98 JANUARY 2021
MOLE VERDE has a special place in the Masala y Maíz kitchen. It
was on our first menu when we opened our restaurant in Mexico
City in 2017 and, since then, has been a mainstay in some form.
This richly textured, spicy, deeply aromatic mole verde is our
take on one of Norma’s abuela’s classic recipes, which Norma
always requested for her birthday. It is a dish for celebration,
one that captures a feeling of joy that we wanted our restaurant
to embody. While the roots of this mole are pre-Columbian and
based on a pipián, a laborious sauce with a base of toasted and
ground pepitas, sesame seeds, and fresh chiles and herbs, our
mole verde draws on the mestizaje, or blending, of our South
A SPOONFUL
OF NOSTALGIA
Asian and Mexican cultures. It is a smooth, rich pipián with
a spice profile more like what you’d find in the North Indian
cuisine of Saqib’s family. Like much of our food at Masala y
Maíz, our mole verde tastes both very Mexican and very Desi.
This is not a quick weeknight dish but one to simmer all day
and fill your home with a beautiful aroma. It tastes like love
and feels like care. Garnish your mole with thinly sliced rings
of white onion and toasted sesame seeds, and serve with a side
of beans and rice. Make sure everyone has some warm, fresh
corn tortillas or bolillo buns to mop up every last bite. —NORMA
LISTMAN AND SAQIB KEVAL
