Скачать или смотреть Ancient Eats | Episode 4: What the Aztecs Fed Their Warriors-It’s Spicy!

🍫 Aztec Mole – 500-Year-Old Spicy Chocolate Sauce

What happens when you combine fire, chocolate, and chilies the way the Aztecs did over 500 years ago?

In this episode of Ancient Eats, I recreate one of the earliest versions of mole — a sacred sauce made with cacao, toasted seeds, and dried chilies. Used in warrior feasts, ceremonial offerings, and royal meals, mole was food of the gods.

This recipe is based on archaeological studies and culinary anthropology from Mesoamerica.

🛖 Ingredients below:
2 tablespoons cacao nibs or 100% dark chocolate
3 dried ancho or guajillo chilies (seeded & toasted)
2 tablespoons sesame or pumpkin seeds (toasted)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons cornmeal or crushed tortilla
1 cup water or broth
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Optional: turkey, duck, or game meat
Optional: avocado leaf or epazote (traditional herbs)

Instructions
Toast chilies and seeds in a dry pan until fragrant.
Grind cacao nibs, chilies, seeds, garlic, and onion in a mortar or food processor.
Add cornmeal (or crushed tortilla) and salt.
Slowly mix in warm water or broth to form a thick sauce.
Simmer sauce in a clay pot or pan over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes.
Stir constantly to avoid burning. Add protein if desired.
Serve with maize cakes, tortillas, or over roasted meat.

Historical Notes
Mole was often used in sacred rituals and warrior feasts.
Cacao was reserved for nobility and religious ceremonies.
The sauce may have had dozens of ingredients including herbs, nuts, and seeds.
True mole evolved through both Aztec and later colonial influence.
Optional Variations
Use sunflower seeds or peanuts if pumpkin/sesame unavailable.
Add chili de árbol or cayenne for more heat.
Sweeten with honey for post-colonial flavor twist.
Pair with corn flatbreads for a complete ancient meat

🔥 Fire-cooked like in the 1400s
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📜 Recreating history, one bite at a time.

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