3 min readSep 26, 2014 12:37 PM IST
First published on: Sep 25, 2014 at 12:24 PM IST
Lamb Empenada at Machan, The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi
It’s a 25-hour flight from Argentina to India but Daniel Godoy can’t be jet-lagged. “I need to cook” says the Executive Chef of the iconic Alvear Art Hotel in Buenos Aires. He is in the country to curate an Argentinian food festival in New Delhi and will travel next week to Mumbai. Accompanying him are several Argentine ingredients and his assistant chef, Augustin.
In Delhi, the festival is on till Friday at the coffee shop Machan, Taj Mahal Hotel, with Argentinian dishes as part of the buffet for lunch and a separate a la carte menu for dinner.
On the menu are dishes such as Forest Mushroom and Quinoa Risotto, Argentine Locro (a stew of pork and maize). Filet Mignon with Chimichurri (a spicy herb sauce, much like a drier version of our coriander chutney) and Patagonian lamb chops. Dessert includes Flan made using dulce De Leche, a traditional concentration of milk and sugar, and Millefeuille.
Chef Daniel Godoy
While this is his first visit to India, Godoy is familiar with Indian food, noting that it’s popular in Buenos Aires, before rattling off a list of eateries with names like Tandoor, and Krishna (“that’s a fully vegetarian one”). Argentina enjoys access to several world cuisines, given that it’s home to the world’s second largest immigrant population after the US.
Patagonian Lamb-duo of loin and chops, fresh turkish lentil salad, smoked eggplant creamy purée, malbec wine sauce
Forest Mushroom Escabeche
“People love going out to eat and try new cuisines. Buenos Aires has several excellent restaurants from different parts of the world. Our food is an amalgam of indigenous South American dishes and various European influences.”
While beef is the dominant meat and perhaps the most-consumed food, grilling is the most common cooking technique, done on a barbeque grill known as the asado, which is also the name of a evening spent with friends over a barbeque, a common national pastime.
While in India, Godoy hopes to pick up some flavours and cooking techniques to apply back home at the hotel restaurant, which specialises in using global techniques on local, seasonal produce.
Lamb Empenada at Machan, The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi
Chef Daniel Godoy
Patagonian Lamb-duo of loin and chops, fresh turkish lentil salad, smoked eggplant creamy purée, malbec wine sauce
Forest Mushroom Escabeche
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