Mole kitchen lab - that's mole, as in chiles and chocolate, not the Avogadro's stuff

This past three-day weekend I was in the mood for mole, with its chile spiciness calmed by sweetness. This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's Turkey in Almond Mole recipe with chocolate and some extra spices added.

Recipe procedure:

Remove stem and seeds from 5 mild dried chiles (I used Guajillo chiles). Soak chiles in hot water until softened . Remove chiles after soaking and save soaking water for use later in Mole sauce. Coarsely chop soaked chiles.

Pan fry in unoiled pan to toast:

0.5 tsp whole coriander seeds

0.5 tsp whole cumin seeds

0.5 tsp whole anise seeds

0.5 tsp whole peppercorns

Remove toasted spices from pan and allow to cool. Then grind spices.

Pan fry in unoiled pan to toast:

2/3 cup almonds

Remove almonds and allow to cool. Then chop almonds and set aside.

Chop coarsely 3 to 4 wedges of Ibarra Mexican chocolate (roughly 35-45 grams) 

Chop 1 yellow onion and 1 fresh jalapeno pepper and saute.  When onions are browned add 4 coarsely chopped Roma tomatoes and simmer until tomatoes are soft. Add chile soaking water as needed. 

Add chopped soaked chile peppers, chopped almonds, and chopped Mexican chocolate. Add chicken broth and/or chile soaking water to desired consistency. Allow to simmer until chocolate is melted. Add raisins and allow to simmer until raisins are softened.  Allow sauce to cool and blend until smooth consistency is reached. Add chile soaking water to adjust consistency if needed. (I use an immersion blender directly in the cooking pan with sauce). Adjust taste with honey and lime juice. We avoid salt in this recipe, but you can add salt as needed.

Then I follow Mark Bittman's recipe to cook the turkey thighs and simmer with the mole sauce.