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In India, culinary culture is a highly politically charged sphere of activity, as food is ritually important in caste and religious structures. The Indian state of Gujarat, in particular, has historically taken measures against the sale of meat, fish and eggs or otherwise “non-vegetarian” food because of the endorsement of vegetarianism by socio-religious ideologies (Ghassem-Fachandi, 2012). This “hegemonic vegetarianism” is particularly prevalent in Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s largest city, which is known for its vegetarian culinary culture. In spite of this taboo regarding “non-vegetarian” food, there exists a diversity of perspectives around the consumption of meat, and there has been a rapid proliferation of street food stalls and restaurants throughout the city. So, what can we make of this apparent paradox? What roles do state and non-state actors play in determining people’s food habits and the culinary culture of the city? The history of gastronomic policing is not unique to Gujarat, which remains the most sensitive part of the country about food. The rise of Hindutva – an extremist Hindu ideology – has been accompanied by bans on the sale of “non-vegetarian” food during Hindu festivals; eggs have been excluded from school lunches and mob lynching have occurred over misplaced claims of beef consumption (Iftikhar, 2024; Jagani, 2022; Staples, 2020). In the face of increased policing of food habits by both state and societal actors across India, this ethnographic study will seek to map out the claim-making strategies of citizens in order to uphold their own food habits in Ahmedabad. Moreover, it will also study the impact of societal factors in decision-making strategies on gastronomy and illustrate the existing internal diversity of opinions and contradictions within the state in Gujarat. In doing so, it aims to challenge conventional notions of a monolithic state, and add to discussions on food and urban space.