How To Make Molé Coloradito

This Molé Coloradito, or ‘Little Red Sauce’ packs a big punch with fewer ingredients and less cooking time than some of the other molés. The red color is preserved by using Ancho, Guajillo and Hatch Chiles as well as red tomatoes. This is one of many variations of the molé most people are familiar with using chocolate, tomatoes, raisins and almonds, along with the chiles.

This recipe is naturally gluten free.

Read More About Molé

Read our brief article on the history of molé.

The Chiles

The chiles used here are Anchos, Guajillos or New Mexico and Hot Hatch or Moritas for spice.

Watch a Video

Here is a video of 2 Cooks in the Kitchen making Molé Coloradito:

The Ingredients For Molé Coloradito

• 5 Poblano Chiles
• 3 Guajillo Chiles or New Mexico Chiles
• 2 Hot Hatch Chiles or 2 Moritas
• 2 lbs Tomatoes
• 1 White Onion
• 9 Garlic Cloves
• 2/3 Cup Sesame Seeds, toasted
• 8 Whole Cloves
• 12 Black Peppercorns
• 2 Tbls Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Tbls Mexican Oregano
• 2 Tbls Raisins
• 1/2 Cup Almonds
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1/4 Cup Oil
• 2 oz Baking Chocolate

Prepare the Chiles

Prepare the chiles. Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and then tear them into pieces. You don’t have to remove every seed as this sauce will be strained later. If using Moritas, they can just remain whole. Put the chile pieces in a baking dish and place in a 400 degree oven for four minutes. Take them out of the oven, put them in a bowl and cover with hot water.

Roast the Tomatoes

Prepare the tomatoes. Remove the stem from the tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place the tomatoes in a baking dish and put them in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. We don’t have to worry about the seeds and skins because we will be straining this sauce later.

Saute Onions and Garlic

Prepare the onions. Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onion pieces and garlic cloves. Saute about 10 minutes until they soften and get some color. You can leave the garlic whole for this since we will just be blending it all later.

Toast Sesame Seeds, Cloves and Peppercorns

Prepare the Sesame Seeds and spices. In a dry pan over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, cloves and peppercorns. Stir this frequently so the seeds brown evenly. The seeds will pop when they are starting to cook.

Add Cinnamon and Mexican Oregano

When the seeds start to get some color, add the cinnamon and Mexican oregano. Then stir well and remove from heat.

Blend With Chicken Stock

Now that all the ingredients are prepared it is time to blend our sauce. You will need to do this in 2 batches and then combine them. Start with 1/2 the onions, 1/2 the chiles, then 1/2 the sesame seeds and spices, 1/2 the tomatoes, almonds and raisins and 1/2 cup of chile soaking water and 1 cup of Chicken Broth. Blend until very smooth and then pour into a bowl. Repeat with the other half of the ingredients and then mix the two batches together.

Strain the Sauce

Push the resulting sauce through a fine mesh strainer. A spoon works for this or we like to use a rubber spatula, the flexibility makes it easier to get pressure on the sauce.

Cook the Molé Coloradito

Now we cook the sauce. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and then pour in the sauce. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. After 30 minutes, add the chocolate and continue to cook and stir for 10 more minutes. Taste the sauce and then adjust seasonings as needed. If your sauce is too thin you can continue cooking until it reduces to the desired consistency.

Molé Coloradito is excellent with chicken, vegetables, enchiuladas or even on a baked potato.

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Here are some more molé recipes:

• Molé Colorado
• Molé Verde
• Molé Amarillo
• Classic Molé Rojo
• Easy Molé Rojo
• Molé Chuchilo Negro
• Molé Manchamanteles
• Molé Poblano
• Oaxacan Molé Negro

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