For Chef Guillermo Cadena, India may be at the other end of the world from the place he calls home, but this is his ninth trip to the country. And despite the odd $2,000 it costs just to travel to and fro, the charm of India is intact for him. This Mexico City-based chef has been frequenting southern India more, his current trip being the first where he will take off for a week in the northern parts of the country. In Delhi?s Amigo recently to showcase some of his latest gastronomic creations from different parts of Mexico, he points out that the bases for food in the two cultures are similar. Contemporary Mexican, while still not as popular as Peruvian globally, is finding fans across continents, and India too has seen the first few exclusively-Mexican restaurants come up. Cadena explains to Suman Tarafdar why tortillas and quesadillas have great potential to be accepted at the mass level in India.
The first encounter with modern Mexican cuisine unfortunately but usually comes with Tex Mex food, which is not representative of Mexican cuisine at all. Unlike Europeans, for most Indians, Mexican cuisine comes as natural ? rich and spicy and aromatic. There are clear similarities between the curry and the mole sauces, which are practically the same in many cases. In general in Mexico, people are heavy meat eaters, but other than that, an Indian would find Mexican cuisine very similar ? not just in the ingredients, but even in the presentation. Just the method of preparation is different.
Mexico and India share a similarity of approach to life in general ? especially in the spiritual and religious aspects, and this extends to food as well. We have this saying in Mexico ? ?if there is disagreement in the kitchen, then the tamales would not cook well?.
Today Mexican cuisine is a combination of the old pre-Columbian food, which was largely corn and chili based, the food brought in the Conquistadors ? the Spaniards who ruled the land for about four centuries, influencing all aspects of life. Cuisine saw the introduction of rice, new meats such as beef and chicken as well as wine.
Staples for Mexican are diverse from north to south of the country. While the north is more meat, especially beef based, the south has a marked influence from the Caribbean, include tortillas, usually corn based, black beans and chili. And all of these have very close cousins in India! I have presented dishes from different parts of the country, trying to keep in mind Indian cultural sensibilities. Brocheta de Cameron con Ajonjoli has prawns on a skewer with sesame spicing. Pozole Guerrerense, a soup that brings out pre-Columbian flavours while Mole Verde con Pollo and Mole Negro con Cordero are just the different ways in which mole sauces are prepared in Mexico.
Chillies, which traversed the world from their origins in Mexico, are such an important facet of Mexican food. They are available in hundreds of varieties, though none are as hot as the Indian variant. We use them in various ways ? fresh, dried, chopped, diced, pickled in salads and many other ways. Each has a distinct taste and aroma, and traditionally Mexicans have specific uses for them. Even when you don?t want chillies, you get them in Mexico!
As for that fiery red look for Pollo bril, or traditional slow roasted chicken in annatto seed paste, the ingredient used to impart the red colour is the same as the one Indians use for sindoor, which in Mexico we call achiote. That?s an unexpectedly auspicious link between our nations, one that can help explore the depths beyond nachos and tacos!