Mexican Food with Chef Eduardo Perez @ Taj Bengal , Kolkata

There is no denying the fact that Kolkata has always been the hub of good food. Now all the more with Kolkatans opening up to world food and truly enjoying it. When KFB got an invite to preview the Mexican Food Festival at The Hub @ Taj Bengal, Kolkata I was very excited. We all have had a taste of Mexican cuisine at some point in time or the other. Be it the Nachos or the Tacos we have all enjoyed it. This was going to be a one of a kind opportunity to sample authentic Mexican food since Chef Eduardo Perez has specially flown in from Merida, Yucatan , Mexico to enchant us with his exquisite "Mexica" and "Maya" seasoning using authentic Mexican ingredient.

Kamalika , Amrita and myself landed up at The Hub dot on time to be greeted by Sreyashi of Edelman/ Rediffusion. It was sheer pleasure meeting Chef Eduardo as he briefed us about his thoughts on Mexican cuisine and how he has tried to create dishes keeping in mind the Indian palate.He takes great pride in the wide varieties of chilli's used in the cuisine and has deftly incorporated the same in the dishes he has created.

We started with Sopa Azteca ( Chicken tomato chipotle soup with fried tortilla). A light and flavourful broth using chipotle mix. Chef suggested we have it with a dollop of sour and that did add to the texture.

Next came in the Chimchangas ( Flour tortilla stuffed with a potato tomato onion lemon coriander mash). It is traditionally stuffed with rice,cheese or shredded chicken but Chef gave it Indian flavours and quipped that he had given a paani puri twist to it! Served with a side of salsa , it tasted great.

Chimchangas

The Chicken Fajitas ( Flour tortilla with Mexican spiced grilled Chicken and Cheese ) is a staple in Mexican cuisine. The crunchy shredded tortillas along with the chicken and gooey cheese was my favourite dish of the day. That roasted chili on top grabs attention for sure.

 

Chicken Fajitas

Chef Eduardo told us how Mexico has over 100 varieties of chili and is widely used in the cuisine along with tomato /onion /garlic and no ginger at all! Originally Panella cheese is locally made and used in such dishes. For the main course we were served Mole Con Pollo ( Chicken with sweet Mexican sauce ) and Enfrijoladas (Corn tortilla stuffed with cottage cheese and sweet corn with spicy kidney beans sauce)

Mole Con Pollo

Mole means sauce and the one created here has more than 15 ingredients in it! Essentially made of almonds , sesame , peanuts and flavoured with cinnamon made it quite delectable. It went very well with a side of spicy Mexican rice.

Pic courtesy Kamalika

Enfrijoladas was something very new for me - a base of cottage cheese and sweet corn covered with spicy kidney beans and tortillas made of corn.

churros

Well no Mexican meal would be complete without Churros ( Deep fried sweetened dough served with chocolate sauce and ice cream) . I had been wanting to eat churros for a while now and I simply loved it so much so that I shamelessly went in for seconds! Not much of a chocolate person I enjoyed it more with the tender coconut ice cream that was being served alongside. 

The festival in on at The Hub @ Taj Bengal till 2nd March for lunch & dinner. The menu is available A la Carte as well as a part of the Buffet. A meal for two would cost INR 3000(approx.)

Disclaimer - This was an invited review and no compensation monetary or otherwise was involved.