India, Jan. 4 -- From open air 'sigris' to hole-in-the-wall shacks and air conditioned restaurants - kebabs and their accompanying parathas are ubiquitous in this famed city of Nawabs. Be it the 'Galawati' (Galouti) or the 'Shami' kebabs, this cuisine represents the culinary craftsmanship of Awadh. Kebabs, crafted from minced meat combined with a medley of spices, are typically shallow-fried or grilled to perfection. While deep-fried 'Chapli' kebabs may be a delight elsewhere, they are absent from Lucknow's culinary scene. The term 'kebab' also embraces chunks of marinated chicken or mutton, known as the more rustic 'tikka', yet Lucknow's palate seeks something more refined. Among Lucknow's treasures is the legendary 'Galawati' kebab, a dish so esteemed that its origins deserve a closer look. Legend says that one Haji Murad Ali, a 'kababchi' (kebab culinary specialist) in the kitchens of Asaf-ud-Daula invented this melt-in-the-mouth preparation for the Nawab, who was apparently old and had rotten teeth. Murad Ali who had only one arm (hence the sobriquet, 'tunda') apparently used 120 spices, meat and papaya resulting in the end product being so soft that no chewing was required. Another parallel narrative states that this particular kebab was developed for Wajid Ali Shah. Let us dissect these popular urban legends. Asaf-ud-Daula became the third Nawab Wazir of Awadh when he was 26 years old (Burhan-ul-Mulk was a Subadar, not Nawab Wazir). He died of dropsy in 1797, when he was 49 years of age. Asaf was certainly not old and decrepit when he died, and the theory of 'rotten teeth' seems to be pure conjecture. Similarly, Wajid Ali Shah was deposed in 1856 and had left for Calcutta. Murad Ali was born in 1877. There was no way he could have prepared kebabs for anyone from the Nawabi dynasty, which was already over in 1856. It appears that Murad Ali, who was already an adept of Awadhi cuisine by the time he was 20 years of age, had fallen down from the roof of his house while kite flying, and his one arm was amputated as the injury to it did not heal. Nevertheless, sometime around 1905, he developed the 'Galawati' kebab, which became immensely popular with time. Concerning the '120 spice theory', any student of economic botany would affirm that only 24 or so spices are cultivated in India, which are widely used in Indian cuisine. Each spice imparts a unique flavor and aroma to a dish. The usage of more than a hundred spices in a single dish seems to be highly unlikely and is an example of uninformed hyperbole. Cost-wise, at present, a plate of 'Galawati' kebabs, having four pieces, normally costs about Rs 200, i.e. Rs 50.00 per kebab. The use of 100 spices in such a preparation would possibly result in a single kebab to cost Rs 5000 or more. So what are commonly available 'Galawatis' composed of? These shallow fried kebabs consist mainly raw papaya paste (including the skin), a minimal quantity of minced meat, roasted gram flour, ground coriander seeds, cumin, black pepper and cardamoms (green and black). There may be slight variations, but it is the raw papaya, which imparts the typical flavour and smooth texture to the dish; the meat is immaterial. It is due to this very reason that present day 'Veg Galawati' kebabs made from diverse materials such as mushrooms, black gram or soya taste very much the same, because it is the papaya all the way; the mushrooms or other vegetarian components are just for namesake. Of late, some Lucknow restaurants have taken to adding loads of red chilli powder to the kebab mix, to mask the flavours of other low grade ingredients used. The kebabs have become bigger and crispier, innovations abound. Soon, it may not be possible to find 'genuine' old school 'Galawati' kebabs in Lucknow. An extinct kebab of Lucknow is the 'Pesha' kebab. Very small and soft, each kebab had a length of a string embedded inside it, its end pointing outwards. The kebabs were grilled on skewers, not fried. Before eating, the end of the tiny string was pulled, and the kebab fell apart on the plate, to be eaten with rotis, not paratha. The present-day 'Dora' kebabs are perhaps the nearest cousins of the now extinct 'Pesha' kebabs. The former are nothing but 'Seekh' kebabs, on which a length of string is wound over, before grilling. The string causes segmentation of the kebab, and its removal causes the segments to separate during plating. 'Shami' kebabs are more common in households, as compared to restaurants of Lucknow. They are chiefly composed of meat mince, Bengal gram, onion, chopped green chilli, spices such as black cardamom and dried red chilli. The mix is first cooked in minimum amount of water, which is then strained followed by grinding the kebab mixture, traditionally by hand using a 'sil-batta'. The ground paste is shaped into patties and shallow fried. 'Shami' kebabs are chunkier and more robust as compared to 'Galawatis'. Strangely, Lucknow does not have much of a preference for 'Seekh' kebabs, so popular in Delhi and the Middle East. 'Seekh' kebabs, as the name suggests, are composed of coarsely ground meat mince wrapped around iron skewers by hand, and then grilled over a charcoal fire, being turned frequently, to ensure uniformity in the roasting process. While Indian 'Seekh' kebabs used highly seasoned meats, the Middle East counterpart focuses more on the meat component, with spices being almost absent. This results in a gamey flavour, which may not be appreciated in our country, given the spice addicted nation that we are. The elegant 'Kakori' kebab is an offshoot of the 'Seekh' kebab, in which a high fat content and added cream results in a smoother, silkier textured (but not necessarily tastier) final product. Incidentally, the development of the 'Kakori' kebab has its own interesting legend, which however, is beyond the scope of this article dedicated to Lucknow. PC Sarkar, a former scientist, has authored several books on the forgotten heritage of Lucknow...