Mumbai Food: Argentine cuisine myths busted at this showcase

Empanadas with criolla

Amidst the clatter of pots and pans during peak lunch hours in the five-star kitchen of Frangipani, chef Patricia Suarez is a picture of calm. The 48-year-old Argentine chef, who arrived in Mumbai four days ago, is giving final touches to criolla, as she familiarises a core team of chefs from the restaurant with the nuances of the country's cuisine, gently taking them through the process of dishing out an authentic plate of Argentine food.

The criolla - a salsa-like accompaniment served with main course, in this case, chicken milanesa - is a burst of colours with bell peppers, and freshly plucked herbs. But the chef's penchant for freshness is sealed when she asks for a tomato to be chopped right before she brings the criolla and other components of the milanesa out of the kitchen and into the restaurant area for the final plating.

Chicken milanesa with potato puree

"People think food from Argentina is all about asado [barbecued beef, pork and chicken] and empanadas, but we eat as much of fresh vegetables as we enjoy our meat," says the chef from La Vid restaurant of Bodega Norton in Mendoza, who is in the city for an 11-day gastronomic showcase of the Argentine cuisine, as part of a collaboration between The Consulate General and Trade & Promotion Centre of the Argentine Republic in Mumbai, and Trident, Nariman Point.

Over the next hour, Suarez, in her lilting Spanish accent, takes us on a culinary journey of the Latin American nation, dipping into its history, geography (see map) and climate to tell us how they all come together to make their food what it is. "There is a lot of emphasis on fresh produce because a large part of Argentina is farmland. The garnish [for our meat-based dishes] always incorporates veggies. Our desserts make use of natural fruit such as apples, pears and peaches," she explains, adding that chilli flakes, paprika, black pepper and oregano are the main seasoning ingredients.

Chef Suarez with (left) executive sous chef Suprakash Tripathi. Pics/Ashish Raje

That's perhaps why when the restaurant requested her to create a separate vegetarian menu for its patrons, which includes dishes such as spinach sorrentino and locro (a thick soup), it wasn't much of a challenge. "The only thing I struggled with for a bit was finding a replacement for egg. Our vegetarians eat eggs too!" she reveals. The lunch and dinner menus will also include stew lamb chop, white wine chicken casserole and yerba mate sorbet.

Using a translator app on her phone, and resorting to her Instagram feed for pictorial references, Suarez takes us through other interesting facets of the country's culinary traditions such as the use of disco de arado or the cast iron plough disk, an Argentine invention of an agricultural implement turned into a utensil that allows the preparation of Creole dishes - dishes that marry native cooking techniques with those of Spanish and other European and Middle Eastern settlers.

Chef Patricia Suarez

The chef draws parallels between Indian and Argentine cuisines, talking of the extensive use of tomatoes in both. "We also use sugar syrup, cardamom and pistachios in our desserts, which is perhaps a consequence of our shared Arabian influence," she says. Suarez, who was in Delhi for a few days before arriving in Mumbai, admits to having fallen in love with Indian food, on her maiden visit to the country. "The dosa is my favourite. Breakfast isn't an important meal in Argentina, unlike it is here. But I like a good breakfast," she smiles.

From Today till February 3 (lunch and dinner)
At Frangipani, Trident, Nariman Point.
Call 66326310
Cost Rs 2,200 per guest (plus taxes) on weekdays; Rs 2,500 (plus taxes) on Sundays