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Finally, we've come to the chicken masala! Lucknow is maybe the greatest food city in India that the world still hasn't discovered! For 250 years, this was the capital of royal Indian cooking, and today, we're eating our way through some of the most incredibly delicious food this city has. Oh, wow! Including a special kebab, cooked on a giant griddle and turned into a burger! Lucknow's own version of biryani that sells out within a few hours. This is the favorite in all over Lucknow. And that chicken masala, just wait until you see how they make it. And we're starting this morning with one of the ultimate, one of the world's greatest breakfasts!
Oh, welcome to Raheem's! But, you come down the lane opposite the mosque right across the street. Since 1890, fourth generation, I believe, and they are legendary, not just in Lucknow, but throughout India for their nihari and served with kulcha. And so, right at the front, they're making the kulcha, which are these, these type, uh, of local bread that we're going to eat with the nihari. Okay, this is, this is the dough. Yeah. So, the upper part is made, milk mixed with, uh, maida and milk. Oh, okay! Okay, and then the down part is oil and Aahh, okay. ghee. We call it ghee. So. So, there's milk Okay. in the.
So, basically in kulcha, the crispy part comes from the Yes. milk. Yeah. Aah, okay, okay. And. you know, the rough part is coming from the ghee. Aah, I see. So, there's like two parts to it. Yes. And then you go downstairs to the basement for the eating, and I think the nihari should be down here. Oh, yeah, what a spot! And come downstairs and you have all the nihari and the payas.
A nihari is a rich, thick, meaty stew, and they have two different versions. One is buffalo, one is mutton, and then they also have paya, which are the trotters, probably mutton, maybe mutton and beef. But the aromas, the meaty stews, it's so thick, it's so rich, it smells so good! And then when he assembles it, he grabs the meat, he grabs some of the gravy, and then some of the, the oil, the red oil on top, and they finish it with a little bit of usually ginger and coriander.
The special thing about Lucknow is the kulcha, that bread, and you feel that bread, it's like perfectly bubbly, it feels so flaky, it smells amazing! I can't wait to try the bread, but also the combination, and I, I couldn't make a decision, so I had to go with both the buffalo and the mutton. Um, let's try the buffalo first, but a lot of people said you cannot miss the mutton. Oh, oh, oh, oh, you sink your fingers in, the tenderness, the juiciness, the meaty gravy! When it's clings to your fingers like that, that's always a good sign.
And when the meat just melts off, oh, and that bread is just made for soaking up that nihari! Okay, first bite in Lucknow. Oh, wow! Nihari is something that never gets old. It's just one of the most warming, meaty dishes on earth! And I love how, I mean, no two versions of nihari taste exactly the same. Everyone has their own recipe anywhere you go. This one, it's like you taste the thick, it's like melted meat. Oh, yeah, again, like liquefied meat.
It simmers overnight, cooks in its own juices and fat. The meat is fall-apart tender. Tastes like at the end you taste like a little bit of a, I think it's from that red, the animal oil on top that just kind of like tingles your throat a little bit with a little bit of chili in there, a little bit of heat with finishing off with that flavor of the ginger. But what also really stands out here is that bread is as good as everyone says it is. You will absolutely be amazed at how flaky and crispy that bread is while still being pillowy soft at the same time! Almost like biting into a croissant, and you have all these different layers that just kind of crunch and flake in your mouth. Grab in.
And you want to scoop in with all that meat, with all that gravy. That buffalo melts in your mouth! More of that bread. And for the mutton, we have, I guess it, I'm not sure if it's goat or if it's sheep. Oh, but we have the whole rib! Oh, look at that gravy, it's so thick! Okay, let's actually, we'll come back for the rib.
Let's go in for this chunk here. Plus the thickness of the gravy. Oh, wow! Alright, the mutton is awesome as well! I mean, they're very similar, but mutton is a special meat, that's for sure. Again, melt-in-your-mouth tender. The spices in there, like mild blend of spices. Yet altogether it's this complex mixture seasoning. The masala. Oh, it's so good, yeah. And again, that bread is it really is special.
Okay, for my next bite, they said you can squeeze on some lime. We gotta go in for these ribs. Piece of meat. Oh, oh, it just slides off the bone! And then let all that bread just absorb that, that graviness. That nihari was spectacular! But really it was that kulcha bread that completely transformed it. And it turns out Lucknow is serious about bread because just down the street there's a whole lane named after a different type of bread, and one family has been baking it there for about 200 years! So, I was curious to find out, could any bread top that kulcha? Wow! We have made it, and this is an entire street that's dedicated to this bread, which is called sheermal, and this, this entire street is incredible!
Energy is starting to pick up now in Lucknow! There's so many bread, there's fires going! But we're looking for one place in particular that's the original bright yellow and orange colored breads, the sheermal, that's been making it for seven or eight generations. And I think it's coming up pretty soon! Oh, we found it! You have to come pretty much all the way to the corner of the street where it turns the corner, and this is the oldest place for sheermal bread, which is saffron sweet milk bread cooked in a tandoor over coals. And they have just this huge basket of all the, all the breads ready to go, ready to be bought and consumed.
Since 1830, they've been specializing, they've been mastering this type of bread in Lucknow, and it starts with the dough, which is a special dough. I think it's gonna be flaky and layers as well, but he rolls it up, he, uh, pokes it to give it that airflow, tosses it over to the tandoor station, and the master of the tandoor, he whips that out onto the little pillow and slaps it against the wall of the tandoor. But here's when things get's, like, special. Again, he takes, like, a handful of milk and splatters it onto the tandoor to hydrate it, keeping the walls, uh, nonstick.
And then absolute greatest move is he has this bucket of saffron water. Oh, he just, like, hand-showers it! Wow! Oh, the entire fire and tandoor is just completely bathed in saffron water! That steam, that saffron, that yellow color! It's been cooking for four or five minutes. Again, it's a slow cook. It's not a fast cook. This one is piping hot. Oh, it's burning my hand! This is literally right out of the flaming coal-burning tandoor. Okay, yeah, you can see the, the bubbliness of it.
I'm gonna grab a piece. Oh, do you see that poof of steam?! This is my first taste of -Lucknow-style sheermal. Oh, it's so hot! It's not really sweet, but it has that incredible aroma of, like, smoky saffron. It's so aromatic. The bread itself, it's unbelievably flaky and completely gooey on the inside. Oh, man. That is. Right out of the tandoor. It's so good! I love that combination of the gooeyness and the flakiness and that. Incredible aroma of the smoky saffron. Wow! So, this, this place, Ali Hussain, it's just a,
it's a bakery and people will come here to buy it and then you can take it, you can eat it with anything? Ah, okay. You can add it with uh, any item you want. Oh, okay! It's not mandatory to have with a specific dish. You can have, have it with tea, curry, any type of gravy stuff. Okay. Oh, awesome! Okay, amazing! So, yeah, it's such a versatile bread. It's like, it's like a. a daily bread staple, but it is very special.
A very special bread. Yeah. I was reading like 1,000 sheermals a day, but they said sometimes on busy days, 10,000 sheermals a day, like on, like during festivals or Ramadan or celebrations. Okay. Wow, that was another incredible food experience! Oh, I'm loving Lucknow, and I am dripping in sweat now after being back by that tandoor. Respect to the bakers! The sheermal was excellent, but for me, that kulcha is hard to beat! I'm realizing that the people of Lucknow are master bakers.
However, they also take their rice just as seriously. And still coming up, we're trying a biryani that sells out in a few hours. But first, I couldn't miss tasting Lucknow's famous kebabs. I had no idea what I was getting into. Oh, yeah, things are definitely picking up in Lucknow now! And we are on our way to the next spot! We made it to the next spot, and Lucknow is a meat lover's paradise. Man, we're gonna be eating many kebabs as we spend a few more days in Lucknow, but we're gonna get our first taste of a Lucknow-style kebab!
But it's gonna be probably a little bit different from any kebab you're expecting. So, welcome to the famous Kareem Kababi, and this place is amazing! They have the big, uh, iron pan on the fire right out the front where they make all the kebabs. Right now, he's making a batch of the boti kebab, but they actually have something here that they're very famous for is the bun kebab. So, it's like a burger, it's like a smashed patty burger. Man, that smells incredible! Raging over a wood fire so the heat is so high, it's blazing! And then all the staff here are super friendly, family-run still.
And then a station over here, the aroma, this is what people come for. What a spot! And I think after he's finished making this boti kebab, we have a pan of the galouti kebab here that's gonna go on. Okay, the boti is ready. Now, we're gonna move on to more of the galouti kebab. Oh, he gets a whole scoop of it! It goes onto the hot griddle! Oh, that's pounded to a paste! Oh, he scoots it around. It's like a dough, a meat dough almost! Into the fat! And that's going to be a slow roasting process. But within that minced meat, guaranteed, there is a multitude of spices and seasonings that's
going to make it so tasty. Now, that just kind of slow fries, he rotates the pan over the fire, evenly distributing the heat. But I think the real key is when he showers it with ghee. And then he keeps frying it, and then he flips over the meat so that it's sizzling, so you have all those crusty, seared edges within the meat and then folded into the meat. That is the Maillard reaction on the next leve! Just the crispy fried bits. And then he grabs a piece with that iron kind of trowel, smashes it into the center of the bun, and then just gives it a little smash down, and it's ready to go.
Lucknow's most legendary bun kebab! Okay. Oh, wow. Oh, boti and galouti. Okay, thank you! Okay, here we go. Saw the process. It's so cool the way they fry that meat mixture, which is a signature of the galouti kebab of Lucknow. And yeah, I had to get it on a plate as well with that roti, that Mughlai roti, because it's so cool the way they make that. But first, we gotta try their legendary bun kebab. It is actually glistening. Oh, and when you pick it up, oh, that bun is fluffy and crispy on the top, and then on the inside, the kebab is just plastered within like a meat spread.
I'm even trying to process all the flavors that are going on. Okay, first of all, the actual meat, it's so smooth that it almost has like a livery texture to it, like a pâté almost. But then you get that underlying spice mixture, that blend, that nutmeggy mace aroma and flavor. It's like a harmony of spices. All of those fried, crispy, crusty bits, like folded within that mass of meat. And then spread into the, the burger, all with that ghee crispiness and oiliness. And then you can chase with some of the. Some of the red onions. Also chase with a whole, like, a whole plate of green chilies here that you can chase with. Oh, yeah! To complete the entire experience in your mouth.
A completely different kebab than I've ever had or ever, like, even thought about. For this bite, I'll go with a little bit of the squeeze of the lime. Put an onion on top. I can't believe how smooth that meat is. It just melts in your mouth. Okay, this one is the Mughlai roti. It's so cool the way he makes this outside.
He slaps out the dough again, then puts it onto this, it's like an upside-down karahi. Then I think he uh, mops it with maybe ghee. And then he, like, really, like, presses it down hard using uh, one of those, uh, like, tandoor pillows. Just presses it down onto that hot iron. A few seconds later, it's ready. It comes off the hot griddle. You can order the boti kebab, you can order the galouti kebab on the side to eat with this. Okay, so let's grab a piece of this. Oh, you feel the, the richness of this. And then let's go in with the, the galouti kebab.
Scoop in. Oh! This is where you can really feel the smoothness of it, the pastiness of that kebab! The stickiness, the smokiness, the char! There's also a bit of acidity within that minced meat as well. It's not like a ground meat. It's, it's typically, it's usually pounded, So, every fiber, every piece of fat. All the muscle has completely broken down into a spreadable meat paste.
Now, that I taste it like that, you can feel like the blend of aromatic spices. Taste that with a green chili. It's awesome! Okay, grab some more of the roti, and for the next, I'm gonna try the boti kebab. There's chunks of meat in here, there's like meat paste in here, there's crusty edges, there's so many things going on in here. It's like a little bit of a mystery, all the different things that are, that are in here, but you can see how chunky a mixture it is.
Wow! That is a unique blend. It has this acidity to it. It has both chunks of meat, which are still melting in your mouth, plus meat paste that's just like so smooth. So many textures. The spices. All that smoky, crusty bits folded within again. Okay, I'm gonna make a whole little bite here. I'll grab a bit of this. I'll go in for some of that galouti kebab. Add a piece of onion. Add some chutney. And, finally, add in a green chili.
That's like unlike any other kebab I've ever had! And it is so tasty! Okay, and then one more thing we got. Oh, this is cool paper. It says, from the City of Nawabs, Awadhi cuisine. This one is like a folded roti with some of the boti kebab on the inside that the owner made. Oh, he spread it. Then added onions. The Boti roll. Okay, thank you! Thank you. Take a look on the inside. Oh, it's loaded with the, the boti kebab. Oh, wow!
Oh, that's incredible! It's absorbed all of that meaty fattiness into the roti. The crunch of the onions is so tasty. So flavorful. What a kebab! I can see why the people of Lucknow are obsessed with these melt-in-your-mouth kebabs. And as much as I wanted to take a nap right there on spot, we had to immediately flag down a rickshaw. Because if you get to the next spot late, you're completely out of luck! Oh, the bun kebab is rattling around in my stomach, but we're on our way to the next spot!
This is something I'm very excited to try, the Lucknow version of it, and we're gonna get there, hopefully, at 4 PM, right as this place opens for one of the great dishes of the world, but the Lucknow style! Welcome to Lalla Biryani, although some locals say it's more like a pulao because of the way that it's prepared. More about that later. Anyway, this is gonna be our first taste, my very first taste of a Lucknow-style biryani. They're only open for a couple of hours per day, this place, and this entire intersection, this entire area, you can smell the perfume, the rosewater aroma,
which is all coming from the pot of biryani in the back. People are starting to arrive for the opening of the pot of biryani. It smells so good! Right now, that biryani is still steaming using the dum method, which was perfected in Lucknow, where they seal the pot with dough, where it steams all together, but releases some of the vapor at the same time so that none of the, the vapor forms on the top of the lid, making it soggy. But that aroma, that steam coming out just smells unbelievable! Oh, it's gonna be good!
Just wait till they open the lid. Oh, he's about to crack it open! Oh man, the steam! Oh, revealing the biryani on the inside! Oh, wow, that steam is so aromatic. Oh, gotta remove that dough, the sealed dough on the outside. It's actually a ritual opening a pot of biryani, and you see some cloves, you see some cardamom pods floating around on the top, on the surface, and then that rice, you see how fluffy that rice is too. So, now, he's just kind of going down, reaching down to the meat now, scooping out the rice, 'cause you have to, when you serve it, you need to pair it with some of the meat below,
which I believe is mutton. They make only one pot per day. Once it's sold out, you're out of luck. It's totally gone! After the full ritual, after scooping out the mutton from the bottom of the pan, arranging the different ratios, it's now time to start serving, and already there's a group that's gathered here to get takeaway, to eat in. Hello, hello! Hi. Hello! Oh, hello, hello! How are you? Yeah, very good, very good. It's good? Very, very nice! Very nice. This is the favorite in all over Lucknow!
Yes, for sure. Lalla Biryani. I'm excited, Lalla Biryani. Very excited to try it! The wait is over. Now, he's starting to scoop it onto plates! Oh, man. Thank you. Okay. It's the process. Every step along the way matters, but it's also the serving, dishing out. Look at that, they served it all the different layers. The mutton is hiding below, but then he scoops in for some of the oily rice, he scoops in for some of the fluffy rice, he scoops in for some of that top fluffy, like, saffron-infused rice.
It's all there, it's all layered. It's a rice work of art. To say I'm excited is an understatement. So, you gotta kind of like scoop into the rice, get a little bit of everything before you reach that mutton. Oh, you see the, the cloves floating around. Oh, wow! That is. Juicy and oily. And fluffy. And gooey all at the same time. Infused with all the aromatic spices. And they say the Awadhi cuisine -- of Lucknow, it is loaded with spices, but at the same time, it's more the aromatic side.
So, it's not harsh and in your face, but it's more aromatic. And that's exactly what this biryani is. It's like floral. it's aromatic, the cardamom, the clove aroma, the black pepper. And then just the, like, every grain is kind of, well, that heavy grain from the bottom is more saturated and soaked with that fat and oil, whereas the, the top rice is more fluffy and, and aerated. And all together, it's just perfect harmony in your mouth. Of spice, of seasoning, of mutton. It is tasty. And then the guys I met sitting next to me, they said the chutney makes it even better with the onions and the chutney.
Oh, wow. An immediate burst of acidity and sourness because that chutney is made with dried green mango. How is the biryani? Best. Best in Lucknow. Best in Lucknow? Best in Lucknow. Yeah. And yeah, they're the ones who said you have to eat it with the chutney. But that does enhance it with that acidity. They're both good on their own, but together it's even tastes very nice. And you can only find this at this place. For this type of chutney?
Yeah. Oh, wow! Okay. So, this is, this chutney is special here, something that's unique to Lalla here. Oh, man, and we haven't even gotten to the mutton yet. Okay, it's time for the mutton. Some pretty significant chunks of mutton. Which I can almost guarantee are just gonna fall off the bone. Look, it slides! All the tenderness! Oh, it just -- completely falls off the bone. Oh, it's spoon tender! Oh, wow! With that mutton, it literally melts in your mouth.
It's been braising. In the, the oil, and then the steam. And yeah, one of the things about the Lucknow-style biryani is that I believe the components are made separately. So, the meat is braised and cooked separately, the rice, then the, the spices, and then it's layered into the pot, and then it's steamed all together. So, all the vapors, all of the, the steam comes together. But the components are. cooked separately first. And so that's why it's kind of, uh, a biryani, kind of a pulao. But it's whatever the debate is, it is very tasty. Oh, with that, with that mutton, that takes it to the next level. Now, we need to try mutton with the chutney and the onions, the full, the full works!
Oh, wow! That is. very rich, very tasty. And such a harmony of flavor. And just as they say, so aromatic. Floral. And don't let the small plate deceive you! Even though it's a small plate, it's a mountain, and it's really heavy and really rich! It's filling. Wow! That is filling! And extremely tasty! I'm starting to. realize why Lucknow is a capital of gastronomy. And we have, we have met the owner here! Thank you!
Thank you very much! Okay! Thank you! How many years is it open? Forty seven years old. Forty seven years old, wow! Okay, wow, wow! Okay, thank you! Years old. Thank you very much. We made it to the next restaurant. This place is extremely famous. They have many different branches, but we're at the Tulsi Theater, uh, branch. This restaurant is called Dastarkhwan, and it is the house of Mughlai cuisine. And they have a few dishes which we absolutely cannot miss!
The main thing you come here for is frying on the tawas. So, they have two big tawas going. They're making the different kebabs, the different masalas on the tawas, and he's getting ready to make a fresh batch of their famous chicken masala that you have to try when you're here! Okay, so all the chicken first goes onto the tawa, onto the hot griddle! Oh, this looks like bone-in pieces of chicken as well. Oh, man, their chicken masala is a work of art! He starts with chicken deboned, but there's still bones within the mixture, but it looks like it's been like grilled chicken already. That goes onto the tawa, onto the grill. Hello!
Hi. And he just, like, fries that down in some oil until it's ready. Then he puts on like three full buckets of like the thickest, pastiest masala you can imagine and just starts folding it into the chicken, pouring on oil or ghee or juices, then just folding it in as it simmers in the fat! It just starts to bubble! It starts to bring out the aromas and all the spices of that masala, just plastering and infusing and saturating into that chicken! It smells incredible! It's literally a mountain. That's one of their signature dishes. If that doesn't make your mouth water, I don't think anything will make your mouth water.
Okay, this one is the shami kebab? Shami kebab. Chicken masala. Okay, chicken masala. Oh, wow! It looks phenomenal! Okay, I'm gonna go this one, starting off with the, the rumali roti, which I think is like a, it's a very thin, like a tissue roti. It's so thin. -- And you can kind of grab a piece and you even need to kind of like fold it. 'Cause it's so, it's so thin. Okay, I'm gonna go in for the mutton first. This is the mutton rogan josh. Oh, this is like a thick stew. Oh, I will break into that. Oh, you smell the yogurt as well. I'm pretty sure there's yogurt in this recipe as well. And then go in for a swim. The rogan josh, oh, it's, oh, it's oily and juicy, the mutton. Oh, wow!
Oh, that's phenomenal! It's so meaty! You taste the richness of the yogurt and the creaminess of the yogurt in there. The spices, like the clove floral fragrance of the spices. And then the meat is tender. That's so rich, so heavy, so good! And before we move into the chicken masala, let's try the shami kebab! I really like this type of roti, this rumali. It's so thin and so light. And the shami kebab is another type of Lucknow Awadhi kebab specialty. It's similar to the, to the galouti kebab, but this one is a mix of, I think, buffalo plus usually chickpeas, as well as maybe some egg to bind it together, as well as you see some green chilies in here as well.
Again, it's smooth like a paste. Immediately. you can tell it has more of a beany. taste to it and texture. Like, it's, it's not all meat. It has that starchiness, maybe from chickpeas? But wow! Oh, man, that's tasty! It's like a bean meat paste full of spices. You taste the green chili in there, but it has like this nutmeggy. maybe a mace flavor to it that kind of like tingles your tongue again.
Oh, that's amazing. And again, just seared on the tawa, on the hot griddle until it picks up so much flavor, starts to crust over, starts to get crusty, starts to get crunchy, and then like folded back into itself and to reabsorb more of that flavor from the iron griddle and the fire. Yes. Okay, finally we've come to the moment, the chicken masala, their legendary. Oh, oh, it feels good when you sink your fingers into it. It's so thick! It's so. It's just clinging. All that masala is just completely plastered to the chicken. Look at that!
Oh, wow! I kid you not, that's like half and half proportion. Fifty percent chicken. Fifty percent masala paste. And yet, the masala is not overpowering. It's just this blend of pasty ginger, garlic, every spice masala you can think of in the entire repertoire of spices! All just clinging and saturating into that chicken. And it is rich and heavy. I'm not sure if that was oil or ghee, but they just pour it on that it sizzles in. That tempers it down, that brings out the aroma, the flavor of the clove in there too.
Oh, that's incredible. Okay, and I couldn't resist getting a, uh, a Mughlai paratha that they're making there at the front. Oh, you just blanket it and just scoop in. And see what you got, a whole handful of masala. And for this one, I think I will dab it into the chutney. Make sure you get a few onions along the way.
Oh, yeah. That is. On another level. So good! Everything here, actually all three dishes are standout. That's one of the things I like. I looked at, look at the menu and there's like a dozen different dishes. Half chicken, half mutton. That's all. Oh, yeah, never mind. The shami kebab is mutton. But there's no buffalo on the menu. This is my first time to ever visit Lucknow. And truly, this is the real deal.
An Indian food paradise. A capital of gastronomy. And today, we figured out why. But this is not the end of our trip. This is my very first day. We still have two more full days. Go check out the next video. Um, yeah, we have a lot more legendary Lucknow Indian food. You're not going to want to miss any of it! Go check out the video!
