolate but this was too chocolatey for mole. And very thick. I had to add broth. I will definitely try again being careful about the chocolate and then adjusting the salt at the end.

Commenters say this takes WAY more than 30 minutes. Like an hour just of cooking time, excluding prep.

Loved this abbreviated version of molé. I made with chicken, so brown chicken first and then made the sauce in the same pan. Only real substitution was raisins for sugar, and also added three small diced tomatoes.

This recipe makes a large quantity—more than a quart, maybe. I rehydrated the chilis in boiling water, discarded the water, then used fresh broth in the blender, because the rehydrating liquid can be bitter sometimes. I also used mulato chiles instead of pasilla chiles, which made it less spicy. I might add some cayenne pepper next time.

Whipped this up on a Sunday afternoon, not overly complex, but simple to prepare (minus assembling and disassembling the ingredients). Ended up mixing in some mole that I had made from some Juquilita mole paste and that took it to a new level.

I like it but didn't love it. The chocolate flavor was a bit too strong for me; would reduce the amount of dark chocolate if I made it again. The flavors became more complex and nuanced after it simmered a while (mine prob ended up simmering for an hour or so) and the next day.

A reminder to all that NYT doesn't include prep time in their recipes. Even with that having been said, this did not take 30 minutes -- more like an hour. But it does make an excellent quick mole, and improves with time for the flavors to marry well.

No way this only takes 30 mins. After I pureed it, I had to strain it because it was full of bits of chile skin. Also, when I simmered it, it kept sticking to the bottom of the pan, even on the lowest flame possible.

I'm slow, but this took a lot longer than 30 minutes, and mine came out with some bitterness that I don't like - maybe I over-seared the chiles at the beginning? It's hard to tell "until darkened" when they are already dark. Also I will definitely use less tahini next time, it's presence is too much. I'll let it meld and see if the flavors mellow. Hopeful...

I have an issue with the “just 30 minutes!” timeline. How in the world would one cook onions until browned and soft in only 5 minutes on medium heat?

Neat recipe. I'd probably use what's in the pantry: any dried mildly hot chile, e.g., ancho, would work, and a single chile variety might be OK. See "Mole sauce" in Wikipedia: the dish's history suggests leeway to improvise. As for Southern vs New England cornbread, sweetness can vary. A non-sweet, 20-min mole (gimmesomeoven.com/holy-mole-sauce) and one using chicken broth (tasteofhome.com/recipes/mole-poblano) both use tomato for sourness, which bitter cocoa (or even instant coffee) offsets.