Wigston Fields News and Deli has built up a name for itself – and rightly so – when it comes to local produce.
The shop, with a hashtag of #NotJustACornerShop, stocks produce from more than 50 local producers, with items from beer and wine to bread and cakes and much more besides.
Its owners, Bee and Pratik Masters, are also the duo behind Leicester’s Indian fine dining restaurant, Lilu.
Although the restaurant currently remains closed, the couple have come up with a bright idea to enable customers to be able to get ‘restaurant quality’ Indian ready meals from the shop.
The #NotJustACurryClub features a weekly-changing menu, with orders needing to be placed by 9pm on a Tuesday for collection from the shop that Friday. The meals are provided chilled, ready for you to re-heat at home.
Well, a Friday night curry sounded just the job to me, so I decided to give it a whirl.
The menu
The menu changes each week, but there’s always meat, vegetarian and vegan options available.
For the week we ordered, there were starters of cumin chicken tikka shaslik (£4.90), grilled tiger prawns (£4.90), vegetable samosas (£1 each), onion bhajis (£1 each) and dhokla (£2 each).
(Image: Becky Jones)
Mains on offer were chicken tikka pasanda (£6.90), lamb meatball curry (£9.90), paneer makhani (£6.90) and vegan mogo curry (£6.90).
There were three naan options – garlic and coriander, Long Clawson Dairy Red Leicester naan, and coconut peshwari naan (£2.50 each) as well as chapattis (£2 for four) and poppadoms (£2.49 for six).
To accompany the poppadoms, there was Lilu’s pineapple salsa, Lilu’s spicy pickled onions, and the signature mango mint yoghurt (all £3.95 each) or spicy garlic chutney/marinade (£2).
Yes, there’s certainly plenty to choose from!
The only thing not on the menu that you may expect from an Indian meal is rice. According to News and Deli, the reason this is not offered is that rice is high risk when reheated, and it is something that people can make at home to a high standard.
My hubby and I decided to start with grilled tiger prawns and the cumin chicken tikka shaslik, and follow them up with the chicken tikka pasanda and paneer makhani.
We also ordered the poppadoms plus the mango mint yoghurt, and one garlic and coriander naan and one Red Leicester naan.
The meal
Having placed my order on Tuesday, I headed to the shop on Friday and collected my brown bags full of goodies.
(Image: Becky Jones)
Once dinner time arrived, I heated the food until piping hot and put the array of dishes on the table.
It certainly looked like a tasty spread, and we eagerly began eating.
The poppadoms were large, crispy and free of grease. Though tasty on their own, they worked really well with the delicious creamy and fresh mango mint yogurt.
The tiger prawn starter, with a turmeric, ginger and garlic marinade, was good – although there’s a possibility I overcooked it a tad as I’m always wary with seafood! The cumin chicken tikka shaslik was definitely our favourite starter, featuring lovely moist pieces of chicken which had been marinated in chilli, ginger and garlic, and served with peppers and onions.
(Image: Becky Jones)
Both of the mains were excellent. The mild and sweet pasanda featured tender pieces of chicken in a coconut, cream and onion sauce, made with a touch of pineapple juice.
The paneer makhani included a generous amount of cheese chunks in a mild fenugreek, tomato and cream sauce. I adore paneer, so I was particularly looking forward to this dish, and it didn’t disappoint.
We really enjoyed the naans too, which, like the poppadoms, were pleasingly free of grease. One was topped with chopped garlic and coriander leaves and the other filled with lots of delicious Red Leicester cheese. I’m a big fan of a cheese naan and this one was superb.
(Image: Becky Jones)
We didn’t make any rice, and to be honest, we didn’t need it. With the starters, mains, poppadoms and naans, there was more than enough food for the two of us.
The verdict
This was a really tasty meal, full of flavour and clearly made using quality ingredients. The ordering and collection process was simple and as always at News and Deli, I received friendly and efficient service.
Of course, this isn’t a takeaway as such, but rather posh ready meals. It does involve you having to do a bit of work reheating it, but I think you’ll find the results make it worthwhile.
At £35.04 for a very good, and filling, meal for two, I reckon it is fairly priced.
If a Friday night curry sounds good to you, why not get your order in ready for next week?
Our rating: 4/5
Food hygiene rating: 5/5
