A couple of years ago, a friend mentioned that she is offering consulting to a new restaurant, helping them to capture the atmosphere of Mumbai’s famed Parsi restaurants. At the time, I couldn’t imagine how such a restaurant could look like in London, let alone the authenticity of the food. I admit to a kind of streetwise snobbery about British Indian food. And when the first Dishoom finally opened in London, I hesitantly asked my friend whether she would recommend eating there.
If you love Indian food, and live in the UK, you shouldn’t miss Dishoom. I believe they offer the most authentic experience that you can provide while recreating a cultural institution outside of its original context. But the point here is not the restaurant, but their newly released cookbook. If you love cooking and Mumbai, then you should definitely get the Dishoom cookbook, lovingly subtitled “From Bombay with love”. The recipes are a delight, but the introduction and the photos are equally good. This is just a delightful, and very well-made book that will lift your spirit.
Even if you don’t like cooking yourself, but love books and Mumbai, you should definitely get the book for its introduction and the photos.