Corresponding passage from The rat trappers:

“When they find a rat burrow in a rice field, they plug all the exits, save one. They take an earthen pot with a hole, the size of a one rupee coin, punched through the bottom, fill it with green leaves, and set the leaves on fire. They place the mouth of the pot flush against the burrow entry, and blow through the pot’s hole. After smoke has filled every underground chamber, they excavate the burrow, and pull out all the asphyxiated rats. In the case of field rats, there might be a stockpile of grain inside the burrow as a bonus.

At sunset, the Irula pile up dry thorns in a fallow field and barbeque the rats. The fur is singed and removed along with the guts, and the rest roasted. Children vie for the crunchy tails and feet.”