Om Prakash of 'Sharma Ji Tea Stall' - the man who introduced ‘Bun Maska’ to the city of Nawabs

If Zoroastrian Irani cafes gave bun – or pav – maska to Pune and Mumbai in late nineteenth and early twentieth century, it was late Om Prakash Sharma, who introduced bun maska to the city of Nawabs. 

Famous for its kebabs and Mughlai food, over the years, bun maska has become a famous vegetarian tea time snack for Lucknowies. 

After doing a menial job for a couple of years in a sweet shop in Lucknow, late Om Prakash worked as a street food vendor before settling for his own venture – 'Sharma Ji Tea Stall' at Lalbagh in 1958. 

Apart from tea, he included bun maska (a mixture of butter-cream spread on a bun) and samosa in the menu from the day one. 

‘Sharma Ji Tea Stall’ made a popular meal out of bun maska dipped in hot chai and thanks to its founder late Om Prakash, you will see tea and bun maska shops spread across the city.   

The round shape samosa also made the Sharma’s tea stall stood out since beginning. 

“My father (Late Om Prakash Sharma) introduced bun maska to Lucknowies. We use homemade white butter for bun maska and it's our preparation for butter that makes our bun maska special,” says late Om Prakash's elder son Gopal. 

One can get the bun maska for Rs 30, while a bun stuffed with samosa for Rs 35. Tea and a samosa are served for Rs 20 each. In sweets, besan ke ladoo is an option, served for Rs 15 per piece.

“Samosa is usually triangular in shape, but our father kept it round. Apart from the preparation of the stuffing, the different shape is an additional USP (unique selling point) of our tea stall's samosa,” says Gopal. 

Over the years, ‘Sharma Ji Tea Stall’ has become Lucknow’s one of the must visit places and bun maska one of the must eat snacks.