If your idea of Mexican food in India starts with a mountain of cheesy nachos, moves on to a crunchy taco shell, and ends with an overstuffed burrito, you’re certainly not alone. For most of us, Mexico arrived on our plates through Tex-Mex menus. But here’s the twist: much of what we’ve come to think of as Mexican food isn’t actually Mexican.
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But that’s changing now.
As authentic Mexican restaurants find a growing audience in India, diners are becoming more curious than ever about the cuisine’s true identity. Today, people are discovering that Mexican food isn’t just about heat and cheese. But about centuries-old culinary tradition built on fresh ingredients, regional diversity, complex chillies, fermentation and techniques that feel surprisingly familiar to the Indian palate.
“Mexican food always had a natural connection with Indian diners because both cuisines love spice, acidity, smoke, texture and big flavours. What is changing now is that people are becoming more curious beyond just tacos, nachos and Tex-Mex. They want to understand the culture, the street food, the ingredients and the way the food is meant to be enjoyed,” shares Chef Ashish Sharma, who, along with Chef Shamsul Wahid, is currently on a mission to introduce Indians to the true flavours of Mexico through the month-long Mela Mexicana festival at all SOCIAL outlets. The festival, organised in collaboration with the Embassy of Mexico in India, celebrates the rich and diverse flavours of Mexico.
So, before you head out for your next taco night, chefs Shamsul Wahid and Ashish Sharma share a guide to understanding what authentic Mexican food is, and what it definitely isn’t.
One of the biggest misconceptions is the belief that every taco comes in a crunchy shell. “There is no such thing as hard-shell tacos,” chef Shamsul Wahid says, adding, “We have tacos and we have tostadas.”
In Mexico, a taco is always soft as it is made with a warm, flexible flatbread, usually soft corn dough. It’s soft enough to wrap around meat or veggies without breaking. However, if you want that loud, crispy crunch, go for a tostada, which is a flat, crisp toasted tortilla loaded with toppings.
Perhaps the biggest misconception about Mexican cuisine is confusing it with Tex-Mex. “Tex-Mex is not Mexican,” chef Shamsul Wahid says simply. Instead, the cheese-laden burritos smothered in yellow cheese and canned salsa, which have won hearts across the world, are a creation of the American Southwest.
One of the biggest assumptions Indians make is that Mexican food is supposed to be fiery. However, chef Ashish Sharma Diaz Del Castillo disagrees. He explains that Mexican cuisine uses dozens of varieties of chillies, each chosen for its distinct flavour profile rather than simply its heat level. “Not all chilies are meant to be spicy. Some of them can be smoky, some of them can be sweet, some of them can be hot… I think, yeah, Mexican food is not supposed to be spicy. It’s hot. Indian food is spicy. So, it’s spice-laden,” Ashish Sharma asserts.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for Indian diners is how fresh and vibrant authentic Mexican food can be. Chef Ashish Sharma points out that Mexican cuisine balances freshly prepared condiments with a long tradition of fermentation. “And the fourth point is that there’s a lot of fresh food, like kachumbars or like chutneys, fresh chutneys, but there’s also a lot of fermented stuff in Mexican food. So, you have a lot of pickles, you have a lot of fermented drinks. So, here again, you see the similarities between Mexico and India,” Ashish Sharma shares. For instance, Pico de gallo resembles a fresh kachumber salad, while salsas echo the role of chutneys in Indian meals.
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So, the next time someone tells you Mexican food is all about tacos, nachos and extra cheese, think again. Authentic Mexican cuisine is far richer than its stereotypes. It’s fresh, flavourful, deeply regional, and packed with traditions that go well beyond what most of us know.
