Tight mole

The mole prieto or tlilmolli is a mole originating from the municipalities of Santa Ana Chiautempan and Contla de Juan Cuamatzi, in the state of Tlaxcala (Mexico). From the beginning, this mole was a ritual meal in honor of the goddess Toci, Goddess of Textiles and Health, for whom great celebrations were held in her sanctuary in Chiautempan.

This is how Tlilmolli or dark mole was born, made from corn dough and pork fat, which in pre-Hispanic times was made from corn and turkey, venison and/or Xoloitzcuintle. This mole, upon the arrival of the Spanish, completely changed its ingredients and this is how both venison, izcuintli and turkey are replaced by pork.

This typical Tlaxcalteca dish is served in cajetes and is eaten hot. It is accompanied by anise tamales and served with pieces of pork. It is customary in various community celebrations, such as patron saint festivities, carnival festivities and the Easter Celebration. In the celebration of mayordomias, its preference is frequent because it is a dish that is prepared only in large quantities and that serves to feed enormous numbers of people.

This typical Tlaxcaltecan dish is served in Chiautempan on the occasion of Easter in honor of the religious image of Our Father Jesus of the Convent of Santa Ana Chiautempan, venerated in the convent of Chiautempan, which is why this dish is made after Easter. Easter celebrations in the neighborhoods of Chiautempan. In this way, it is in the following order:

1. Barrio de Ximentla
2. San Onofre
3. The Soledad
4. Tlapacoya.
5. Texcacoac
6. The Conception
7. Chalma
8. Xaltantla
9. The Temple of the Virgin of Guadalupe
10. La Parroquia de Señora Santa Ana
11. The High
12. Fatima

Preparation mode

Three days before the start of the ritual banquet, the grinders remove the Chipotle Meco (They remove the Cola from the Chile), then they roast it on a new clay comal and finally, it is ground in a metate.

En el mismo punto, otras mujeres hierve el maíz para tener el nixtamal (Base principal del mole prieto).

Meanwhile, the men kill a number of pigs proportional to the saucepans to be made of mole prieto, whether three, two or four. Once the pigs have been killed, they are dismembered. Boiling the pieces in the same pots in which the mole prieto is made.

The next day, the men open several holes, in which the saucepans in which the mole will be made will be placed.

The rite is then performed based on a man burying a bottle of liquor, in addition, this man will place a cross of chilpotles and nopales, all this to prevent the mole from rising and falling when it boils. It is said that the bottle that had been buried will contain stronger liquor than before the "burial" Of the bottle.

Once this rite is over, firewood is placed in the hole and the pots in which the mole will be cooked are placed. Thus, the water in which the pigs were boiled, pure sea salt, the chilpotle meco dough and the nixtamal dough, produced after it has been boiled and ground, are added to the pots. The men then proceed to move the mole with a shovel, so as not to cut it or its subsequent rise.

Meanwhile, in another part of the same house, the women make anise tamales, also known as 'dumb tamales', because they do not contain any other ingredients, only corn dough.

According to tradition, the people who host the mole should not get angry, because if this happens, inexplicably, the mole begins to boil, rise, cut or spill out of the saucepan.

Finally, it can be noted that mole prieto, as it contains a large amount of fat, cannot be digested easily, so aguardiente, mezcal or tequila is served, so that the mole is "cooked" #34;, and does not cause side effects in the digestion process of said dish.

It is important to note that in the preparation of mole prieto, the person in charge of making it is generally a woman, who is called "molera", she is in charge of providing the quantities of the ingredients. to occupy Chilpotle meco is used and not chilpotle colorado, as this gives the mole a reddish color and not the typical dark color of the mole prieto that is prepared in Chiautempan.

In other communities near Chiautempan, such as Contla, Tepatlaxco, they use red chilpotle, which gives a different color and flavor to their mole prieto. The molera personally toasts the chilpotle meco days before in a bracero with charcoal, which takes several days, depending on the amount of chili to be roasted; After this procedure, he puts it in sacks and steps on it, this to facilitate the "grinderas" women who in the past were willing to grind toasted chili, nixtamal, pork meat and fat into metate. Continuing with the preparation of the mole prieto, in huge copper pots with an approximate capacity of 600 to 800 liters, where the day before the pork is cooked in large pieces that are tied, and then removed and left the broth that remains the same day. The following is used for the preparation of mole prieto. With the ingredients already ground the same day by the molenderas, the molera little by little adds the meat, fat and ground nixtamal in the quantities that she considers correct, from this moment a person, usually male, is in charge of moving with a long wooden shovel constantly and until the mole prieto is cooked. The molera is what indicates when the mole prieto is ready to begin serving. It is emptied into large clay pots and distributed in clay containers to all the people who come to taste this typical dish from Santa Ana Chiautempan.

Currently, it is no longer common to occupy grinding mills, since women are no longer readily available for these tasks. Now, they take the ingredients to the mill, this has caused the loss of a tradition that was part of the butlers' commitment. that they had a commitment from the church and that involved the preparation of mole prieto.

It is said that years ago the molenderas, at night, once the engagement had passed, were thanked for their support in the preparation of the mole prieto, with a dance and a dinner. Anyway, the preparation of this typical dish, called "mole prieto", meant quite an event for those in charge and the people who supported them, it is a tradition that has been going on for many years, and the Santaneros are jealous of their customs., will continue to give life to their traditions.