Taco Bell’s Global Taco Vote Winner Will Soon Come To U.S. Menu

The time has finally arrived: the global vote for Taco Bell has officially crowned its winner. What makes this a special occasion is that this is the first-ever global taco vote winner, marking this a new tradition for Taco Bell and a popular one at that. The popular taco that won the overall vote is India’s butter chicken, which received 64.65% of the votes.

It was ultimately decided by fans and reward members to choose between the winning taco and Thailand’s Kicking Chicken Taco. The overall award for winning the global vote will allow the butter chicken taco to arrive on US menus later this year for a limited time.

The butter chicken taco was inspired by a popular Indian dish featuring shredded, roasted chicken, a tomato-cream-based sauce seasoned with spices, and topped with lettuce, cheddar cheese, onion, and cilantro.

Created by Kundan La Jaggi, the dish originated in the Indian Capital city Delhi back in the 1950s at the Moti Mahal restaurant in the Daryaganji area. Jaggi created the dish by combining leftover tandoori chicken with butter and rich tomato purée. By the year 1975, butter and chicken gained international popularity and were served in restaurants, such as in Manhattan and other countries, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

When it comes to the runner up the Thailand kicking chicken taco had chicken strips with a similar blend of cheese, lettuce, and spicy kickin’ sauce, on a regular flour tortilla.

Despite the Indian butter chicken taco winning a spot on US menus later this year, there isn’t an exact release date. However, there is a lot of anticipation and excitement for this new menu item.

“Butter chicken is the ultimate bridge dish. Mainstream America already loves it and the Indian Americans grew up on it. This fusion defines our identity in places like Missouri city and Sugarland,” said a Houston based food blogger.

Despite the overall excitement about the Indian dish making its way onto American menus, some remain skeptical that the US can replicate it and see this as a test.

“This vote is about celebrating the creativity of our global menus. The butter chicken taco has a passionate following in India and we are thrilled to bring that innovation to US fans.” said Amy Ellis Durini, Taco Bell International’s Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer.

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