The Lucknow food guide

Minced-meat kebabs so soft they melt on the tongue.

Galouti means ‘melt in the mouth’. Local lore says the recipe was perfected for a Nawab who could no longer chew, so the meat is minced very fine, tenderised and spiced with dozens of aromatics before it meets the griddle.

Aminabad and Chowk

Fragrant rice and meat, slow-cooked and sealed in a handi.

Lucknow’s biryani is cooked ‘dum’: partly cooked rice is layered over meat and its stock, the handi is sealed with dough and left on a slow flame. The result is lighter and more perfumed than most, with saffron and kewra.

Chowk, Aminabad and across the city

A slow-cooked mutton stew, eaten for breakfast.

Nihari simmers overnight until the meat falls apart in a rich, spiced gravy. Old Lucknow eats it early in the morning with soft kulcha bread, and it is at its best in the cold months.

Chowk and the old cityBest in winter

A cloud of whipped, saffron-scented milk froth.

Also called nimish or malai makhan, this airy sweet is made by whisking chilled milk until it turns to foam. It is so delicate it is only made on winter mornings and disappears by noon.

ChowkWinter mornings only

Dense, slow-reduced kulfi over chilled falooda noodles.

Milk is reduced for hours, flavoured with cardamom, saffron or pistachio and frozen in cones. It is served sliced over falooda and rose syrup: Lucknow’s answer to the summer heat.

AminabadBest in summer

A silky seekh kebab named after a town near Lucknow.

Named after Kakori, just outside the city, these long skewered kebabs use finely minced meat bound with spices and a little fat, grilled over charcoal until smoky outside and soft within.

Old Lucknow

A saffron-and-milk flatbread, lightly sweet.

Baked in a tandoor and brushed with saffron milk, sheermal is the classic partner to Awadhi kormas and kebabs. Its gentle sweetness balances rich, spiced gravies.

Chowk and Aminabad