Beloved Indian street food brand and brewery Bundobust has just launched their desi Christmas menu for 2023 and it’s so delicious we’re not sure we’ll be able to go back to standard roast dinners.
From banging Bundo bhajis and mince pie parathas, to chai spiced mulled wine and clever twists on classic seasonal cocktails, they’re doing their best to make this Christmas a memorable one.
It can be very easy to just stick to the classics when it comes to the holiday season — pigs in blankets, turkey and stuffing sandwiches, a ridiculous amount of roasties and gravy — but Bundobust genuinely makes us feel like we want to pull our finger out and reinvent Christmas food every now and again.
Serving their wintery menu right up until 31 December, the Indian street food stars aren’t just reworking familiar festive dishes with an extra bit of spice and native ingredients, they’re giving veggies a genuinely viable option when it comes to their dinner this holiday season. We can finally put that bloody nut roast to rest.
From sprout bhajis packed with crispy onion, broccoli, fennel and chilli — a festive favourite that has been dunked in their incredible spiced cranberry chutney umpteenth times since 2014 — to their spiced sprout butties on vegan brioche and mince pie paratha (yes, you heard us right), there are some seriously clever creations on this menu.
The newly rebooted biryani balls, which were a favourite from their first-ever menu, are back for 2023 and are tastier than ever, with each crispy rice ball spiced with mint, saffron, ginger and rose, before being served with crispy onions and a rich tomato sauce. Phwoar.
If you’re looking for a more substantial take on a Yuletide main, you won’t anything more warming this winter than a cosy pot of festive dhal and rice: a warming, earthy lentil curry which is smoked and spiced with black cardamom, clove and cinnamon. Good grief, we might have to do this every Christmas from now on.
And then you’ve got your puddings. The sour cherry kheer is a creamy rice pudding flavoured with cardamom, sour cherry and rose gulkhand, and the Bundobust’s Kulfi has also received a Christmas makeover spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and orange peel. Either is the perfect sweet treat to end on.
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There’s no lack of choice when it comes to drinks either, as whether you want to try their brand-new Python beer, the returning ‘Bundo Snowball’, a decadently smooth sloe gin sour, their take on a ‘Grasshopper’, or the alcohol-free ‘Ginger Tom’, you’ll be smacking your lips and begging for more.
God, we’re dead thirsty all of a sudden — and bloody starving, come to think of it. It’s a good job that anyone in Leeds can go and get their hands on some of the incredible desi food on the Christmas menu at the popular Mill Hill restaurant now, with parties of up to 50 of you available for bookings.
All this talk of digesting something different this holiday season has got us thinking about all the other cuisines doing festive twists on Christmas classics over the next month or so. Believe us, there’s plenty of them.
Featured Images — The Hoot
