Ola,Pune!

Mexican food is traditionally spicy – many a Hollywood movie depicts the hero or heroine with an upset stomach after having too much of this cuisine. European influences have added other,more subtle ingredients,like cheese. Here are a few restaurants in the city which will get your mouth watering for this cuisine.

Nachos with Cheese Sauce

Il Fungo Magico,Koregaon Park

“Who doesn’t love molten cheese?” asks Ganesh Bhagat,the manager of this establishment. Located in Lane 7,Koregaon Park,this establishment prides itself of making its own nachos. “Anyone can go and buy it from the market,what’s new in that? The real talent is making nachos in your own kitchen – it should be grainy,but not too grainy and should be crisp without being hard. It’s a tough job,and we are proud that we can do it right,” he says. And topped with cheese,this dish is a great way to start off the meal.

Mexican Cutlet

Regalia lounge and restaurant,Baner

This establishment firmly believes that Mexican food doesn’t necessarily need to be spicy. This,it has managed to prove through its best-selling Mexican dish,the Mexican Cutlet,that the management firmly recommends. “Mexico is known for its wide variety of vegetables,just like India,” says Prasanna Pathye of the restaurant. “Our cutlets are just that – a lot of minced vegetables from Mexico,topped together with our special ‘Mexican’ sauce,which has a combination of salsa,a very mild tabasco and barbeque sauce.” By having a flavour of its own,yet not distracting the taste buds by being too spicy,these cutlets are a great side dish to have when one is digging into a main course.

Enchilada

Maskaamaria,Law College Road

The enchilada seems a simple enough dish – basically,it is a corn tortilla wrapped around a stuffing and topped with a sauce. However,the stuffing has to be just right,the tortilla should be thin and soft and most importantly,the sauce should not overpower the taste of the stuffing. “We use mashed kidney-beans as a major ingredient in the enchilada stuffing and use a white,cheese-based sauce to top it off. Since both have very distinct tastes,it is important that they should not drown each other and instead should make for a very subtle blend,” says Ashok Hemrajani,CEO of the restaurant. Despite the presence of cheese,this is not a heavy dish – a great meal to end the day with.

Mexican Taco

Squisito,Koregaon Park

“No story of Mexico or its culture is complete without tacos,” says Deepti Mehta,co-owner of the restaurant. Located in Lane 5 of Koregaon Park,the restaurant serves the original Mexican taco,with kidney-beans,cheese and corn. “We also have an Indian version of the dish,where we substitute cheese with paneer,” Mehta adds. But while tacos are very popular with adults,Mehta feels that the kids enjoy nachos more. “Perhaps because nachos are very similar to chips,” she reckons.

Enchilada

Flag’s,Camp

This restaurant has added a bit of spice to the otherwise blander enchilada. “The Indian palate is used to spicy food,and when we go to Mexican restaurants,that is what we,as Indians,expect to be served. The other dishes are definitely spicy – lots of tabasco and jalapeños – but the enchilada always stands apart. Thus we decided to add a bit of spice to the dish,and now it is a great hit with our customers,” says Jatin Nangia,manager of the establishment.