Chicken Mole

Ever since seeing the movie Chocolat, I've thought about making some of the recipes mentioned during the decadent chocolate party. Chicken Mole is one of the most unusual recipes I've tried in a long time. Chocolate and chicken? Seems like an odd combo. Adding in chili powder? Definitely weird. But I liked it! Not only that, but this recipe is quite low in calories! Imagine that! On my blog!?

This recipe was originally from Nestle and printed in one of those cookbooks that contain recipes from the backs of bags, boxes, cans and bottles of commercial food products. I took out about 25 pages of recipes I wanted to try and sent the rest of the book to the garage sale (there are 300 pages, so someone else will enjoy the rest!). This particular recipe is based on tomatoes rather than white sauce, which is why it's low on calories. Great on flavor though! The next time I make this, I would prefer deboned chicken. I could tell that Mom wasn't excited over it, but it is a very different flavor combo than we're accustomed to. The recipe below has been adapted for only 1 chicken. The coating amounts are generous. I used New Mexico Light blend chili from Pendery's (see link in sidebar). This is a good chili blend that doesn't burn (which is great for us wimpy folk). I also used diced tomatoes and pureed them with my hand blender (for very smooth, use a blender). Instead of chicken bouillon, I use Penzeys' chicken base (see link in sidebar) which is a little lower in salt than bouillon. If you are on a no-salt diet, you can skip the salt in both the coating and drop out the bouillon in the sauce. Still going to be pretty close. Using baking cocoa/chocolate will make this low carb. You can puree leftover sauce and pour over ice cream. Yum.

Chicken Mole

Chicken:
1/3 cup unsifted flour
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 broiler-fryer (2 1/2-3 lbs), cut up
2 measuring tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup water

Chocolate Mole Sauce:
2 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 of 10 oz. can tomatoes and green chilies (I used Rotel tomatoes)
1/2 cup tomato puree
3 oz (1/2 cup) Nestle Semi-sweet Real Chocolate Morsels
1 tsp chicken-flavored instant bouillon (or 1 cube crushed)

Chicken:
In a large bowl or plastic bag, combine flour, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add chicken pieces (2 at a time); coat well. Heat oil in a large skillet; brown half the chicken pieces on all sides over medium heat. Drain thoroughly on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken. Pour off all but 2 teaspoons of oil (may need a little more oil if not using non-stick). In same skillet, saute onion and garlic until golden. Return chicken to skillet. Add the water; simmer, covered, over medium heat about 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken is tender. Transfer to a serving platter. Top with Chocolate Mole Sauce. Garnish each serving with peanuts or almonds, if desired.

Chocolate Mole Sauce:
In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes and green chilies, tomato puree, chocolate morsels, remaining chili powder and bouillon. Cook over low heat until morsels melt and sauce is heated through.

Makes 4 servings with 1 1/2 cups sauce.

Note: This mole is milder in flavor than a traditional Mexican mole.

After searching on the net for similar recipes, try adding 1/2-3/4 tsp. cinnamon and/or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter for variation.