CUISINE
Chicken demystified
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SABITA RADHAKRISHNA reviews a handbook that has everything you wanted to know about chicken.
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IT is here at last ... the ultimate in chicken cooking — written by Rashmi Uday Singh, well known culinary expert, and presented by Godrej Agrovet Limited, the people who market "Real Good Chicken".
At first glance, one feels a sense of disappointment at the production of the book. Linked with Uday Singh and Godrej, it deserved a better presentation, flawless editing and beautiful photographs. The content however tides you over the first flush of dismay, as you journey through the details of chicken in all its different aspects, how to recognise a good bird from the bad, tips on shelf life and preservation, the nitty gritty of carving a chicken and, of course, cooking and serving it. The best way to thaw a frozen chicken is not in the microwave, but in the refrigerator or in cold water.
If thawing is done in the microwave inefficiently, the hard frozen core could ooze bacteria.
To the cook who cannot tell a "gizzard" from a "bishop's nose", each part of the chicken is suitably listed and tips given on what to use each one of them for. If you buy "Real Good Chicken", you are assured of "the succulence and taste of fresh chicken, melded with the convenience and hygiene of frozen chicken and moreover the original nutrients and proteins are intact". If you are assailed by doubts, say for instance as to when a roasted bird reaches the end point, the guide page in the book clarifies them. You do not have to guess any more, and once you know the exact weight of the chicken, you just need to turn off the oven as indicated. And so on to total enlightenment.
I like a cookbook which offers more than just recipes. For instance did you know that an uncooked marinade should never be reused? That you have to boil it first before applying on the chicken which is about to be cooked? That you have to salt the cavity of the chicken before stuffing it? There are many more handy hints if you read the book before you start to cook. And once you lay out all the ingredients, the recipes are fairly easy to follow. Listing preparation and cooking time is a good idea as you tend to choose a recipe according to the time you have in hand. There have been oversights in editing as in the case of "Lemon Chicken" where the bold caption has been omitted.
Hats off to Uday Singh for being able to wrest successful recipes from "limelight people". Despite their busy schedule, the celebrity list is impressive — Asha Bhonsle, Suniel Shetty, Poonam Dhillon, S.P. Gaekwad, Prasad Bidappa and Ritu Beri offer their prized recipes. This is in addition to consumers who have contributed pieces. There are chapters on "party fare", "tandoori recipes", "Indian recipes", "easy-to-cook food", "stocks and sauces", "cookbook classics" and finally "Uday Singh's own favourites".
The recipes which particularly caught my fancy were the "Chicken Bhel Puri", from Chef Satish Arora, and the "Baked Chicken in Tumeric Leaves", from Chef Coelho. "The Marmalade Chicken", courtesy Meldan de Cunha, is delicious and easy to make. In keeping with current trends of avid weight watchers, Uday Singh has restricted the use of excess of oil, which is heartening.
For all those who do not chicken out at the sight of non-vegetarian food, the Good Food Chicken Book is a valuable handbook to be kept prominently in the kitchen to consult each time you cook (oops) a chicken and you may be sure that if you follow directions carefully the dish is sure to be real good!
Good Food Chicken Book,
Rashmi Uday Singh and Godrej Agrovet Ltd., p.415, published by Zaika - BPI (India) Pvt. Ltd.
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