Ingredients:
- 2 3½-4 lb. stewing chickens, cut into eights
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 2 Turkish bay leaves
- 4 Dried pasilla chilies
- 4 Dried mulato chilies
- 6 Dried ancho chilies
- ¼ cup Bacon grease
- 1 qt. Chopped onion
- 2 Tbsp. Minced garlic
- ½ cup Raisins
- ½ cup Sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry sauté pan set over medium-high heat
- 1 cup Blanched almonds, lightly toasted in a dry sauté pan set over medium-high heat
- ½ tsp. Aniseed
- ½ tsp. Ground cumin
- ½ tsp. Ground coriander
- ¼ tsp. Ground cloves
- 4 Vine-ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded & coarsely chopped
- ¾ cup Cornmeal
- 1¾ cups Chicken stock (reserved chicken cooking broth flavored to taste with chicken base)
- 3 oz. Bitter-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Preparation:
Place the chicken pieces in a Dutch oven set over high heat with the salt, bay leaves and enough water to cover; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, cut all the dried chilies in half, remove all the veins and seeds and discard them. Tear the chilies into small pieces and place in a small bowl. When the 20 minutes are up, strain the chicken pieces through a colander set over a large bowl to reserve the cooking liquid and place them on a sheet pan to cool to room temperature. Add enough of the hot chicken cooking broth to cover the chilies and set aside to soak for 45 minutes.
Turn on oven to warm setting. Heat the bacon grease in the Dutch oven set over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces, a few at a time, and brown them on all sides in batches as necessary to avoid burning the bottom of the pot. Transfer browned chicken pieces to a covered roasting pan or casserole dish and keep warm in the oven until needed.
Add the onions to the Dutch oven immediately after removing the last chicken pieces and cook, stirring, for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned. Add a little of the reserved chicken cooking broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon if and when necessary. Add the garlic, raisins, sesame seeds, almonds, aniseed, cumin, coriander and cloves; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, another 5-7 minutes. Mix in the chopped tomatoes, chilies and their soaking liquid and continue cooking another 5-7 minutes. Serves 6-8.
