A very biased street food map of Lucknow, written by someone who has never been on a diet

Bhai, every city has food, but Lucknow has food with manners. People here will hand you a plate of something delicious and apologise that it's not better. I've lived here all my life and I still get excited when I see a smoky stall at the end of a lane.

This is my map. It isn't complete, it's biased, and I will not take criticism about my taste. If you ever come, keep an empty stomach and a lot of patience for the lanes.

Morning: poori-sabzi and jalebi

If someone invites you for an early breakfast in the old lanes, say yes. Hot pooris, a spicy potato sabzi, and a fresh jalebi on the side. The jalebi is still warm and a little crunchy, the sabzi is peppery, and you eat all of it with your hands on a leaf plate. It feels like a hug.

Best part is the tiny glass of tea or the clay cup of lassi after. Don't go in a hurry, this is a slow breakfast.

Late morning: kachori and sweets

Look for the shop with a line outside and a man frying kachoris continuously. They come in a stack, the outer layer is flaky, and you eat them with aloo sabzi. After that, the sweet shop next door will make you buy boxes of things you don't need. I have no discipline here, I'll be honest.

Afternoon: chaat, and the famous basket

Chaat is the heart of Lucknow. My favourite is the basket chaat. A crisp basket of fried potato strands is filled with chutney, curd, chana and sev. The whole thing arrives piled up, and the trick is to break the basket and mix with a spoon so every bit gets sauce. It looks like a fancy dessert and tastes like the best argument between sweet, spicy and tangy.

Also try:

• Aloo tikki: fried on a big tawa, topped with curd, chutneys and sometimes crushed papdi.
• Pani ke batashe: the Lucknow word for golgappa. The batasha is smaller, and the water is the star. In many places you get several flavours of pani: tangy, spicy, mint, even a sweet one. Ask for the spicy one first, then recover with the sweet one.

Evening: kebabs and soft bread

Here we move to the old, narrow lanes where smoke rises above the stalls.

The famous galouti kebab is made so soft that it almost melts on your tongue. It was supposedly invented for someone who had trouble chewing, and whether or not that story is true, the texture is unreal. People eat it with a round, flaky, tawa-fried paratha, sometimes with onions and a squeeze of lemon. For me, one bite and the world gets quiet.

Don't skip the other things: seekh kebabs, kakori kebabs, soft rumali roti, and a small bowl of nihari if it's cold outside. If you're vegetarian, the vegetarian kebabs and the paneer and mushroom tikkas at some stalls are really good. Ask the stall owner, they love questions.

Night: kulfi and winter dessert

At night the city slows down and cold things show up. A kulfi faluda from a cart is thick, dense, not too sweet, and the faluda noodles are slippery and fun. In winter, you may find malai makhan, a frothy, milky dessert that appears only on cold mornings and is gone by afternoon. It's airy and flavoured with saffron and cardamom. I've eaten it while shivering and I regret nothing.

And finally a paan, if you want. Meetha paan is mild and sweet. Just remember that tobacco paan is not for kids, and I'd avoid it.

My map in a table

Time	What to eat	Vibe
Early morning	Poori-sabzi + jalebi	Slow, warm, leaf plates
Late morning	Kachori + aloo sabzi	Crowded, fast, worth it
Afternoon	Basket chaat, tikki, batashe	Loud, tangy, messy
Evening	Galouti kebab + paratha, seekh	Smoky lanes, patient queues
Night	Kulfi faluda, malai makhan in winter	Cool, quiet, sweet end

Eating on the street without ruining your stomach

I've had a few bad days, so here's what I follow:

1. Go where the crowd is. A busy stall means food is fresh and turns over fast.
2. Look at the oil and the water. Fresh hot oil, covered food and clean serving plates are good signs. If the pani looks suspicious, I skip it.
3. Eat hot things. Fried or just-cooked food is safer than something that has been sitting out.
4. Carry a small water bottle and some tissues. Sauce on a white shirt is a lesson everyone learns once.
5. Don't overdo it in a day. Try one or two things per time slot, not everything at once. I once did a six-stop food crawl and spent the next day in bed.

Why I love it

Street food here is not about being fancy. It's the old man who remembers your order, the stall that has been in the same lane for decades, the chai on a small stove while the rain starts. It's what I'll miss most when I leave for college. Someday I want to bring my friends from other cities, give them a leaf plate each and watch their faces.

So, if you visit: come hungry, wear something you don't mind staining, and ask the locals what to eat. They'll all point you somewhere slightly different, and every one of them will be right.