Awadhi cuisine

The Awadh region has been influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow which bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad.

[3] Their spreads consisted of elaborate dishes such as kebabs, kormas, biryanis, kaliyas, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, rumali rotis, and warqi parathas.

Introduced by the Mughals it was originally prepared from beef mince on skewers and cooked on charcoal fire.

The shami kebab is made from mincemeat, usually with chopped onion, coriander, and green chillies added.

The kebabs are round patties filled with spicy mix and tangy raw green mango.

A variant made without any admixture or binding agents and comprising just the minced meat and the spices is the galawat kabab.

Where Mughal dishes are rich in fats due to extensive use of milk, cream and spices, Awadhi food is more subtle.

It originated in Mughlai cuisine wherein lamb or chicken was braised in velvety, spiced sauces, enriched with ground nuts, cream and butter.

Chaat originated in Uttar Pradesh but are now popular across South Asia as a staple of street food.

The original chaat is a mixture of potato , chickpeas, spices, chilli, saunth (dried ginger and tamarind sauce), coriander leaves, and yogurt, but other popular variants include aloo tikkis (garnished with onion, coriander, hot spices and a dash of curd), dahi puri, golgappa, dahi vada and papri chaat.

[citation needed] There are common elements among these variants including dahi, or yogurt; chopped onions and coriander; sev (small dried yellow salty noodles); and chaat masala, a spice mix typically consisting of amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, kala namak (rock salt), coriander, dried ginger, salt, black pepper, and red pepper.

The ingredients are combined and served on a small metal plate or a banana leaf, dried and formed into a bowl.