The day I ate Mexican!

            Several years ago, when I visited the United States, I went to dinner with some of my friends. The group of friends I had gone with was a funny bunch. The whole time while we waited for the waitress, they laughed about their time as a waiter/ waitress. One guy said how some people would order Quesadilla as "kwesadiLLaa" and the whole table erupted into laughter. Soon enough, the waitress showed up and we began placing our orders. When my turn came, I promptly checked my menu, like what I saw and said, "I'll have the "chicken faJEEtaas". Said it like it was written and my table for some reason became absolutely quiet. The waitress was polite but hey! I knew something was up.

               Sooooo, I came to learn how to pronounce Juan and tortilla, Jose and sopapilla with the silent j's and l's. And still knew enough to say John, Jesus and Joseph. Knew my difference from a Margarita and a Martini. When my son started learning Spanish, I picked up a few words and tried striking up a conversation with anyone that I was sure knew the language. Once I forced my child to say "Muy Bien" to a waitress , when my son whispered that she was asking what my daughter's name was in Spanish. Awkward!!! You think?

                Did you know there is a TV show called India in Spanish??? What are chances?? Did you know the Spanish they speak in Spain is different from the Spanish spoken in South America, Central America or Mexico? When I am in a pinch for Indian groceries, I walk down the Hispanic aisle in the store and am able to gather most of the stuff  I need. Cumin and dried chillies are such an intricate part of my cuisine as well. Salsa is almost tomato chutney and tortilla is an easy chapati.

              My favorite dinner to bring to a friend is, naturally a Cheesy Enchilada casserole and they look at me wondering, "Nothing Indian?"     Nope! Sorry, I seem to lean toward Mexican cuisine over Indian myself. I'd rather make Tacos in a jiffy or a Taco salad for a campout. It's pretty much always a toss up between Chipotle and Qdoba. Go figure!

            With all this talk of immigration, and deportation and building a wall, I really do wonder if America will survive without Mexican food.  Is it possible to love the food and hate the cook? I guess anything is possible.