Lucknow's famous kebab shop reopens without iconic dish

Tunday Kababi opened shop in 1905 in Lucknow

Lucknow’s century-old eatery, Tunday Kababi reopened on Thursday after a brief break due to shortage of meat because of a crackdown on illegal meat houses ordered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Scroll reported.

The eatery, situated in the Akbari Gate area, opened shop without its most iconic dish: the baray ke kebab [buffalo meat kebabs]. Much to the disappointment of its loyal customers, the restaurant, for the first time since its establishment, now serves chicken and mutton kebabs only.

“Customers are getting angry,” said Abu Baqr, who runs the Akbari Gate outlet told ANI. “It is costly to me also and has ruined our speciality.”

Step taken by CM to shut illegal slaughterhouses is praiseworthy,but should be ensured that licensed ones don't shut: Abu Bakr,Tunday Kababi pic.twitter.com/AQReh58CCg

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 23, 2017

The brand’s second outlet at Aminabad, run by Abu Baqr’s cousin Mohammad Usman, remained open on both the days relying on chicken and mutton meat. According to Mohammad Usman, while the supply of chicken and mutton had not been affected yet, he worried about a meat shortage in the state.

According to Scroll, he mentioned a rumour that chicken and fish were not being sold in Kanpur on Wednesday.

The meat industry is a magnet for religious violence in India, where Hindus consider cows sacred and accusations of beef being sold by Muslims can trigger violent mob reprisals.

Police are investigating a "mysterious" overnight blaze that reduced three butcher shops to ashes in Hathras district, local police chief Dilip Kumar told AFP.



"We are not ruling out anything," he said.

The fire came just days after a hardline Hindu priest-turned-politician took control of UP, India's largest state with a bloody history of violence between Hindus and Muslims.

Yogi Adityanath is known for his polarising and inflammatory speeches against Muslims, and has called for harsher penalties for the slaughter of cows, which is already illegal in most Indian states. He was chosen to lead UP after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing BJP swept state polls earlier this month, in part on a pledge to close unlicensed traders and illegal beef outlets.

India is a significant global exporter of meat from buffaloes, which are not seen as sacred beasts, with UP housing half the country's abattoirs. But most butcher shops in the powder-keg state are run by Muslims, and Hindu hardliners have alleged that beef is being passed off as buffalo.

Since the BJP's thumping election victory less than a fortnight ago, dozens of butcher shops have been sealed off across the state in what authorities say is a crackdown on unlicensed vendors. Meat traders fear legitimate businesses could be swept up in the hysteria.

"The way the entire issue is being twisted is hurting our business. There is fear in the minds of the public," said Imran Qureshi, whose abattoir in UP exports buffalo meat to Europe and the Middle East.