Locomotoring

On one hand I am relieved to be back to the comforts of home, on the other I am resuming familiar activities – movement, nutrition, health, job, groceries, cleaning and the myriad other things that tether me to life. This time, I am normalizing to my routine mindfully.

Nutrition and cooking have been integral part of my life activities for decades. So that was the first routine to get back to. In Scotland, one of the common BnB breakfasts was yogurt and chia seeds with berries, what they also call forest fruits. We were motivated to bring that back to California. Our last meal was at Dishoom in Edinburgh. I have had the Dishoom cookbook for years and all I had made out of it in prior years was their chai masala. So I decided to focus on a few gems from Dishoom cookbook.

But first, I came back home to a bunch of ripe passion fruits.

The first recipe to make from Dishoom cookbook was their Ruby chicken. Apparently, this is one of the most ordered dishes at the Dishoom restaurant. They also claim it to be blend between chicken tikka and butter chicken. It is a three part recipe that needs patience – the garam masala (rose petals in an uncommon addition), the makhani sauce and then the assembly. The garam masala makes 50 gm and only a small amount is needed in the Ruby chicken recipe, so there is longer term reward. The final dish is brilliantly colored, the chicken is deliciously juicy and the makhani sauce is well balanced. It left me wanting roomali roti….

The second adoption was a decadent buttery granola to go with the yogurt and chia seeds. I have been making granola with olive oil. The butter brings a nice butterscotch flavor to the otherwise earthy yogurt/chia/berry mix.

We currently have a multi-state outbreak of the intestinal parasite Cyclospora going on. While blueberries are relatively lower risk than lettuce, I wasn’t about to take chances. So, the fresh pack of blueberries had been flash cooked to a quick compote to kill potential parasites. Dishoom has a very east meets west rice pudding (basmati kheer with blueberry compote) that I simply had to make. Dishoom serves the kheer with a brulee top. Without the brulee, the sugar content is relatively low. The milk is reduced down to enhance its caramel like flavor. On its own, the kheer might feel a bit too rich. But the compote lightens it into a refreshing dessert. While in Edinburgh we had tried their kokum and jamun crushed ice dessert. It was salty and tangy. I am getting a sense of how Dishoom approaches the dessert.

Last from Dishoom is their other most ordered dish, the house daal or what is also called Daal Makhani. It is one of those dishes that cook for 4-5 hours across two distinct stages. Daal is always a comforting dish and if you combine daal makhani with eggplant bhartha, the meal elevates itself to a proverbial last one.