Chef Taniya Tovar
When was the last time you had tequila? At one point in time, gulping tequila shots used to be the “in thing”. Those days, TGIF, vasant vihar(it’s shut down now) used to be the place where one enjoyed tequila shots, at the bar counter. That was perhaps the only place where you get those tex-mex food, especially nachos with tomato salsa and it was a very popular snack. But then they lost the charm and similarly few other places that served some tex-mex food like rodeo in CP and likewise.
Delhi never got to experience a decent Mexican affair. Those were tex-mex indianized version. Chilli’s started as a tex-mex and American food joint but then slowly turned into American place.In recent times, places like Mexit up and La-Bodega, claim of serving authentic Mexican food. I have heard, however I haven’t yet visited these places Food is always inspired from culture and it travels with people and mixes up with local cuisine to create another unique dish. Mexico, one of the biggest country in North America, has it’s cuisine largely influenced by Spain, due to Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the 16th century. Tex-mex is fusion cuisine of north Mexican and Texas. It is largely popular in North American states, largely around Texas. It is derived from Tejano(Tejano or Texano (Spanish for "Texan") is a term used to identify a Texan of Criollo Spanish or Mexican heritage.(Source Wikipedia)Corn, beans and chill pepper are the most important ingredients of Mexican cuisine. In spite of being influenced by Spain and then European countries, it is still closely tied to their culture, social structure and popular tradition of the country and the biggest example is use of Mole (is a generic name which is used for various sauces originally used in Mexican cuisine) for special occasion and holidays, especially in central and southern part of the country. Apart from basic ingredients, they also use lot of meat (especially beef and pork) and cheese. Last night we were invited by Eros Hotel, Nehru Place to review their ongoing Mexican food festival which was organized in association with Corralejo Tequila and they specially flew down expat chef Taniya Tovar. We started with Corralejo Tequila which was very smooth and was great way to start along with some tostada and grillied Mexican chilli fillied with cheeseIt’s part of the dinner buffet and they infact have entire section dedicated to Mexican food. You can try not only tacos and Quesadillasfrom the live sections, but also Empanada and brochettes’. I would recommend having ground Tenderloin & Bean and pork filling and you will love it. Shrimp with bell pepper and lamb with onion skewers are not to be missed.
Well, their dips especially the guacamole, sour creame and tomato salsa too is extremely well made. Nacho with Avocado, Sour Cream & Cheese was different and tasted much better than what we eat in Delhi. Carne guisada, a meal in itself, (stewed beef in spiced gravy) was star of the day - A perfectly cooked beef that has been simmered in Mexican seasoning. Basa fish which was steamed with chilli and lemon sauce were equally good. Desserts too stole the show! We sampled Coconut Dumplings, Tequila Truffles,Sweet Corn Cake and completely loved it
I would urge you to visit Eros Hotel and relish the rich Mexican cuisine!Picture Courtesy Eros Hotel