I tried an Indian version of a Christmas dinner at Mowgli Street Food

Before Christmas, pubs and restaurants pump out overcooked and dry slabs of bird with a couple of roast potatoes and a soggy Yorkshire pudding.

When Mowgli Street Food invited me to try out its new Christmas feasting menu, I thought it was a great opportunity to get a different take on a festive feast.

The restaurant chain was founded by TV celeb chef Nish Katona, who ditched her successful career as a barrister 20 years ago to get into the kitchen. It was the chance for Nish to fulfil a “nagging obsession” with serving food inspired by the Indian home kitchens of her ancestors.

Her first Mowgli was born in Liverpool's Bold Street, followed quickly by Manchester. There are now 24 Mowgli restaurants across the UK, including in Leeds, Sheffield and Beverley.

The Christmas feasting menu, which comes at £35 per person, starts with a glass of bubbles or a cold beer. My friend and I go for beers, but they take a little while to come.

Before that we try the chat bombs, which almost taste like lassis in a crisp bread puff. The mains arrive before the starters, and they are mystery tiffin boxes.

We go for two meat and two veggies portions, along with some rice and rotis. The house chicken is a delicious Kerelan curry, with diced thighs and a lovely kick of spice.

For our second meat tiffin, we’re served butter chicken, which Mowgli says is a real Indian mother’s dish. It’s nice and creamy, but lacks the kick of the house chicken - which I loved.

While the tea steeped chickpeas and picnic potato curry are flavourful, they’re both lacking a bit of seasoning.

For our starters, we try the gunpowder chicken which is wickedly spicy chunks of deep-fried chicken and the fenugreek kissed fries. Both have lovely chunks of chilli on top, but I was hoping for a bit more flavour with potatoes.

After polishing off our beers, we move onto Mowgli’s Indian-inspired cocktail menu.

With Giles Coren’s recommendation I choose the smoked cardamom old fashioned. I have to agree with him, it’s definitely the “best old fashioned I have ever tasted”.

For pudding, I devour gulab jamun - syrupy, nutty milk doughballs served warm with ice cream. 

They’re absolutely delicious, and along with the coconut ice cream a refreshing palate cleanser at the end of the menu.

The food itself is not Christmas themed, there are no turkey curries or spicy brussel sprouts - much to the delight of most people I’m sure. The menu overall makes for a great sharing experience with friends, and is certainly a nice change from the staid Christmas dinner that pubs serve in December.

NationalWorld was invited by Mowgli Street Food. Find your local restaurant here.