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Mole (pronounced [ˈmole]) (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulli or molli, "sauce") is the generic name for several sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. In English, it often refers to a specific sauce which is known in Spanish by the more specific name mole poblano. The word is also widely known in the combined form guacamole (avocado mole).

In contemporary Mexico, the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar to each other. The most popular kinds come from the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca, and there is an annual national competition in the town of San Pedro Atocpan in the Milpa Alta borough of Mexico's Federal District, on the southern outskirts of Mexico City.

Mole poblano, whose name comes from the Mexican state of Puebla, is a popular sauce in Mexican cuisine and is the mole that most people in the U.S. think of when they think of mole. Various stories exist about its invention, but none are generally accepted, since there exists no good evidence one way or the other. One version holds that the recipe was created by the nuns of the Order of Santa Clara to impress visiting political and church officials in Mexico in the 17th century. Another is that the nuns simply collected mole recipes from the local indigenous people and presented one of them.

Mole poblano is prepared with dried chile peppers (commonly ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle), ground nuts and/or seeds (almonds, indigenous peanuts, and/or sesame seeds), spices, Mexican chocolate (cacao ground with sugar and cinnamon and occasionally nuts), salt, and a variety of other ingredients including charred avocado leaves.

Enchiladas with mole sauce in Old Town San Diego

One of the more popular dishes which includes mole is mole poblano de guajolote, or turkey (Mexican Spanish guajolote, from Nahuatl huexolotl) prepared with mole poblano. In Mexico today, mole de guajolote is widely regarded as the country's national dish. [1]

Another somewhat less popular mole is mole de cacahuate, made of ground peanuts and chiles and also typically served with turkey or chicken.

Mole can be bought ready-made from local markets or supermarkets. It comes as a kind of paste or powder that can vary in color from deep black to green or even yellow depending on the ingredients used. In modern supermarkets and corner shops mole is sold either canned, in glass jars, or in cubes that can be dissolved in water or, more appropriately, broth.

In Guatemala, "mole" refers to a dessert composed of boiled chunks of plantain in a chocolate/spice sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

• The Mole Page
• A mole recipe from the Vegan Society