Found on the BBC (click here for full story).
An official from the Indian state of Bihar has come up with a new idea to encourage low caste poor people to cope with food shortages – rat meat.
Vijay Prakash, Principal Secretary of the state’s Welfare Department, said that he was making his proposal after much survey and groundwork. He pointed out that the “extremely poor” Musahar community are rat eaters by tradition.
He argued that 50% of the grain stocks in the county are eaten by rats, and that by eating more rats the population would drop and more grain would be available. Not necessarily for the Musahar, but there would be more grain [me].
He also said that rat meat was not only a delicacy but a protein enriched food common in Thailand and France. (France?)
Mr Prakash says that he has recipes to make rat eating a delicacy, which he now wants to distribute to all the hotels in Bihar, and says that his research has revealed that it is a popular food item in some parts of Bihar where it is known at roadside hotels by the name of “patal-bageri”.
And in one stroke, has no doubt destroyed the tourism industry of Bihar. By the way, what’s a roadside hotel? Over here it’s a puti club, not known for the quality of their cuisine. I’ve eaten snake, but I’m not too keen on the idea of rat. Probably like a quail, full of little irritating bones. And bubonic plague. It’s stories like this that make me glad I’m a fat westerner.
Valencians are often prone to telling gullible forasteros the story that the first ‘arroces’ (“paellas”) were introduced by the peasants and were a charming mixture of rice and water-rat. There is, so the rumour goes, even a few places in Valancia which will (shh!) serve it if you ask nicely.
I think I might have eaten one there. :p
I was wondering why that last curry I had tasted a little gamey. 🙂