Mexican Monday is a popular one in our household – in fact, it’s often Mexican Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… etc etc. Tacos, quasedillas, chilli, nachos, you name it, we just love Mexican food. You’ll see us regularly putting our own spin on classic dishes over on my instagram. So when I saw Shakti Kitchen post on their feed about their own brand new Mexican Monday, launching as lockdown restrictions were slowly starting to be eased up, I couldn’t wait to try it. Served for now from a small kitchen in Cowley, this is the exact kind of small business that I hope we’ll see go from strength to strength, despite this strange situation we all find ourselves in, with the support of Oxford’s vegan community.
For £12 you get the ‘fully loaded burrito’, a perfectly wrapped warm tortilla filled with finely chopped roasted veggies, potato, spicy black beans and coriander rice. To make it a full meal, the burrito comes with a delicious salad box, made up with fresh kale and spinach, with a zingy tomato and red onion salsa, creamy guacamole, and a homemade cashew sour cream. This is the kind of food I used to head straight towards when I was attending food festivals. Wholefood ingredients, fresh and vibrant, nourishing, but most importantly tasty.
To top off the salad, if you dare, ask for the super spicy homemade salsa macha. I’d cycled home with my salad in my bag so mine had got pretty evenly tossed through the greens. I have to say it was possibly the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten. Not for the fainthearted, so you could always try it on the side of your salad and see what you think before mixing it through, but it does add an extra element of warming flavour to the box.
I felt this meal was just perfect for a warm summers day. Despite what you might expect, the burrito wasn’t too heavy (especially when I compare it to some of the greasier fast-food alternatives you could pick up in the city centre), and the salad made it a lovely and fresh balanced meal.
Shakti Kitchen have only been running their Monday pop-up for a couple of weeks, but so far they’ve been selling out, so I’d recommend dropping them a message sooner rather than later if you want to place an order. Or have you tried this meal deal already? Let me know what you think in the comments!
*UPDATE – November 2020*
Along with their Mexican themed nights, Shakti Kitchen have since been mixing things up with plant-based feasts inspired by food from Singapore, Thailand, and Morocco. I recently was invited back to collect a delicious vegan rice box to take away, the perfect pick-me-up on a wintery Friday evening. That week’s box consisted of a couple of curries served with brown rice and crunchy Asian greens. The first curry was thick and creamy, with mild coconut and lemongrass flavours, filled with nicely cooked veggies. The second was much spicier, with a hint of sweetness running through. The decent sized chunks of tofu and aubergine were both nicely cooked – even though chef had told me she wasn’t quite as happy with how it had come out that day, I thought it was great!
For only £12, I thought this was a really satisfying and filling meal. The fact that there was also a choice of a couple of vegan puddings available too was an added bonus. We tried the zingy, refreshing kaffir lime and ginger cheesecake, and the indulgent, nostalgic black rice pudding with coconut and pineapple. With a menu that’s regularly changing, Shakti Kitchen gives you a great excuse to visit multiple times and try the different dishes on offer.
These meals were complimentary; all thoughts shared are my honest opinions of the food.
Vegan Eats Oxford 
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