Tunday Kababi Lucknow — The Insider Guide to the City of Nawabs
TTI Tours / 27/03/2026
Tunday Kababi Lucknow —
The Insider Guide to the City of Nawabs
A Kebab Born in a Royal Kitchen —
160 Spices, One Legend
There is a restaurant in the narrow lanes of Lucknow's Chowk area that has been serving the same kebab since the 17th century. The recipe has never changed. The secret has never left the family. And the queue outside — even today — tells you everything you need to know.
The lanes leading to Tunday Kababi are an experience before you even arrive. A man at the entrance will tell you cars are not allowed — then moments later you will spot him riding his tri-rickshaw behind you, offering a ride for five rupees. He had already concluded where you were going. Welcome to Old Lucknow.
Tunday Kababi is not just a restaurant. It is the reason Lucknow is on every serious food lover's map of India. When our guests arrive in Lucknow on our North India Food Adventure Tour, the Tunday Kababi food walk is never just a meal — most say it is the moment they talk about for years.
The cook who won — Haji Murad Ali — had lost his left hand not in battle or at work, but while flying a kite on a rooftop terrace. In India, a person with a hand disability is called Tunday. And so the greatest kebab house in Lucknow got its name from a kite, a rooftop and a moment of bad luck that changed culinary history.
The story begins in the court of Nawab Asad-ud-Daula in 17th-century Lucknow. The Nawab, despite his age and dental challenges, refused to let anything come between him and his love of good food. He challenged his royal chefs — his khansamas — to create the softest kebab ever made. One cook, Haji Murad Ali — known as Tunday, meaning one-armed — rose to the challenge. His recipe, made with finely minced meat and an extraordinary blend of spices, won the contest. The Nawab declared it the finest thing he had ever tasted.
Generations later, that same recipe is still served at the same location in Chowk. Tunday Kababi was named among the World's Most Legendary Restaurants — one of only seven Indian restaurants to make the global list.
Tunday Kababi Lucknow — 160 Spices, The Recipe Nobody Knows
The kebab at Tunday Kababi is made with finely pounded minced meat — traditionally buffalo — and a spice blend that is said to incorporate 160 different spices and seasonings. The exact recipe is a closely guarded family secret, passed down through three generations and never written down.
Lucknow Food Tour — Beyond Tunday, The Full Awadhi Food Walk
Our Lucknow culinary tour is 1.5 to 2 hours through the legendary eateries of the old city
Tunday Kababi is the centrepiece — but Lucknow's food walk takes you through some of the most legendary Awadhi eateries in the world. Here is what you eat and where you eat it on our guided Lucknow food tour:
The Lucknow food walk operates all days except Sundays, Muslim holidays and Holi festival. Always check the calendar before visiting. Our guides handle all bookings and timings — guests never have to worry about this on our tours.
Awadhi Cuisine — India's Most Refined Cooking Tradition
Awadhi cuisine — the food of Lucknow and the surrounding Awadh region — is considered one of the most refined cooking traditions in all of India. It was developed in the royal kitchens of the Nawabs, where the emphasis was always on subtlety, fragrance and technique rather than heat and intensity.
The defining technique of Awadhi cooking is dum — slow cooking in a sealed vessel over low heat for hours. This technique allows spices to fully penetrate the meat without losing their fragrance, creating dishes of extraordinary depth. Dum biryani, dum kebabs and dum korma are the cornerstones of the tradition.
Before You Go — Essential Information
📍 Tunday Kababi — Key Details
Located in Chowk, Lucknow — the historic heart of Awadhi cuisine and the most famous food experience in Lucknow, India.
At Tunday Kababi — always order the galouti kebab with Mughlai parantha. This is the original combination and the one the family has served since the beginning. The kebab alone without the parantha is good — but together they are extraordinary.
Our Lucknow food walk guide always recommends asking for an extra Mughlai Parantha to soak up the kebab juices — it is the combination that locals never skip.
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The Tunday Kababi food walk is just one moment in our North India Food Adventure Tour — 10 days through Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi. Privately guided, fully vetted, entirely yours.
⚡ Limited availability in peak season (October to March) — enquire early to secure your dates.
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The original branch is near Akbari Gate, Chowk, Lucknow — in the heart of the old city. There are additional branches in Aminabad, Kapoorthala and other parts of Lucknow, but the Chowk branch is the original and most authentic.
The galouti kebab at Tunday Kababi is made with a secret blend of 160 spices — a recipe that has never been written down and has been passed through three generations of the same family since the 17th century. The kebab is so soft it requires no chewing — it dissolves the moment it touches your tongue.
Always order the galouti kebab with Mughlai parantha — this is the original combination the family has served since the beginning. Locals never skip the extra parantha to soak up the kebab juices.
Open daily from 11am to midnight. The Chowk branch operates all days except Sundays, Muslim holidays and Holi festival.
Yes — TTI Tours has been taking international guests to Tunday Kababi for years. All food stops on our Lucknow food walk are personally vetted under our TTI Pure Plate Promise for hygiene and safety.
The guided Awadhi food walk is 1.5 to 2 hours — covering Tunday Kababi, Idris Biryani, Rahim's Pasanda Kebab and Nihari Gosht, finishing with kulfi at a local sweet shop.
Yes — it is a highlight of the North India Food Adventure Tour 10 Days and the Kolkata to Mumbai Cuisine Tour 17 Days. Both include the full guided Awadhi food walk in Lucknow.
Awadhi cuisine is the royal cooking tradition of Lucknow, defined by the dum technique — slow cooking in a sealed vessel over low heat for hours. It produces dishes of extraordinary depth and fragrance. Tunday Kababi, Idris Biryani and Rahim's are its most celebrated institutions.
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