MOWGLI Street Food, which offers fresh home cooking style Indian dishes, has opened in the landmark 78 St Vincent Street building.

The new arrival in the city centre is the latest in a group of 13 restaurants founded by barrister, chef and food writer Nisha Katona MBE.

Nisha describes the concept saying: “Mowgli is a home from home for the hungry and continues to be for our teams and guests.

“It is a place that is toddler and dog-friendly, somewhere you can spend time alone with a book, fed and plugged in”.

Mowgli’s new Glasgow location will support the Beatson Cancer Charity as its dedicated charity partner and anticipates donating tens of thousands of pounds each year to help the local community.

I met Nisha in the prospective dining room for her latest venture last year. She was sizing up the space with her aunt and mother.

“I’m the executive chef for Mowgli and all the dishes are based on what I cook for my family. That’s where this idea came from. The recipes are from my mother or my grandmother or some variation that has come from me,” she explained.

“An example of a dish that represents who we are as Indians in my family would be the temple dahl. My father is a Hindu priest so it is part of that tradition while also offering a zing of clean, vegan flavours.”

Glasgow Times:

The surge of interest in vegetarian and vegan dishes has created the opportunity for Mowgli to redefine perceptions of Indian cuisine.

“In ancient times, the Hindu tradition in India was completely vegan, even things like garlic and onion weren’t allowed. It’s cleansing and light and that’s the way Indians eat on their streets.

“People think of Indian food as heavy, meat-based, something you wouldn’t have for lunch. We stand on the shoulders of curry houses, what they do is fantastic but it is very different to the way we eat at home.”

The team welcomed their first guests on Monday. Describing the new dining room, Nisha says: “It is to feel like the tired colonial buildings in Calcutta, tree roots growing through, street food vendors sizzling their golden spiced magic in corners lit only by the amber twinkle fairy lights.”

The prominent location close to George Square has been empty since it was vacated by Handmade Burger Co. in 2020.

READ MORE: Cooking for good with a new food project

Nisha gave up her career as a barrister in 2014 to build her food business, opening first in Liverpool and then in Manchester. She was recognised with an MBE in the New Years Honours list in 2019 and is a regular judge on Great British Menu and Celebrity MasterChef. She has written four cookbooks, including The Spice Tree and The 30-Minute Mowgli.

Highlights from the opening menu at Glasgow’s latest Indian culinary destination include Aunty Geeta’s prawn Curry with tomatoes tangled with panch phoron, green chilli, fennel, garden peas and mustard; a fresh and tangy green ginger and rhubarb dahl with sweet green mung lentils simmered with cumin; the intriguing treacle tamarind fries and the Holy Chow vegan showstopper of spiced chickpea, potato, spinach, fresh ginger and mango served in a loaf.

For dessert, order gulab jamun, syrupy brown nutty milk doughballs served warm with ice cream. The kids’ menu boasts junior versions of dishes like gunpowder chicken, mother butter chicken and soft paneer cheese simmered with spiced tomatoes and spinach.

Go to mowglistreetfood.com.