Mom's Enchiladas de Dulce

On a Monday evening after work, we decided to finally tackle this dish.  We were both under the impression that it was a challenging dish to make.  We were surprised at how simple and economical it was to complete.  We were not as surprised at how freakin' delicious they were!  These enchiladas are so rich and satisfying, there is no need for a side dish.

Before we start, here are the ingredients:

1lb. of chicken
Corn tortillas
Olive oil

For the Sauce:

-5 Chiles Pasillas (secos/dry)
-2 cloves
-1 cinnamon stick
-1 piece of Abuelita Chocolate (not the whole rounded piece, crush or melt before blending)
-4-5 pieces of piloncillo (if you don't know what that is, google it.)
-3-4 saltine crackers
-1 teaspoon of sugar (or however much to taste, remember the piloncillo is a sweetener too)
-Olive oil (to fry the sauce)
-White onion (just a couple of chunks to fry with the sauce)

For the topping:


Grated cotija cheese
Chopped white onions

It begins with the chicken... which we  boiled in water until thoroughly cooked.  This will take long enough so you can make the sauce meanwhile...
...oh, you should also have cotija cheese grated and a white onion chopped so your toppings are ready to go later.

The sauce begins with the chiles, which we boiled with water (enough water to cover the chiles).  We boiled them for about 20-30 minutes.  The water should turn dark red.

The chiles AND water will be blended with the following ingredients:  chocolate, crackers, cinnamon stick (in pieces), and a clove.

Now that the ingredients are blended, you can asses if you need to thicken it up by adding more crackers.  Our sauce actually came out too thick because we didn't add all the red chile water.  Lesson learned!  It should be a bit more liquified than melted chocolate!  **Before the next step, you must strain the sauce using a handheld, wire strainer to remove the chile residue.**

Heat up some oil in a pan over low heat (we used a pot, but when I do this again I will use a deep pan instead).  Add the strained sauce to the heated oil along with a couple of chunks of white onion and a clove.  Add several crushed pieces of piloncillo (add as much as your sweet tooth desires).  Mix and bring sauce to a boil.  Remove the onion chunks.

It is time to check on the chicken.  We removed the chicken from the boiling pot.  As we started to shred the chicken, we discovered it needed more time...so we decided to cook it some more in a pan, which I thought gave the chicken a nice taste anyway.  You may season chicken with salt and pepper if you like.

Now you just need to arrange an assembly line.  Here is the process:

Fry tortillas in oil (just a little oil, if drenched they will rip)

Dip tortilla in sauce

Fill tortilla with chicken (you may add some chopped onion and cotija cheese inside too)

Roll up tortilla and place on a plate (or baking pan if serving later)

Top enchilada with chopped white onion and cotija cheese

You may drizzle some more chile sauce over your enchiladas if you like (I know I like!).

Ahora, es tiempo para comer!  Provecho!  MMMMM...

Please comment below.  Let us know if you have any questions, or if you know of or discover delicious variations to this dish!  Perhaps you have an idea for a side dish to go with this?  Please share, we would love to hear from you!