Homage is another possibility, though obeisance suggested by Lalit is by the far the best English word to use for salami.

The reason is, in salami, a little bit of sycophancy is also involved and a bit of derisive over-genuflection, for the person giving the salami knows (or he thinks that he knows) that he is making a fool of the person to whom he is genuflecting. Homage in contrast is unalloyed respect.

An even more mocking term than salami is "ji huzoori" which can be considered as an alternative to salami. It does not involve presenting salutations or gifts to the throne, but acquiescing in a sycophantic way with everything that the king says, whether silly or wise. "ji" means "yes" in Hindi and "huzoor" translates to "Highness" and the "i" at the end of the word (as in salami) makes it into a noun from a verb. So this term back translates to "yes your Highness"ing.

I can see the difficulty in using salami in English because of its association with sausages. But if you italicize it or add a footnote or glossary the difficulty can be overcome. Also, since the context of the book is colonial India, few would first think of sausages on encountering this term.

I would suggest that you go through some colonial/imperial literature such as that of Rudyard Kipling (particularly his spy novel Kim) to immerse yourself in the correct terminology of the Raj period.

May be a subject of state or a soldier, he salute the king! A king (Maharaja) is a sitting Chief Judge of the state, Salute to judge or the king, cannot be looked upon as sycophancy in anyway. This is an official respect to higher rank. Salam is a social respect to anyone.