This week's blog is all about the best Indian street food in Leeds - and there are lots of great options in the city centre.
If you're wondering what I mean by Indian street food - rather than curries think small dishes like Samosa Chaat, Vada Pav (a spicy potato patty in a burger bun), Pani Puri (fried puff pastry balls filled with potato, spiced water and tamarind), and Chilli Paneer.
Here are my top picks.
Manjit's Kitchen
You'll find Manjit's Kitchen in the market, and they also have a restaurant on Kirkstall Road.
It's owned by Manjit, and run by her and her 12 female employees. Manjit comes from a background of domestic violence and resulting homelessness, but found her feet when she set up her own hospitality business. Her all-women kitchen helps others find their feet in the same way.
The food is incredible, and great value for money too. It's all vegetarian, made with fresh ingredients and lots of care. My favourite dishes are the Samosa Chaat and the wraps - both the Pakora wrap (pictured below) and the chilli paneer wrap.
I sometimes visit Manjit's Kitchen on guided food tours of Leeds, so be sure to book onto one if you would like to sample their amazing Samosa Chaat!
Aarti
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Aarti opened just last week in the city centre, although it was previously in Roundhay for a long time.
They offer mostly vegetarian South Indian & Punjabi street food, with a couple of meat dishes and some curries on the menu too.
The Chilli Paneer, Samosa chaat and Ragda Pattice (pan fried potato pattice with chickpea curry on top) were all really great! I especially enjoyed the Ragda Pattice as I'd never had anything like it before. We also had lamb chops, but I wouldn't order these again to be honest.
Rola Wala
Head to Trinity Kitchen to find Rola Wala, which is one of the permanent vendors there. Rola Wala is Hindi for 'man who rolls' and they are well known for their naan wraps, as well as their rice bowls and now tacos.
They use fresh, local ingredients - each dish has an epic 43 ingredients in it!
It actually started as one of the temporary vendors at Trinity Kitchen, but after huge success (resulting in the most profitable month at Trinity Kitchen at the time), they were offered a permanent space.
As well as Trinity Kitchen, you'll also find Rola Wala at Spittalfields in London . It's also good to know that for every naan roll sold, they provide a school meal to a child living in poverty.
Rola Wala is a stop on the self-guided street food tour, so if you want to sample a slightly smaller portion before committing, treat yourself to a self-guided food tour.
Delhi Wala
Pretty new to Leeds, and I've only had a takeaway from them so far, but I'd love to dine in their cute, intimate restaurant near to the train station soon.
The Chilli Paneer and the Chilli Honey Potatoes actually blew my mind how good they were! Everything we ordered from Delhi Wala was delicious, and they have an entire vegan menu (in addition to their standard menu) so ideal if you're looking for vegan food.
Bundobust
Of course, I have to include Bundobust! I often talk to people on a food tour about their favourite restaurants in Leeds, and Bundobust is probably the most common response from locals - and for good reason.
Bundobust offers an all-vegetarian menu, with plenty of vegan options too, and a unique blend of Indian and British flavours.
Bundo Chaat, Paneer Tikka, Okra Fries and Tarka Dhal are absolute must-haves, and should be paired with a craft beer from their own brewery in Manchester.
Indian Tiffin Rooms
The great thing about Indian Tiffin Rooms is that their menu is an amalgamation of street food dishes from all over India, resulting from the two owners coming from completely different parts of the country.
The cornerstone of the menu is the South Indian Tiffin dishes, which are traditionally small dishes designed to be eaten either at breakfast, late afternoon or between meals (depending on which region you are in).
They also have a huge street food menu, grilled kebabs, Indo-chinese dishes and curries.
It's all really tasty, but my favourite here are the dosas!
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