isithalal.food

Is Mole Halal?

It depends on what the label says.

Halal if verified
Medium confidence About this ruling

About this ruling

Condition
Verify the product or supplier in hand
Evidence confidence
Medium means the sources are named, but they do not pin the evidence to a specific market or product. Use this page as orientation, then read the pack in your hand.
How we score High, Medium, and Low

Reviewed

Mole is a Mexican sauce of dried chillies, seeds, nuts, spices and often chocolate.

Next step Ask what fat the mole was fried in, what broth went into it and what meat it is served on. How to verify
Scan a label

Photo: Pabliotecario · CC BY-SA 4.0

How to verify

  1. Chillies, seeds, nuts, spices and chocolate are Halal.
  2. Ask whether the paste was fried in lard or oil.
  3. Ask what broth thinned the sauce and what meat it is served on.
  4. For jars and pastes, read the label for lard.

Quick checks

  • Ask whether the paste was fried in lard or oil.
  • Ask what broth thinned the mole: turkey, chicken or vegetable.
  • The chicken or turkey it is served on needs Halal slaughter.

What decides the answer

  • Mole made with oil and vegetable or Halal broth

    Halal

  • Restaurant mole of unknown fat and broth

    Halal if verified

  • Mole fried in lard

    Haram

  • Mole over pork

    Haram

Why this ruling

Mole is a family of thick Mexican sauces built from dried chillies, toasted seeds and nuts, spices and, in the best-known versions, a little chocolate.[2] Mole poblano from Puebla grinds together ancho, mulato and pasilla chillies, sesame, almonds, raisins, plantain, tortilla or bread, cinnamon, clove and chocolate into a dark, glossy sauce that takes a day to make. Oaxaca has seven classic moles, from black mole negro to yellow amarillo. Mole is poured over turkey or chicken, eaten with rice and tortillas, and served at weddings, baptisms and the Day of the Dead.[1]

What decides it

Part Usually Halal?
Dried chillies, seeds, nuts, raisins, spices Plant Yes
Chocolate Cacao, sugar, cinnamon Yes
Frying fat Lard in many traditional kitchens; oil in others Lard, no; oil, yes
Broth that thins the sauce Turkey or chicken stock Only from Halal slaughter
Meat served under it Turkey, chicken, sometimes pork Only Halal poultry; pork, no

The sauce is made of plant ingredients, but two things usually go into it that are not. Traditional cooks fry the chilli and spice paste in lard (manteca), and they thin it with the broth of the turkey or chicken it will be served with.[3] Pork in mole is less common than poultry, but mole de olla and some regional moles are made with pork or beef.

Jars, pastes and restaurants

Mole is widely sold as a ready-made paste in jars and blocks, to be loosened with broth at home. Most pastes list vegetable oil, chillies, sesame, peanuts, sugar and crackers; read the label for lard. Then thin it with water or vegetable stock, or a Halal chicken stock.

In a Mexican restaurant, ask what fat the mole was fried in, what broth went into it and what meat it is served on. A mole over Halal chicken, made with oil, is Halal; so is a mole served over vegetables or cheese enchiladas, subject to the cheese.

For other Mexican food, see tamales and the Mexico guide; for the fat, lard.

Frequently asked questions

Is mole Halal?
The ingredients are plant-based, but traditional mole is often fried in lard and thinned with turkey or chicken broth. Made with oil and a Halal or vegetable broth, and served on Halal chicken, it is Halal.
Does mole contain chocolate?
Many moles, especially mole poblano, contain a little Mexican chocolate, which is cacao, sugar and cinnamon. It is Halal.
Is jarred mole paste Halal?
Most pastes are vegetable oil, chillies, seeds, nuts and sugar. Read the label for lard, then thin it with water or a Halal stock.

Scholarly view

The chillies, seeds, nuts, spices and chocolate are Halal. Lard is Haram, and a poultry broth or the meat under the sauce needs Islamic slaughter.

Sources

Named Islamic, certifier, manufacturer, and regulatory sources used on this page. Inline markers like [1] jump here. Retrieval dates show when we last checked the live URL. Editorial methodology.

Islamic / scriptural

  1. Qur'an 5:3

    Qur'an Retrieved

    Swine prohibition.

Context / background

  1. Wikipedia: Mole (sauce)

    Wikipedia Retrieved

    Culinary identity: Family of Mexican sauces of fruits, nuts, chilli peppers and spices, in some fifty varieties. Identity context, not a Halal certificate.

  2. Visit Mexico

    Mexico Tourism Retrieved

    Tourism / identity context.

Browse this topic

Open the parent category hub for more foods in the same group.