Following the previous post from Pawan on the Chilean Wine and Food Fest at Lalit Delhi, the appetite was quite piqued and moreover when ProChile sent us the menu for the event a few days before the event. Though the extensive menu ran 3 pages long the things which caught my immediate attention were Mussels, Pacific Patagonian Clams, Chilean Salmon, Razor Clams and Chilean Sea Bass.
So amidst the peak hour chaos of Andheri traffic on a busy Wednesday I headed myself towards Lalit Intercontinental at 7.30 pm. I did think that I would be one of the first comers on site, but was quite surprised to see the hall packed at 7.45 despite the peak hour traffic rush (Event déjà vu anyone?)
Without wasting much time, I headed to the first counter to taste the wines and embark on my Food and Wine journey for the evening. Unlike many wine tastings where wine is served by uninterested servers, I was quite surprised to see the teams from respective importers actually insisting that we try the wines in a certain order, at the first Brindco stand I was insisted on starting the evening with a chilled and refreshing chardonnay, quite effervescent and easy to the palate. With the mood set I embarked on the foodie journey and landed on the first platter which was passed around in front of me – a roll which looked like a cream cheese roll, I asked the server to describe the dish to me and he mumbled a cock-doodle-name which I am still trying to guess! I finally figured the name for the dish (Thanks to the elaborate menu sent by Prochile staff earlier), it was a soft and sweet prune/date roll with cream cheese filling. Sweet and savoury to the palate, there couldn’t have been a better start to my evening.
Another interesting starter that I witnessed at the event was the Lamb and the Veg empanadas. Empanada is what could possibly be the closest relative to the Indian samosa and is quite popular all over the Americas, in Chile they make it with different fillings- the most common being the one with meat (Beef), onions, olives and eggs- they call it the empanada de Pino, it could be either fried or baked (which is the more popular version). In India they tried to recreate the same with lamb meat and though it was as close at could get to the real deal, was a bit dry to my taste. Also the quintessential egg wash on the dough was missing in appearance.
While I was still relishing the tastes of the empanadas, and pairing them with a refreshingly minerally Riesling from Sula (a first for Chilean Wines) a tray of fresh scallops and another tray of smoked salmon canapés passed in front of me. Like a kids pouncing on his favorite candy I charged to the scallops, and gulped a couple on them in a matter of seconds. A medley of tart, fresh and seasalt goodness washed through my mouth at the taste of these scallops, the smoked salmon, though nice was the usual fair. The Salmon Ceviche also made a debut and was consumed by the masses thronging the place. I could manage on portion of it and was quite happy with the choice.
Throughout the evening we had the chance to try out several interesting reds and white blends from some of the iconic wine makers from Chile and paired them with salmon, scallop and lamp hors d oeuvres. Enjoying with me in this food event were food stalwarts like Aneesha Baig, Kalyan Karmakar and Antoinne Lewis from the Mumbai food diaspora, each of us looking forward to upcoming dinner buffet with the promised seafood extravaganza. The event was quite conspicuous with the absence of the usual sommeliers but the sight of India’s best food experts in the hall was enough to convince me that the Chilean food scene in India has arrived!
I have never seen such a glorious spread of seafood in any buffet spread in India. My eyes zoned in on the razor clam ceviche served in their natural shell. Freshly marinated, they were yet to acquire the acidic taste of the marinade, but I couldn’t complain, I have missed the fresh mineral taste of shell fish in the last 9 years. To me it was heaven. Similarly the nylon prawns were an interesting offering; texture of dried salty fish stretched thinly on sticks, quite an acquired taste for the north Indian palate though am sure the Malabar and Konkani palate would certainly identify with it. Kingfish loin was wholesome, sea bass was good and then I saw the grilled salmon…big chunky steaks of salmon in a vierge sauce, succulent and sweet, creamy flesh simple divine. There were several other indian-continental offerings which were at best-usual! Then we came upon the piece de resistance, the live carving station of the grilled salmon. Our foodie triumvirate of Kalyan-Aneesha and me were floored by the taste and we had three helpings of the wonderful fish. It won’t be exaggerating to say that that one morsel of salmon overshadowed all the offerings in that big hall (wine included), extremely sweet and creamy, juicy on the inside and crisp on the outside it was a piece out of heaven. As I write these words today, several days post the event, the taste of the creamy salmon still lingers on my mouth.
Talking of wines, I was quite surprised that despite Carmenere being the iconic wine from Chile, only one of the importers (IXORA-Carta Vieja) has it on offering. The robust oaky wine from Chile is an amazing varietal which showcases the expertise of Chilean wine making in its finest detail. Aromatic and full bodied, this wine can be paired with some of the finest Indian heavy dishes as well as a Cognac and/or a Cigar as the occasion may demand.
Though there were quite a few good looking desserts on the offering, I did not want to compromise on the taste of the Salmon and decided to steer clear of that section.
The four years old Chilean wine and food festival has matured into an event which has raised the bar for all similar wine and food pairings from different parts of the world. With several food importers importing gourmet products from Chile (Pork, Chicken, Salmon, Seafood etc), we Indians can now enjoy the delicacies of a land far far away thanks to the efforts of ProChile and its team. Having spent my formative years in Chile, and missing these products ever since I landed in India, I once again congratulate the team for their grand effort of bring the gourmet beauties of this far off land to us in India and making me realize once again that it IS a small world after all. Another round of applause is in order for the team of Chef Goswami at The Lalit who did complete justice to the glorious produce from Chile.
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