These recipes are from Dishoom’s new cookery book, Dishoom: From Bombay with Love. It’s best served piping hot – just make sure you’ve got a pot nearby for refills. This sweet and spicy take on chai makes a wonderful alternative to your run-of-the-mill cuppa. This simple dish is not unlike scrambled eggs but comes with a good kick of heat. Serve with their punchy green vada chutney to cut through the deep-fried richness. Add ruby-red pomegranate seeds for extra colour and flavour.ĭishoom‘s prawn koliwada is a deep dive into flavour and makes a delectable seafood starter or snack. You can also make Dishoom’s special masala spice mix here.ĭishoom‘s take on bhel – a light, almost-salad street food dish of puffed rice, sev, chopped onions, tomatoes, chilli and chutney. Adjust the spices to suit your own palate and serve as part of an Indian-inspired feast. It’s really special and makes a fantastic weekend feast.Ī simple side dish with outstanding results.
Wash it down with their refillable hot chai, which is the best in the business. Head for breakfast and you’ll be able to knock back one of their famous bacon naans (yep, that’s streaky bacon, served in a freshly baked tandoori naan, with a dollop of cream cheese, chilli tomato jam and fresh herbs). It’s surprisingly affordable and boy, it’s delicious. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the best part the food. The service is warm and friendly, the smells are enchanting and you could easily spend an entire meal sat in silence, just gazing upon the décor. What is ‘it’ exactly? It’s that warm feeling where you know you’re experiencing something authentic and genuine and that you’re in for a completely unique dining adventure. People from all walks of life shared tables, rubbed shoulders and broke bread together.Īs soon as you walk through the front door of any one of their eight restaurants, you just get it.
What made Irani cafés so special? According to Dishoom, they broke down barriers by bringing people together over food and drink and were the first places in Bombay where people of any culture, class or religion could take cool refuge from the street with a cup of chai, a simple snack or a hearty meal.
In their prime in the 60s, there were almost four hundred Irani cafés but now, fewer than thirty remain.
UK restaurant chain Dishoom pays homage to the Irani cafés and traditional cuisine of Bombay.