This Eid we bring you Lucknow's irresistible kebabs - albeit virtually

No place in the world makes kebabs like Lucknow does. From soft, delicate, melt in the mouth galawati, to robust and spicy kakori, to the paté-like pasty majlisi and the saucy boti, the city is home to the most exquisite kebabs there ever were. This Eid, we bring to you the kebabs that make Lucknow so special.

Kakori Kebab

Legend has it that when a British official remarked on the chewiness of the seekh kebabs served to him at a banquet in Kakori, Nawab Syed Mohammad Haider Kazmi, the host and the Nawab of Kakori got very offended. He ordered his khansaamas to make the softest seekh kebabs that were ever made and so, after weeks of labor the khansaamas of Kakori (a small town outside Lucknow) came up with kebabs so soft that they would melt in your mouth. These kebabs, shaped like seekh kababs, are still made the same way. The USP of the kebabs is the tenderizer of local maliabali mangoes and a robust mix of spices. The mixture is then rolled over skewers and slow cooked on charcoal. Ideally you eat kakori on its own, but you can also pair it with Lucknow’s famed ulte-tawe-ka-paratha and some onions.

Majlisi Kebab

A kebab that hardly looks like kebab, Majlisi is one of its kind. Little known outside the region, the pasty, pate-esq, majlisi kebab is unlike any kebab you’d have eaten. Said to have been created during the building of the Bada Imambara, the Majlisi kebab was made on dum to save time on shaping and frying individual pieces. The technique and the taste struck and even today, centuries after it was first made, the kebab remains immensely popular in Lucknow. Also known as ghutwa kabab, the majlisi are made by frying the keema and then cooking it dum, served in small earthen sakoras, and are best enjoyed with thick sweet sheermal.

Boti Kebab

It is hard to say tell it apart from korma, but the boti kebab of Lucknow is nothing like anything you get anywhere else. The delicious mutton botis, doused in a thick creamy gravy is a work of art and the result of immense skill and practice. The boti kebab is unlike all other Lakhnavi kebabs in its texture and form. It is firm, chewy and saucy and made by marinating a special boti cut of mutton in raw papaya, onions, garlic, ginger, and spices and cooking on low flame. In that sense it is more like a curry and enjoyed best with soft rumali roti or even Avdhi biryani.

Galawati Kebab

Perhaps the most popular kebabs ever, galawati kebabs are so tender they often seem like a smooth paté. The crisp outside contrasting with meling perfectly spiced meat makes the galawat one of its kind. Legend has it that the old and toothless Nawab of Kakori asked his royal bawarchi to make kebabs that would need no chewing and would just melt in his mouth. Unlike other kebabs, the galawati kebabs are shallow fried in large and shallow pans on a slow charcoal flame and eaten with roomali-roti or the quintessential sheermal. The most popular galawat, of course, are from Tundey Kababi, the century-old institution that is said to have created the galawati kebabs. In Lucknow however all galawat kababs are exceptional.

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