Posts Tagged ‘Dishoom’
Post vacation normalization, food
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….
Read the rest of this entry »Desi food in London
 Dishoom, dishoom ... |
 Dishoom with its seventies look |
 Fried calamari with a set of spicy sauces |
 Shish Kababs and roomali roti, what else ... |
 Chicken tikka |
 Naan with Keema |
A few blocks from Seven Dials, is an Indian restaurant named Dishoom. The sound of a punch landing on your opponent in Bollywood movies has the sound “Dishoom“. Kids when mimicking fights do it with the sound effect “dishoom”, “dishoom”, … So there is indeed something endearing and playful in the name. The restaurant exudes hipness, although like any other Indian restaurant the service is a bit languid. Walls are decorated with an old world charm of mirrors and pictures of Bollywood movies and stars. You can watch the tandoor in action while waiting for food. We ate here a couple times and really enjoyed the “roomali” roti with the shish kababs. Roomal is Hindi word for handkerchief. Yes, sir, these breads are indeed as thin as the handkerchief. The dough is similar to naan/pizza and they are hand rolled like pizza, swirled in air to get the thinness and briefly cooked in the tandoor. I haven’t seen roomali rotis served in Indian restaurants in US. I found the food to be competent but the menu is limited to typical North Indian dishes that westerners associate with Indian food.
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Locomotoring 