Mole Poblano — the real version, made on a Sunday

Remove stems and seeds from all dried chiles. Toast on a dry comal over medium heat, pressing flat, for 20–30 seconds per side — they should puff slightly and smell toasted, not smoke or blacken. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak 20 minutes.

On the same comal, char the halved onion and unpeeled garlic cloves cut-side down until deeply blackened on the cut face, 8–10 minutes. Char the tomatoes and tomatillos until the skins blister. Peel the garlic.

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast sesame seeds, peanuts, and pepitas separately until golden (2–4 minutes each). Toast the raisins briefly (30 seconds) until puffed. Fry the stale tortilla in a little oil until crisp and golden.

Drain the soaked chiles, reserving 200 ml soaking liquid. Working in batches, blend the chiles with the soaking liquid until completely smooth. Pass through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl.

Blend the charred onion, garlic, tomatoes, and tomatillos until smooth. In a separate batch, blend the toasted nuts, seeds, raisins, tortilla, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and thyme with 250 ml broth until as smooth as possible.

Heat lard in a large deep pot over high heat until shimmering. Add the strained chile paste — it will splatter. Fry, stirring constantly, for 5–7 minutes until the paste darkens from brick-red to deep mahogany. This step is not optional.

Add the tomato mixture, stir to combine, and fry for 3 more minutes. Add the nut-chocolate blend and stir for another 3 minutes. The paste will be very thick.

Pour in the chicken broth gradually, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 45 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent scorching.

Season with salt. The mole should taste complex — slightly bitter, sweet, smoky, and earthy — not like any one ingredient in particular. Adjust consistency with broth.

Season the chicken pieces with salt. Sear in oil in a separate pan until golden on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to the mole pot and simmer for 30–35 minutes until cooked through.

Serve the chicken in the mole sauce over white rice. Finish with a scattering of sesame seeds and thin-sliced white onion. Warm corn tortillas alongside.