Splurge on a gastronomic extravaganza while in the city.
A trip to Lucknow's bygone era through its finest and oldest surviving dishes:
A wholesome, satiating meal with Niharikulcha brings the grandiose of Lucknow to your plate. During the holy month of Ramzan, people flock to Lucknow's oldest and renowned restaurants to grab a bite of kulchas. In the city, generations of old restaurant owners or street-side vendors have prepared and sold Nihari kulchas following the exact way the dish has been prepared for the past century.
Desserts in the City of Nawabs are not without a tinge of royalty. Kulfi in the driest and warmest streets of Lucknow will leave you chilled and refreshed for hours. Served with faluda-tainted noodles, kulfi is a repository of the city's history and legacy. The succulent and fulfilling kulfi is a must-have after a sumptuous spicy meal.
A delicious blend of minced veggies and spices, you will be overwhelmed by the mouth-watering aroma of charcoal even before the parathas arrive at the table. The platter is usually decked with tomato garnish and sliced onions. Loyal to the recipes followed by the royal cooks or rakbdars, veg kebab paratha is still replete with the same flavor and fragrance that have existed since antiquity. The parathas are tastiest with green chutney.
A rendezvous of mashed potatoes bejeweled with spices, yogurt onions, tamarind chutney, and chilies, Lucknow's aloo tikki is legendary. Served straight from a flaming, hot pan till the dough is golden brown and sprinkled with red chili and garam masala. You can add coriander and grated ginger to relish the flavor.
The royalty in Lucknow, Sheermal, once appealed to the taste buds of the Nawabs of Awadh and has still retained their grandeur in the city. Sheermal is a darling to food aficionados, patrons of the arts, and commoners alike. Hallmark of Awadhi cuisine, the origin of this flatbread in the kitchen of royal courts carries with it a rich history of cooking. Chefs would sprinkle rich spices, desi ghee, milk, and cardamom to cook sheermal on tandoors lit on fiery red coal. A confluence of Mughal, Persian, and local flavors, sheermal is found in Lucknow's quotidian to lavish eateries.
Quite a royal bite, being true to its name, shahi tukda was born in the Mughal courts as a specialty of Eid to its veracity of being a creamy dessert topped with dry fruits. As legend has it, shahi tukda is possibly a variety of Egyptian bread pudding.
