Chicken Mole / Mexican Cuisine

 

Chicken Mole is a delicious and deeply flavoured Mexican dish which is prepared using a variety of spices with an addition of chocolate. 

Yes! you heard it right, this chicken dish has chocolate in it. The addition of chocolate gives a mild sweet and mild bitter taste and also, in addition, gives a rich texture to the dish. Mole is a traditional marinade and sauce originally used in Mexican cuisine. The sauce is prepared using a mix of spices like cinnamon, cloves, fennel, cumin etc along with the garlic, onion and tomatoes with the addition of melted chocolate. This combination gives a unique flavour to the dish and also, pairs perfectly with the grilled or baked chicken. Instead of serving chicken aside, the chicken pieces can also sautéed first and then cooked along with the gravy. In this way, the chicken absorbs all the flavour from the gravy and gives a delicious taste. Though the dish looks and sounds complicated, it is quite easy to prepare. 

This is one of the dish which I wanted to try for long time but I was very sceptical because of the addition of chocolate along with the chicken. Finally, got a chance to try this dish and to my surprise, everyone at my home loved it including my kiddo. 

This chicken mole can be served with a plain steamed rice or brown rice or Mexican rice. Apart from serving with rice, we can also include shredded chicken to the gravy and serve it as tacos. 

Looking for more chicken recipes ? Then, try these....

Thai Basil Chicken Stir Fry 

Creamy Butter Chicken using Macadamia nuts 

Chicken & Walnut in Spinach gravy 

Chicken & Betel Leaves Soup 

About the event... 

Sending this Mexican delicacy to an event "Shhh Cooking secretly challenge" which is happening every month among food bloggers with an interesting theme. This group is managed by an amazing blogger Mayuri di who blogs at Mayuri's Jikoni. Every month, one of the blogger will get a chance to select the theme and followed by bloggers getting paired with each other. Sounds Interesting right ! Likewise, for the month of August, the theme of chocolate was suggested by Mayuri di. She is a wonderful, dedicated blogger and her blog page has loads of amazing recipes in all categories like Gujarati Khana, Kenyan Cuisine, Gluten free, Fasting recipes etc. Especially I liked her Beetroot blueberry pops, Maharage Ya Nazi, Pan de Yuca and Kansar. Head to her page for more interesting recipes. 

For this month, I was paired with a lovely blogger Pavani Gunikuntla who blogs at Pavanis Kitchen. She page is loaded with many mouthwatering recipes like Rasagulla, Tawa chicken tikka, Nutella brownies which is made using 3 ingredients, Instant Malpua using condensed milk etc. And also, I just loved her food pictures which is so tempting and appetizing. For more delicious recipes, do visit her page. Coming to the secret ingredients, Pavani gave me Cinnamon and Fennel seeds as my secret ingredients. So, I have used those ingredients along with the chocolate and prepared this delicious Mexican dish. Likewise, I gave Eno and milk as secret ingredients and using those, she prepared a delicious biscuit cake. Click HERE to get a detailed recipe of her cake. 

Here comes the recipe for the Chicken Mole... 

Recipe adapted from vahrevah. 

Ingredients :

For paste :

2 Tbsp Oil 

1 Tbsp Coriander seeds 

1 Tsp Jeera / Cumin seeds 

3 Cloves 

1 inch Cinnamon stick 

1 Tsp Saunf / Fennel seeds 

6 Almonds 

8-10 Raisins 

1/2 Tsp Dried Oregano

3 Garlic pods, chopped 

1 Big Onion, Finely chopped 

6 Medium sized tomatoes, chopped

For Gravy :

2 Tbsp Oil 

2 Tbsp red chilli paste 

1 Cup Chicken stock or water 

1/2 Cup Melted Chocolate 

Salt to taste 

For Air fried Chicken :

3 Chicken breast 

2 Tsp red chilli powder 

1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder 

Salt to taste 

Method :

Heat pan and add coriander seeds followed by cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, fennel seeds, almonds, oregano and raisins. 

Dry roast all the ingredients and add garlic pods followed by the chopped onion. 

Add oil followed by the chopped tomatoes and saute well.

Cook until the tomatoes turns soft and mushy. 

Once done, remove from the flame, cool the ingredients and grind into smooth paste. Keep aside. 

Now heat oil in a pan and add the ground paste followed by red chilli paste. 

Cook it until the gravy starts bubbling. 

Now add salt followed by the melted chocolate and cook it again for 5 - 7 minutes. 

Remove from the flame and keep aside. Mole is ready. 

To air fry the chicken, marinate the chicken breast using red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt for 30 minutes. 

Then air fry them for 20 - 30 minutes in batches. Flip the chicken for every 15 minutes. 

Plating :

Serve the steamed rice on the plate, place the air fried chicken and pour the mole on it. 

Serve with lemon wedges and coriander leaves.

Serving Options :

Serve with grilled or air fried chicken and rice. 

For more chicken recipes, Click HERE! 

If you try this recipe, please don't forget to share with me :) Do send me your feedback to priyasmenu@gmail.com or tag me @priyas.menu on instagram. 

Burritos with Chickpeas and Brown Rice / Diet Friendly Recipe - 39 / #100dietrecipes

Make your meal healthy and exotic with the leftover brown rice and serve it as a breakfast or lunch. This delicious burritos are packed with couple of colored cabbages, chickpeas and leftover brown rice with an Italian flavor. Easy to prepare and also very filling. One burrito can easily make your tummy full, as it filled with loads of healthy mixture. I have used cabbages in this recipe and alternatively, any veggies can be used like zucchini, broccoli etc.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Brown Rice, cooked
1 Big Onion, Finely chopped
2 Big Tomatoes, Finely chopped
1 Tsp Oregano, dried 
1 Cup Purple Cabbage, Finely chopped
1/2 Cup White Cabbage, Finely chopped
1 Cup Chickpeas, cooked
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp Olive oil 
6 - 7 Wheat flour Rotis ( approx 20 cm ), cooked
3 Tbsp Spring Onion leaves, Finely chopped

Method :

Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion.

Saute for a minute in a medium flame and add the chopped cabbages ( Purple and White ).

Saute it for couple of minutes and add the chopped tomatoes along with the required amount of salt.

Meanwhile, coarsely mash the chickpeas and keep aside.

When the cabbages are almost cooked, add the mashed chickpeas along with cooked brown rice and oregano.

Mix well and add the finely chopped spring onion leaves.

Remove from the flame and keep aside.

Wrap the rotis in a aluminum foil and place them on a plate.

Stand the plate over boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Alternatively, place the rotis in microwave for a minute. ( This helps to soften the roti and wrap it easily ).

Take one roti, spoon in the filling into the center of the roti and fold both the sides.

Fold the bottom up and the top down to form a parcel.

Place the filled burrito in a casserole , cover it with foil and keep warm till you serve.

Serve warm with Tomato sauce or any dip.