While on his maiden tour of India, Argentinian chef Daniel Godoy presented his home-grown hits. Shrabasti Mallik sampled the fare
Indian gastronomes have already had their tryst with Mexican, lebanese, Japanese and Moroccan cuisine. What we normally do not get to taste in the city are Argentinian flavours. So when chef Daniel Godoy was here at The Taj Mahal Hotel, his prime focus was to introduce the variety and authentic flavours from his land to Delhiites.
Chef Godoy was on his maiden tour to India. He is the executive chef of Alvear Art Hotel, Buenos Aires. He whipped up a special a la carte menu to cater to the Indian taste buds. He had teamed up with Amit Chowdhury, executive chef, The Taj Mahal Hotel. The specially crafted menu, which was a part of the Argentinian Food Festival organised by The Taj Mahal Hotel and the Alvear Art Hotel, Buenos Aires, comprised delicacies and signature dishes such as empanadas, calchaqui valley humita, Argentinian locro and alfajores amongst many others.
Argentinian cuisine is strongly influenced by its European roots and have regional variations. Dishes like asado, dulce de leche and yerba mate are found throughout Argentina. Godoy said, “Argentine dishes are a fusion of local contributions and cultures from other regions and I am certain that food aficionados in India will enjoy these flavours. In many parts of the country, food is prepared differently. We also have food from pre-Columbian times.”
Many Indians may not find the cuisine palatable because a chunk of the preparation involves sheep, lamb and pork. But those who love to experiment with food will be delighted to starting their meals with the traditional diver bay scallops (made with sheep cheese-potato aligot, asparagus and toasted almonds) and calchaqui valley humita (made with fresh corn, pumpkin, onion, red bell peppers, cachi paprika and fresh goat cheese crumbles).
Godoy had very carefully spiced pumpkin tortellini, stuffed with smoked pumpkin, mascarpone cheese and fresh thyme sautéed in sage butter, lemon zest, cherry tomatoes and caramelised seeds. “This is one of our famous dishes and need a lot of attention during preparation,” he added. Filet mignon (made with golden brown baby potatoes scented with butter and rosemary, potato and garlic foam, baby vegetables, chimichurri and criolla sauce) and poatagonian lamb (a duo of loin and chops, fresh turkish lentil salad, smoked eggplant creamy purée in malbec wine sauce) were also part of the special menu.
For desserts, the chef presented his country’s favourite flan (rich custard made by condensed, evaporated coconut milk and dulce de leche ice cream). Godoy said, “Flan has become a household sweet dish now but I have tried to stick to the age-old traditional recipe.”