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3 techniques
Chileatole (Mexican corn and chile soup)
Central Mexico — Aztec pre-Columbian dish; documented in Nahuatl texts; the word combines chile and atole
Chileatole is a pre-Columbian soup of fresh or dried corn (masa) and dried chiles — a thick, satisfying soup somewhere between atole and mole de olla. Fresh corn is grated or masa harina dissolved in water, then cooked with dried chile (ancho, pasilla), epazote, and often chicken or pork. The masa thickens the broth naturally. It is a peasant dish — simple, nourishing, and very old. Associated with the Aztec diet and maintained in central Mexican home cooking.
Enfrijoladas (black bean sauce enchiladas)
Oaxaca and central Mexico — a home cooking dish; made as a quick meal or for using leftover beans
Enfrijoladas are enchiladas coated in a black bean sauce instead of chile sauce — corn tortillas dipped in warm pureed black bean sauce (made with epazote, chipotle or pasilla, and lard), filled with cheese or chicken, and served with crema and queso fresco. The bean sauce is thin enough to coat the tortillas but thick enough to cling. A simple, economical dish that is a vehicle for leftover beans. Common in Oaxaca and central Mexico.
Mole de olla (peasant pot mole stew)
Central Mexico (Puebla, Morelos, Estado de Mexico) — peasant home cooking; the precursor to the complex sauce moles
Mole de olla is not a mole in the sauce sense — it is a hearty stew where dried chiles (ancho, pasilla, mulato) are used as a broth base rather than a sauce. Vegetables (chayote, corn, zucchini, green beans) and beef (short ribs or shank) are cooked directly in the chile broth, along with epazote. The result is a brothy, chile-fragrant stew that demonstrates the chile's power as a broth seasoning rather than a sauce. It is rural, peasant food — direct and nourishing.