Manapparai Maadu Katti.... #Manapparai #Kangayam

This post is about a breed of cattle originated in south india called Manapparai Maadu. Basically this area is in the cauvery delta region and this breed is one of the breed which suits this region well and provides a great draught power.
These are very elegant creatures which is not so sleek as the halliker at the same time not so bulkier like the kangayam. It is a mid sized draught animal.
Our elders bred and raised cattle specific to that region and requirements. The requirement for this breed is to have a slim leg so that it doesn't get caught up in river sand or the marshy paddy fields. The local pastures doesn't have much of rich fodder and it is solely dependent on the locally available rice hay, cotton seeds and rarely oil cakes. Hence its difficult for these small farmers to maintain a bulkier animal like kangayam, and hence manapparai maadu is very famous here.Farmers in this region have an average of 2.5 to 5 acres and its supplied with rain and river water through out the year, this draught power is sufficient.

Average price of this bull is from Rs 30000 to Rs 50000, they have a good reputation in rekhala racing

This breed is usually pure white in colour, they are so well bred that their frame is intact and has a clear gait while pulling load or during racing.

They castrate the bull before deploying them for pulling load and they don't de-horn bulls of this breed.
The bull shown below is mature and would be 7 years old, see its horns.

To buy a manaaparai bull, the right place is to go to manapparai shandy which occurs on every wednesday in manapparai. I ve been there and its like a pushkar fair for cattle. But the traders and customers face a lot of issues due to no basic infrastructure in the shandy. One more speciality of this place is murukku and even now its made with that same authentic taste

Photo courtesy : THE HINDU

Kangayam is another cattle which is really huge and I think its the next largest breed to Ongole bull. The reason it was bred like this is, the areas around kangayam is hilly and the animal has to pull the load really strong on steep roads. Farmers in this region don't cultivate rice instead they grow millet and corn and these regions don't have proper river water supply and its totally dependent on rain and well irrigation, also they own on average more than 5 acres. Hence they need more draught power for vast ploughing and well irrigation. Another advantage is they feed cattle with millet/corn straw and co4 grass which is available in plenty in this region which supports an animal like kangayam. These bulls also have a very good reputation in the jallikattu.

Average price of a kangayam bull is Rs.50000 to Rs.1 Lakh

For more details on kangayam cattle please visit : http://www.kangayambull.com/
Picture below courtesy http://www.kangayambull.com/

Its our duty to support these breeds by adding them to our farms or monetarily the farmers who breed them.
Also we should create a centralized study material on how to rear these animals and basic skills like reining bulls, shoeing them, castrating etc. This would be useful for educated people who come to agriculture and start from scratch.

Nattu Kozhi Kuzhambu - Country Chicken Curry :)... #vedakozhi #muttaikozhi

Whenever I go to my grandma's house, I wait for this day of the week. My grandma makes delicious nattu kozhi curry which tastes awesome and its considered to have medicinal values.
Usually its Thursday evening when the little girl comes from the near by village to our home to sell this hen. They don't sell hen on Friday as they have had these as their family bread providers for generations. They feel when they sell or handout the hens on friday, their good charm also goes away. Hence its usually Thursday evenings or Saturday early morning when we get these hens for our feast.
These hens are not of any specific breeds they have been bred and kept in these villages for ages and sold out to the towns. They are not from any poultry institute or any hatcheries. They are super tasty and very healthy. They are not from hatchery and they are one among the fittest of the clutch.
The hens coming from hatcheries don't go strong after live prey (basically they lack hunting skills) hence they wont be tasty. The naturally hatched country chicken which flies after each wigglers around the garden is the one which will taste authentic. If you see the picture below this hen doesn't look so large or fleshy and that's exactly what we want.

Also, we prefer veda kozhi. The qualities of this vedaikozhi are as listed below
1) It should be a HEN (Roosters are not preferred as it has less medicinal values and we cook that when we need more meat during occasions or when guests arrive)
2) It should be very healthy and not have any kind of sickness or disabilities and should be bought when its alive.
3) These chick should have started to lay eggs for the first time of their life. Usually we get the chick after it has laid its first egg.
4) If you get karinkozhi its even more special but as for me, I didn't have that luck during this vacation. For more details on karinkozhi see my previous post in this blog or search for "Kadaknath"

When there is no hen available which had laid the first egg, my grand ma sees the bunch of chicken in the farm and selects the perfect hen which is about to lay the first egg in 4 - 5 days. Its her experience.
This kind of hens will have the eggs piled up in its ovary and it can be seen as shown below. We call this as the "Muttai Kudal" the egg intestine. We cook this along with the gravy and eat it. It is one of the tastiest thing you will ever eat in your lifetime :)...

The hen will be slaughtered on Saturday morning. We do halal method meaning we cut its throat and leave all the blood out and then dip the hen in hot water and remove its feathers and cut it to pieces. In certain other parts people squeeze the hen's throat to kill it and show it in fire to clean it. This method clots the blood inside the body of the hen and gives a different flavor. Usually we don't follow this method as blood has lot of germs.

Then the chicken is cooked with onions, herbs, spices, ginger, garlic, black pepper and only sesame oil is used and its cooked only in clay pot. Note : Don't add coconut now. By the time this is happening we are done with our oil bath. Then my grandma takes the gravy and adds more sesame oil to it and gives the soup to drink. Believe me it relives all your body pain, cold, fever and gives you a new strength. Then she adds coconut milk to the remaining gravy with meat and then its served with rice on banana leaf. Its a rich experience which not only quenches the taste of your tongue but also your spirit.

I know this is a ritual followed in most of the houses in Tamilnadu. Lets keep it up and see to that our next generation also get this experience.

I will try to post the exact recipe for this in my next post.