Instructions: Prepare the Meat: Put poultry in a stockpot with 4 cups of cool water.

Bring to a boil, skim foam off top, reduce heat and simmer until tender

(about 1-1/2 hours). When poultry is done, remove it and refrigerate (or freeze if preparing for later use). Strain stock into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. After stock has chilled, skim off top. Reserve stock for later use in the recipe.

Sauce: Pull out the tops of the dried chiles by the stems. Tear chiles into strips. Remove all seeds and veins. Reserve 1 to 3 tablespoons of the seeds

(depending on how hot you want the mole to be).

If the chiles are too dry to tear apart, cover them with boiling water and soak a few minutes until softened.

Put 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil into a large skillet or pot over high heat.

Fry the chile strips, reserved chile seeds, almonds, raisins, sesame seeds, tomato and garlic in batches until the chiles have changed color and stiffen. Be sure and fry the chipotle thoroughly, or it will be too hot.

(This is a very hot pepper and you might not want to add the full amount of reserved chile seeds to the dish, depending on your tolerance for heat).

After each batch is fried, transfer to a food processor and add a ladle of stock. Process mixture to a coarse paste. Continue until batches have been processed.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan, and place over medium heat. Add all of the chile paste. As the paste cooks, stir in the salt, anise, cilantro, salt, cinnamon, black pepper and cloves. Be careful or the mixture will spatter all over the stove and floor. Add stock, a ladleful at a time, mixing after each addition, until sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Add chocolate and brown sugar. Stir until chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved in the sauce. Simmer at least 40 minutes over very low heat, stirring occasionally.

Finishing and Serving: Cut chicken into medium-sized slices. Add to mole in skillet or stewpot and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until poultry is heated throughout.

Serve hot, garnished with toasted sesame seeks and fresh onion slices.

If making mole in advance, refrigerate or freeze the sauce (separately from the meat), then re-heat and serve sauce and meat together as above.

NOTES :

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