So, will replacing traditional mutton, even chicken and beef, dishes with nihari jackfruit, chana kebabs, soy milk kheer, soybean, green peas, beans and tomatoes work for an occasion that certainly associates itself with its food? Serving vegan on Eid would be much like not serving a turkey on Thanksgiving in America. Two things go for this little yum-yum Eid push. One, the biryani is a festival gift, and unlike other commodities, free food is appreciated up and down the economic food chain. Two, it’s unlikely that those who had the vegan meal had had it before – so, there was no negative baggage with ‘super-shakahari’ biryani except that it wasn’t masahari. So, even if initially for novelty value, and even if some like it, vegan biryani won’t be an oxymoron any more.
