Lucknow Kebabs

Awadhi cooking developed in the nawabi kitchens of Lucknow, and its best-known product is the galouti kebab: minced meat worked with raw papaya as a tenderiser and a spice blend said to run to dozens of ingredients, then shaped into small patties and cooked on a griddle until they hold together barely, dissolving when eaten. The story attaches them to a nawab who had lost his teeth but not his appetite. Tunday Kababi in Chowk is the shop most associated with them. Alongside run seekh and kakori kebabs, nihari, biryani in the Awadhi dum style, and sheermal, a saffron-scented flatbread eaten with them.

What you actually see

• Galouti kebabs - patties tender enough to collapse when eaten.
• The griddle cooking - kebabs turned in ghee on flat iron plates.
• Sheermal - saffron flatbread served alongside.
• The old-city shops - long-established kitchens in Chowk and Aminabad.

When to go

October to March for comfortable weather in the old city; shops run from afternoon into the night, and Ramadan evenings in the Muslim quarters are a particular time for kebab eating.

Honest expectations

The lanes are crowded and hygiene at street level varies. Vegetarian options at the famous kebab shops are limited or absent. Queues at the best-known places are long in the evening.

Nearby

Bara Imambara lies in the same quarter; Aminabad market is south.