A veggie Tunday kebab — is the apocalypse nigh?

Tunday Kababi is a legendary name as far as Awadhi cuisine and the Kohinoor in this restaurant’s crown is the kebab after which it is named. The Tunday kebab is a creation of the one-armed chef Haji Murad Ali (he was known as Tunday because he had only one arm). This magical concoction of mutton and a secret family recipe of masalas has made this kebab legendary. Now, after more than 100 years, the Tunday is getting a makeover — a vegetarian makeover at that.

Lest you think that Tunday Kababi is succumbing to saffron pressure, relax. “For several years, we had been getting requests to develop a vegetarian menu and now our patrons are happily welcoming it,” said Mohammad Rizwan, grandson of Ali to The Times of India. Yes, dear reader, as strange as it may seem, the vegetarian Tunday kebab is a voluntary move by the restaurant.

This new kebab will be prepared using potatoes, ridged gourd (turai), yam (jimikand), chana dal and gram flour, along with the secret spices of the kebabs. If all this sounds vaguely sacrilegious to you, there’s more on the historic eatery’s veggie menu, including Begum ki Pasand ki Daal, Vegetarian Biryani and paneer dishes. At present, this menu is available only at the Kapoorthala outlet, but the plan is to expand it to all of the outlets. Holding their customer loyalty high, the vegetarian kitchen and utensils will be kept separate from the non-vegetarian ones, with a promise of the same old taste.

Vegetarians will say that justice has been served because now at least they will be able to taste an approximation of the delicious Tunday kebab, but for those who tasted the meaty original, the real Tunday does not go green.