LIVING

Why does Mexican food in India fail to stick?

By Aatish Nath
12 July, 2022

Despite the many similarities between Mexican and Indian fare, the cuisine is yet to find a footing in India’s eating-out scene

Finding a good Mexican meal anywhere in India is surprisingly hard. It’s a cuisine that’s beloved on most of our travels abroad and yet, in the country, there isn’t a single Mexican eatery that has established itself. The food is deceptively simple, as seen by the many make-your-own-Mexican bowl or taco nights that friends host at home. Even so, it’s the details that have to be sweated for a meal in order to elevate it. Those details–like the use of corn flour instead of flour for tortillas–are the missing factor. Then there’s also the fact that, as Jason Hudanish, former head chef of Xico Mumbai, the now-shuttered Lower Parel restaurant explains, “Indian and Mexican food go hand in hand. One is the other and the other is one.” To cite an example, he explains that a salsa is basically a chutney.

Mexican food is much more than just condiments to go alongside a protein or meat

It’s not surprising that most Indians think of tacos and quesadillas when they recall recall Mexican food 

An explosion of Mexican QSR brands

This familiarity might explain the growth of Mexican Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), which have burgeoned across the country in recent years. Each offers the chance to customise a meal–usually as a taco, quesadilla or bowl among a couple of limited options–from a short menu of condiments, proteins and vegetables. The idea is not particularly novel, but rather has been imported from the United States, where many travellers first became familiar with brands like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba Mexican Eats.

In fact, one of three founders of Bengaluru-based chain California Burrito Company, has worked at Moe’s Southwest Grill, an American fast-casual chain. In India, California Burrito Company has expanded beyond its home city, with outlets in Hyderabad and New Delhi as well.

"INDIAN AND MEXICAN FOOD GO HAND IN HAND"
Jason Hudanish

In Mumbai, there are a host of small chains such as Maiz Mexican Kitchen and New York Burrito Company, each of which have managed to ride out the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic after pivoting to delivery service. The size of the QSR market is growing, with a report by Edelweiss Securities predicting a compound annual growth of 23 per cent for the sector. While most of it will accrue to giant players like McDonalds, Taco Bell and Domino’s, the growth is sure to see more brands across cuisines hankering for a piece of the pie.

There are several common ingredients between Indian and Mexican food; Image courtesy: Sanchez 

Much more than tacos

Mexican food, though, is so much more than just condiments to go alongside a protein or meat. That, however, is not the case in the popular imagination. Just as so many local chefs bemoan that Indian food had been synonymous with greasy butter chicken and dal, it’s not surprising that most Indians consider tacos and quesadillas to be representative of Mexico’s cuisine.


At Sanchez, which has two outlets in Bengaluru, chef Vikas Seth is working to change this. He points out, “Our menu has a very unique mix. We do have authentic Mexican dishes, we have a lot of Tex-Mex dishes as well as modern Mexican dishes.” He explains the need to cater across categories saying, “I don’t expect my guest to eat mole on every visit.” Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce, made with chilies and, sometimes, chocolate; it is on the menu served with chicken in a taquito. Instead, at Sanchez, it’s the Fiesta nachos and guacamole that tops the bestseller list.

Colour, taste, spice: Mexican cuisine has complex flavours 

Chefs like Vikas Seth and Alex Sanchez want the Indian patron to go beyond the usual Tex-Mex options 

This is down to the Tex-Mex origins of Mexican food in the country and the familiarity that a majority of diners have with what they imagine Mexican food to be—whether that be memories from a holiday or nostalgia from a stint abroad. When it comes to the former, it is Cream Centre’s cheese-doused nachos and tomato sauce-based cheese and bean enchiladas that are the kind of options still available today. For many in a certain generation these dishes formed an initial impression of what Mexican food is.


Alex Sanchez, best known as the chef behind Mumbai’s popular restaurant Americano, held three pop-ups of the Americano Taqueria, a delivery-only Mexican food menu that featured burritos, tacos and nachos. He’s spent over 10 years in the city now, and he says about Indian diners, “I think growing up, the exposure to, quote unquote, Mexican dishes, was pretty limited, and whatever it was, let’s say, an interpretation of an India, whether it be nachos or Mexican pizza.”

"I DON'T EXPECT MY GUEST TO EAT MOLE ON EVERY VISIT"
Vikas Seth

To change that, there not only needs to be a broadening of the palette but also a focus on details. Whether it be the use of corn, that’s been nixamalised–a process that involves breaking down the corn’s hard walls and allowing it to bind more easily. This is followed by boiling, and then soaking the corn with lime, which uses the latter’s alkalinity to bring about fundamental changes to the kernels. That masa (dough made from the corn) is something that Mumbai-based delivery kitchen Commis Station makes with heirloom corn from Offerings Farms, but it’s not a widespread practice. Then there’s using starchier, pink beans to make refried beans.

Sanchez perhaps has the last word when he says, “Mexican food works. I mean, the flavours work. There are a lot of common ingredients [between Indian and Mexican cuisines]; there are a lot of commonalities when it comes to cooking methods or even the kind of flatbreads–we eat roti here, they eat a lot of tortillas, right?” With the right education and some investment of time, it’s possible that the cuisine can finally appeal to both kinds of diners–those looking to broaden their horizons as well as those seeking a taste of American casual dining.

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