THE TAJ / TACO CONNECTION

There is nothing novel about Mexican-Indian food--in Mexico. Try it in Bombay, where “Indian” means an inhabitant of the South Asian subcontinent, and you are in for some real taste surprises. This rare cross-cultural fare turned up at Bombay’s Taj Mahal Hotel, a luxurious hostelry founded in the glory days of the British Raj. To uphold its reputation as one of the grand hotels of the Orient, the Taj must cater to the tastes of guests from all over the world.

When the hotel opened in 1903, the idea of serving food from far-off Mexico would have been preposterous. Today, if a traveler hankers for a taco, the Taj can oblige. Its few Mexican dishes are designed to suit the Indian palate and dietary pattern, but that makes them all the more intriguing.

Imagine taco meat spiced with ginger and turmeric. Or nacho chips framing a mound of channal (garbanzo beans) flavored with tamarind, black salt and an exotic blend of Indian seasonings called chat masala. Bombay inhabitants apply the chat mixture to all manner of foods, so it makes the nachos seem familiar. The formula varies from one producer to another. Typical ingredients are dried pomegranate seeds, mango powder, cloves, ginger and asafoetida.

Varying attitudes toward meat in India affect the composition of the Mexican dishes. Many Indians are vegetarians, and others reject certain meats for religious reasons. Muslims don’t eat pork and Hindus don’t eat beef. Therefore, the Taj offers a choice of taco fillings: lamb or an Indian cheese called panir that is acceptable to all parties.

In the absence of Mexican style corn tortillas and masa, the taco shells, nacho chips and tostada bases are made with yellow corn flour. Chiles are plentiful in India but differ from those grown in Mexico. Slim small Indian chiles that resemble serranos are mild enough to chew without discomfort. Satish Arora, the inventive chef who created the Taj Mexican dishes, uses these chiles to make a variety of taco salsas.

In the United States, serranos and dried red Japanese chiles can be substituted for the Indian chiles. Reducing the quantity or combining them with milder chiles produces an acceptable level of spiciness.

Curiously, one Bombay dish that could pass as Mexican is Parsi in origin. Called Akuri, it is almost a mirror image of huevos revueltos a la Mexicana (Mexican-style scrambled eggs). The Parsis, who long ago migrated from Persia to India, cook the eggs with green chile, onion, tomato and cilantro, as though they had once lived in Mexico. The only difference is the addition of fresh ginger. The Taj coffee shop offers Akuri for breakfast as do other restaurants in Bombay.

These offbeat “Mexican” dishes are easy to duplicate because the Indian ingredients that make them distinctive are available in Southern California. Indian shops carry chat masala, Indian style corn flour and black salt, which has an unusual, sulfurous flavor resembling that of hard-cooked eggs. If it is not convenient to hunt for these ingredients, the chat masala can be omitted and regular salt used instead of black salt.

American style cornmeal is more coarse than Indian corn flour and should not be substituted in the taco shells or nacho chips. A better replacement is the fine corn flour stocked in Latin markets. Chips made with this type of flour have an interesting flavor in their own right. However, commercial corn tortillas and tortilla chips may be substituted.

Panir, the cheese used in the vegetarian tacos, is made by separating milk into curds and whey, then draining the curds and compressing them until firm. This can easily be done at home, and instructions accompany the following recipes. Combined with cilantro, ginger and other seasonings, panir is a delightful taco filling.

THE TAJ TACOS

12 Taco Shells

Lamb Filling

Vegetarian Cheese Filling

Green Chile Sauce

Red Chile Sauce

Tomato-Chile Sauce

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Shredded cabbage or lettuce

Fill Taco Shells with either lamb or cheese filling. Add desired sauce, then spoonful of shredded cheese and small amount of sour cream. Top with cabbage or lettuce and additional cheese. Makes 12 tacos.

Lamb Filling

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 or 5 cloves garlic, chopped

3 serrano chiles, chopped

2 teaspoons chopped ginger root

1/2 cup chopped tomato

2 cups loosely packed cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 pound boneless lean lamb, finely chopped

Water

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter in skillet. Add cumin seeds and fry until seeds crackle. Add onion, garlic, chiles and ginger and cook until onion is lightly browned. Add tomato, cilantro and turmeric and cook until tomato is tender. Add lamb and small amount of water and cook until lamb is done and mixture is dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If preparing in advance, reheat filling before adding to tacos. Makes about 4 cups.

Vegetarian Cheese Filling

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 or 2 serrano chiles, chopped

2 teaspoons minced ginger root

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped tomato

2 cups loosely packed cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 recipe Panir, cubed

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter in large skillet. Add cumin seeds and fry until seeds crackle. Add onion, chiles and ginger and cook until onion is lightly browned. Add tomato, cilantro and turmeric and cook until tomato is tender. Add Panir and cook, stirring gently, until Panir is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Panir

2 quarts milk

1/4 cup lemon juice, about

Bring milk to boil in large heavy saucepan. Stir to keep from sticking. Remove from heat and slowly stir in lemon juice until milk separates into curds and whey. Cover and let stand until slightly cooled, about 20 minutes. Turn into large colander lined with several thicknesses of cheesecloth. Strain mixture well. Tie ends of cheesecloth together to form bag and hang to drain any remaining liquid from mixture. Place cheesecloth-wrapped cheese in casserole and weight down with food cans or other heavy objects to compress. Refrigerate. Let stand 1 day, until firm. Makes about 8 ounces.

Green Chile Sauce

5 fresh California chiles, roasted and peeled

4 serrano chiles

3/4 cup water

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt

Finely chop 2 California chiles. Grind remaining 3 California chiles and serrano chiles in food processor or blender. Combine chopped and ground chiles, water, vinegar and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Red Chile Sauce

5 dried California chiles

3 dried Japanese chiles

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Soak chiles in hot water until softened. Remove stems and seeds. Grind with water in food processor or blender. Strain to remove peel. Stir in vinegar, sugar and salt. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Tomato-Chile Sauce

1 cup canned tomato puree

1/2 cup chopped peeled fresh California chiles or canned mild green chiles

1 tablespoon vinegar

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Combine puree, chiles, vinegar, hot pepper sauce and salt. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

NACHO CHANNA CHAT (Nachos With Spiced Garbanzo Beans)

3/4 cup cooked or canned garbanzo beans

2 tablespoons Tamarind Chutney

2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped chopped onion

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped tomato

1 tablespoon finely chopped mild green chile

2 teaspoons chat masala

1/2 teaspoon black salt

Regular salt, optional

6 Nacho Chips, crushed

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish

1 tablespoon chopped red onion for garnish

8 whole Nacho Chips

In bowl combine garbanzo beans, chutney, onion, cilantro, tomato, chile, chat masala, black salt and regular salt, if needed. Mix well, then add crushed chips and mix. Place garbanzo mixture in center of plate. Top with chopped cilantro and red onion. Arrange Nacho Chips around edges. Makes 4 servings.

Tamarind Chutney

2 ounces peeled tamarind pulp

9 dates, soaked to soften if dry

1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup water, about

6 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

4 teaspoons chili powder

Combine tamarind, dates and brown sugar in heavy pan. Add water and cook over low heat, skimming any impurities from top, until tamarind is soft, about 15 minutes. Pass through sieve. Stir in cumin and chili powder. Mixture should be medium thick. Makes about 3/4 cup.

TACO SHELLS AND NACHO CHIPS

2 cups Indian- or Hispanic-style yellow corn flour

Salt

1/4 cup margarine

3/4 cup water, about

Chil powder

Salt

Sift flour. Add salt. Cut in margarine with pastry blender or 2 knives until evenly blended. Add water gradually to form stiff dough. Cover and let stand 20 minutes. Divide dough into 12 parts. For taco shells, form each portion of dough into ball, then roll out between sheets of plastic wrap to circle about 1/8 inch thick. Or press, using tortilla press lined with plastic wrap. Place on ungreased hot griddle or in skillet. Bake until dough starts to firm but is still pliable. Fold into taco shell shape. Continue to bake on each side until lightly browned and crisp.

For Nacho Chips, form dough into thin circles as for taco shells, then cut each into 6 wedges. Bake wedges on griddle or in skillet until spotted with brown. Sprinkle lightly with chili powder and salt while baking or afterward. Makes enough dough for 12 taco shells or 6 dozen Nacho Chips.

Note: Taco shells or chips made in advance may need to be recrisped before use. Place in single layer on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees 10 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

AKURI (Parsi Scrambled Eggs)

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon minced ginger

3 or 4 serrano chiles, choped

1/4 cup chopped tomato

Dash turmeric

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 dozen eggs

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Cilantro for garnish

Melt butter in large skillet. Add onion, ginger and chiles and cook until onion is lightly browned. Add tomato and cook until tender. Stir in turmeric and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Remove half of vegetable mixture from skillet and reserve. Beat eggs with salt. Add half of eggs to skillet. Stir to mix with vegetables and cook until lightly scrambled. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Return reserved vegetables to skillet, add remaining eggs and cook, stirring to scramble. Add to first batch of eggs. Serve eggs sprinkled with cilantro. Makes 6 servings.

Food Styling by Minnie Bernardino and Donna Deane