Tunday Kababs: Legacy of a Lucknow Man with one hand

 

Ever thought of chopping onions with one hand? It seems next to impossible until you indulge in folklores of legendary chef Haji Murad Ali of Lucknow for its famous Tunday Kababs. While strolling in the lanes of new and old Lucknow, I felt every page of the century old history was still alive in parts of this city.

Though the skyline in parts of this city is changing rapidly, the age old structures, houses, bungalows etc. are still intact to let your imagination run wild on how Lucknow would have passed through the Mughal era and the British Raj, and continues to hold its unique place even today as international food and retail giants makes their presence felt.
Whether it is Tunday’s Kababs or Chikan (fine age-old painstaking style of embroidery on clothes) or the famous mujaras, the reminisence of Nawabs and their extravaganza  still lives in the evenings of Lucknow.
Buying Chikan clothes was too fancy for my wallet. I heard the mujras are still played in some parts but nowadays it is more related to flesh trade which made me refrain from undertaking any ventures. I was left only with the choice of kababs to taste the Nawabi flavour of life. After all Lucknow is still famous for its kababs.
So I land up amidst the age-old structures of Aminabad and its marketplace to visit the famous Tunday Kababs which was strongly recommended. The aroma of the finely ground mutton being cooked is distinctive as one approaches the shop that sells Murad Ali’s craft.

And the picture of small patties’s of kababs – made of finely minced and spiced mutton – being caramalised on a tava or pan to perfection outside the restaurant is a delectable view for a person who has travelled miles from the concrete jungle of Mumbai. At least 100 patties could be made at a time on those hot frying pans, large enough to feed all kabab lovers who flock around the store particularly in the evening. The first timers were noticeable as they just couldn’t let go of the their mobile phone cameras and indulged in clicking pictures.

Mohammad Salman

Step inside the restaurant and one cannot miss the portrait of the legendary Haji Murad Ali. And here behind the cash counter I meet the great grandson of the much acclaimed chef Haji Murad Ali, who chose to carry on the legacy of Murad Ali. The cash counter is a tedious job to manage on busy evening like this but a down-to-earth 27-year-old Mohammad Salman agreed almost immediately to speak with me and take me back in time to the legacy of Tunday Kababs.
So what does Tunday mean? Tunday in this part of India literally means a man with one hand. And yes Chef Haji Murad Ali was a man with one hand. According to Salman said Ali saab was famous for his ability to chop onions with one hand. Yes, chopping onions with one hand!
So what happened to Ali saab. And Salman comes up with the history almost impromptu. Alisaab was fond of flying kites, and one day while flying a kit he fell down from the roof and broke his hand. In the 1800s, Alisaab’s hand could not be repaired and he was left with one hand for ever.  But that did not hinder Alisaab to carry forward his family’s business of cooking which is father had started in Bhopal. Born in 1877 Alisaab started his restaurant at Purana Chowk of Lucknow in 1897, and now family members run many outlets.

The invention of his special kababs was thanks to an ageing noble of Lucknow with no teeth who could not let his taste buds down for kababs which needed some chewing. He threw the competition of making softest possible kababs. Haji Murad Ali alias Tunday created the paste-like soft kababs to win the prize and more than that he gave a new identity to the town for decades to come. Salman’s mother prepares the food at Aminabad outlet and his grandmother makes at Purana Chowk.

The tradition of guarding the secrecy of recipe is still revered and only women in the house know what spice mix goes into the delicious Tunday Kababs, and Salman wouldn’t want to reveal the 160 ingredients that goes into making of kababs. All I learn is that the spices are imported from various countires. The recipes are same but the taste differs as his grandma still uses the heated coal for preparations, while stoves are in use at Salman’s restaurant. Salman informs that the recipes go through a change in winters when more dry fruits and spices go into the mix essentially to counter the cold climate.
A 10th grade passed Salman joined the business in 2006 and has no intentions of parting with the business. Though his kababs are famous, its priced in a manner where even the poor can afford it.  He has adopted the principle of ‘lesser price higher demand’. He wishes that Tunday kababs lives on for many more years to come, and keeps the legacy of his family.