Tunday Kababi is the most famous food name in Lucknow. The original shop is a tiny, smoke-filled hole-in-the-wall in Akbari Gate in Chowk; the family now runs several other branches around the city, but the queues at the original location are testimony to its reputation. The signature dish is the buffalo galouti kebab — minced and pounded so finely that the patty melts on contact with the tongue.
Eaten with the very thin, almost translucent paratha for which the place is also known, the kebabs cost almost nothing. Go early — the original branch starts at around noon and closes when it runs out — and be ready for a chaotic queue, indifferent service, and one of the best plates of meat anywhere in India. Vegetarians need to look elsewhere.