Restaurants set to offer services to roast mutton legs

[Naveed Yaseen]

Myra Imran
To do brisk business on the auspicious occasion of Eidul Azha, restaurant owners have started setting up special stalls offering professional roasting services of mutton legs.

With time, the use of this facility has definitely increased. Instead of experimenting at home, many people take the best part of their sacrificial animal, mostly the leg, to these restaurants. “It takes almost 12 hours to roast a goat’s leg,” said Ghulam Mustafa, managing a stall at a popular restaurant.

Mustafa said that those who book their meat early in the morning on Eid Day, could enjoy the roasted meant at dinner time. “We offer this facility for almost a month,” he said but pointed out that business remains particularly good on the first ten days.

Unlike Eidul Fitr, restaurants remain almost empty around Eidul Azha. “Business is quite slow for almost a month after this festival,” said Mustafa. He said that there is always so much to do at home that people prefer not to visit the restaurant especially during the first week after Eid.

To balance that loss, he said that the restaurant owners came up with this idea, which has now gained popularity. “We book about 60 orders of roast daily during the early days,” he said. “This number eventually goes down to 5 or 10 at the end of the month.”

Mustafa said that two years ago, they used to receive more than 100 orders per day. “Rising inflation and insecurity has affected our business.” He said that not many could afford to sacrifice a Rs20,000 goat in these difficult economic times.

This service not only ensures good business for restaurant runners but also provides relief to housewives who are usually busy managing the sacrificial meat. “The service is a bit expensive but it is particularly helpful while arranging a family lunch or dinner,” commented Saira Tanvir, a housewife.

She said that they book their meat on the first day of Eid and get their roasted mutton back the next day. “We then enjoy this meal at some picnic spot,” she said while appreciating the service.

The restaurants charge according to the weight of the meat. Mustafa said that last year the price was Rs95 per kg that would now probably be increased to Rs110 per kg. “We have not decided the rate yet,” he said.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=210673