One of the best ways to experience Indian food isn’t to order one curry each.
It’s to fill the table.
- Something crispy.
- Something spicy.
- Something from the grill.
- A vegetable dish.
- A rich curry.
- Rice.
Warm bread for tearing and dipping.
Then everyone tries everything.
For many Indian families, this isn’t a new dining trend. Sharing food is simply how we eat.
At Kerala Canteen in Leeds, that philosophy became the inspiration behind our Kerala tapas and sharing-style menu.
Instead of committing to one familiar dish, guests can explore several different flavours from Kerala in a single meal.
If you’ve never ordered Indian food to share before, here’s how to build the perfect table.
What Is an Indian Sharing Meal?
An Indian sharing meal is exactly what it sounds like:
Several complementary dishes placed in the middle of the table for everyone to enjoy.
Rather than:
Starter → Main Course → Dessert
Think:
Crispy + Grilled + Vegetable + Curry + Rice + Bread + Drinks
The objective isn’t simply to order more food.
It’s to create contrast.
One dish should make you want another.
Something spicy can be followed by something refreshing.
Something crispy contrasts with a softer curry.
Bread gives you one way to eat the sauce.
Rice gives you another.
That’s when the meal becomes interesting.
Why Indian Food Is Perfect for Sharing
Indian cuisine naturally lends itself to communal eating.
A table might contain rice, breads, vegetable preparations, meat or seafood, lentils, pickles, chutneys and curries.
They’re not necessarily intended to be experienced in isolation.
The flavours interact.
This is particularly true with Kerala cuisine.
Kerala cooking can move between coconut, black pepper, curry leaves, chilli, tamarind, ginger and aromatic spices.
Ordering several dishes lets you experience those flavours side by side.
And that’s exactly why we developed the Kerala Canteen menu around sharing.
Step 1: Start with Something Crispy
Every good sharing table needs texture.
Crispy food immediately gets everyone reaching towards the middle of the table.
At Kerala Canteen, there are several ways to start.
Trivandrum Fried Chicken
Our Trivandrum Fried Chicken is one of the easiest introductions to Kerala Canteen.
The dish takes its name from Trivandrum — officially Thiruvananthapuram — Bobby Geetha’s hometown in Kerala.
It’s familiar enough for someone new to regional Indian food while introducing the spices and personality of Kerala.
Put one in the middle.
Don’t expect it to stay there long.
Step 2: Add Seafood
Kerala has a long coastline along the Arabian Sea.
Seafood therefore plays an important role in its culinary identity.
Our Crispy Curry Leaf Calamari combines seafood with another ingredient fundamental to South Indian cooking: curry leaves.
The calamari brings texture.
The curry leaves bring aroma.
And alongside fried chicken, you’ve already created two completely different experiences.
For a larger sharing meal, dishes such as Sea Bass Pollichathu, King Prawn & Courgette Masala or Grilled Octopus Moilee can take the seafood side of the table even further.
Step 3: Add Something from the Grill
Now you need something deeper.
Our Green Pepper Lamb Chop brings together lamb and Kerala’s historic relationship with pepper.
Kerala’s Malabar Coast has been associated with the international spice trade for centuries, and black pepper has a particularly important place in that story.
The important word here is pepper.
Indian food doesn’t get its complexity from chilli alone.
Pepper provides a different kind of warmth and aroma.
A sharing table allows you to notice those differences.
Take a bite of Curry Leaf Calamari.
Then the Green Pepper Lamb Chop.
Two dishes.
Two different expressions of Kerala spice.
Step 4: Never Forget the Vegetables
One of the biggest mistakes when building an Indian sharing meal is ordering too much meat.
Indian vegetable cooking deserves much more attention.
Vegetarian dishes provide balance, colour and completely different textures.
At Kerala Canteen, consider adding:
Chilli & Tamarind Cauliflower
Sweetness, acidity, chilli and texture.
Paneer Pepper Fry
Paneer combined with the warmth and fragrance of pepper.
Mini Broccoli Masala Dosa
A contemporary introduction to South India’s dosa tradition.
Kerala Chutney Podi Potatoes
A comforting dish influenced by the intense flavours of South Indian chutney powder.
A great sharing table shouldn’t feel like meat with vegetable side dishes.
The vegetables should be dishes you fight over too.
Step 5: Add a Dosa
If your experience of Indian restaurants has mainly involved naan and curry, adding a dosa immediately changes the table.
Dosa is traditionally made using fermented rice-and-lentil batter and is one of South India’s best-known foods.
At Kerala Canteen, our Mini Broccoli Masala Dosa allows you to experience it as part of a wider sharing meal.
This is exactly what Kerala tapas is designed to do.
You don’t need to understand an entire regional cuisine before ordering.
Try one.
Share it.
Then decide whether you want another.
Step 6: Choose Your Curry
Now you’ve reached the comforting centre of the table.
You need curry.
But don’t automatically order three different curries simply because three people are eating.
If you’ve already ordered several Kerala tapas, one or two curry bowls shared between the table may give you more variety.
At Kerala Canteen, some options include:
Beef & Bone Marrow Curry
Rich, deeply flavoured and particularly good with flaky Kerala porotta.
Grain-Fed Chicken Curry
A comforting option for diners who want to explore Kerala flavours through something familiar.
Lamb & Chickpea Curry
A satisfying combination of slow-cooked flavour and texture.
Green Seasonal Vegetable Korma
A plant-based option showing that a sharing meal doesn’t need to revolve around meat.
The best choice depends on everything else you’ve ordered.
If your tapas are mostly chicken and lamb, perhaps choose a vegetable or seafood-led curry.
Build balance rather than repetition.
Step 7: Rice or Bread?
This isn’t an either/or question.
For a sharing meal, we like having both.
Basmati Rice
Rice gives you a clean base for curry and absorbs sauces beautifully.
Kerala Porotta
Then comes one of our favourite parts of the meal.
Kerala porotta is a flaky, layered flatbread made for tearing, scooping and sharing.
If you’ve only ever eaten naan at an Indian restaurant, order porotta.
Tear off a piece.
Use it to scoop up some Beef & Bone Marrow Curry.
That’s all the explanation it needs.
Step 8: Think About Sweet, Sour, Hot and Aromatic
This is where you can turn a collection of dishes into a properly balanced meal.
Don’t order five dishes with the same flavour profile.
Look for contrast.
Want heat?
Choose something chilli-led.
Want acidity?
Look towards tamarind.
Want warmth?
Explore black pepper.
Want fragrance?
Curry leaves and aromatic spices can take the meal in another direction.
Want richness?
Coconut-based preparations or a deeper meat curry can provide it.
The perfect Indian sharing meal isn’t about finding the “best” individual dishes.
It’s about how those dishes work together.
Step 9: Don’t Order Everything at Once
This is particularly important with tapas-style dining.
You don’t need to predict exactly how hungry you’ll be.
Start with several dishes.
Share them.
Talk.
Have a drink.
Then decide whether the table needs another curry, more porotta or another plate of the dish that mysteriously disappeared within 90 seconds.
A sharing meal should feel social.
Not like a logistical exercise.
How Many Dishes Should You Order?
There isn’t one perfect formula because appetite and portion size vary.
But at Kerala Canteen, think in terms of variety rather than one dish per person.
For two people, you might begin with:
2–3 Kerala tapas + 1 curry + rice or porotta.
For four people, consider:
4–6 tapas + 1–2 curries + rice + porotta.
For a larger group, increase the variety rather than simply multiplying identical dishes.
And remember:
You can always order more.
The Perfect Kerala Sharing Meal for Two
If we were introducing two guests to Kerala Canteen for the first time, we might build the table like this:
Trivandrum Fried Chicken
Something crispy and approachable.
Crispy Curry Leaf Calamari
Seafood and the fragrance of curry leaves.
Chilli & Tamarind Cauliflower
Vegetables, acidity and spice.
Beef & Bone Marrow Curry
Something rich and comforting.
Kerala Porotta
For tearing and scooping.
Then add a Canteen Star or Tender Coconut & Ginger Mojito.
Suddenly you’ve experienced fried food, seafood, vegetables, curry, bread and Kerala-inspired drinks in one meal.
The Perfect Kerala Sharing Meal for Four
With four people, you can become more adventurous.
Try:
- Trivandrum Fried Chicken
- Crispy Curry Leaf Calamari
- Green Pepper Lamb Chop
- Chilli & Tamarind Cauliflower
- Mini Broccoli Masala Dosa
- King Prawn & Courgette Masala
- Then add:
- Beef & Bone Marrow Curry
- Green Seasonal Vegetable Korma
- Basmati Rice
- Kerala Porotta
Now the table starts telling a much bigger story about Kerala.
- Meat.
- Seafood.
- Vegetables.
- Pepper.
- Curry leaves.
- Tamarind.
- Rice.
- Bread.
Different textures and different levels of spice.
That’s the point.
What About Vegetarians?
Indian food is exceptionally well suited to vegetarian sharing.
Rather than simply removing meat dishes from the recommendations above, build the meal around India’s extensive vegetable traditions.
At Kerala Canteen, a vegetarian table could explore dishes such as:
- Chilli & Tamarind Cauliflower
- Paneer Pepper Fry
- Mini Broccoli Masala Dosa
- Kerala Chutney Podi Potatoes
- Fried Idli & Butternut Sambar
- Green Seasonal Vegetable Korma
Add basmati rice and Kerala porotta and you have a meal with plenty of variation without treating vegetables as an afterthought.
What Should You Drink with an Indian Sharing Meal?
A sharing meal is about moving between flavours, so drinks can become part of that experience.
At Kerala Canteen, our bar follows the same philosophy as the kitchen.
We take ingredients associated with Kerala and use them to reinterpret familiar drinks.
Gunpowder & Turmeric Margarita
A Margarita with a Kerala spice direction.
Tender Coconut & Ginger Mojito
Refreshing coconut and ginger alongside a familiar mojito profile.
Hibiscus & Jaggery Old Fashioned
A deeper drink suited to richer flavours.
Canteen Star
Tropical, fruity and influenced by ginger and jaggery.
We also offer handcrafted mocktails including Mango Tango, Virgin Star, Tender Coconut Cooler and Ginger & Jaggery Nojito.
For beer drinkers, a cold lager or our Malabar Giant IPA can work beautifully alongside spice.
Sharing Food Is About More Than Food
There’s another reason we love this way of eating.
It changes the conversation.
When everyone orders an individual main course, the boundaries are obvious.
That’s mine. This is yours.
Put ten dishes in the middle and something different happens.
“Try this.”
“What’s that?”
“Have you had the lamb?”
“Who finished the calamari?”
“Order another porotta.”
The table becomes part of the experience.
And for us, that’s much closer to the spirit of eating together.
From Kerala Family Tables to Kerala Tapas in Leeds
The sharing philosophy behind Kerala Canteen is rooted in food memories from Kerala but presented in a way that feels natural in a contemporary Leeds restaurant.
Bobby Geetha, known from MasterChef UK and BBC Great British Menu, represented Yorkshire & Humber on Great British Menu.
His wider cooking philosophy has been to bring authentic Indian recipes, spices and techniques together with outstanding British and Yorkshire produce.
At Kerala Canteen, that idea evolved into a simple concept:
Kerala soul. Yorkshire produce. Food made for sharing.
Rather than westernising regional Indian food, we want to make it easier to explore.
Kerala tapas gives diners the freedom to try something unfamiliar without having to make it their entire meal.
And very often, that unfamiliar dish becomes the one everyone wants to order again.
Indian Sharing Meal FAQ
What is the best way to order Indian food for sharing?
Choose dishes with different ingredients, textures and flavour profiles rather than several similar curries. Combine small plates, vegetables, meat or seafood, curry, rice and regional bread.
How many Indian dishes should two people order?
At a sharing-style restaurant, two or three smaller dishes followed by a curry with rice or bread can be a sensible starting point. Portion sizes vary, so ask the restaurant and add more if needed.
Should everyone order their own curry?
No. Sharing curries allows everyone to experience more flavours and can work particularly well when you’ve already ordered several small plates.
Should I order rice and bread?
For a group, ordering both gives you different ways to enjoy the curries. At Kerala Canteen, try basmati rice and Kerala porotta.
What is Indian tapas?
Indian tapas is a contemporary restaurant format using smaller Indian dishes designed for sharing. Kerala Canteen uses this approach to help diners explore several Kerala flavours in one meal.
What Indian food is good for groups?
Small plates, grilled dishes, vegetable dishes, curries, biryanis, rice and breads are naturally suited to sharing. Choose variety rather than ordering multiple versions of the same dish.
Is Indian sharing food good for vegetarians?
Yes. Indian cuisine has extensive vegetarian traditions, making it particularly easy to build a varied meat-free sharing meal.
What should I order at Kerala Canteen for the first time?
A first-time table could include Trivandrum Fried Chicken, Crispy Curry Leaf Calamari, Green Pepper Lamb Chop or Chilli & Tamarind Cauliflower, followed by Beef & Bone Marrow Curry with Kerala Porotta.
Where can I find Indian sharing plates in Leeds?
Kerala Canteen in Leeds specialises in a contemporary Kerala tapas and sharing-style menu inspired by the food and flavours of Kerala in southern India.
The Golden Rule of Indian Sharing
There’s really only one rule.
Don’t order five versions of the same thing.
Create contrast.
- Crispy + soft.
- Meat + vegetables.
- Seafood + curry.
- Pepper + tamarind.
- Rice + porotta.
- Spice + something refreshing to drink.
Then put everything in the middle.
Forget whose dish is whose.
And share.
Because sometimes the best way to discover Indian food isn’t deciding what you want to eat.
It’s ordering a table full of things everyone wants to try.
Build Your Indian Sharing Table in Leeds
If you’re searching for Indian sharing plates in Leeds, Indian tapas Leeds, Kerala tapas Leeds, South Indian restaurant Leeds, best Indian restaurant for groups in Leeds or simply want a different way to experience Indian food, Kerala Canteen was designed around exactly that idea.
Bring friends.
Order dishes you’ve never tried.
Tear the porotta.
Pass the curry.
Steal the last piece of fried chicken.
Order another round.
Come hungry. Share everything.
Kerala Canteen, Leeds — Kerala in flavour. Yorkshire at heart.
