Cooking Around the World: "Dishoom: From Bombay with Love"
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Food, at its most basic level, is a necessity. It can also be a comfort, a cause for celebration, a time machine. The smell, sight, sound, and tastes have a way of transporting us back to some of our most treasured memories — whether it's to a family kitchen, a favorite restaurant, or halfway around the world.
Each time I travel, I try to find a good cookbook to bring back with me. Learning how to recreate dishes in my own home and sharing them with the people I love is a way of extending happy memories and continuing the adventure long after I’ve returned.
Following my first trip to India, I was gifted with one of my favorite cookbooks in my collection, Dishoom: From Bombay with Love. The book itself is absolutely beautiful — aqua and gold, with full page photos, extensive history and context added to each recipes, and a fold out “highly subjective guide to Bombay with map” recounting some of the quintessential restaurants that make up the fabric of the city’s culinary scene.
Flipping through the pages, I’m taken on a walking tour of Mumbai. Ambling the city in search of the best kulfi, the freshest naan, the crispiest samosa, or a perfectly balanced curry. The book offers recipes for every meal of the day — breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts — along with sections for cookery guidance, breads, and chutneys, pickles, & dressings. True to form for any food traveler, it includes entire sections dedicated to the obligatory “Mid-morning Snacks" (designated for 10 o’clock); and separate sections for “First", “Second", and "Third Dinner” to be enjoyed throughout the evening, each representing different areas of the city.
Every time I revisit Dishoom, which has been quite often lately, it is a fulfilling experience. I’m filled with gratitude for the journeys I’ve had; I’m filled with delicious homemade food I’ve prepared; and I’m filled with new plans and inspiration for the next adventure ahead!
Here are a few of the most popular recipes from Dishoom: From Bombay with Love to enjoy at home:
Akuri, Chicken Tikka, and Prawn Moilee shared by GQ Magazine
Paul Henderson, 5 September 2019, “Dishoom: three recipes you have to make,” GQ Magazine
Jackfruit Biryani, Dishoom’s House Black Dal, Chana Chaat Salad, and Chicken Ruby Curry shared by The Guardian
Dishoom Restaurant, 7 September 2019, “Four classic Indian recipes from Dishoom,” the Guardian
Okra Fries, Masala Chai, and Prawn Moilee shared shared by Refinery 29
Sadhbh O’Sullivan, 8 September 2019, “If The Dishoom Queue Is Too Long, You Can Now Make It At Home,” Refinery29
Dishoom: From Bombay with Love by Kavi Thakrar, Naved Nasir and Shamil Thakrar (Bloomsbury, £26) is available now. You can purchase the cookbook yourself from their restaurant (purchase Dishoom: From Bombay with Love here) or from the publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing (available in hardcopy or eBook here).
