Indian Burrito with Pulled Duck

Indian and Mexican cuisines share a love of aromatic, hot and spicy food served alongside flatbreads, so making an Indian burrito is a logical progression of a dish which can deliver tastes from both countries to create a unique and flavoursome meal.  

Indian Mexican burrito

A burrito is a tightly rolled tortilla flatbread stuffed with all sorts of different ingredients such as spicy pork, chicken or beef with rice or beans accompanied by a crisp salad, tangy salsa and cheese. So many of these individual components can be so uniquely Mexican or Indian, that they are easily interchangeable and can create multiple varieties of a satisfying burrito bursting with robust flavours. What’s more is the fact that each of these uniquely Mexican or Indian dishes is made also with similar ingredients and techniques which means that simply by borrowing or swapping one component such as using a smoked chipotle or ancho chilli instead of an Indian chilli in a curry for example, you will end up with a completely different yet compatible flavour.

Duck burrito inspired by the Lamb Raan

It is with this idea that we have created our Indian burrito inspired by a classic spicy, sour slow-cooked leg of lamb (although we have opted to give a whole duck this lavish treatment) Lamb Raan is an Indian celebratory dish that uses a leg of lamb gently cooked in fragrant spices, chilli and vinegar to create a meat that is meltingly tender and succulent. The lamb leg(or goat leg) is shredded and mixed with its cooking liquor and finished with butter and masala spices. 

A burrito, in essence, is a meat stew wrapped inside a flour tortilla accompanied with some other ingredients so this duck Raan is a perfect addition to the already diverse repertoire of the burrito, and with a bit of chipotle and ancho chilli in the Raan rather than the traditional heat given by deggi mirch (a spice mix of Indian hot peppers) gives it a fusion of flavours for the perfect hybrid of both cuisines.

The evolution of the burrito

The evolution of the burrito is nothing new either. A burrito, originally from North Mexico, was just a regional name for a taco, another tortilla bread dish filled with ingredients. An authentic Mexican burrito consists of some form of protein such as chicken, pork, beef or fish and accompanied with either beans, potato or rice and some cheese. In fact, some accounts suggest that it is the addition of cheese that sets a burrito apart from a taco and that it is already rolled.

The name burrito means “little donkey” most likely because it is stuffed with lots of ingredients just like a donkey in Mexico, a beast of burden, would be laden to the hilt with goods, produce and possessions, but the modern-day burrito is no longer contains just these few ingredients, due to the geography of its inception and that being the northern states of Mexico, the bordering neighbours such as people from El Paso, Texas would start to develop the dish with their tastes and ingredients. Hence Tex-Mex is a cuisine in its own right. However, It didn’t stop there though of course. In fact, what most people would attest to knowing of what is inside a burrito would more often than not come from a Mission-style burrito which came from the mission district taquerias of San Francisco in the 1960s and 70s. 

This street food burrito would be almost an entire meal encased in one tightly rolled large tortilla making it easier to eat on the go. There were more ingredients too in addition to the meat, rice or beans and cheese such as sour cream, guacamole, onions and salad.

Other Californian cities such as San Diego and LA also have their versions, most that omit beans and rice and in the case of San Diego “carne asada fries” adds french fries, coriander and pico de gallo and is considered a staple food of the locals. These burritos that are now consumed worldwide and considered authentic are examples of true fusion food.

Indian burrito with black beans

The omission of beans in these burritos is done for ease of preparation alleviating the need for an assembly line so to speak. We have added some black beans to our Indian burrito as an homage to the origins of the Mexican burrito but to keep it easy enough to make we add it to the sauce at the beginning which is not too dissimilar to making a chilli con carne, and it had a familiar texture too. 

The evolution of these burritos is evident in the geography of their journey. Our Indian burrito, however, could claim a more historic connection between the two cultures in the fact that they share a staple ingredient that has helped shape both cuisines. 

Indian food is synonymous with chillies, but they first arrived in India via Portuguese traders in the 16th century who got them themselves from their expeditions to Central America. Chillies, or capsicums have been cultivated in Mexico for over 6000 years. But when the Europeans came, originally via the West Indies with Christopher Columbus, they discovered these capsicums for the first time. They called them “peppers”, as the only other food known to have a hot and spicy taste was the black pepper. This unique attribute led to them being traded as commodities throughout Asia and today they play a huge part in most Asian cuisines.

Indo-Mexican or Mexindian fusion

By giving an Indian celebratory dish such as a flavoursome 'Raan', a Mexican flavoured chilli (smoked chipotle and ancho chilli) then, in turn, using this dish to flavour a classic burrito with the addition of beans, cheese and a pico de gallo (which we have also flavoured with some Indian spices) we have a new twist on not only a Mexican staple but a Californian and Texan staple too. The flavour of this Indian burrito blurs the lines between the two cuisines and certainly confuses and delights the tastebuds all at once. Is it Mexican? Is it Indian? Indo-Mexican or Mexindian this is a fascinating fusion to explore.

How to make duck Raan

To prepare the meat for this dish we use a whole duck. You can use duck legs as they are the parts traditionally used to slow cook and shred. In Chinese cuisine, a whole or half duck is traditionally used for shredding and served with hoisin sauce and pancakes. It is this texture that we are looking for with our Indian spiced duck Raan. You can find pre-cooked Chinese ducks in supermarkets and these are great to use to keep the cooking time down, you will find though, that you'll need to reduce your sauce on the hob until it has thickened though, if you want to use this product.

Firstly, we need to spatchcok the duck so that it fits in a shallow casserole dish, by slicing it with a knife or using a strong pair of kitchen scissors to cut down the back of the bird to flatten it out. Next, we marinade the duck with garlic, and ginger, either bashed down in a pestle and mortar or finely grated using a microplane, and some ancho and chipotle chilli paste. In an ideal world, you can marinate this for a couple of hours or even overnight for the best results but even if you marinade the duck for 30 minutes, you will still get a fabulous flavour. The Indian spice mix we use is a mixture of cloves, bay leaf, ground cinnamon, and cardamom with red wine vinegar which adds the signature tang to a Raan. Simply place the spatchcocked duck in a heavy shallow casserole dish along with the spices and vinegar and pour in water so it comes up to ⅓ of the duck. At this point, we also add the black beans which will give the end dish a familiar texture found in a burrito. The duck needs to roast for about 1 hour 45 minutes at 180℃/356°F or until fully cooked. If you have time, you will get a crispy skin if you slow cook the duck for 2 ½ - 3 hours at 160℃/ 320°F, either way, your duck will be delicious. 

As this bird is naturally fatty, this fat will render out and sit over the cooking liquor. We need to remove this layer of liquid fat as it is the liquor underneath that will flavour the duck. To do this, once the duck is cooked, remove it from the casserole dish and set it aside to rest. Pour the liquid into a large measuring jug (it will also contain the black beans) leave it aside for a few minutes and the fat will rise to the top. At this point, use a ladle and carefully spoon out only the fat until it is all gone. Either discard the fat or store it in another container to use it another time, duck fat can be used to cook amazingly crispy roast potatoes for example.

Indian pulled duck burrito filling

Once the duck has rested, and the liquor has been separated from the fat, it is time to get your hands dirty. We need to remove all the meat from the carcass of the duck and it is easiest using your hands. You should have lots of nice crispy skin too, but if not remove any pieces that are still too fatty. Discard the carcass of the duck and using two forks, shred all of the duck meat and place it back into a baking dish. The liquor we have reserved is full of aromatic flavour with a nice sharpness from the vinegar. Add a ladle of this liquor into the shredded duck meat and using a slotted spoon, gather up all of the black beans to add to the meat too. Next, add a decent knob of butter to the meat and some chaat masala and stir through. Chaat masala is a spice mix added towards the end of the cooking process and adds a deeper aromatic flavour. It comes already mixed and generally contains amchoor (a sour mango powder) cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek and asafoetida (a yellow pea flour) Put the meat under a hot grill before serving it so that the heat creates some nice crispy burnt bits too.

How to assemble an Indian burrito

It must be said that this duck Raan is incredible to eat by itself or with some rice, bread or even mashed potato but in this Indian burrito, it is excellent. The only extras to add are some grated cheese and a pico de gallo. There is no need to pad out the burrito with more ingredients such as rice, onions or guacamole like the “San Franciscan style” but of course, you can assemble your Indian burrito any way you want to.

For our pico de gallo we still use the traditional base notes of tomato, onion and coriander/cilantro mixed with seasoned oil and lime juice but the introduction of a bit of fresh mint to compliment the coriander/cilantro as you would see in a lot of Indian dishes as well as spicing up the salsa with deggi mirch which is an Indian chilli powder mix made with kashmiri chillies, red pepper capsicums and paprika. For a little extra depth of flavour for this salsa, we have also added a dash of nam pla and palm sugar which complement the spice and lime juice perfectly.

Burritos, for the rest of Mexico other than the north, are commonly called tacos de harina which means wheat flour tacos. Most burritos are made with four tortillas rather than corn tortillas and as such we have also used flour tortillas for this recipe. Large tortillas work best so that you can make it as filling as possible. To prepare your burrito, start by piling on a little lettuce over the tortilla followed by a handful of grated cheese, in Mexico they would use quesillo de Oaxaca which is a little like unaged Monterey Jack which you can use, otherwise a cheddar or Red Leicester work nicely. Next place some of the duck Raan with the black beans on top and finally spoon over some pico de gallo. A burrito is rolled with the ends tucked in, to keep them warm for street vendors, they are wrapped in foil but if you are making them directly from the kitchen to the table there is no need to do this, unless you want to bring a bit of street food pizazz to the table.

Variations

These Indian burritos are best served with a little bit more pico de gallo on top and some sour cream and hot sauce squirted over. However, just as you could do with any burrito, you can embellish this recipe even further too. To turn this into an enchilada, pour over a tomato and cheese sauce and bake in the oven. Mexicans often call this style of food “suizo” or “Swiss” signifying that it has been topped with cheese or cream. Another type of “wet” burrito is doused in a hot green or red chilli sauce and eaten with a knife and fork, but If you would like your burrito crispy, either bake it in the oven after you have rolled it or deep fry it to make an Indian Chimichanga. There are a lot of ways to serve this but all are incredibly tasty and certainly worth while experimenting with. “Buen provecho” and “Bhojan kaa aanand lijiye”.

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Indian burrito recipe

A sensational Indian burrito, where succulent pulled duck takes centre stage. This fusion feast will leave your taste buds begging for more.

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Prep Time 50 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Resting time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Dinner Party, Lunch

Cuisine Indian, Mexican

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 4 large flour tortillas
• 100 g of lettuce leaves sliced
• 100 g of grated cheese Monterey Jack, Cheddar or Red Leicester
• Garnish with sour cream and hot chilli sauce

Duck Raan

• 1 whole duck approx 1.8k
• 1 tablespoon of ancho chilli paste
• 1 tablespoon of chipotle chilli paste
• 6 cloves of garlic grated
• 22 g of fresh ginger skin removed and grated
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 6 cardamom pods crushed
• 2 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoon of chaat masala
• 40 g of salted butter
• 200 g of tinned black beans

Pico de Gallo

• 150 g of cherry tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 red onion finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
• 8 g of coriander/cilantro finely chopped
• 4 g of fresh mint leaves chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon of deggi mirch
• ¼ teaspoon of nam pla
• ½ teaspoon of palm sugar
• Dash of olive oil

Instructions

 

• Spatchcok the duck by slicing with a knife or using a strong pair of kitchen scissors to cut down the back of the bird in order to flatten it out.
• Mix the grated garlic and ginger with the ancho and chipotle chilli paste to form a paste and brush all over the duck. Marinade for 30 minutes to 2 hours (For best results leave in the fridge overnight)
• Add the cloves, bay leaf, ground cinnamon, cardamom and the red wine vinegar into a heavy shallow casserole dish. Place the spatchcocked duck on top and pour in water so that it comes up to ⅓ of the duck. Add the black beans and place the lid on top
• Place the casserole dish in the oven at 180℃/356°F and roast for 1 hour 45 minutes or (optionally) 2 ½ - 3 hours 160℃/ 320°F. Remove the lid halfway through cooking.
• Remove the duck from the dish and set aside to rest. Transfer the cooking liquor to a large measuring jug and let the fat rise to the top. Using a ladle remove all the liquid fat and reserve for other recipes
• Remove all the duck meat and crispy skin from the bones and discard the carcass and any overly fatty pieces. Use two forks to shred the duck meat and place it back into a baking dish.
• Add a ladle of liquor into the shredded duck meat and using a slotted spoon gather up all of the black beans to add to the meat too. Add the butter and chaat masala to the meat and stir through. Put the meat under a hot grill for a minute or so before preparing the burritos.
• For our pico de gallo, add all the salsa ingredients together ina bowl and mix thoroughly.
• To prepare your burrito, start by piling on a little lettuce over the tortilla followed by a handful of grated cheese. Next place some of the duck Raan with the black beans on top and finally spoon over some pico de gallo. Roll the burrito with the ends tucked in.
• Serve with sour cream, hot sauce and more salad and salsa.