The familiar way to order an Indian meal is to choose a starter, settle on a curry and add rice or bread. It works. It also misses the pleasure of letting contrasts develop across the table.
The menu at The Crossing Leeds makes more sense as a sequence. Begin with crunch and acidity, move towards the grill, then allow the deeper dishes to arrive once the palate is awake. Dessert can take care of itself.
Start sharply
The Crossing chaat bowl sets the pace. White lentil dumpling, chickpea chaat and chutneys are joined by a crisp shiso leaf. Each spoonful should carry more than one texture, with yoghurt and tamarind softening the edges before the next crisp bite.
Dahi puri takes a more familiar route. Crisp wheat spheres hold tangy potato, tamarind chutney and spiced yoghurt. Phuchka keeps the shell and changes the mood, pairing street-style potato with green mango and tamarind waters.
Ordering all three would crowd the opening. Choose one. For a first visit, the chaat bowl gives the clearest introduction to how the kitchen thinks.
Bring in heat without rushing
Gunpowder prawns follow well. The prawns are grilled in a podi butter with garlic, bringing warmth after the sweet and sour notes of the chaat. The dish has enough focus to stand alone, though it works best while the table is still sharing.
Vegetarian diners might turn to malai broccolini, served with cardamom and black pepper labneh. Leeks and fennel bhajiya offer another contrast, with crisp batter and a green herb chutney.
There is no need to order heavily at this point. The grill is coming.
Let the grill hold the middle
Chicken tikka uses boneless thigh marinated with Kashmiri chilli and yoghurt, then serves it with mint labneh and black masala. Burrah kebab takes a firmer line: lamb chops with pepper and chilli, accompanied by rogani potato and vindaloo ketchup.
The paatra ni fish macchi is worth considering when the table wants something lighter. Sea bass is grilled in banana leaf with a Parsi green herb masala. Paneer tikka achari gives vegetarians a substantial alternative, filling pressed paneer with pine nut and mango chilli pickle before it meets the grill.
Choose one grill dish for the table and give it space. A second can be added for a larger group, though the curries deserve some appetite.
Commit to one deeper dish
The Railway Lamb Curry is the menu’s slowest expression. A whole lamb shank arrives in smoked rogani laal maas curry, ready for bread and the sort of sharing that becomes less democratic with every spoonful.
Butter chicken is gentler, with boneless chicken in a tomato and butter fondue scented with fenugreek and cardamom. Alleppey prawn curry moves south, poaching prawns in coconut, ginger and turmeric with mustard and curry leaves.
Vegetarian choices have their own weight. Saag paneer brings pressed cheese into a garlic spinach curry with fennel and cumin. Mushroom korma combines seasonal mushrooms with a melon-seed sauce and mace.
One curry is enough for two people when the meal has started with small plates and a grill. Add another if the table is larger or if opinions are becoming difficult.
Choose rice or bread with intent
Chicken dum biryani brings fragrant spices, saffron basmati rice and pomegranate raita together in one dish. The pressure-cooked pulaos take another approach. Each is cooked to order in a sealed cooker, so allow up to 20 minutes.
The Kashmiri lamb pulao is home-style and built around yakhni. The Crossing special gucchi pulao uses morels and mushrooms, with cumin and long-grain rice.
Bread gives greater freedom with curry. Plain or butter naan keeps the attention on the sauce. Confit garlic and chive naan is more assertive. Laccha paratha brings flaky layers that hold up well beside the lamb.
Leave room
The rasmalai milk cake pairs cardamom sponge with saffron milk and pistachio. Flourless chocolate bake takes a darker route with almond halwa crumble and filter coffee ice cream. Mango serradura is a Goan Portuguese set dessert finished with biscuit crumbs.
After a meal of smoke, spice and slow cooking, the rasmalai milk cake is the natural finish. It is fragrant and soft, with enough texture from the pistachio to stop the last course from becoming sleepy.
