My first encounter with the typical cuisine of Badagas was in 2015. It was a serendipitous experience at Vivanta Coimbatore. I stopped by to check out their dinner buffet and I got a specially created Badaga promotion that was part of that buffet. Those flavors have stayed with me since then, especially the baduga kappu no uddhakka (chicken curry) powered by their unique spice powder (badugaru uddhakka maas hudi). The term Badaga or Vadugan refers to a group of people who migrated to the Nilgiri region (in and around Ooty or Udhagamandalam) from the Mysore region of Karnataka about three to four centuries ago.
Also read: 10 amazing dishes of Tamil Nadu that you might not know about
The name reflects the direction from which they came (north). They settled in about 400 villages (or huttis) around this area. They have a unique culture, language (similar to Kannada) and a very distinctive cuisine. My conversation with the culinary team at Vivanta yielded some interesting insights about the cuisine. The cuisine evolved from locally sourced ingredients, the Badagas are primarily a farming community and grow crops such as potatoes, millet, barley and carrots in the Nilgiris.
The Badaga diet mainly revolves around millets (ragi) and wheat such as millet, which are consumed more than rice. It’s been almost a decade since I’ve seen some of Badaga’s favorite dishes like Bathalu (sun-dried crispy potatoes) in this food promotion. Even in cities like Coimbatore, which is close to Ooty and home to a large number of Badagas, this dish is yet to feature in restaurant menus. Some of the quintessential Badaga dishes include Hachike (a sweet made from millet) and the delicious mutton curry. Earthen pots are still used extensively in many homes in Badaga today and food is still served on bronze plates for their unique taste.
Chicken curry is a popular dish in Indian cuisine. Image Credit: iStock
One of the extraordinary dishes of Badaga is Badaga Kappu or Udhakka or chicken curry. The key to the dish (see recipe) is the delicious masala powder. You can try this remedy at home:
Badaga Kappu Koi Udhakka – Chicken Curry Recipe
Material:
- 1 kg chicken – cut into pieces
- 2 cups small onions
- 3-4 tbsp badaga chicken masala powder (see recipe below)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 3 cups water for cooking
- clay pot for cooking (optional)
- salt as required
Method:
- Heat oil in an earthen pot or pan and add onion to it. Fry on low flame for 15-20 minutes until the onions turn dark brown. The inside of the chickpeas should be well cooked and caramelized.
- – Add badga masala and salt and cook on low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. Do not burn the spices. Lower the flame and continue cooking.
- Grind onion and spices to make a paste, add to chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.
- – Heat ghee in the same earthen pot. – Add marinated chicken and fry on low flame for 5 minutes until the spices start giving out aroma. Add water and boil.
- Cook on low flame for 30 minutes. This gives the spices enough time to flavor the chicken.
- Add water if necessary and ensure that the chicken curry does not dry out. Taste for salt and adjust as needed.
- When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the flame. Make sure it is not too dry and has enough gravy.
- Serve it with hot rice or dosa. The curry should be thick after cooking.
Read also: Food Lover’s Guide to Tamil Nadu: 5 Popular Street Foods You Must Try
Badaga Masala Powder Recipe
Material:
100 grams dry red chilli
200 grams coriander seeds
50 grams cumin
4 tbsp fennel seeds
1/4 cup raw rice
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
Method:
- Dry roast all the ingredients separately.
- Let them cool completely. When it cools down, put all the ingredients in a mixer jar and grind it finely. The color of the spice powder should be dark brown.
- Take out this ground masala powder on a piece of paper. Spread it and mix it well.
- When the masala powder cools and dries completely, store it in an air-tight container.
