Chef Kedar Bobade at Indigo Deli. Pic/Shadab Khan

The black chicken, or the kadaknath chicken, as it is called in Maharashtra, might pose a few challenges in the kitchen. However, what more than makes up for the effort you put in is its earthy taste, high protein content and low cholesterol count. Chef Kedar Bobade of Indigo Deli, first stumbled on the "wild bird" two years ago, on a biking trip on the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. He had tried it at a dhaba, where it was made in curry style. On his return, he tried mastering the black chicken. "I must say the R&D took a while, and it was quite long before we managed to arrive at something." Now, his go-to black chicken dish is the black fowl and root vegetable stew, refined after trial and error.