Royal Bombay Yacht Club vows to keep serving steak and kidney pies

by The Telegraph on 6 Mar 2015 The Royal Bombay Yacht Club, one of India's oldest British Raj clubs, has announced it will continue serving its famous steak and kidney pie after the government announced a ban on the sale of beef.

The Maharashtra state government's decision to enforce a ban on the slaughter of cows and possession of beef has sent a wave of panic through India's commercial capital where it has never been off the menu. Some of the city's leading restaurants have reported a hungry surge in demand from diners who fear it could be their last real steak meal.

Despite a ban in many of the country's states and cities – in deference to the religious sensibilities of high caste Hindus who worship cows – it is widely enjoyed by Muslims, untouchable and low caste Hindus, Christians and secular gourmets throughout India. It is often served under the guise of synonyms like 'tenderloin' or 'undercut' to avoid giving offence. For many 'untouchable' dalits it is one of their main sources of protein.

The ban was first passed by the state government around twenty years ago but never implemented. Now a new Hindu nationalist-led administration is set to publish the law in its official gazette and remove beef from Mumbai's menus for good. Those who defy it could face five years in jail.

Ardhendu Bose, Royal Bombay Yacht Club President, said both steak and kidney and steak and onion pies were prepared last night with parsley potatoes and sautéed cauliflower. He had arrived at work on Wednesday ready to scrape 170 years of Club history into the bin to remain within the new law. But when he discussed it with a colleague, he remembered the 'steak' in their pies are from buffalo – similar but leaner and sometimes tougher – rather than cow and that the law could be defied for as long as they are sure their meat is 'buff' rather than beef. 'I spoke to my Vice President and said 'we should do something, we don't want to get into trouble'. But he said buffalo is allowed, so we'll carry on as usual', he said today.