Lucknow, often regarded as the city of Nawabs, will blow your mind with its beautiful Mughal architecture here and there between the concrete jungle. The word that comes first when we hear the name Lucknow is kababs, and Lucknow doesn’t disappoint us in that area for sure. It guarantees to amaze you when it comes to non-vegetarian cuisine because it is highly influenced by the people who used to live there and their expertise in spices that can be felt in Lucknow’s food till date.
Every roadside food stall has a different story to tell and here we will tell you what actually makes Lucknow the ultimate paradise for a person who is in search of non-vegetarian food that will rock their world.
10 Best Meat Dishes Of Lucknow
1. Shami Kababs
Like any typical kebab, it is made of minced meat and filled with flavors ready to explore in your mouth, but along with that, they are crispy from the outside and soft from the inside and can be best enjoyed with a rumali roti and some spicy green chutney as well to get the complete experience.
2. Rumali Roti
To make a complete meal, it’s very important to have bread on the side and Lucknow has something special for you – Rumali roti, which gets its name from the fact that it’s so thin that it feels like a handkerchief or a napkin. You can have anything with it, from gravy to some kebabs. It’s the perfect bread to have with any non-vegetarian dish, and when it comes to a good Rumali roti, Lucknow never disappoints.
3. Lucknawi Biryani
As the name suggests, this is something which exclusively belongs to Lucknow, and to get the best out of it, you may have to come down to Lucknow to actually feel the phrase “muskuraiye, aap Lucknow main hain.” This is probably the only dish which is as popular as the unbeatable Tunday Kabab of Lucknow. Lucknawi biryani is definitely something absolutely unique, nothing like the biryani you eat in your city.
There are some secret ingredients which make it so special and add to its aroma such as the unique use of herbs and especially saffron. The use of milk in biryani is something you’ll only see in Lucknawi biryani as their meat is mixed with milk, and as interesting as it sounds, it gives the entire dish an absolutely unique flavor. Some places which you have to try for biryani are Dastarkhaan, which is a very familiar name in Lucknow and especially Idris ki Biryani, the place that tops the list when it comes to biryani.
4. Galouti Kabab
Galouti kebab gets its name from the fact that it melts in your mouth instantly, releasing all the flavors and spices in your mouth. Considering the fact that it’s prepared with some fine minced meat to give it that smooth texture. One can enjoy it with some thinly sliced onions and a slice of lemon to get the whole experience.
5. Nahari Kulcha
If you’re a meat lover, then Lucknow has the perfect way to start your day with Nahari Kulcha, which is a famous breakfast people love to have almost every day. Nahari is a curry made with mutton which is slow cooked with a myriad of herbs and spices. Its thick, flavorful gravy’s aroma will call you from miles away, and it is typically served with fluffy kulcha, which you can say is a type of bread made in a tandoor.
Not just kulcha, you can also try it with sheermaal, also a kind of bread, but what makes it different is that it’s sweet and like any other naan, it is baked to perfection in a tandoor. It tastes best with spicy dishes to balance the flavor. Being ideally a breakfast dish, it is still available the entire day at Raheem’s Chauk, which is a 125-year-old restaurant! This makes Raheem’s Nahari Kulcha something you just can’t afford to miss.
6. Pasanda Kebab
Pasanda kebabs are a deviation from the typical kebab as it’s a gravy dish cooked with marinated pieces of mutton. It is slow cooked to achieve perfection and softness and is served with kulchas at the iconic Old Lucknow Eateries.
7. Nimish
Covering the most famous non-vegetarian dishes, it would be wrong if we didn’t talk about the dessert that Lucknow has to offer, it’s a city that never disappoints when it comes to food. So the first dessert is something you have never tried before, called Nimish. It’s a cream as light as a cloud, flavored with rose water and saffron to give it an enchanting smell which you can’t resist. It’s so creamy and light and definitely worth a try whenever you visit Lucknow.
8. Tunday Kabab
Tunday kebab is not only a delicious recipe, but it’s a legacy which is being carried on by the original owner of the place, and the name tunday came from the person himself. The kebab incorporates 160 spices and has become softer and softer over the ages, making it the best and also melt-in-the-mouth. One of the wonders that you must try when you visit Lucknow!
9. Ghutwa Kabab
Like any other kebab, Ghutwa kebab is also made with minced meat, spices, and herbs, but the specialty is that it is cooked in gravy and has a thick paste-like consistency which is best served with naan or rumali roti for a perfect experience.
10. Boti Kabab
Boti kebab, unlike all the other kebabs, is pretty unconventional as it’s not made up of minced meat but tiny chunks of meat that are cooked in gravy to make them rich. These tender and juicy kebabs are also used as fillings for a good paratha roll for the go.
So these are some of the dishes which you need to try when you visit Lucknow. Each of them captures the flavors from the city of Nawabs. If you’re someone who loves non-vegetarian food, Lucknow, without a doubt is your paradise!
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