'Food of Lucknow, India' by K.J.S.Chatrath

I visited Lucknow over a year back. Besides other things, this city is also famous for its cusine. It is also called the Awadhi cuisine. This cooking style has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. The bawarchis (chefs) and rakabdars (gourmet cooks) of Awadh invented the dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today.

Their spreads consisted of elaborate dishes such as kebabs, kormas, biryanis, kaliyas, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis, and warqi parathas. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer (cottage cheese), and rich spices, which include cardamom and saffron.

The most famous restaurant in Lucknow is 'Tunday Kababi' in the Chowk area with a branch called 'Grandson of Tunday Kababi' in Aminabad.Two other popular places are the 'Dastarkhwan' and Mughlai Zaika Restaurant.

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(Text with inputs from the internet)

Chicken biryani at Tunday Kababi, Chowk. One understands that as per the Awadhi Food Etiquette, nothing should be taken before and nothing after a biryani!

Galuti kababs.

A large photo of the current proprietor with actor Amir Khan adorns the entry.

Photo of the legendary Tunday.

Grandson of Tunday Kababi.

Chicken Biryani at the Grandson's

Chicken fry at the Dastarkhwan.

Chicken Bharta at the Dastarkhwan.

Rogan Josh at the Dastarkhwan.

After all these excesses, I took a walk and washed down the food with a glass of Lucknow's famous 'Thandaee' (cooler)....Burp!

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