You won’t find authentic Mexican tacos at this little food stand. But what you will find is unique flavour and a whole lot of fun.
Both creatives with a passion for putting big ingredients and bold flavours on a plate, Meg Jhinu and Dhiraj Kalicharan scraped together their life’s savings to buy what has become their pride and joy … a little food trailer they’ve called Simply Megalicious.
The two are a dedicated team of home cooks who thrive on making delicious and innovative comfort food. And from the four walls of their travelling space, they create and serve a cultural food fusion that has resulted in them becoming one of Durban’s most unique food stands, and one that we love supporting.
While the couple, who hail from a scenic Botha’s Hill, come from different home and working backgrounds, they both have one thing in common … cooking passionately for other people. Meg started her food journey at the age of nine and could always be found in the kitchen while her peers were on the playground. Following her passion into adulthood, she started a home cooking business through which she, very successfully, supplied corporates and individual clients with sweetmeat platters, biscuit and cake orders and freshly made meals.
Dhiraj, who came from a corporate environment with a strong background in graphic design, only started experimenting with food five years ago.
“I found that it became a therapeutic art. After Meg and I found each other, and began spending most of our time together playing with different food combinations, we decided to invest in a food trailer – this was after Covid and the looting – a place that would serve as our own special space in which to create and experiment with food but, being mobile, allowing us to take our fusion food to people,” says Dhiraj.
Although it’s a tight space, there’s a lot going on in their trailer. Food science, recipe writing, menu planning, prepping, cooking, serving, and a whole lot of cleaning up. And then doing it all over again the next day. As a side hustle, the couple also do event planning and décor – a real one-stop-shop if you’re looking for the whole shebang!
“We do traditional Indian and Mexican foods, snack baskets, finger foods, cakes, muffins and our new offering, MexiDian – a fusion of Indian and Mexican cuisine. Cooking in the trailer has its challenges as there are so many different dishes to create. But since it’s just us, we are able to enjoy a more intimate working experience,” says Meg.
Aside from being packed with organic goodness and flavour, the couple also highlight the many health benefits – think immune support and healthy digestion, of both Indian and Mexican cuisine, which was a big motivation for them when it came to creating a fusion out of the two.
Some of the best-selling dishes on their menu are their Butter Chicken Foldover (our fave!!) made with tender boneless chicken breast fillet cooked in aromatic fresh spices with a creamy butter chicken curry and tucked inside a delicious garlic naan; their Breakfast Burrito (for every early riser) of braised mince with salsa, eggs, cheese, jalapenos, homemade secret sauce with melted cheese on top of a toasted tortilla wrap; the Chimichangas (moreish deep-fried burritos) with succulent steak, lettuce, Mexican salsa, cheddar cheese and their homemade secret sauce folded into a hexagon shape; and Mexican flutes (extra-crispy and bursting with flavour) made from chicken strips with Mexican fillings rolled, in a homemade pastry, into flutes and served with a special dipping sauce. Every dish is freshly prepared in front of hungry patrons after being lured by the deliciously tempting aromas that waft from the trailer … and they’re affordable, too.
For those who haven’t yet tasted all the mouth-watering goodness of what they offer, you’ll find them at The Buzz Market every Saturday at 38 Pitlochry Road, Westville, from 9am to 2pm, and at the new market running at Hillcrest High School once a month on a Sunday from 9am to 2pm. They’re also often at Fig Tree Farm in Hillcrest, especially on special occasions when the venue hosts its fun-filled markets.
Details: You can contact Meg or Dhiraj on 084 493 2185 or 063 502 9996.
Butter Paneer Foldovers
A delicious vegetarian option filled with homemade Indian cottage cheese in a creamy based curry served in a traditional garlic naan and garnished with fresh coriander.
Ingredients for the garlic naan: 2 cups self-raising flour; enough full cream plain yoghurt to make a soft dough; extra flour for rolling; garlic butter
Method: In a large bowl add your self-raising flour, yogurt and a pinch of salt and mix together to form a soft sticky dough. Divide dough into four portions and roll each one out. On a hot pan cook each naan with garlic butter until golden brown.
Ingredients for the butter paneer: 2 cups paneer marinated and fried with tikka marinade and plain yogurt, 6 tomatoes chopped; 1 large onion chopped; 1 red pepper chopped; half cup sweetcorn; coriander; fresh crushed garlic and ginger; red chillies; a curry leaf; masala; dhania and jeera powder; cinnamon sticks; turmeric; yellow food colouring powder or liquid; 1 cup fresh cream.
Method: In a pot, fry the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger, cinnamon sticks and curry leaf in oil. Once browned, add your turmeric, masala and dhania jeera spice. Then add your chopped tomatoes and salt to taste and allow to cook through. Add yellow food colouring as desired for a nice colour, then add in the fried paneer and cream and allow to cook for 5 minutes before adding fresh coriander. Take a cooked naan and spoon the curry over one half, then fold the other half over and secure with a toothpick before garnishing with more fresh coriander.
Mexican Lolly
A mouth-wateringly marvellous marinated mix of mince, jalapeno, peppers, and special sauces wrapped around an ice cream stick, coated with crushed corn chips, cooked to perfection and served with a potato wedges and barbeque sauce.
Ingredients: 500g mince (mutton or beef); 4 jalapenos (remove seeds and dice); 1 small pepper (chopped finely); 1 small onion (chopped finely); 2 Tbsp. olive oil; salt and pepper to season; 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce; 3 Tbsp. barbecue sauce; 1 egg, beaten, 1 large packet of Doritos (crushed); 4 thick ice cream sticks.
Method: In a frying pan, heat oil, add the onion, jalapenos and pepper. Fry for about 3 minutes on medium heat. Allow to cool then add the fried mix to the mince. Add your two sauces and season with salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients well together. Divide the mince mixture into four equal parts and shape each into squares. Roll each into the beaten egg and coat with crushed Doritos. Insert the ice cream stick to make it into a lolly. Allow to set in the fridge for two hours before frying in shallow oil on low or medium heat. Serve with potato wedges or a salad and a barbecue sauce.
Churros
Mexican pastry resembling a doughnut deep-fried, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and dipped in a decadent chocolate sauce.
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 4 tablespoons margarine; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla essence; 1 cup flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 large eggs; oil for frying; cinnamon sugar; chocolate sauce.
Method: Boil together the water, margarine, sugar and salt. Add the flour to the boiling ingredients, turn down the heat and stir till the dough leaves the sides of the pans. Allow dough to cool for 10 minutes. Add in vanilla essence and eggs and beat well together. Pipe out churros into hot oil and cook till gold and crispy. Remove from oil, roll in cinnamon sugar and dip churro in a chocolate sauce or your choice … homemade is always best!
