Food Friday | Discovering the best of Lucknow’s non-vegetarian culinary delights

Whenever there is mention of a visit to Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, my mouth starts watering of its own accord. After all, how can one not salivate at the thought of delicious Tunday Kababi and other similar delights? Whatever the reason for a visit to Lucknow may be, a stop at some of its prominent culinary spots is high up on the agenda. This was certainly the case when I visited this heritage city recently.

Last week, I regaled you with my discovery of the delicious vegetarian street food that Lucknow has to offer – much of which was new to me. The focus of today’s discussion is the non-vegetarian fare for which this city is most well-known. With lifestyle blogger, foodie and local resident, Manas Mukul, as an able guide who charted out the best possible route – both in terms of optimal locations and the order in which the food should ideally be eaten – I embarked on a delicious Mughlai food tour spread across two days.

On the first day, after consuming a hearty tea consisting of matar tikki chaat and Sharma Ji ki masala tea and bun maskhas, we headed to our first destination to sample some true-blue Nawabi cuisine at Dastarkhwan. Though this popular eatery has many branches to its name, including a takeaway joint at the Lucknow airport, the branch preferred by those in the know is the one next to Tulsi Theatre in Kaiserbagh’s Officer’s Colony. We arrived here at dusk – relatively early for dinner, yet their limited seating was filling fast while their gigantic tawas actively churned out the goodies. We ordered the spicy chicken tawa masala, the soft galouti kababs and flavourful shammi kababs, with paper-thin roomali rotis as a worthy accompaniment. The liberal dousing of spices and oil in every dish laid bare their Mughlai inspiration, yet of everything we tried, the one that stands out in memory was the shammi kabab. Quite distinctive from its version available in Delhi, this minced meat offering was simply delicious, making it the perfect meal to call it a night on.

The next morning, I skipped the hotel breakfast to join Mukul for day two of our foodie adventure. Our first destination was the famed Idris ki Biryani in Chowk, which we aimed to reach at the early hour of 9 am to avoid missing out on the biryani due to its prodigious demand. As it turned out, we needn’t have worried. It was a Tuesday (a day of fasting from non-vegetarian food for many Hindus), and a special one at that – Bada Mangalwar – where free bhandaras of parshad were being offered at every corner in the name of Lord Hanuman.

To paraphrase a popular saying, one man’s free dish is another man’s lucky charm and so was the case for us. Not only was the mutton biryani at Idris flowing free, we even found a place to sit and savour it – an absolute first according to Mukul, who patronises this hole-in-the-wall frequently. Opened in 1968, Idris serves only one item on its menu – a biryani cooked from a special recipe he inherited from his father. It takes three hours to prepare a Degh (cooking pot) of this dish. A total of 16 to 18 of these Deghs are served in a day, and they still run out of them almost daily. The actual cooking takes place on a ‘Bhatti’ (a sort of traditional oven) using ‘Pathar Ka Koyla’. Dum Biryani is then cooked on slow steam with milk, malai, a few choice herbs and masalas being the chosen ingredients to add distinctive flavours. Every bead of rice commands attention, lightly coloured as it is with zafrani and makhani colours. A tome can be written about this dish yet I will end my soliloquy here with the memory of licking my fingers clean to relish every last bite.

From here, a walk across the road led us to another local institution. Raheem Hotel in Chowk is best known for its Nalli Nihari, a slow-cooked stew made with bone-in mutton pieces, preferably from the shank. Its marrow liberally mixes with the gravy to add a uniquely rich flavour, and a soft and juicy texture. Owing to its richness, this dish is usually served in the morning after the first prayer, which is where it gets its name from – ‘Nahar’ or day. Dating back to 1890, Raheem hotel is successful solely on the strength of its succulent Nihari, which is served with a choice of either soft kulchas or flavourful sheermal breads.

From here, we made our way to Aminabad to partake of the piece de resistance of any Lucknow visit – Tunday Kababi. The galouti kababs served here are synonymous with the term ‘melt in your mouth’, having ostensibly been created for that very purpose. Legend has it that when a toothless Nawab craved the pleasures of the palate, his chef was tasked with creating a dish he could eat without compromising on its flavour. The result was this succulent fried meat patty, allegedly made with over 160 spices to offer a delicacy of flavour as yet unparalleled. Tunday’s numerous modern-day branches, and the expansion of its original tiny outlet to three large halls, are testament to its status growing stronger with time. We heartily dug into the mutton galouti kababs with roomali rotis, but their buff meat versions are equally, if not more, famous. Some long-standing patrons also enjoy their biryani, but having had our fill of that at Idris, we concentrated on the kababs.

The saga didn’t end here, as I packed plenty of packages to carry home – a task made easier with the introduction of Tunday’s uncooked marinated meats, which can be stored and refrigerated for long periods of time, making them ideal even for transportation abroad. Finally, sated on the delectable flavours and lovely memories of this foodie trip, I bid farewell to Lucknow. But only after promising to return soon.

Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.

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