Can you spot the difference?

For most non-vegetarian foodies, eating ‘halal’ or ‘jhatka’ meat hardly makes a difference. After all, when the taste buds are yearning to be sated, all that you need is a piping hot tandoori chicken, a chicken seekh or mutton roll in front of you.

However, there are many who insist that halal is “cleaner”  - the ritualistic slaughter is supposed to drain most of the blood from the animal – and tastier. But others say it is hard to tell the difference when the dish on the table.

Halal means ‘lawful’ in Arabic, and the meat is  prepared according to Islamic guidelines. Rajat Bhandari, a 23-year-old non-vegetarian foodie, tells Metrolife, “I am not even a professional cook but I do feel and recognise the difference between jhatka and halal meat.

Also, it is important for me to know what food I am eating. For instance, I need to know what bun is used in the burger that I’m eating. But for halal, it’s completely different. Since there is a major difference between the two kinds of meat, people must know what they are eating.”

Someone who loves cooking chicken every fortnight at home, Bhandari adds, “Cooking halal is very different from cooking jhatka. The meat is more soft and clean. Hence, halal is a big yes for me.”

Meanwhile, it might also come as a surprise to many that a lot of restaurants, cafes and five-star hotels prefer and use only halal meat.

Metrolife spoke to Chef Chandra Shekhar, head chef at Zamozza World Kitchen and Bar, in an attempt to find out the preference for halal meat. “Having spent all these years as a chef, I have realised that halal sometimes does give a taste that is much better than jhatka meat,” he says.

“There is no major difference between the two varients of meat,” he continues, “It is only a matter of difference in ideologies. While certain dishes like kormas and biryanis are only prepared with halal, because of its Awadhi and Mughal references, the other dishes can be easily prepared with jhatka too, and there is no major difference in quality.”

Asked if people ask about being told whether their meat is halal or jhatka before starting their meals, Shekhar says, “There are a lot of times when Muslims want specifically halal meat and we have our ‘halal certificate’ from the butcher for the same.

Even though one can barely figure out the difference between the two after cooking, yet people demand this meat, because it’s softer and tastier.”

Meanwhile, Chef Umesh Kapoor of Cafe Immigrant while saying halal meat is “more hygienic and tasteful”, adds, he “can’t say if it’s healthier than jhatka.”

Mentioning about the negligible difference of tastes between the two varieties of meat, he says, “Jhatka might taste different sometimes, depending on the dish that it has been used for.”

Some won’t have halal.  “I am a big time meat lover, but I cannot have halal meat,” says 23-year-old Rohil Chawla.

“When I think of the inhuman way by which it is prepared, my conscience doesn’t allow me to go any further and eat it,” he tells Metrolife.