Tried curry at Mithaas in Leicester after falling in love with their samosas

I’ve previously professed my deep and abiding love of samosas – bordering on an obsession – and many LeicestershireLive readers responded to my recent request for recommendations by telling me I must try them from Mithaas in Narborough Road, Leicester.

They were right. Their vegetable samosas are wonderful, but their Punjabi samosas are probably the best I’ve ever had. Now I take any excuse, no matter how flimsy, to pop in and grab a bag – including to get me through a long night of general election coverage.

But until last week, my visits to Mithaas were limited to grabbing a few snacks from the counter at the front of the store. (Also, pea kachori – spiced pea balls in crispy batter – are excellent). So on Saturday, after spending much of the day preparing food for a large family roast the next day, my partner and I indulged in some of their curries.

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Feeling lazy, we ordered online: a curry each, a portion of Jeera rice to share, pani puri for my starter and paneer rolls for his. Of course, I also threw in a few samosas on order. Like I said: Any excuse.

It was a Saturday night so I expected them to be busy but the food arrived within 40 minutes and everything was piping hot. Always a good start.

Just lifting the lids of the two curries, I had a feeling the food was going to be good. They both smelled incredible.

I admit, I was surprised that my partner went for his choice – Paneer Makhani. He is a man who loves spicy food, who wants to be a prawn vindaloo and has opted for mild buttery masala.

It seems I was wrong to doubt him. The curry was stunning – perfectly balanced, creamy, full of flavor and generous on the perfectly cooked paneer. I’ll admit I was disappointed he finished the batch as it meant I couldn’t steal more than my quick mouthful to taste.

His verdict: “Not good, not even great. It’s exceptional.”

It is no insult to my curry – Bombay Aloo – to say that his was the best dish I ordered. Indeed, mine was also sublimely tasty, with a nice kick to the rich and flavorful tomato-based sauce, and again, cooked to perfection – not a hard potato there. The rice followed the same trend – expertly cooked with incredible flavor.

Beginners then. I think I’ve said enough about samosas, but in case I left any doubt, I love them. My taste buds run into salty and there’s just the right amount in the pastry to hit my cravings.

The dough is also the ideal thickness and deliciously crispy where it is folded at the edges. The soft pea and potato filling leaves your mouth tingling with spice. (And my mouth is watering just writing about them.)

Pani puri was another hit of the evening. Crispy shells that you fill with the spiced mix of chickpeas and potatoes, then pour in the incredibly fresh-tasting mint water and pop it in your mouth before the liquid runs all over the place. Just yum.

My partner had opted for the paneer rolls. (Yes, paneer for starters and mains – his love for cheese rivals my love for samosas.) I have to admit, they were the only disappointing item in our order.

There were three spring roll style pastries with cheese filling. Unfortunately, they just lacked the depth of flavor of the rest of the dishes and were a little on the dry side. I don’t think we would buy them again.

All in all, though, the food I ordered was spectacular. Mithaas is a purely vegetarian restaurant and we are both pretty staunch meat eaters, so we were a bit nervous about putting an entire table on it. But we had nothing to worry about and will definitely dine at their place again.

The meal came to about £40. I would note that (after checking after the fact) the prices on your standard delivery site are substantially higher than advertised on their own site – a couple of extra quid on most dishes – so we will be ordering direct from them in the future. However, I won’t hold this against Mithaas as delivery sites add all sorts of costs.

Rating: 4.5/5

Hygiene rating: 5/5

Mithaas dLittle did we know we would be reviewing it and we paid for our meal.