Sitting inside the tiny eight-seater QSR in Bandra, listening to the travel stories of the 29-year-old owner Ujwala Bhat, I can only think of her uncanny resemblance to Sameen Nosrat (of Salt Fat Acid Heat fame); it could be the peculiar laugh or the enthusiasm with which Bhat describes her experience of learning to cook Latin-American food. “I met a woman in Colombia and she offered to teach me all that she knew. I stayed with her for 10 days and that’s how I learnt about the Colombian food,” she tells me as I take a bite of the Frijoles Negrito (₹ 349) — arepas with a Mexican twist with a filling of slow cooked black beans, avocado strips, gooseberry relish and pickled onions. Arepas are essentially classic Colombian burgers made with deep-fried corn bread and a host of interesting fillings.
I try another one — Pollo Minado (₹349) — with spice marinated mince chicken, tomatillo salsa verde, pickled onions and Mexican crema. The bread has a beautifully crunchy crust and a soft crumb, a combination that largely depends on the quality of corn flour. Bhat imports the flour from Mexico since the Indian variants simply aren’t the same quality.
Travelling for food
Bhat’s interest in Latin American food developed during her time in Paris and London while studying at a business school, “The food comes quite close to what we have here in India. [It’s] similar ingredients used in different ways,” she says. After quitting her cubicle bound job, Bhat spent six months travelling to Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil to learn about the local food. In San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, she spent 15 days — despite a fractured leg — learning from Marilau, one of the foremost ambassadors of old-style Mexican cooking. “I spent one week learning just about chillies and corns, and also learnt nixtamalization (calcification of corn to give it elasticity, structure and a developed taste profile),” says Bhat.
Crunchy goodness
While there no tacos on the menu as yet, it’s something Bhat and her team are working on to include. Bhat imports chillies from Mexico and painstakingly roasts them to bring out the nuanced flavours in the dips — mulato chillies for Salsa De Mani with almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds and garlic; arbol chillies blended with tomatillos for Hogao; fresh chunky guacamole with jalapenos sourced from Pune’s Offerings Farm; and my favourite Chimichurri made with ancho chilli flakes, oregano and fresh parsley. The sides — in all their deep-fried goodness — complement the dips well. Tostones (₹189) — the Colombian style deep-fried plantain fritters and Yuca Fries (₹189) – made with yucca (a variety of yam) sourced from Kerala trump over the Tostada Chips (₹159) which are also made in-house. What bowls me over is the sheer variety of empanadas, each one in a perfectly flaky pastry shell. Humitas (₹99) with grated corn, bell pepper and cheese reminds me of the Indori bhutte ka kees. Interestingly, the corn for humitas is cooked in the same way by simmering it in milk. Arabes (₹119) stands out for the tender mutton filling. Chino Latino (₹89), inspired from the Chinese influence on Latin America’s street food has mushrooms and jalapenos cooked in a tomato sauce. To wash it all down there’s Hibiscus Iced Tea (₹169) — steeped hibiscus flowers, cinnamon and palm jaggery, and the classic Mexican Horchata (₹199) where rice is soaked in water and cinnamon, pulverised, strained and mixed with milk and sugar.
The meal is well rounded off with the Belgian Brigadeiros (₹79) — decadent truffles made with Valrhona chocolate coated with caramelised cocoa nibs, and Tres Leches (₹279) — the classic three milk soaked Mexican cake.
The Latin Mess, Shop no. 3, Aruna Nivas, Pali Mala Rd, Pali Hill; 91580 09325