Padosan Apni Murgi Ko Rakhna Sambhal
Mera Mugra Hua Hai Diwana :)
Black Chickens .. Sounds strange , sounds racist but trust
me there is a whole range of black chickens in the world right from China ,
England , Italy , Bulgaria, Poland , Indonesia and of course India . The hero
of them all is the “Kadaknath” .
Kadaknath is a native breed of poultry inhabiting Jhabua and
Dhar districts in Western parts of Madhya Pradesh. The Kadaknath has been
reared by tribals over a long period of time and its unique breed
characteristics have been established through many generations of selection and
fixation of genes. It tolerates extreme climatic conditions of summer heat and
cold winter stress and thrives very well under minimal management inputs like
poor housing, no health care or supplementary feeding while exhibiting
appreciable degree of resistance to diseases compared to other exotic breeds of
fowl . The Kadaknath lays around 80-90 eggs annually and is not a good brooder.
However its dark coloured meat is considered a delicacy and is also attributed
with medicinal qualities much sought after by the tribal.I tis sup[posed to be
having higher protein levels than a Salmon , Cures TB,asthma, osteomalacia, womens
sterilty problems,headaches, renal(kidney)Problems,Good for high BP, heart
diseases as it as low cholesterol. It is
locally known as Kalamasi and is used for the traditional treatment of many
diseases in human beings and is also considered an aphrodisiac. The meat and
eggs are also reckoned to be a rich source of protein. Characteristics of
Kadaknath Poultry Breed include Black coloured meat; Black Blue plumage; Black
hued internal organs; Body weight at 20 weeks (g) 920; Body weight of adult
cockerel 1.5 -2kg; Body weight of adult hen 1-1.5 kg; Age at sexual maturity
(days) 180; Annual egg production (number) 105; Egg weight at 40 week (g) 49.
The skin, beak, shanks, toes and soles is dark gray colored, whereas tongue is
dark gray or light black in colour. Comb, Wattles and earlobes are light to
dark gray or have purple hue. Most of the internal organs of the Kadaknath
breed show intense black coloration
The three main varieties of Kadaknath breed are: Jet black -
The Jet black adult males and females are black in colour; -Pencilled - In
Penciled variety, adult male and female plumage is black with white feathers
on neck; -Golden - The Golden adult male and females are basically black in
colour with Golden feathers on head and neck.
The Breeders of kadanath have refused to expand the flock only for one reason tha they dont want the bird to loose its qualities .:(
It was Dr Ashish Chopra who introduced me to this beautiful Bird .
So the story goes like this .. on FB I see this man dressed
like a chef , then like a cowboy sitting across a chefs Lab with masalas and
other ingredients around him and actually cooking something and not just posing
hehehehehehe. Then I see loads of comments aksing Ashish to cook for them ,
share the recipe with them , call them over etc etc . Now tiger was curious, who is this man , so
he sends the man a friends request . which he accepts . I get chatting with him. In between post a picture of this kadanath. I love his passion for food ,being the curious tiger im like tel me more about
the meat , the texture etc
We exchange numbers , mind you he speaks amazingly
well , his voice is authoritative, he is a charmer with full on knowledge .. speaks Punjabi , angrezi ,
nagamese and other north east languages .. so be careful dude and to top it all he is a master of his trade, a.k.a known as FOOD . So we do a call, we find
common connects and the man without
hesitation says Tiger “come and have dinner with me, I wil personally cook some
amazing kadaknath for you ” , im like no reaction for a minute .. im surprised
at his generosity and spontaneity .. kaun boola ta hai kisko aisae aaj kal . I jump for the offer , why wouldn i.. anything
for Food and Food Gyan .
So Time Date
fixed and then I hear the address Greater noida , im not worried about the
distance, that is my drivers hassle not mine , im worried about two silly
things . .how many drinks to carry for the journey and second agar sus aa
jayega toh kahan karoonga hehehehe. Chalo koi na when you have to go you have to
go … and then one day in between Ashish calls me to inform that his co chef is
back from almora and the man shal be cooking the Kadanath his way , now I was
super excited and eager to find out who Ashish was and what this bird was all about .
Stage is set, I am all
excited . and then the last dilemma going to a foodies house for dinner for the
first time what to carry .. thought thought and thought , contemplated and
decided nothing beats a good old monk .. so picked up black and white old monk
, my style .
Now out of habit I always do a recky on the person who im
meeting .. so this is what I find ….
Dr. Ashish Chopra,was the founder Executive Director of the
Institute for Environmental Management and Social Development
(www.iemsd.superhit.in) when he decided after retrospection and introspection
to take permanent sabbatical to pursue his passion for food and travel.
- · He is currently dedicating his quality time to pursue his passion as a Culinary Historian / Food Critic / Travel Writer / Photographer / Author & Television Host.
- · He is also the consulting editor of the Business India group. He organizes culinary tours and heritage food walks for food lovers.
- · He has contributed to the EXOTICA magazine, INSIDE OUTSIDE, The PIONEER newspaper, CONDE`NAST Traveler, Global food & Traveler magazine.
- · He is also on the editorial board of an online magazine www.folks.co.in, Advisor,Center for Global Research & Initiatives and a Consulting Director with the H.H.R Group of Hotels running Heritage properties in Madhya Pradesh, India.
- · He has worked in the field of Environment, social development, culture and cuisine especially in North East India for over a decade now.
- · His latest book being“A Travel Guide to North East India“. He is also the author of NE Belly-A book on the cuisines of the eight North Eastern states. He calls North East India his obsession, which has taught and given him much.Presently, he is documenting the traditional tribal foods of India and writing a cookbook on the –TRIBAL CUISINES OF INDIA and one on STREET FOODS OF INDIA.
- · Apart from that he has interest in regional cuisine, folk music, tribal art, indigenous knowledge and filmmaking. He is also a keen documentary filmmaker and has worked on documentaries on the Chins of Mizoram, the Nocte tribe of Arunachal, the Konyaks of Nagaland, amongst many others.
- · He has published various papers on development, conflict management and culture.He has hosted a series of talk shows called-”To the Point” on one of the prominent satellite news channels.
- · A foodie at heart and not by profession but by passion- He has also been a food consultant with ITC Welcome Heritage group of hotels having documented the Royal cuisines of the erstwhile Maharajas. Amongst his projects has been the conceptualization of the first cross Cultural Heritage Cuisine Restaurant for Carlsons Country Inns and Suites, a traditional Punjabi Heritage cuisine Restaurant with Sufi as its theme, A middle eastern cuisine restaurant at Jaipur.
- · He has been invited to co-author a book on the Royal cuisines of Bhagel with Pushpraj Sinh- the erstwhile Maharaja of Rewa and subsequently GAJRAJ SINGH the Thakur of Diggi State in Rajasthan has also commissioned him to do a coffee table book on the erstwhile secret recipes and food traditions of the Diggi State.
- · He has consulted for the television series, Gordon Ramsey’s Great Escapes on “North east Indian Cuisine”
- · Currently consulting BBC for forthcoming India unplugged series to be aired this year end.He in 2011 consulted for the show “Chef on the Road“, by Hurrah Productions for National Geographic Channel
- · He is the principal consultant and has co-hosted a few episodes on the TRAVEL XP Channel on the Ancient cuisines of India called “QUEST”
- · He is the Principal Advisor for the forthcoming International Woodpecker Film Festival
- · He is also hosting his own food and travel series for an International TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE CHANNEL called BICKY’S GASTRONOMY.Here is the rush teaser of the forthcoming show
· It is his firm belief that food, music and
culture transcend all boundaries of caste, conflict, creed and religion. To
respect food, tradition and culture is the best way to respect and understand
humanity.
The Dinner with the Culinary Historian.
WOW .. now I actually felt honored to be invited by this
gentleman. Well my driver and me switch on our GPS and reach Greater Noida ..
lovely drive good music good booze and the perfect hunger for the
Kadaknath. Reach the apartment , enter ,
get led to the Study cum library where Ashish is sitting on his favorite revolving chair with his comp opposite him ,
warmly welcomed by Prescilla and Symphony his show girl (a 13 year Black Lab). The feeling was
awesome there was an aura of intellectual fumes floating in the room , recipe
books and ancient recipe books written by hand . collectors items , I was like thoroughly impressed.
The man organizes his single malts while the poor tiger settles for
his old faithful Old monk (sasta tikaoo guest.. hehehehe). We discuss from recipes , to bloggers to
cultures to travel for food experiences
, people in food .. u name it we discussed it , yes we left Kadaknath for the
dinner table, so that was the comfort we
had with each other . Yes in between Symphony came with her packet of biscuits
for her bit of snacks in this heavy discussion. I have never ever seen such a
obedient well trained pet in my whole life .
Special mention on the way they
have done up the apartment gorgeous tribal ware on display carpets , wall
hangings , murals amazing collection . one could be assured that this man has collected
these items and not just bought them to show case his taste for tribal art and
culture . Shows his keen interest in Interiors as mentioned above.
So its Dinner time folks . simple food Bharvan Kerala ,
Yellow tadke wali daal , steamed rice and the Gorgeous Kadaknath cooked the pahari style . Mind you
this was one half of the table , the other half was only Pickles . you name it
it was there .
The kerala was fantastically stuffed nice shallow fried on the pan ek dum bemisaal - the trick of making a good kerala lies in the before cooking preparation where u dab it with salt to kill the bitterness , yes it was perfect blend of mild bitterness and khata masala, the daal was simple with ghee ka tadka that’s it , had lovely homely flavors
. Sorry but my eyes, palate were stuck on the Kadaknath and nothing else .
The Kadaknath .. cooked the Almora / Pahari Way … cooked in a curry
form , with minimalistic masalas essentially for me to taste the flavors of the
bird rather than the masalas over powering the experience . I grabbed the
chicken .. it was sensibly cooked with the skin which does the magic , wonder
how many households do this ? First point I wanted to be convinced that the
meat was actually black , I held the smallest leg piece to verify , yes it had
shades of grey hehehehehe naughty chicken. Yes the skin was black , the meat
was greyish brown and pink , overall Yes Kadaknath was a black bird . The meat
was delicious had a lovely meaty flavor very distinct from the normal chicken
that we eat , more closer t the country fowl or the desi murgee, being a big
bird the pieces were big and flavorful . The Bird was definitely rich in all
its claimed medicinal and culinary qualities .. Thanked the Chef from Almora for the lovely
variation of the Kadaknath his way .
Im sure Kadaknath can be cooked many ways . would be an great idea to do a Breast the conti way and soak it in its own Jus , tandoori im not very sure . I would personally not like to shred the meat , it should be eaten in pieces and that too on the bone .; Definitely looks like a meat which needs to be soaked in a curry and relished .
 |
| Kadaknath The Almora Way |
On the way out Dr Chopra takes me around the house , he has
a liquor Lab too . where he experiments making liqueurs with different alcohols
and varied ingredients .. was a pleasure to see the collection . left it for
next time hehehehehehe ab sab kuch first
visit mein thodi kar dete hain, apni bhee kuch izzat hai ya nahi lol .
So that was a fantastic meal with the Chopra Family ..
relished , cherished every morsel and every minute spent with them . Havent ended as yet while they are seing me off he ask Symphony if she would like to go for a drive , and that was it , the lady disappeared back tot he apartment , gets her leash and is all set for the drive .. i was like shocked .
BTW Dr Ashish Chopra has curated a fantastic Awadhi Food
Festival at the Radisson Blu in Paschim Vihar starting July 23, 2015 a must
visit for the chefs experience .
His last parting line for the evening " I rather die with a Pork Chop in My Mouth " need we say more .
Tigers Overall Experience : " Nailed Two Big Birds with one Stone" - Had dinner with an Amazing Man ,loaded with knowledge , passionate to the core about food ,in tune with global cultures ,blessed with humanity and more so got to taste the famous Kadaknath. Im Blessed . Thank you ever so much Dr Ashish Chopra for the fantastic evening .
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