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Ramzan delights in Lucknow: Serving 6am to 4am!
With Ramzan period nearing its last leg, we look at the best food menu being offered at various hubs in Lucknow.
It’s 2 am and the road opposite Chota Imambada is nearly blocked with rozedars, revellers and foodies trying Ramzan delicacies at the eateries dotting the Hussainabad vicinity.
The scene at Akbari Gate, nearly 2 km away, is no different. At Aminabad, the famous Tunday Kababi has downed the shutters but other nearby eateries and at Nazirabad market are open till the wee hours. Meanwhile, food joints at City Station and Daliganj too are doing brisk business.
“Ramzan raatein is the time when you don’t have to look at your watch to find your favourite food. In fact, the later it is the better it gets, as raunak zyada hoti hai and itminan se khana bhi naseeb hota hai,” says Zulfiqar Hussain, a consultant chef and restauranter.
Akbari Gate
The heart of the city boasts of the most revered traditional food joints including old Tunday Kababi, Mubeen’s Restaurant, Idrees Biryani, Raheem’s Restaurant and close by is Lalla’s Biryani.
Mubeen’s has the longest service hours with the restaur-ant closing after sehri and it gets functional by 6 am as non-fasting kulcha-nihari lovers start coming in for breakfast, tells its owner Shoaib Qureshi.
Abu Hamza of Idrees Biryani, opposite Pata Nala police station, adds, “We close at 4 am and from 8 am we restart the preparation, and the service starts at 1 pm. Asli raunak to raat main 11 baje ke baad hoti hai. We prepare quorma, stew, kulcha-nihari, sheermal, girda besides biryani in this period.” Old Tunday restaurant too opens till late at night. Raheem’s functions till sehri but operations begin in afternoon. “Works too need rest and time to recharge as most of them as fasting,” shares Saud Ahmed.
Aminabad
“We function till 12 and bandh hote-hote 1 baj hi jata hai,” says Mohd Usman of Tunday Kababi. Nearby Wahid’s restaurant, Alamgir Restaurant, Siraj’s Kashmiri Chai and several street food joints function the whole night. “Maza choti-choti cheez khana ka hai jaise jaleba, chai-samosa-malai, shahi tukra, gond wale ladoo there is so much to eat,” says Nitin Kant, a public-sector undertaking employee.
Chota Imambada
This area is clearly the new hub. “It started with 2-3 restaurants inside the gated compound. But now every inch has been occupied. The late-night fair at Clock Tower has been added to the hustle and bustle as people pour in after iftar and silsila puri raat chalta rehta hai...sehri tak,” says Mudassar Hasan, a government employee.
Daliganj
If you want to try some delectable Kakori kebabs this Ramzan these locations in the city are the most sought-after hub of this traditional Awadhi cuisine.
Chef Shamim from Quraishi Hospitality Services says, “This Kakori Kebab joint near Ikka stand, Daliganj, has been running for the past 70-80 years and we simply vouch for that they are the best when it comes to taste. The texture and spices used by them are generations old and the quality of food is maintai-ned to date. No doubt it’s one of the best Ramzan hubs of the city.” Akram Biryani at Daliganj too has buyers who queue up for a hot-plate of nihari-kulcha.
City Station
Another food stand at City Station that offers a long list of chicken platters is Awadhi Kakori Kebab. Be it burra, Afghani, Kakori kebabs, malai tikka and sheermal-kebab combo these remain the hot sellers during the time of iftari as well as sehri. Owner Shehzad Alam, adds, “We have two more stands one in Aminabad and one at Gulab Cinema along we participate in the Ramazan Food Festival held at Awadhi Marriage Hall, Turiyaganj.”
