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Traditional Mexican Dishes Top: Lamb in Black Mole Bottom: Chilli Pasillo stuffed with cheese. |
Of the many international cuisines, Mexican is amongst my favourite. From sizzling fajitas to crisp tacos, cheesy enchiladas to hearty burritos there’s a lot of delicious variety that this cuisine offers. I personally like the mix of fresh ingredients with spiced proteins, flavourful sauces with a balance of heat and sweet and the sprinkling of cheese and sour cream. The accompanying wraps are comforting with their familiarity with our rotis, yet make for a refreshing change. And of course, there’s the entire charm of ‘community eating’ and ‘table camaraderie’ with many dishes that are either completed at your table like freshly made guacamole or assembling your own fajita wraps exactly as you please!
But real Mexican food has much more to offer than the dishes
that I mentioned above - which come under the category of Tex-Mex, or Mexican
food that initially became popular in North America and spread to other parts
of the world. In fact, the cuisine is so rich in terms of ingredients and
diversity that it has earned the status of Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
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Chef Alondra Maldonado and Chef Marco Valdivia. |
To commemorate the 208th anniversary celebrations
of Mexico’s Independence, the Embassy of
Mexico in India has organized a Mexican
Culinary Festival at the Taj Mahal
Hotel, New Delhi. Celebrated Mexican
Chef Alondra Maldonado and Chef
Marco Valdivia are showcasing diverse Mexican dishes, some from their home
state Nayarit, as well as from other regions of Mexico, in association with Executive Chef Arun Sundaraj’s team.
Chile, Chilli or
Peppers
While Mexican
Ambassador to India, H.E. Melba Pria, regaled us with stories of everyday
life in Mexico the chefs served multiple courses for us to sample some real
flavours of this rich cuisine. “India and Mexico are two countries that know
the difference between ‘spicy’ and ‘hot’,” said the Ambassador. With a
mind-boggling variety of indigenous chillies or peppers, Mexicans have also
figured out various ways of using them in their food. Chef Alondra and her team
have carried more than 50 kg of assorted chillies for this culinary festival. Chile pasilla is a pepper grown in
Oxaca and turns out to be the hot favourite for its sweet and smoky flavour. It
is served stuffed with goat cheese, in a refreshing sauce of tomato, onion and
garlic. Scallop aguachile turns out
to be much hotter in contrast. ‘Aguachile’ means water and chilli and is a
traditional Nayaritan sauce. Located on the Pacific coast, Nayarit has an
abundance of seafood in its regional cuisine. This dish is a great example how
the sweet scallop is contrasted with a hot sauce made with Serrano chilli,
cilantro and lime juice.
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Bean Soup served on (top) a mix of goat cheese, avocado and tortilla. |
Soup and Mole
The bean soup from Tarasca is described as “mouthwatering
and soul comforting” in the menu. I totally agree because the aroma of the soup
as it is poured over a mix of goat cheese, avocado and thinly shredded tortilla
is actually mouthwatering. The marigold flower that is used as an edible garnish is as auspicious in Mexican culture as it is in Indian culture.
For those who understand Mexican cuisine beyond the Tex-Mex,
would have definitely heard of the ‘mole’ sauce. “Mole is to Mexico what curry
is to India,” explains the Ambassador. While the most popular mole is
associated with a chocolate-based sauce, mole simply is any curry made with
chillies and spices. Almost every household thus has its own distinct moles.
The chocolate-based mole is the specialty of only one region of Mexico - Oxaca.
I am certainly glad that Chef Alondra chose to serve the Lamb in Black Mole since I have tried it at various restaurants but
was never sure of the authencity of its flavour. While the lamb itself was spot
on, the sauce was far more complex than any that I had tasted before. “I would
dare to say that black mole is the most complex mole due to the variety of dry
peppers it takes and the mastery in burning them,” says Chef Alondra. With more
than 30 ingredients, this sauce
can take upto three days to make. It is made with the seeds of dried chilles
like red, black and yellow chilhuacle peppers, pasilla pepper seeds, burnt
tortilla, spices like oregano, cumin and cinnamon that are ground traditionally
on stone. Chocolate is used in the form of roasted cacao seeds that are peeled
and ground with sugar. Finally the stock is added. The result is a smoky sauce
with a very complex flavour. If there’s one reason that I’d urge you to go for
this on-going festival, it is this sauce! And of course the highly satiating pork belly tacos that include the
beautiful crackling and extremely fresh guacamole and salsa.
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Top: Pork Belly Taco Bottom: Bean and Avocado Sope |
Sweet Endings
I have
to confess that I hadn’t really tried any traditional Mexican desserts so far
{chocolate with chilli doesn’t really count!}. Of the three that I got to taste
today, I’d recommend the Capirotada that
is traditionally made during Easter. It is utterly comforting with layers of
bread, almonds, prunes, pecans, raisins and aged cheese bathed and soaked in a
special syrup. I usually don’t like to give away surprises, but I have to tell
you that this is the first dessert that I have had, and loved, that includes
onions and tomatoes! If you do get to taste it I’d love to hear your feedback.
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Desserts Top: Capirotada and Ante Bottom: Mestizo Timbal. |
Salud!
The
festival is not only about food, it also includes drinks. Besides the frozen
margaritas, you also have beer-based micheladas. Michelada is a cocktail made with beer,
lime juice, assorted spices and sauces and served in a glass rimmed with salt
and peppers. Other juices may also be added to it. Amongst the mocktails there’s lemonade with chia and a refreshing
drink made with rice milk and cinnamon.
![]() |
Drinks L-R: Michelada; Rice Milk mocktail. |
This
festival has been a culinary exploration like none other and is on from
the 13th-22nd
September 2018 at Machan.
Lunch Buffet begins at Rs 2,100.
Chef's Special Dinner menu at Rs 2,400.
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