Mark's Red Chile Sauce

Yield: 4 cups.

4 oz whole dried New Mexico Red Chiles (Any large red dried chile can
substitute)
2oz whole dried ancho chiles
2oz whole dried cascabel chiles
2 whole canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (or dried)
1 teaspoon adobo sauce
2 quarts water (approx 1/2 liter)
1lb blacked Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon roasted ground cumin
1.5 teaspoon roasted Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon peanut oil/lard

Remove stems and seeds from chiles. Dry roast chiles in oven at 250 for 3-4 minutes. Shake once or twice, do not let blacken. Add to the water in a covered pan and allow to simmer very low for 20 minutes to re-hydrate. Allow to cool.

Blacken tomatoes in a skillet or under a broiler, ~5 minutes.

Roast cumin and oregano under broiler, until brown but not smoking.

Saute' onion in the oil over low heat until browned.

Put chiles (not incl. water) in blender. Add blackened tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and salt. Add 1 cup liquid. (Taste chile water first. If it is *not* bitter, use chile water, otherwise add plain water or chicken stock.) Pureé to a fine paste, adding more liquid if necessary. Add oil or lard to a high sided pan, and heat until almost smoking. Refry sauce at a sizzle for 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously. Do not allow sauce to get too thick; add water if necessary.