Dishoom: The first ever cookbook from the much-loved Indian restaurant

This was a wonderful read. The recipes are outstanding, but it’s also a fun, detailed travelogue, a history lesson, and a love letter to the city of Bombay. I truly enjoyed reading the stories, and if I closed my eyes, I could envision the sights, sounds, and aromas of the city’s food. Sure, it is romanticized, but so what? I’m not likely to find my way on the city streets at my advanced age, so I am happy to experience the city vicariously. I learned about the various ethnic groups that built the city and keep it running throughout its lengthy history, all of whom contribute to the incredibly vast variety of foods on offer. Even if you are not interested in the city or its peoples, stay for the recipes. Every single one I’ve made has been outstanding. Even the simplest recipes are incredibly delicious and satisfying. The black dal, for example, seemed impossibly simplistic. I was skeptical that just a few spices and some dal would be tasty, but it blew me away. The careful cooking, the dedicated stirring, precise timing all came together to make a smoky, complex, highly savory meal with some chapati. It did take 6 hours to cook, but you didn’t have to watch the pot every second. The meat dishes and seafood were equally delicious. The ruby chicken and lamb salli boti are recipes to make when you want to impress guests, or you want to be good to yourself and your family. The recipes are not difficult, but they are not all quick meals to make when you come home tired and hungry after a very bad day. But they are deeply satisfying and will nourish your soul along with your body. There are plenty of simple but delicious meals, but the longer, slow cooked ones really made me love this book. Don’t pass up the breakfast and afternoon tea recipes, because they are also gems.

I wish I could give this book a million stars! This book exceeds my high standards/ expectations by a million percent because I didn't know anyone was producing a book like this. What a thrilling and total surprise. I've never seen a cookbook like this - and so beautifully designed and put together - and the printing in Italy is just gorgeous. The writing is just such a huge pleasure. So beautifully wrought. Stories, photographs, a large sized map of Bombay, charm, charm, charm. The recipes are delicious and approachable... I haven't tried the more complex yet because I just got the book! The book has a good selection of recipes requiring more or less preparation time - or, as I think of it, with some for weekdays and others for the weekend. I love this book so much already. It has recipes for all my favorites too and a bunch of things I've not had yet! Love!!! Thank you.

This is THE Mumbai cookbook. Literal standard bearer for cookbooks. It’s not pedantic or complicated with weird English. Just (short) interesting stories, beautiful photographs and PERFECT recipes. Meaning the measurements and directions are so on point and accurate. You can not mess it up which is important given how many expensive ingredients Indian food has. Americans should buy Anchor Hocking glass measuring cups (4 cup and 2 cup) when you buy this. It will have liters and grams printed alongside the ounces which will take all the thinking out of the British measurements. You can just measure like you normally would. Whenever my “Angrezi” friends (white) ask for an Indian recipe or cookbook, this is the one. Clear, concise, accurate and DELICIOUS. Printed in Italy, this is the book to have when it comes to Indian cooking. Bear in mind India is a very big country/sub continent and these are not all encompassing. No butter chicken type stuff. But I would go so far as to compare this to the Julia Child cookbook for French cooking, it’s a must have in this day and age of internet recipes, you will actually use this one to look things up and will not need to sift through reviews to find the best one. Especially the desserts; Indian desserts are complicated and these are perfectly authentic and explained. We’ll worth the money.

I just ordered this book upon reading about it from a gals substack I follow. WOW the book is beautiful and it's easy to judge a cookbook by the first thing you make out of it ( mostly ) . I made the Lamb Raan. I substitute venison for pork, lamb, beef. I have the luxury of an abundance of meat from my loving partner who is a serious hunter. Anyway, It was fun to go to our local Indian market to grab these spices. I didn't find Deggi Merch but I got Kashmiri red chili. A fine sub from what I've read. I will seek out the Deggi. Order online any of this stuff. The RAAN was incredible. I was awe struck at how delicious it was and how THAT came out of my kitchen. I also made the slaw which was lovely and unique. I am very excited to add this cookbook to my rotation. I collect cookbooks and to review one says A LOT! Get this book now! The recipes seem a little laborious but like the other reviewer - SO WORTH IT!!! Impress your self and your loved ones!

If you want at least one, truly awesome Indian recipe you serve to guests that will say “this is even better than X, Y, Z restaurant!” Then..buy this fabulous cookbook! I have been tweaking the “Chicken Ruby” recipe, and I have many Indian cookbooks by famous chefs, and none even come close to how delicious, the depth of flavor, the felling of authenticity when you eat it, how it only improves after being refrigerated and reheated..I’m over 60, have a zillion awesome cookbooks, this is the single best Indian cookbook I have. I’ve started adding more spices to this, like blades of mace, extra cinnamon sticks, more black and green cardamom, some star anise, I think the additions are good for more depth of sweetness to counteract the heat..an additional note, use only half the amount of Kashmiri chili powder and use red paprika to supplement..I’ve never found any “mild” Kashmiri powder to actually be “mild.” I’ll try to add some photos!

This is a well written book with restaurant recipes from the DISHOOM restaurant itself however if looking for at home indian recipes, this is not your book. This book requires an intermediate level of skill, beginners may have a bit of a hard time. I think someone with experience in cooking indian cuisine may do better than someone naive to such techniques. Needless to say I enjoyed the book and the recipes. Alot of the ingredients may be difficult to find depending on where you live, I just had the fortune of being able to find a close substitute to whatever I was missing

I bought this book because Jaime the youtube Anti-Chef made the Chicken Ruby look fantastic. He was right, I thought it was one of the best things I've made. Since then I've also made the Masala Chai (wonderful hot and even better cold), Chicken Tikka, Macchi Tikka (with tilapia) and Chole Bhature (very good, even better with the toppings). All have been really, really good and now that I have some of the spice blends and other unique ingredients in hand there are are many more I have earmarked (I'm looking at you Gunpowder Potatoes and Chicken Berry Britannia). I like that the recipes give weights for the most ingredients, including things like coriander stems, lime juice and fresh ginger root. I also enjoyed the engaging pictures with the tour guide narrative. The only downside for me is that many of the ingredients are hard to come by in my small rural town and rather expensive to procure on the internet. No matter, so far the recipe results have been worth it.

I love cooking from this cookbook...seems to be a "sure thing"! So far I have made the gunpowder potatoes, Chicken Berry Biryani, and Chicken Ruby. I followed everything as instructed, except the biryani -- the recipe suggested using dried cranberries (since persian barberries are hard to find), but Amazon carries the barberries, so I made the "traditional" version after their delivery...wonderful!!! All dishes were incredible! A bit time-consuming, but the instructions were clearly written! Not a cookbook for quick meals, but I don't mind the extra time and ingredients for a special occasion if it pays off in the end!

What a lovely book! Large format, beautiful photos and the text is very engaging to read. This is not a cookbook in the traditional sense, it's more a cultural history with photos and a wealth of recipes. This is the type book you can open at random and start reading or start at the beginning, as the mood strikes. I have not yet cooked any of the recipes but they are easy to follow and well explained, so I'm sure the results in the kitchen will be great. I use my Kindle for most book purchases now but I purchased Dishoom in printed, book form and I strongly suggest you do as well. This is one that would loose a lot on a small screen. As a printed book it's fantastic, I can't wait to get a few oil smudges on it propped up in my kitchen next to the stove while I chop onions!

Love this cookbook!!

This is a fantastic book. I wish all cook books were like this. I am from the south of India, but this book makes you fall in love with South Mumbai. The photographs and the write ups - in addition to the recipes - are to be experienced. It was such a joy to read this book.

Ate at the Edinburgh Dishoom restaurant in August 2022 - for breakfast! It was lovely. The bacon naan wraps were incredible and the spiced eggs were a big hit (we "shared") at the table! I made the naan wraps for Christmas breakfast this year for the family - complete with never ending chai and handmade tomato relish/dipping sauce. I am ready to try out more recipes but I'm also learning about the cultures that contribute to this wonderful place and book.

This book is great I have a copy myself and buy as gifts for others. The seller however kept it in terrible condition. It arrived dirty and edges crushed.