BENGALURU: I have always believed that ‘anyone can cook’. Cooking is more than just putting together a few ingredients in a pan and stirring. Cooking is about taking whatever ingredients are available at that moment and create something totally new and inspirational.
I was 19 years old when I began my culinary journey. I started my career with European Cuisine and continued to follow that passion for 3 years before switching to Indian cuisine. India is a culturally diverse country where you can find many traditions and many distinctive ingredients are available at every region of the country, yet exclusive to the rest of the world.
Over a year ago, I went on a fishing expedition along the shores of Alibaug, Mumbai. Initially, it didn’t go as well as I thought it would and I was a little upset that I couldn’t catch any fish.
So there I was, walking along the shore pondering over my inability to get a good catch when I noticed a local tribe group burning wood, or at least that’s what I thought.. Upon nearing them I was astonished to find out that they were cooking “POPTI” in an enclosed ‘Matka’!
Popti is essentially a smoked chicken dish that epitomizes bold and strong flavours. It is slow-cooked for a long period of time and then enriched with flavourful of spices and juices thereby giving the dish a unique rustic taste and feel.
The meal was cooked for around 4 hours and served with a flourish as the ‘matka’ was broken before the food was consumed. What you decide to eat this smoked chicken dish with depends on the taste of the individual and sometimes, the local tribes add rice along with the chicken in the ‘matka’ and cook the meal.
In this particular incident, the Popti, was prepared in an earthenware pot or the mud-pot (matka). The pot was first layered with leaves and then filled with marinated chicken before it was sealed and placed on the fire. This simplistic method of cooking the dish is what I found most interesting as it was very minimalistic and showcased a nutritious way of preparing food.
I was inspired by this traditional way of cooking and was anxiously waiting to prepare the delicacy myself. After returning from the expedition, I shared my thoughts with my colleagues and started to re-create the delicacy using international herbs.
I used the same earthenware and the same method but with a twist. I spiced-it up with many international herbs such as thyme, rosemary, basil and parsley to enhance the texture, fragrance and flavour of the chicken as well as the juices along with it. Authentically, the technique used to prepare ‘Popti’ was slow-cooking method as it increases the vitality of the dish being prepared.
This delicacy was then served to our guests and it was an instant hit! They were ecstatic to be served a dish that is so innately traditional and quintessentially Indian that they devoured it and was left licking their fingers.
Anurudh Khanna, Executive Chef at Shangri-La Hotel