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Eateries on Mohammed Ali Road, Mumbai are abuzz with activity. (TOI Photo by Rizwan Mithawala)

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Meats, veggies may be costlier after beef ban

MUMBAI: Immediately after Friday prayers, motor mechanics Samad Shaikh and Mehboob Khan walk into Sarvi, the near century-old restaurant opposite Nagpada police station.Its high-ceilinged roof, marble-topped tables, courteous waiters and the crazy, cacophonous traffic outside cannot compensate for the loss the popular eatery has suffered of late.Something is missing from its menu: the famous beef seekh kebabs and musoor pulao (haldi-stained rice flecked with grains of lentil and lightly spiced beef kheema or minced-meat). “Khane mein maza nahin aaa raha hai (We are not enjoying the food). Why did the government take away beef from our plates?” asks a visibly dejected Shaikh, nibbling at the chicken seekh kebab.Beef ban - It's Maharashtra versus rest of IndiaTill not so long ago, customers would queue up at the quaint eatery on Friday afternoons. Now half the tables are empty and its air-conditioned mezzanine room is vacant. “It seems customers have vanished,” complains a waiter.Ever since beef went off the city’s menu with the state government ban a fortnight ago, beef lovers are mourning the disappearance of their favourite delicacies.Many popular eateries in the island city, especially in the Mohammed Ali Road-Bhendi Bazaar belt, have seen a dip in business. Chicken kebabs and soya bean being passed off as veg kheema can hardly attract those who relished aromatic nalli nihari (beef shanks), beef kheema and beef kebabs.The sprigs of fresh mint, chopped onions, lime and soupy coriander and green chilli chuntney are there, but they don’t seem to be enhancing the appetite in the absence of piping hot dal gosh and khichda, beef being their main ingredient.“We have lost 40 to 50% of our customers. Mutton costs over Rs 400 a kg and consequently, dishes have become costlier. Earlier, we would sell a plate of nalli nihari at Rs 45. The same thing is now available at Rs 90. How many customers can afford this?” asks Khalid Hakeem, the third-generation owner of Noor Mohammadi hotel (founded in 1920) on Mohammed Ali Road.Hakeem points to his prized possession on the wall—an autographed painting by M F Husain—and proudly informs: “Husain saab loved my dishes. He was a regular here.” Others who dined here include actor Sanjay Dutt (its Chicken Sanju Baba dish is named after him), singers Daler Mehdi, Lucky Aly and filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar. Many of his celebrity clients, claims Hakeem, discreetly relished beef dishes.The 80-year-old Jabari restaurant near Bhendi Bazaar too would be crowded before the beef ban . A Bohri family occupies a table but orders a soft drink, while all the other tables at the recently-renovated eatery are empty in the afternoon, the “peak hour”. “Business has gone down by nearly 40%. If the government has banned beef, it should also ban its export,” demands its owner Mohammed Ismail.The hardest hit are those which sold only beef dishes. Alamgir Hotel (founded in 1925) near J J Junction is a landmark and known for bhoona pasanda and nihari which are eaten with rotis of “pure wheat flour” baked in arguably the city’s biggest tandoor. “If the ban is not lifted soon, small eateries which sold only beef dishes will be forced to shut,” says owner Mushtaque Bhai.Five-star hotels have removed items like beef steak from their menu, but don’t complain. Sukesh Shetty, secretary of Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR), says: “Barely one or two percent of the entire hotel industry consumes beef. There are Udipi and fast food outlets, pubs, permit rooms and three- and four-star hotels for whom this meat does not matter. Several budget restaurants do not serve beef either.”But the ban has left a bad taste in the mouth of habitual beef eaters , including many sailors and navy personnel. Noor Ahmed of Colaba’s Baghdadi restaurant says navy men craved beef items before the ban crippled his business. “My hotel would be patronized by naval personal men and foreigners, mainly from African and Gulf countries. Now business has dipped by 60%, and the future seems bleak,” says Ahmed. The mechanic duo can console themselves that they have many to give them company in these beefless days.