As Mexico celebrates its Independence Day today, Delhiites can get a taste of authentic cuisine much beyond just enchiladas and fajitas. Shalini Saksena brings you the Mexican wave
It’s time to go beyond the enchiladas and the fajitas on your platter. There’s inside Mexico happening in town to commemorate Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1810. Walk into Taj Mahal’s iconic Machan restaurant and you could get the real taste of Mexico till September 22.
Celebrated chefs Alondra Maldonado and Marco Valdivi bring to the Capital some lesser known authentic dishes from Nayarit — a State along the coast of Mexico. Most of us are familiar with the more popular Tex-Mex dishes like enchiladas and fajitas that are full of beans and cheese. While black beans, corn and meat are the basic food of Mexico, the dishes are more than just large tortillas that we are familiar with. It all begins with Bean Tarasca soup made by using chilies, corn and of course beans. The good is that it is thick — Indians like their soup to have texture. Another plus is that it has a hint of spice, Delhiites love spicy food. In this sense, Mexican and Indian cuisine is similar — it is spicy. The cheese Molotov’s with yellow mole sauce made from plantain and stuffed with cheese served on yellow mole from Oaxaca region.
Chef Maldonado tells you that there are different types of mole — made by using cocoa and chillies.
“The use of different types of chilies determines the colour of the mole and the region from where it is. There is red, yellow, and black to name a few moles that one will find in Mexico,” she tells you.
While we may balk at the thought of using chocolate in a meat dish, the combination is interesting. Cocoa and chilli are used to make this flavourful savoury sauce is bitter to taste at the beginning with the taste of the chilli as an after taste. This sauce is served with lamb and or chicken giving a twist to dish that is brilliant. The porkbelly taco is just as fantastic.
First, is the size itself. It is no larger than a kachori that we get and is paper thin. Then there is the filling itself which is from the Acapanetas town. The chef tells you that after maintaining it is put in the oven to cook for over three hours leaving the skin crispy and the meat falling of the bone.
The surprise here is the Pasila stuffed with vegetables and tomatoes. The spiciness of the chilli which is known to be mild to medium is a burst of flavours in your mouth. The veggies soothe your palate if one is not used to the chilli. But those who love chilli are bound to love this dish.
The best comes at last. The desserts are just as good as the main course. The Capirotada is a traditional dessert made only during the Holy season week — which is somewhere between March and April. The layered bread, almonds, pecans, raisins, fried plantains, cheese and topped with syrup is a perfect way to end a perfect meal.
