Restaurants switches to buffalo meat from beef

In Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and the Northeast, it's business as usual. In other states, they either run the risk of getting caught by law-enforcers and cow protectors for eating their favourite dish or are forced to switch to other meats, reported TNN.

Restaurants in Pune and Mumbai which earlier served beef have switched to buffalo meat and are seeing a decline. "Foodies don't prefer buffalo meat. It causes rashes”, says Ali Sajjadi, owner of Pune's Gulzar restaurant which used to get 40 beef dish orders a day before the Maharashtra ban.

"Business has dipped 25 to 30 per cent. Buffalo meat is fatty and of poor quality, many who can afford mutton and chicken have stopped eating beef," says Khalid Hakim, owner of Noor Mohammadi.

Noor Ahmed, who owns Colaba's Hotel Baghdadi, says many Parsis and Christians who came to his restaurant for its beef dishes have stopped coming.  Noor Ahmed's counterparts in Bengal, Kerala or the Northeast are lucky. "A variety of beef items are served in my restaurant. I don't think such (Dadri lynching) controversies really matter here. Besides, the Northeast has always been liberal," says Matiur Rahman of Guwahati's Al Halal Restaurant.

Goa, where beef sale and consumption are legal, faces an unusual problem. Prices of the red meat have hit the roof as activism by Hindu groups sworn to cow protection is choking supply lines from neighbouring Karnataka.

"Even if we produce all certificates, activists create hurdles. They stop our vehicles in remote border areas where none can help," says a trader.

Savio Correia, a north Goa restaurateur, concedes getting quality beef has got really difficult."There's hardly any undercut, which most restaurants serve for steak, coming to Goa. It (the undercut) costs between Rs 350 to Rs 500 per kg," he adds.