The original spicy country chicken from Ankapur in Nizamabad district is now a phone call away.
Thanks to TSRTC Cargo and Parcels services introduced in July this year, the famed non-veg curry prepared in the model village is now available to food lovers in North Telangana.
RTC officials of Armoor depot hit upon the idea of cashing in on the craze for country chicken ( Natu Kodi or Desi Chicken ) prepared by select few families in Ankapur. Hitherto, people familiar with the tasty dish used to request the cooks to send parcels through the RTC crew.
Without losing time, the RTC officials set up a TSRTC Health Food Court in Ankapur village, 5 km from Armoor town. They posted a controller and a dedicated mobile number (98484-08003) was given for orders.
All that one has to do is to call up the number and place the order. A kilogram of cooked country chicken costs ₹650, including the parcel charges. Controller at TSRTC counter, Boya Pratap said the moment an order is placed, it is passed on to the cooks in the village. After the payment through Google Pay is confirmed, the said cook ensures that the order is delivered to the destination. The customer has to pick up the order from the counters at respective bus stations. So far, 334 orders have been successfully delivered.
Presently, the regular bus services plying towards Jubilee Bus Station (Secunderabad), Warangal, Hanmkonda, Jagtial, Metpally, Karimnagar, Nirmal and Adilabad are being used. Ideally, the orders are kept ready by 9 a.m. for onward journey so that the dish is not spoiled. There is another service to JBS Secunderabad at 1 p.m.
Chandramohan Billa, owner of Kolla Anjaiah Parcel Mess in Ankapur, told The Hindu that his father, late Anjaiah, was instrumental in popularising the spicy curry to the outside world in 1988 along with two others. Since then, 10 such outlets have cropped in the village itself. The namesake sale points have mushroomed all across Telangana, including several in the twin cities.
“We use three-month-old country chicken handpicked by our suppliers from the rural areas, unlike the one bred in the poultries now. The taste is totally different, that’s why we get repeat orders from our customers. We have been sending parcels in the quantity of 10-15 kgs to Hyderabad on special occasions. All precautions are taken while preparing the food and we ensure that the dish does not become stale when it is delivered to customers,” said Chandramohan.
T. Ramachandra Murthy, depot manager at Armoor, is satisfied with the response and said Sundays is quite a busy day with plenty of orders. “We are also delivering corn in dozens to the customers. Orders are taken by the Ankapur counter,” he said.
