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Indian gourmets thrive on mice
Maharashtra, Aug 10: What is white, furry and comes complete with a tail? Look carefully - if you are living among Kolams in Maharashtra`s Yavatmal district, it could well be your next meal.
Maharashtra, Aug 10: What is white, furry and comes complete with a tail? Look carefully - if you are living among Kolams in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district, it could well be your next meal.
Although white mice - roasted, skinned and diced - may not be everyone's idea of a gastronomical delight, four lakh tribals of Vidharba region appear to be thriving on it. In a region where sixty starvation deaths in the last few months have sent alarm bells ringing, the Kolams and their strange recipe for survival are fast gaining notoriety.
Served hot with chapattis and onion, the rodent curry has indeed proved a lifeline for those unable to find either food or work. Middle-aged Mahadeorao, dressed in tatters, visibly slavers as he describes how the mice are caught. It is a man's work. Around ten villagers get together and raid the rat-hills that dot the open stretches of farmland. A fire is lit over the mounds using dry sticks and the fumes fanned inside. An average mound yields anything between 40 to 60 mice that suffocate to death because of the smoke. On a lucky day the Kolam hunters sometimes stumble upon caches of food-grain inside the mounds. Since dead rats have little use for their granary, the villagers end up dividing the loot among themselves.
Besides rodent meat, a typical Kolam spread also includes frogs that are cooked in the manner of crabs. Here again, the huge blackish frogs find favour. A couple of them, with their tough back skins removed, are made into a curry sufficient for a Kolam family used to living frugally. Starvation death here, claims locals, is rare. Casualties are higher in settlements like Maregaon Sonbardi that are closer to highways or towns and consequently have far less animal population.
Interestingly, while Kolams have a penchant for mice and frogs, they are not exclusively non-vegetarian in their diet. Those living adjacent to the forest eat not just fruits but leaves and flowers too. Minor details like cooking are often dispensed with.
But even while preparing a feast of Umri fruits, Mahua flowers and Kartol leaves, young men from Karanji village talk of the frog feast that is to come in winters. Frogs, they insist, taste better in the cold. And with their knowledge of such unusual delicacies, no one's arguing.
Served hot with chapattis and onion, the rodent curry has indeed proved a lifeline for those unable to find either food or work. Middle-aged Mahadeorao, dressed in tatters, visibly slavers as he describes how the mice are caught. It is a man's work. Around ten villagers get together and raid the rat-hills that dot the open stretches of farmland. A fire is lit over the mounds using dry sticks and the fumes fanned inside. An average mound yields anything between 40 to 60 mice that suffocate to death because of the smoke. On a lucky day the Kolam hunters sometimes stumble upon caches of food-grain inside the mounds. Since dead rats have little use for their granary, the villagers end up dividing the loot among themselves.
Besides rodent meat, a typical Kolam spread also includes frogs that are cooked in the manner of crabs. Here again, the huge blackish frogs find favour. A couple of them, with their tough back skins removed, are made into a curry sufficient for a Kolam family used to living frugally. Starvation death here, claims locals, is rare. Casualties are higher in settlements like Maregaon Sonbardi that are closer to highways or towns and consequently have far less animal population.
Interestingly, while Kolams have a penchant for mice and frogs, they are not exclusively non-vegetarian in their diet. Those living adjacent to the forest eat not just fruits but leaves and flowers too. Minor details like cooking are often dispensed with.
But even while preparing a feast of Umri fruits, Mahua flowers and Kartol leaves, young men from Karanji village talk of the frog feast that is to come in winters. Frogs, they insist, taste better in the cold. And with their knowledge of such unusual delicacies, no one's arguing.