Mithas, a new-wave enterprise in Leith, may have to take a few deep breaths and hold its nerve.
Its food is exciting and represents a real shift in the cosily familiar “Indian” category. When it launched, the menu started off challenging diners’ preconceptions of sub-continental cooking. It is neither a standard curry house nor an authentic traditional outfit. Rather, it follows in the steps of restaurants in London such as Amaya, Zaika and Tamarind, establishments that blend tradition and innovation to create a new, dynamic fine dining Indian category.
Thus far, Mithas has had to pander to diners’ and critics’ expectations by moving away from its opening strategy where all dishes arrived as they were cooked (like tapas), and reverting to a starters and main courses structure. Happily, it has not changed its recipes, which to my mind are distinctive, highly accomplished, and constantly push the limits of Indian restaurant comfort zone cooking.
Mithas comes from the same stable as the perennially popular Khushi restaurants. (Khushi Mohammed was the first generation Punjabi who introduced Edinburgh to Indian cuisine.) Now the family is embarked on its 21st century mission: broadening and developing Scotland’s concept of Indian food. A natural evolution perhaps, but a more demanding undertaking than it might seem. In order to get people to grasp what it is doing, Mithas will have to challenge lingering neo-colonial attitudes that condemn sub-continental cooking to perpetual second-class status.
Mithas is a smartly designed, stylish and distinctly glam restaurant. Whereas most Indian eateries rely heavily on curries, which are either pre-cooked, or more likely half-cooked then finished off at the last minute, Mithas cooks everything from scratch to order, using an open flame grill, the clay tandoor oven and the tawa (griddle). We were fortunate to order before Mithas had to bend the knee and restructure the menu, so dishes arrived in a sequence depending on how long they took to cook. Going back, I’d ask them to do the same again, because it was a refreshing approach and the serendipity of wondering what would turn up next made the whole meal much more fluid and good fun.
We were really knocked out by the cooking and the veracity of the spicing, which showed great finesse. You are served a mix made from 19 different ground and roasted spices to use as a condiment throughout your meal. I identified a couple I think, some more unusual ones like oniony asafoetida, sour amchoor (green mango) and thyme-like ajwain. Whatever the exact make-up, you know this didn’t come from the local cash and carry. Everything at Mithas is fresh, fresh, fresh. The customary short-cuts available to curry house chefs are forbidden.
Our palates were primed by cubes of grilled home-made paneer, marinated, I’d guess, in a yogurt and spice emulsion. Silence descended when the fresh spinach and fig tikki (soft rissoles) were set down, a silence broken only by soft moans of pleasure and appreciative purring.
A fillet of griddled seabass with a nutty crust of grated coconut and fresh green herbs and chilli felt like food fit for the gods. It looked stunning too on its raft of fresh banana leaf.
I can’t remember ever eating better monkfish. Three large chunks had had their tough membrane meticulously removed and been bathed in a spicy, yogurt marinade before being cooked hot and fast in the tandoor. Result? Extreme succulence and juiciness within a dry aromatic crust. I couldn’t have bought the fish in a fishmonger for the menu price. There is, though, the odd aberrant item, such as the tandoori duck.
Mithas is keenly priced, particularly when you understand the quality of the ingredients and the time lavished on them, especially for the vegetarian dishes. Highly original skewered kebabs made with raw green banana were extraordinary. The perfume of basmati rice was enhanced by a sprinkling of rosewater. Our only weak dish was lamb chops that had been grilled in caul fat – a puzzling addition because the lamb itself is fatty enough.
Mithas has a proper pastry chef, so desserts are fantastic. Stunning passion fruit tart, strawberries in sour-sweet tamarind sauce, hot chocolate mousse cooled with ginger ice cream and pulpy orange sauce, such delights are not to be missed.
Mithas
7 Dock Place, Leith, Edinburgh 0131 554 0008
Lunch £9.95/£11.95 Dinner £20-47
Food rating 9/10
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