Today we're diving headfirst into the heart of Punjab to uncover the wildest, most bizarre foods you've ever seen. Right in one of India's most politically sensitive regions. We're here to show you a whole other side of Punjab and to explore five extreme eats that will challenge your limits and simply blow your mind. And by the end of this video, we'll be tackling the craziest brain dish this city has to offer. Yes, I said brain.
But first, let's start with a breakfast that is as wild as it gets, the infamous mutton paya. Mutton paya. This is hands down one of the boniest stews you'll find in the entire Indian subcontinent.
Made from dozens of goat feet stewed for hours. This dish is packed with collagen, creating a superfood that locals swear by for keeping them looking young. If you've ever wanted to chew on a f***ing goat, foot while sipping on the fountain of youth, well this is your chance.
In India, paya is made mostly from mutton. In Islamic countries, they sometimes make it from beef. Mutton paya is disappearing not only in Amritsar, but all over India.
Very few restaurants serve this now. The main reason is that the preparation requires too much work. Start by transferring a mountain of boiled mutton feet into a pressure cooker filled with water.
Season generously with salt, turmeric powder, ginger, red onions, and green chilies. Seal it up and let the pressure cooker transform this nightmare fuel into the most delicious soup ever. While that's cooking away, prepare the curry.
Add ghee, or clarified butter, into a large pot. As soon as it melts, add ginger garlic paste and some green paste. Next, toss in cloves, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cardamom, turmeric powder, and salt.
Mix it all up and let the spices infuse the ghee. Then, add a bit of chili powder, more turmeric powder, and a generous portion of broth from our boiling trotters. Speaking of which, the trotters should be ready by now.
Pour the stew into a pan, add a few trotters, and bring it all to a boil. Finally, serve this hearty concoction with a sprinkle of fresh coriander on top. Despite its intimidating look, this dish will sweep you off your feet.
Get it? The stew is thick and oily, spiced to absolute perfection. Now let's talk about the feet. They don't have much meat, but what little there is has been turned into super soft, flavorful bites.
And the best part? It's packed with collagen. Eat this once a day and your skin will glow like you just survived a nuclear blast. Minus the fallout. Now we have another North India classic, chicken cooked in clay pots with a rich creamy curry packed with intense spices.
This dish is so irresistible, it'll have you signing up for Sunday pottery classes just so you can make your own clay pots at home. Traditional food was cooked on coal and it had an authentic taste. The modern stove right now gives you cancer.
That's why we don't use it. We use coal and clay pots. Both things add to the taste of the food. People will eat well, be healthy, and feel good. First, mix together a little bit of chicken and red onions.
Then toss in dried red chilies, black pepper seeds, black cardamom, nutmeg, or some other big black seeds. Follow that with bay leaves, cinnamon, and two whole cloves of garlic. Now it's time for a rainstorm of spices. At least six different ones. Three, two, one.
Finish with fresh chopped coriander and a coriander and mint paste. Mix it well and let the chicken absorb all those flavors. Next, add liquid to the clay pots, followed by more fresh chopped coriander, dried red chilies, and a whole clove of garlic. Add our marinated chicken until the clay pot is full to the brim. Close the lid and seal it with a piece of dough, turning the clay pot into the OG pressure cooker.
Give it a shake, place it on hot coals, and let it cook for a while. Once it's done, it's ready to be served. Inside the clay pot, you'll discover a creamy, rich chicken curry. The chicken is tender and juicy, while the curry manages to be both creamy and light, creating a perfect balance of indulgence and freshness.
Each bite is a harmonious blend of succulent meat and delicately spiced curry. Our third extreme dish traces its origins from the Mughal kitchens to the streets of Punjab. This is potakalegi, a delectable curry featuring succulent chicken gizzards and livers, slow cooked in a pressure cooker to achieve maximum flavor.
We started making potakalegi in the last three or four years. My father used to make this potakalegi at home, and it tasted really great, so we thought of adding it to our menu. We are selling 22 to 33 pounds of potakalegi daily. First, cut the gizzards into manageable pieces and do the same with the livers.
Give everything a good wash and get them clean. Season with just a bit of salt and turmeric powder. Mix it up well, then move the gizzards to the pressure cooker and let them soften up. Once the gizzards are tender, add the livers, seal it up again, and let everything cook until it's perfectly soft.
Meanwhile, let's prepare the stew. Add oil to a wok and saute some diced red onions. Then add ginger-garlic paste, diced tomatoes, and more oil.
Sprinkle it with red chili powder and add a splash of water. Next, add turmeric powder and garam masala. Followed by a dollop of butter and fresh coriander.
Finish with long strips of julienne fresh ginger and diced green chilies. Once the organs have softened, transfer them from a pressure cooker to the wok and let them absorb all those delicious creamy flavors. Afterward, move everything into a huge tawa and let it cook even more. Serve with fresh herbs and julienne ginger strips. Hota Kaleji.
It's the perfect introduction of South Asian extreme eats. Think of it as the gateway dish that says welcome to the wild side. The pressure cooker and strongly spiced curry work their magic, transforming those gamey offcuts into delicious soft bites that you cannot stop eating.
Before our big finale, we've got the perfect appetizer. An unusual mini bird that is the ultimate finger food for any big event. No, it's not a baby chicken. It's a quail. Think of it as the fun-sized version of poultry.
This preparation is inspired by tandoori chicken. So get ready for a bite that's small in size, but big on flavor. Basically, people prefer eating this in winter.
The quails are a little expensive, but they warm the body a lot. We source them from a village in Punjab. We don't sell the farm-fed quails here because their quality is not good. We serve customers the healthiest options. Our quail quality is different.
Start by giving those tiny quails a luxurious massage with homemade masalas, making sure every inch of their little bodies is infused with delicious spices. Next, skewer them up one by one on iron rods. No escaping for these guys.
Once you have two rods full of what looks like an Angry Birds convention, it's time for the roasting. Carefully place them in the tandoor oven and let them cook to perfection. Rotating to get an even bake on all sides. When they're golden brown and ready to strut their stuff, serve them up with a side of onion salad and coriander chutney. After some quality time in the tandoor, the quails come out with a perfect golden brown coating, and the meat will just fall apart between your fingers.
The coriander chutney and onion salad play the perfect sidekicks, balancing the whole thing out. For our final extreme meal... Get ready for the Hyderabad delicacy that's beloved across the Indian subcontinent. From Bangladesh to Nepal, India and Pakistan, it's a goat's brain served with gravy. Oh, you heard that right.
Brain food taken to a whole new level. First, pour a generous amount of ghee onto the tawa. Follow it with diced chilies, julienne fresh ginger, and diced red onions. While that's sautéing, place a few brains on the edges of the tawa. All these plastic dishes As soon as the ghee is infused with the aromatics, start scooping in the brains.
I'm a boss, boss, boss, baby I'm a boss Using a spatula, slowly mash up the brains into smaller chunks. Smaller Pour in the homemade masala stew and let everything melt together Finish it off with a sprinkle of various seasonings And top it with fresh coriander just like that our brains are ready to serve The richness of the brain permeates the entire dish. Each bite is bursting with the wisdom the goats accumulated over the years. Combine that with the local masalas and the results are truly mind-blowing.
Well guys, we did it. We survived exploring the most unusual eats of India. Now comes the moment of truth.
Which dish do you think stole the show? Was it the collagen-rich paya, the claypot matki chicken, the power couple of pota kaleji, the tandoori quail, or the brainy magas? For me, it has to be the magas.
You know, to do this job, you really do need that extra bit of brain power. And this dish definitely brought that. So how about you?
Which extreme eats would you scare your significant other with? Let me know downstairs in the comments below. And for more indulgent feasts for your senses, be sure to subscribe to Best Ever Food India.
Thanks. Bye.