page_title: Oaxacan cuisine
section_title: Seven moles
hierarchical_section_title: Oaxacan cuisine / Seven moles
caption_attribution_description: English: White beans and shrimp in mole coloradito at the 20 de Noviembre market in Oaxaca city, Oaxaca, Mexico
context_page_description: Oaxacan cuisine is a regional cuisine of Mexico, centered on the city of Oaxaca, the capital of the state of the same name located in southern Mexico. Oaxaca is one of Mexico's major gastronomic, historical, and gastro-historical centers whose cuisine is known internationally. Like the rest of Mexican cuisine, Oaxacan food is based on staples such as corn, beans and chile peppers, but there is a great variety of other ingredients and food preparations due to the influence of the state's varied geography and indigenous cultures. Corn and many beans were first cultivated in Oaxaca. Well known features of the cuisine include ingredients such as chocolate, Oaxaca cheese, mezcal and grasshoppers with dishes such as tlayudas, Oaxacan style tamales and seven notable varieties of mole sauce. The cuisine has been praised and promoted by food experts such as Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless and is part of the state's appeal for tourists.
context_section_description: Oaxaca has over 200 known preparations for mole, a complicated sauce based on one or more chili peppers. However, seven are most notable, giving the state the nickname of “land of the seven moles.” Oaxacan moles require multiple ingredients and long cooking time, and for this reason are traditionally served only for special occasions. Ingredients for moles were traditionally prepared ground on a metate; however today, they are usually made with the help of blenders and food mills, which grind and mix many of the ingredients. Depending on the ingredients, they are toasted or fried then mixed with others to make a sauce that is then simmered. Recipes vary from cook to cook. While chocolate is used in two of the seven moles, it is not the most important ingredient. Oaxacan moles are served with chicken, pork and beef; however, the sauce is more important in a mole dish than the meat.
  The name, color and ingredients distinguish the seven main moles of Oaxaca, called negro (black), amarillo (yellow), coloradito (little red or red-colored), mancha manteles (tablecloth stainer), chichilo (named after the main pepper), rojo (red) and verde (green). All of the moles, except verde, can be kept as a paste and cooked later diluted with chicken broth. Mole negro is the best known and most complicated of the preparation, containing anywhere from twenty to thirty-plus ingredients, depending on the recipe. Mole negro is slightly sweet, black in color and contains six different types of chili peppers, plantains, onion, tomatoes, tomatillos, cloves, cinnamon, chocolate, nuts, tortillas, avocado leaves and more depending on the recipe. To gain the desired black color, the chili peppers have to be well toasted but not burnt. Mole amarillo contains green tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, cloves, ancho chili peppers, guajillo chili peppers, hoja santa or cilantro and is garnished with onions, lime and oregano. Mole coloradito is brick red in color and contains ancho chili peppers, tomatoes, garlic, sesame seeds, almonds, cinnamon and oregano. Mancha mantales is red and uses ancho chili peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onion, thyme, cloves and almonds. Another red mole is chichilo, which uses chihuacle, negro, pasilla and mulato chile peppers, tomatoes, marjoram, allspice, cloves and avocado leaves. Rojo is red as its name suggests with ingredients such as chocolate, guajillo chili peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic, oregano, nuts and sesame seeds. Mole verde contains tomatillos, green chili peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, cloves, ancho and guajillo chili peppers, hoja santa, epazote and parsley. It has a light and herby taste. Of the sauces, verde is the easiest to create as it does not require the toasting and rehydration of chili peppers.
caption: White beans and shrimp in mole coloradito at the 20 de Noviembre market
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