Kerala House 'beef' back, sold out in 45 minutes

NEW DELHI: Buffalo meat was back on the menu at Samridhi-the canteen at Kerala House-on Wednesday, two days after police raided it following a complaint about serving 'beef' and set off a political storm. To avoid confusion, the word 'buffalo' was clearly written after 'meat fry' and 'meat curry' on the white board behind the manager's desk.
Canteen regulars seemed to have worked up a keener appetite for the dishes after two days of denial as about 150 servings were sold out in 45 minutes.A queue of diners stretched from the manager's desk to the corridor outside.
Usually, the canteen makes about 70 servings of buffalo meat or 'buff' but on Wednesday it bought 10kg raw meat anticipating a surge, but it wasn't enough. "Never before have we sold out a dish for 150 people in just 45 minutes," said a staffer.
The canteen had stopped serving buffalo meat after the controversy on Monday evening, and resumed it only after a clearance from the Kerala government.
Another member of the canteen managing committee said they had never served cow meat. "The dishes were called 'beef fry' and 'beef curry' but it was always buffalo meat, not cow meat," he said.
Usually, Samridhi draws professionals from nearby offices but for Wednesday's lunch, everyone from students to professionals turned up. By the time CPM Politburo member M A Baby and former Rajya Sabha member Nilotpal Basu arrived, the meat had sold out. They were served from the second batch.
Baby spoke to the other diners in the canteen and ate meat fry with Basu. "It is a secular and sovereign country. It's completely our choice what we cook inside the kitchen. I'm happy that they have started serving buff again," said Baby.
Abdul Rahim, a PhD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University and a canteen regular, brought along his friends Haseeb Rehman and Shaima Sherin on Wednesday. He said he wanted to see whether buffalo meat would be served again. Rehman said, "Nowhere in the constitution is it written that we cannot eat buffalo meat. I don't understand the fuss that they (right-wing groups) are making. We are independent and can choose what to eat."