Welcome to my second Hidden Treasure instalment. Mithaas is a restaurant I have been meaning to try for some time. It is a pure vegetarian Gujarati restaurant. My family are originally from the Gujarat, a state in India which is almost 100% vegetarian. As a result it is quite possibly the best veggie cuisine in the world. Gujaratis have learned how to use vegetables, beans and pulses in the most exquisite ways. This is the food I grew up with. My comfort when I’m ill and my craving when I’m missing home. I’ve learned to cook some dishes from my Ma and late Nani but there are so many dishes that I’ve yet to master. It was such a delight to visit this restaurant and to discover that the food they cook is so very very good!

We visited a few weeks ago, myself and 3 friends. My friends are expats from Ireland and the UK and had never tried this type of cuisine. My thanks to them for being daring and trying something completely new! We went for the unlimited thali lunch for 3 bhd (£6). And unlimited it certainly was! As soon as one bowl on our thalis was empty it was quickly refilled. The beautifully delicate and light fulka chapattis just kept coming and were used to scoop up the many different dishes on offer. The kadhi (a spicy soup made from yoghurt) was very tasty. The undhiyo (a spicy mixture of vegetables), a family favourite, was stunning with a generous amount of dumplings. The saag is a personal favourite and was just as my Ma makes it. The potato curry was star of the show for my friend Niamh. The dokla (a savoury cake with a spicy green chilli chutney) were light and so very tasty. By the time the rice was served (Gujaratis always eat breads first then rice) we were stuffed and could only manage a small amount. I did however have a bit of rice with some chaas or lassi to finish my meal. We left Mithaas with full tummies vowing to return again.

And return I did! This time I tried their home delivery service. I had just flown back from the UK after the Christmas holidays and was feeling a bit homesick. The food was every bit as good as before. Some Gujarati food can be on the sweet and oily side but it was refreshing and a very pleasant surprise to see that Mithaas go easy on the sugar and oil.

I thoroughly recommend Mithaas. It’s true to its roots and provides excellent quality home cooked food at a very reasonable cost in a lovely, bright, clean setting. The service is spot on too. Pay it a visit, you won’t regret it! Just make sure you are hungry…….very hungry!

This hidden treasure can be found at Road 505, Isa Al-Kabeer Avenue, Manama, Bahrain

Anti clockwise from the top – undhiyo, dahl, potato curry, mung dahl, kadhi, fulka chapatti, dokla and chutney

And the refills keep coming!

Niamh’s favourite potato curry