Game for Quail | Verve Magazine
India's premier luxury lifestyle women's magazine
Wine & Dine
November 25, 2009

Game for Quail

Text by Vinod Advani. Photographs by Nilesh Acharekar

A fine alternative to chicken, quails are cooked up in two distinct ways by The ITC Maratha Mumbai’s Chef Madhu Krishnan and her star pupil, Chef Pavan Kumar. Verve tastes the results

Chef Madhu Krishnan never just walks into a restaurant. She marches in, toque firmly in place. On her face lies enthusiasm, in her eyes resolve and if you know her as well as I do, her brain cells have already mapped out the next one year in culinary creations. Minor cooks and trainee chefs have been known to quail at the sight of that determined jaw, until they chance upon her smile.

As executive chef of the ITC hotel, The Maratha Mumbai, luxury collection, Madhu raises the bar for her colleagues. Smiling wryly she informs me, “I hate to fail. I spend each day with a single point focus to excel. Because excellence is not an option. Because I only compete with myself!” It’s clear that for Madhu, her role model is herself.

So when Madhu announces that she is going to cook for us, in full glare of lights and camera, expectations are obviously high. It’s a sunny afternoon outside the ITC Maratha, Sahar; the heat compounded by the proximity to the international airport. Inside this bespoke hotel however, everything purrs with air-conditioned  efficiency. West View, the hotel’s grill restaurant, opened earlier this year, is unusually busy at 3 p.m. Chefs of various denominations hustle and bustle, hither and thither, carrying trays laden with exotic fruits and vegetables, setting up this, attending to that. Inside the eye of the hurricane, is another whirligig. Multitasker Madhu is attending to a barrage of mobile calls, each one ending with, “Do it yourself, don’t bother me, I’m in the middle of a shoot.” Turning 180 degrees, she catches sight of me watching her and shouts out an imperative, “Never done this recipe before, so just say it’s stunning, okay?”

Napoleon would have quailed. Gulp. If you’ve read this far, you’ve realised that I have punned on the word quail. Twice. For it’s not often that one gets to eat this small bird of the pheasant family phasianidae called coturnix, commonly called the common quail. Banned for years in India as a protected species, it’s only since quail farming has become a viable industry that these protein power-packed plump birds are featured on high-end restaurant menus.

In a mortar, star anise and sea salt are being pounded like Schwarzenegger would pound those he wants to terminate. This releases the herb’s oleoresins. Smell them, commands Madhu. I do. Before I can comment on the unusual aroma, it’s whisked away from under my nose to be dumped into a pan of olive oil which contains chopped thyme and chives. Whisking briskly, Madhu marinates five de-feathered quails in this unctuous emulsion.

Looking at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, daring me to challenge that she does know what she’s doing, she holds up a bottle that has maple syrup labelled on it and dunks this sugary concoction. Maple syrup! So what are you doing Madhu? Pat comes the smart reply: “Cooking is a troika of the arts, sciences and sensibilities. Each plays a vital role in creating culinary standards of excellence.” Humph. I feel as if I am back in school.

Meanwhile, one of Madhu’s star pupils chef Pavan Kumar who has specialised in Naidu cuisine is giving his quails a different treatment altogether. One of the oldest communities in Andhra Pradesh, the Naidus were gold, silver and pearl merchants for the jamindars and nawabs. Mainly meat and fish eaters, their cuisine makes liberal use of two ingredients: tamarind and hot chillies. Tamarind’s fresh flowers and tender leaves called chigur are curried and the fruit is used to make chutneys as well as cooling drinks.

Cool as a cucumber in front of the roaring fire, chef Pavan fries onions, mustard seeds, fennel seeds in a pan till they turn golden brown. Ginger, garlic, turmeric, dhaniya, red chillies are thrown in and five minutes later, Pavan adds the raw marinade (pounded raw mangoes, cumin and fiery green chilies) he has made the night before. In this volcanic mix, go the quails.

Madhu goes again, tongue firmly in cheek, “The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it but what he comes by it.” Since the quails, cooked in two completely different styles have come my way, who am I to argue? Knife and fork at the ready, I dig in. Yummm! To both.

The Common Quail

A delicacy worth trying…

The common quail, a favoured item in French cuisine, is famous for its small, plump body. It’s eaten complete with the bones, sometimes thyme-marinated or stuffed with goat cheese, possibly drowning in a creamy grape sauce. The common quail, coturnix coturnix, is a small bird in the pheasant family phasianidae. It is widespread and is found in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa with several subspecies recognised. Japanese quail (coturnix coturnix japonica) have created a big impact in recent years and many quail farms have been established throughout the length of this country, both for egg and meat production.

The quail farms at CARI, Central Avian Research Institute, are nerve centres for quail production technology in India since 1974. Through the concerted efforts of the scientists of the institute, various quail housing equipments and their accessories are designed. CARI is the only centre of Japanese quail, which maintains pure lines (broiler and layer) of quails throughout the country. Quails are very robust to diseases and no vaccination is required. Quails in India are an alternative to chicken farming. They are considered to be a delicacy.

A kaleidoscope of tastes

An abundance of choice awaits the diner at West View…

An energetic grill restaurant, West View pays homage to Mumbai’s evolved palate and culinary scope that epitomises the city’s ‘be-there’ spirit in an exuberant and warm setting, whilst the open kitchens add theatre to the dining experience. The character of West View is its chalk board concept and the lack of structure is its raison d’être. Its cuisine has been assiduously researched and rehearsed by its chefs who approach food as textures, reducing their attributes to their most elemental form, then recasting them in interesting ways. The menu at West View changes daily. The day’s offerings include signatures from the simmering Soup Tureen. The Food Island is a cold table of marinated meats, slow roast vegetables, artisan cheese et al, prepared as a prelude to the main event, The Grill. An abundance of choice in the hutch cabinet beckons, where dexterously marinated seafood, fish, meats and vegetables await your selection.

The food guide in attendance helps you to recognise the artiste in you and recommends signatures that can be stone grilled by yourself at your table or hands over your selection to the chef who takes over and char grills it to your specific requirements. Indulge yourself as you savour this course and allow the sommelier to advise labels from their cellar that best pair your meal. Return to the grill or select from the Dessert Library, a collection of refreshingly unique desserts deftly created after much gastronomic reflection.

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