Images of Wild West country side of Mexico, taverns, cowboys and posters of wanted criminals adorn the lobby as the genial waiters wearing Stetsons greet visitors at the Ahaaram restaurant of the GRT Regency, the venue for the weekend Mexican food festival.
“Taste the welcome drink Aztec Chocolate to start the day,” offers Subash Kumar, Food and Beverages Manager. The drink has a piquant taste as it is prepared with chocolate and Tabasco sauce (made from capsicum and pepper) and cinnamon powder.
“The success of earlier festivals on Cajun and Creole cuisine and Mediterranean food, prompted us to go for Mexican food. Moreover, apart from Indian and Chinese cuisines, Mexican food will definitely suit our palates as it is spicy,” says Executive Chef Shrinath.
By that time, lamb meat and seafood enchiladas arrive. Enchilada is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with Tabasco sauce. The spicy starter can be filled with a variety of stuffing, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables or combinations.
“ Enchiladas have to be had with tomato or cheese salsa,” says Subash Kumar. Salsa is a tomato based dip made with onions, jalapeno chillies, beans, corn and Tabasco sauce. “They can be extremely hot also,” alerts Shrinath.
The spicy onion rings with cheese and Blackened Fish with fruit salsa also taste good. Layers of onions sandwiched with cheese and deep fried in oil make the dish yummy.
There are tasty salsas including the one made with Avocado, roasted Zucchini and roasted pepper. “Most of the ingredients for the festival are sourced from Chennai. They are blended and seasoned well to give the best of Mexican flavour to the festival,” says Subash.
Guacamole added more variety to the list of salsas. It is made with avocado and is thicker than a sauce and generally used as a dip.
The grand list of starters include meat Empanadas (bread stuffed with minced meat and fried in oil), Seafood Chimichangas (tortillas stuffed with fish or prawns). Seafood kebabs, Mexican corn on the cob (Grilled corn with butter, mayonnaise and sprinkled with Cotija cheese), Nachos, Tacos and Tomato Confit Pinwheel complete the list.
Seafood Fajita was next on the table. “Fajitas are grilled vegetables or meat. This time around we have used pasha fish,” says Shrinath. It was served as a pre-made roll with tortillas, sour cream, salsa and guacamole on the side.
“Taste the Roasted lamb leg with Mexican pepper bean rice,” Subash introduces the maincourse dish. Corn, beans and rice are the staples of Mexican food while jalapeno chillies and pepper are the major spices.
Tequila marinated potato and Baked Bean Lasagne offered some solace for the vegetarian food lovers. “Tequila is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant and it is very popular in Mexico,” says the executive chef. Targeted at the weekend crowd, the festival also promises many more dishes in the coming days that include Mexican Quinoa and Baked Tex Mex potatoes .
Starters outnumber the main course varieties. The festival is on at the Ahaaram restaurant from October 21 to 23 and October 28 to 30 between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. The tariff is Rs.750 plus tax for adults and Rs.600 plus tax for children. For reservations, contact 0452-2371155.
