• Foodycat on September 17, 2019

  The garam masala seems like a fiddle but it's incredibly good. The lamb boti kebabs and the house black dal are absolutely delicious.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chole bhature

  • IvyManning on July 19, 2020

    Soak beans in tea in fridge for at least 8 hours or you can't taste the tea.

  • Shaxon on January 06, 2022

    I skipped the tea step because I can't have caffeine in the evening. I'll look for decaff to try it again as written. It wasn't as complex as I'd expect given the variety of spices. We did like the sourness of the lime juice and the sharpness of the red onion garnish. I used hot kashmiri pepper which I understand has less heat. Next time I'll find the proper pepper or increase the kashmiri.

  • katmagdunn on January 22, 2024

    i love this but the easiest way to make it is the day after you make dishoom's mattar paneer, because that recipe makes too much of the masala. it's too much work as a one-off dish.

• Chicken Ruby

  • IvyManning on August 27, 2020

    I agree with stockholm28, I think there is a typo in the sub recipe for Makhani sauce...175ml (3/4 cup) of oil for one dish? There's a thick film of oil when simmering it...and then you add a substantial amount of butter and cream! I'd recommend reduce to a few tablespoons of oil when making the Makhani sub recipe. It was tasty, but takes a long time, perhaps make the sub recipe one day and finish the rest the next day.

  • bernalgirl on February 06, 2024

    This is a lot of work, special occasion food if you’re a working parent, but my family adored it. I made the makhani sauce and marinated the chicken on Sunday, and on Monday I seared the chicken in a cast iron pan and compiled the dish. It’s a deeply layered dish that I will make again when I have a rainy day to dedicate cook.

  • FJT on June 12, 2021

    We were supposed to be going to Dishoom on a trip to London just as the pandemic started, but it was cancelled so I bought the book instead. So glad I did; this was delicious. I took note of the other comments and only used a little bit of oil for the makhani sauce. I made the sauce at the same time as the marinade for the chicken, so this came together really quickly on the day. I also made double the sauce recipe so that I had some to freeze for another meal.

  • stockholm28 on December 26, 2019

    I made the chicken ruby curry. It was very good, but it is quite time consuming. I’ve had this in the restaurant and thought it was great. Mine really didn’t look like like the photo. My sauce was much thicker. It uses a lot of oil and I did end up removing some of it after frying the garlic as it just seemed like too much. Recipe is here: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/sep/07/four-classic-indian-recipes-dishoom-chaat-dal-salad-jackfruit-biyani-chicken-makhani-curry

  • joneshayley on August 30, 2020

    Absolutely worth the time taken to make this. The makhani sauce calls for 175ml oil, of which I decanted 150ml off after cooling the sauce. Next time I’d just use far far less in the first instance. The flavours are so complex and rich, it’s easily the best curry I’ve ever made.

  • coryelizabeth on June 01, 2022

    As others have noted, this recipe has a lot of steps that — even when split up over multiple days — can be a lot to juggle. As others have also noted, the amount of vegetable oil called for seems excessive, so I cut that down to about a tablespoon. Otherwise, this is a rich and satisfying dish that’s simply bursting with flavor. A real “I love you” meal.

  • WookieWoo on April 19, 2023

    Just the most perfect curry recipe. The sheer simplicity and no onions really surprised me but it just works. Have been making almost on repeat!

  • metacritic on September 13, 2022

    Excellent. Complex and nuanced, while not losing the quality of comfort food provided by a good chicken makhani. My previous standard was from the Benares cookbook. This reaches those same lofty heights and provides a slightly thicker sauce, which I do appreciate. All the observations below that one should pour off significant extra oil is absolutely right.

  • Hansyhobs on March 29, 2022

    Mother's Day 2022. I've cooked this several times and it never disappoints. It does take some time but it's not overly complicated. Unlike the other comments I've always used the full amount of oil and not had any issues with it, the dish has never felt oily. I thinly slice my garlic at the beginning as I find that easier to fish out of the oil with a slotted spoon than finely diced garlic. I usually make the sauce the evening before (when I marinade the chicken for the ruby curry). If you're making the black dal, that's a good time to simmer the lentils as well.

  • kkmatti on August 14, 2023

    This is the best chicken makhani I've ever had. It was a lot of work to make and involved a lot of steps and time, but I think it was worth it. We raved about the chicken after it was done grilling, and I'm tempted to try to make the chicken part of this on the bone on its own.

  • catmummery on November 04, 2023

    just made this again. It really is a fabulous curry recipe - as others have mentioned, complex, layered flavours. Sweetness next to chilli next to black and green cardamom and pickling spice. I used 2/3 of the oil suggested and it worked beautifully - it did look a lot at the beginning, but I think it added to the sauce in the end, and it was in no way oily by the end of cooking time. The chicken, like others state, is unbelievably tender and tasty - needed a hotter grill to properly char will do so next time but such a lovely way to do the chicken. Love this +++

• Makhani sauce

  • IvyManning on August 27, 2020

    I think there may be a typo here. 175ml (3/4 cup) of oil makes this super greasy and then you add butter AND cream. Try it with 1/4 cup of oil and you'll still be able to fry the garlic and make the sauce with the rest.

  • bernalgirl on February 06, 2024

    This is an absolutely luscious sauce base. I made it to the recipe, doubling the recipe. It’s a lot of oil as others have noted, and while I appreciate the result, I imagine I’ll halve the oil on a doubled recipe next time.

  • joneshayley on August 15, 2021

    Reduce the oil vastly! This is lovely and beautifully complex. Absolutely my favourite curry sauce

  • Hansyhobs on March 29, 2022

    Mother's Day 2022. I've only ever used the sauce for the ruby chicken. I make it the evening before when I marinade the chicken. I use sliced garlic instead of finely chopping as it's easier to remove from the oil. Never had an issue with the amount of oil used.

• Kabab masala

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    The fenugreek flavor is a bit overpowering for me. I used it on the gunpowder potatoes but I'm not sure I want to use it again.

  • Astrid5555 on January 28, 2024

    Used this for the Bowl of Greens recipe from this book. Good but not outstanding.

  • VineTomato on April 11, 2020

    I wanted to love this more than I did. It's okay but not amazing. I made my own chaat masala following Ragavan Iyer's recipe.

• Monsoon martini

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    This is a delicious and nicely balanced cocktail. The Ancho Reyes and black walnut bitters make it way more interesting than your average espresso martini.

• Bollybellini

  • SheilaS on October 18, 2021

    This is a very pretty sparkling wine cocktail, perfect for brunch. The lychee juice adds an interesting flavor. It's sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

• The commander

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    This is a good cocktail for a martini lover. I couldn't get the Kamm & Sons aperitif that plays the vermouth role here and substituted a local product, Amaro Angeleno and I thought it worked well with the peppery gin.

• Cyrus Irani

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    This is a very interesting and well balanced cocktail. The recipe describes the turmeric-cayenne-yogurt mixture as "curdled" after adding the lime juice. I saw no hint of curdling but went ahead and filtered it through a coffee filter and was rewarded with a lovely, clear, golden syrup.

• Ginger & garlic pastes

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    I made both of these and froze them in a flattened zip-top bag so I can easily break off what's needed. It's not that difficult to prep these items fresh for each cook but if you are making a number of recipes from the book, it is convenient.

• Onion-tomato masala

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    This stuff takes a good while to cook but you will be rewarded every time you use it as it adds a wonderful long-cooked flavor to whatever you are making. I plan to keep this stuff on hand all the time. It's like the love child of caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes!

  • Astrid5555 on January 13, 2023

    I could eat this by the spoonful. However this is a project that takes several hours to make. My onions took almost three hours to caramelize to the state described in the recipe which was probably my mistake since I probably did not turn the heat up enough. Leftovers freeze well.

  • bernalgirl on October 24, 2021

    This is quite a project but it’s deliciously deeply flavored and I can’t wait to use it in the various recipes in this book. I used the full amount of oil and cooked the onions for 90 minutes on medium, which meant I could do other things at the stove and stir less frequently. In total, this took ~2.5 hours to prepare. The index doesn’t tell you this but the masala is used in the following recipes: - Masala beans - Chole bhature - Rajma - Mattar paneer The recipe yields ~4 cups of masala

  • VineTomato on April 11, 2020

    Great base for other recipes in this book. I've frozen the left overs. It's even pretty good with pasta! Update 2021: I made this again as the base for the mattar paneer, looking back on my previous note I couldn't see anything particularly helpful! So here it is - used the full amount of oil required, the onions took around 55 minutes to brown, with near constant stirring. At first I was afraid of turning the up past medium - I did for the second half of the cooking time and then things started to move. Once I added the tomatos I left it on the stove for double the amount of time. Drained the oil off in the end through a fine sieve. It yielded just over 900g of onion-masala without the oil, almost double what the book says to expect. Not complaining, it makes it worth the effort!

  • JJ2018 on January 11, 2020

    This took me much longer than the book suggested for the onions to darken and I think that at first my medium heat wasn’t ferocious enough. This made more than the 450ml indicated but all the better for the freezer.

• Garam masala

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    I really liked the oven roasting method for the spices. The rose petals bring a lovely floral note. A very special garam masala, worth the effort to make.

  • Astrid5555 on January 13, 2023

    Best garam masala recipe ever, worth the effort of toasting and grinding the spices yourself.

  • rmardel on October 15, 2021

    I made this using the oven-roasting technique which worked very well, with no chance of burning. I do truly like the flavor of this garam masala; it is more complex than store-bought, and more complex than the version I have been making for years, with a well-rounded flavor profile and a nice fruity/floral note. it does not have much of a peppery afterburn, but heat can always be added separately to dishes if desired. This looks promising to be my new pantry basic.

  • VineTomato on April 11, 2020

    A nice blend and I used the oven method which brings out the fragrance of the spices with no chance of burning. I didn't have any rose petals on hand so left them out.

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    So different to bought garam masala. The fragrance is incredible.

  • coryelizabeth on June 03, 2022

    Wonderful, wonderful stuff. Easily the best garam masala I've ever tasted.

  • metacritic on December 19, 2021

    This is excellent. All the heat comes from the black peppercorn, so it is important to have good quality pepper. It has great depth and earthiness. I might prefer a little chili. It doesn't have ginger or green cardamom but doesn't suffer from those absences.

• Jackfruit biryani

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    This was good but not really worth all the deep frying. I suspect the jackfruit and potatoes could simply be pan fried instead of deep frying. The rice was cooked perfectly and prettily colored and the flavors were good. Just not a fan of frying!

  • marydulwich on January 21, 2021

    I've just finished eating this and I'm pretty blown away! Jackfruit doesn't appeal to me at all but I thought i'd give this a go and the flavours are incredible. A bit of a faff to make but you end up with perfectly cooked rice, so much flavour, and even delicious and pleasant-textured jackfruit. Highly recommend.

• Gunpowder potatoes

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    I thought these were good but the fenugreek in the kebab masala was a bit overpowering. Not something I need to make again.

  • bernalgirl on July 19, 2022

    This technique yields creamy potatoes with crispy outsides, the flavors are outstanding. I ran them under the broiler and used homemade chaat masala, easily 2 teaspoons, was pleased with the result. Will definitely make again.

  • joneshayley on August 15, 2021

    Brilliant side! Full of flavour pops and textures. Roasted the potatoes rather than grill, simply as the oven was on. Husband particularly enjoyed .

  • joeljkp on June 18, 2023

    This is a go-to Indian side for us - so flavorful and easy. Once you make the kabab masala you can whip this up very quickly. I use 1 Thai chili with seeds removed, which makes it plenty spicy for us.

  • Foodycat on June 01, 2020

    I cheated and used leftover chips (fries) rather than cooking the potatoes from scratch. A very good way to zhush them up.

  • coryelizabeth on June 01, 2022

    These were divine. The method of cooking the potatoes created delicious spuds on their own, but then with the lime juice, butter, and kebab masala? Chef’s kiss. I use Spicewalla’s brand of chaat masala (an important ingredient here) and think it’s great.

• East India gimlet

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    I like that the recipe says to taste before pouring, providing a chance to adjust the sweetness. I was surprised how nicely the lime juice, dill and celery bitters balanced out the sweetness of the lime cordial.

• Naan

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    I made this with all-purpose flour and it worked fine. It was easier for me to slap these on a baking steel positioned a few inches below the broiler element than carrying a heavy cast iron skillet back and forth from the stove to the oven. Both methods worked though and I was happy with the results.

  • Astrid5555 on January 13, 2023

    Only recipe from this book that did not turn out well. I have made many other Naan recipes with success, these were undercooked in the time specified in the recipe.

  • Jojobuch on May 15, 2021

    I've made this both with plain/all-purpose flour and cake flour (as I'd read that cake flour was a better substitute for maida flour). I liked the plain flour version much more - it resulted in a very nice, pliable dough that baked quickly into naan on my stove using a cast iron pan.

  • Hansyhobs on March 29, 2022

    Mother's Day 2022. Naans didn't turn out as well this time as previously. I used bread flour but perhaps I'll try plain flour next time. I also cooked these in a hot cast iron instead of under the grill so maybe that's the issue. Still very tasty

• Chilli cheese toast

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    Delicious cheese toasts to serve with soup.

  • bernalgirl on October 26, 2021

    An easy little snack, great as breakfast or lunch with a sliced apple or with soup for dinner. This calls out for a beer, or perhaps even made as crostini for cocktail hour. More than the sum of its parts

  • Bloominanglophile on September 16, 2020

    The headnote to this recipe states "Indians eat this when in need of a little comfort". Isn't this all of us nowadays! A handful of simple ingredients added up to a delicious snack, or in my case, lunch! Great with beer (in my case a Guinness Stout).

  • Running_with_Wools on February 24, 2022

    I love this simple recipe. I used good, aged English cheddar and a jalepeno. It wasn't as spicy as I hoped, so next time I'll go with a hotter chili.

• Prawn moilee

  • SheilaS on October 19, 2021

    At first bite, I didn't love this but after squeezing on plenty of lemon juice, it was perfect. Very easy for a dish that seems quite fancy.

  • rmardel on November 22, 2021

    Not my favorite version of moilee. I do think it is better with fish rather than shrimp, but the curry sauce would be delicious with anything really. This is dead simple but think it would benefit from some additional complexity.

  • metacritic on February 16, 2021

    Terrific and - a rarity for this book - dead easy. Tastes exactly like the Konkanese dishes I miss here in the US.

• Raita

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    Excellent raita. Nice flavors from the vegetables and a little crunch from the toasted cumin sprinkled over top. Will definitely make again.

  • Astrid5555 on January 09, 2023

    A keeper!

  • bernalgirl on September 06, 2024

    A great raita, dense with finely chopped vegetables and rich with the finishing cumin.

  • etcjm on April 08, 2021

    Made to eat with the chicken biryani. I don't think I've added tomato to a raita before, but it worked. Nearly burnt the fried onions for the biryani while deseeding the tomatoes though - if they had burnt, this might have had a different review! It tasted a bit salty before putting into the fridge to sit - but it did brew as per the instructions. 2 comments at the table as to whether this was a new raita and it was nice - so it might be a keeper. I'll be honest, I hardly had any because the biryani was so good, it didn't need it.

• Butter-bhutta

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    Love the flavor of the lime and deggi mirch with the corn but the salt level was way too much for me. Next time, I'll use a lot less salt.

• Okra fries

  • SheilaS on October 19, 2021

    I roasted these in the oven instead of frying and they came out quite well. After tossing them with the flours, I spread them in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheet and roasted @ 400°F for ~ 25 min, till the pointy tips were brown and crispy. Exact time will depend on the size of the pieces.

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    These will change the mind of anyone who says they don't like okra. Crisp and not remotely slimy.

  • Tee.Tee on June 14, 2020

    Substituted those slender green Indian chilis for the okra. Delicious! I needed the right batter. This came close to the one from the restaurant.

  • kkmatti on July 26, 2023

    Excellent and a new favorite! I think I like these better than French fries. Don't skip the amchur/chili powder/salt topping. It adds a nice dimension to the fries. I didn't have any chutney for dipping, so I made a quick dip out of sour cream, mayo, and sriracha that I thought tasted great with these fries.

• Rajma

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    This with rice and the raita makes a super satisfying meal. I used Rancho Gordo Rio Zape beans instead of canned. The onion-tomato masala takes a while to make but it all pays off by adding a great slow-cooked flavor to this easy dish that comes together in the time it takes to cook the rice.

  • bernalgirl on June 10, 2023

    This rajma is a very good reason to invest the time to make the onion tomato masala. Possibly my favorite rajma to date and even my legume ambivalent husband loved this, it has wonderful depth of flavor.

  • joneshayley on September 03, 2020

    A delightful cheap and flavourful meal. This was a huge hit for us and dc.

  • metacritic on April 16, 2020

    Extraordinary. As good as the dal makhani is, this is even better, which isn't faint praise.

  • shrnngnt on September 17, 2023

    Very good recipe. As aforementioned, the onion tomato masala takes a while, but after that it’s super easy. I made it with Rancho Gordo King City Pink beans and it was perfect. Much better choice than plain kidney beans.

  • JJ2018 on January 11, 2020

    Really enjoyed this. Requires the masala base which takes some time but the rest of the curry came together quickly

  • bc2rlh2023 on January 02, 2024

    Lovely, took a long while to prepare and cook (I used dried beans).

• Kachumber

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    Very simple to make and provides a fresh note to the richer dishes in the book

  • Astrid5555 on January 09, 2023

    Great side dish to go with any main from the book.

  • joeljkp on March 28, 2022

    Nice easy cucumber-tomato salad recipe. Our go-to for a fresh Indian side.

• Cheese & masala sticks

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    A fun quick snack to make with prepared puff pastry.

• Jeera biscuits

  • SheilaS on October 04, 2021

    These buttery cumin cookies are barely sweet so they are a perfect complement to the sweet Masala Chai. Mine cooked a good bit quicker than the time in the book - 9 min vs the 15-18 min given but I used my small toaster oven and it's possible it overshot the temp. Love the small batch size - I got 11 cookies.

• Nankhatai

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    The dough was very crumbly and certainly took more than a feather-light touch to flatten but they're delicious buttery cookies perfect with a cup of masala chai.

• Masala chai

  • SheilaS on October 04, 2021

    Love the mixture of spices in this chai. Might dial back on the sugar a bit but I enjoyed it as a sweet treat. The lengthy cooking time certainly extracts a lot of caffeine from the tea - I was buzzing around the house for a while!

  • etcjm on June 10, 2024

    Used oat milk. For the Chai lover in the house, he said it could have brewed longer. For the others they said it was actually rather nice. I would prefer less sugar, but given I'd never had it before that's my personal view.

  • lholtzman on February 15, 2024

    Solid recipe, but would use less sugar next time.

• Tomato-chilli jam

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    Love this jam. Mine took longer to cook down than the book timing but it eventually set up nicely. Perfect addition to a cheese or charcuterie platter or on a grilled cheese sandwich.

  • eliza on September 11, 2021

    This makes a tasty sweet/hot/savoury jam, and it is very easy. Made this using ingredients from my veg garden, so I used golden pear tomatoes, Korean kimchi chillies (red) and my own garlic. I didn't have any ginger so I put in 1.5 tsp of ground ginger. For the vinegar, I used part rice wine and part distilled white vinegar. My end product is surprisingly hot as my chilies really vary in heat. Mine also took much longer to gel, and next time I would add a bit of pectin with the sugar. Looking forward to having this with the chicken dish in the book as suggested or on toast with goat cheese.

  • joneshayley on September 03, 2020

    Perhaps I did this wrong but even after an hour the sauce was not thick nor jammy and very very sweet? I now have a thin sweet chilli type sauce that I’m not sure I’ll actually use.

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    Really good.

• Akuri

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    Tasty alternative to regular scrambled eggs. Personally, I prefer the masala beans on toast and the eggs on the side.

• Parsi omelette

  • SheilaS on October 14, 2021

    Loved this tasty omelet. Use a large enough pan so the omelet won't be too thick and easier to roll

  • joneshayley on September 01, 2020

    Really nice breakfast.

• Kejriwal

  • SheilaS on October 02, 2021

    Delicious! Loved the technique of starting the egg in a hot pan, topping with chili/cheese and finishing in the oven.

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    Very simple and very good.

• Chicken livers on toast

  • SheilaS on February 15, 2024

    This is great! The spice paste that the livers are first marinated in and then cooked with is delicious and the tart lime juice and fresh coriander leaves are the perfect finishing counterpoint to the richness of the spices and livers

  • bernalgirl on October 26, 2021

    What a great brunch dish! I usually like my chicken livers seared so I wasn’t sure about this but the flavors are wonderful and it is absolutely delicious on buttered toast with a squeeze of lime. I used a sourdough whole wheat sandwich loaf from our local baker, I wanted that slightly denser crumb to absorb the butter and juices, and would choose this again over something like a pain au levain. I have just enough left over to make the keema.

• Mattar paneer

  • Astrid5555 on January 09, 2023

    Absolutely delicious! Quite time-consuming to cook if you don’t have some prepared onion-tomato masala in the fridge, but worth the effort!

  • VineTomato on November 14, 2021

    We ate a Dishoom a few weeks ago (you can book a table now - hurray!) and I've been obsessing over their mattar paneer ever since. I made it last night and it did not disappoint! Tastes just like it does at the restaurant - absolutely delicious. The onion-tomato masala required is a project but worth it, and yields enough to make two more mattar paneers at a later date, or several other recipes in the Dishoom book.

  • joneshayley on September 01, 2020

    Absolutely delicious! The serving suggestion of kachumber alongside adds to the overall meal. The texture contrast to the soft melting cheese is brilliant.

  • apw2020 on June 19, 2023

    Wow wow wow. This is an incredible recipe. Agree with other chefs - the onion-tomato masala took an extra hour or so, but the rest of the dish comes together very quickly after that. A fantastic Sunday dinner.

• Bowl of greens

  • Astrid5555 on January 28, 2024

    This is good, but compared to many other recipes from the book just average, especially give the fact that you need to make some spices specifically just for this one recipe.

  • VineTomato on April 11, 2020

    I have been dying to make this. It is my favourite thing to order at Dishoom and even Mr VT enjoys it. The home version was a disappointment - the oven grill just can't achieve the same results. Be warned this is one of those books where you start one recipe and realise you need two other recipes to complete it! I'll come back again with a straight oven roast for 15 minutes and skip the blanching - that will work for the broccoli but not sure about mange touts.

• House black daal

  • Astrid5555 on January 09, 2023

    Tastes exactly like the original from the restaurant, worth the effort. Made mine 2 days ahead and it reheated beautifully.

  • VineTomato on March 22, 2020

    Absolutely delicious. I tend to always use more ginger than the recipe recommends and in this case it was overpowering. Next time I'll stick to the recipe, which relies on a subtle balance of flavours that really come together beautifully. I used my pressure cooker for the first step (25 minutes) and the lentils were already starting to break apart, after adding the tomato and spices I only cooked for a further 20 minutes. There will be a next time where I want to experiment with a 24 slow cook.

  • VineTomato on April 11, 2020

    I'm back to report on the 24 hour slow cook. It worked perfectly and the dhal held together better than the pressure cook version. I soaked the dhal for 6 hours. Boiled on high for 10, and simmered for 50 minutes on the stove top. Then into the slow cooker with everything but the cream, and brought to a simmer and then onto low overnight. The next day I opened the slower cooker to let it reduce for part of the day, and by the time dinner came it was perfect. My only gripe is the smell was a little off putting first thing in the morning, and after cooking it all day I didn't really feel like eating it for dinner. I enjoyed it more the day after.

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    This takes a long time. Mine took about 5 hours. Well worth every minute - it has the most beautiful flavour.

  • Tee.Tee on June 14, 2020

    I followed the instructions per the book and was not disappointed. I have had this at the restaurant. This was pretty darn close. I’ll be making this again. Easy but have to be attentive.

  • patioweather on November 01, 2021

    This was incredible. Worth the effort.

  • purrviciouz on October 18, 2020

    Absolutely incredible! I doubled the recipe and am so glad that I did because it really does take about 5 hours and the flavor is superb.

  • etcjm on October 16, 2021

    I had high hopes for this as it's been on my list for a while. Must admit I got a bit jealous of everyone cooking it for Food52 cookbook month, so I got stuck in. When you're in the kitchen anyway baking, it's not a big deal to have this on the hob. It is very good. I had to try very hard to not cover it in coriander, but it wasn't on the recipe - so I didn't. One thing, it was just a touch too salty. I would rather add less and adjust accordingly next time. Served with gluten free flatbreads. Definitely do again.

  • Hansyhobs on March 29, 2022

    Mother's Day 2022. I love this daal. I simmer the lentils the evening before (when I'm marinating the chicken and making the ruby curry sauce) and let them drain overnight. The following day I cook with the aromatics. It really does take several hours but it is so worth it.

  • kkmatti on August 14, 2023

    Very good and worth the time. I cut down the cook time by using a pressure cooker for 10 minutes with a 15 minute rest to initially soften the daal in step 2. This worked very well and didn't seem to compromise the quality of the finished daal. My only critique is that the finished product doesn't look red like the photo in the book. It's more of a brown color.

  • hlange on June 12, 2024

    A lot of steps and time consuming, but not at all difficult. I used beluga lentils which softened much faster in the initial step and sped things along. Took about 3 1/2 hours start to finish. This was delicious and I'll definitely be making it again.

• Basmati kheer

  • Astrid5555 on January 28, 2024

    Very time consuming, let my oldest stir for 1 1/2 hours to achieve the desired results, very good though. It’s like a rice pudding but with a lighter texture. The blueberry compote made all the difference.

• Chicken tikka

  • Astrid5555 on January 09, 2023

    Delicious, marinated for 6 hours only, texture was great.

  • bernalgirl on October 20, 2021

    I wanted to love this, the marinade smelled and tasted amazing. But after 12 hours of marinating and then grilling, the chicken had an odd soft texture and the marinade had its own texture that my daughter described as “fuzzy” and that I found reminiscent of uncooked flour. Is it the combination of the ginger and rice vinegar? I don’t know but I don’t plan to try this again.

  • Foodycat on June 01, 2020

    I used pheasant breast. The marinade contains very few ingredients but has a huge amount of flavour - really delicious.

• Masala prawns

  • Astrid5555 on January 13, 2023

    Excellent, straining the marinade in the fridge to help reduce the dampness of the shrimp before grilling is genius.

  • metacritic on July 02, 2020

    Fantastic dish. One of the easier ones in this book that I've tried. Included an interesting technique of straining the marinade so that the prawns weren't damp when put on the grill. SO suggested it was the best dish with shrimps I've made. It wasn't but it was quite good.

• Keema pau

  • bernalgirl on October 31, 2021

    Very different from my usual keema but I love how mint-forward it is. I used turkey for my lamb-averse child, and I increased the spices. It worked really well and is absolutely excellent with the chicken livers.

  • Foodycat on August 06, 2020

    I just did the keema and served it with paratha and salad, rather than in pau. New-to-me technique of making a yoghurt sauce, splitting it and cooking the raw meat in the separated sauce, but it made a very rich, velvety version of keema. I prefer the way I usually do it with more spices though.

• Viceroy's old-fashioned

  • bernalgirl on November 28, 2021

    The infused simple syrup is absolutely amazing, and the resulting bourbon is round and woodsy. I made it into a batch cocktail for Thanksgiving using sparkling wine in place of still water, garnished with Luxardo cherries and a long strip of orange zest — the flavor profile was perfect! I found the infused bourbon sweeter than I wanted and may reduce the volume of sugar next time but I want to keep playing with this. I used Wodehouse bourbon and would do so again, it’s fairly neutral and takes on the infusion well.

• Chicken berry Britannia

  • Omsafeeya on October 15, 2023

    Excellent and easy. I doubled the amount of onions and cooked them (and drained them on kitchen paper) 24 hours before serving. Used zereshk rather than cranberries. Chicken was very tender, rice was perfectly cooked.

  • joneshayley on August 22, 2021

    Very very good. I added pomegranate seeds and they were welcome crunch.

  • etcjm on April 08, 2021

    So much flavour. Quite unexpected really as I felt it wasn't too difficult and 'expected' how it would taste. It ended up being on another level really. I did extra chicken as it had defrosted on the side and I was worried it would end up wasted, I adjusted the spices accordingly. The only change really was I left out the julienned ginger - having increased the ginger to 35g I was very concerned it would end up too spicy. 3 of us were happy with that decision, the 4th wanted more! The 'saffron water' created so much colour. The fried onions - be very careful. One second nowhere near, next one - black (or so you think), but my word - make extra to sprinkle on top. Looking forward to more from this book. I used barberries instead of cranberries (oh the ottolenghi effect). Served with the raita and brussel sprout thoran (meera sodha). Excellent.

• Prawn koliwada

  • VineTomato on April 11, 2020

    Divine! Really easy to make, just as long as you remember to leave time for the marinade to work it's magic.

• Lime & chilli dressing

  • VineTomato on April 11, 2020

    It's good but does it really need all that oil?

• Paneer tikka chapati roll

  • joneshayley on August 16, 2021

    A lovely lunch, went down very well. Whenever you make the paneer kebabs always double so that you can have this the next day

• Paneer tikka achari

  • joneshayley on August 15, 2021

    Really good and very easy. The peppers are particularly flavourful. The marinade includes “Indian pickle” - I mixed lime pickle and mango chutney and that worked brilliantly. The masala dusted over at the end is essential-it adds a complexity and completes the dish

  • joeljkp on May 20, 2023

    Fantastic flavor. I used halloumi in place of the paneer and skipped the salt in the marinades. Grilled over charcoal. Next time I would cut the cheese a bit smaller than 3cm cubes - the peppers-to-cheese ratio was a bit high with big chunks.

  • metacritic on November 09, 2021

    Truly delicious and quite easy. Inspired by the reviewer below, I used a lime pickle and another I picked up at the farmers market, punched up with chili, turmeric, mustard oil, and yogurt. The dish grilled on a grill pan beautifully. It was at its peak when still warm. I didn't dust it with the final spices but have used the same mix to good effect with other recipes in this book. I think the butter baste adds considerably to the dish.

• Salli botti

  • joneshayley on August 15, 2021

    Very very good, the finishing with the vinegar (I used white wine vinegar) and jaggery make this l! It’s deep and rich, completely delicious.

• Keema per eedu

  • joneshayley on September 01, 2020

    Brilliant recipe. The depth of flavour and yet subtlety of spicing is utterly perfect. A perfect brunch

• Fresh lime soda

  • joeljkp on May 30, 2022

    Wow - so refreshing. Perfect level of sour.

• Aloo sabzi

  • Jojobuch on May 15, 2021

    Very satisfying curry, thickens nicely from the potatoes.

• Bacon naan roll

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    The tomato chilli jam is excellent - I used bought naan and it was a bit too much bread for the amount of filling but the flavours were brilliant.

  • Running_with_Wools on February 24, 2022

    This is an easy and simple recipe. I think it's genius in it's simplicity. I made the tomato chilli jam, and we've enjoyed this at least 6 times since. Even my kids love it.

• Mutton pepper fry

  • Foodycat on June 25, 2022

    Fiddly - you marinade the meat then make a masala powder then a curry base - but it all builds the flavours beautifully. I used venison. Very good flavour, not blow-your-head-off but will raise a sweat.

• Malabar paratha

  • Foodycat on August 06, 2020

    Good technique but I didn't get them thin enough so they burnt before they were cooked through. I froze most of the pleated disks of dough so I will have another go when I get the char out of the frying pan. I may try baking them on a hot baking sheet instead of on a pan.

• Lamb boti kebab

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    I hadn't used papaya paste before - it's absolutely magic the way it softens the meat and helps the spicing draw in. Even on flat metal skewers, the kebabs were almost too soft to turn. I've used the same marinade for venison kebabs, which were also wonderful.

  • metacritic on May 17, 2020

    Good but the first dish from book that I've cooked that wasn't otherworldly good. I had high expectations and was somewhat disappointed. Will try again even so.

• Spicy lamb chops

  • Foodycat on December 26, 2019

    We used to go to an Indian restaurant that did the most delicious lamb chops, and we could never figure out how they could be so more-ish. This recipe gets very close.

  • mjes on August 25, 2021

    Read the recipe: first marinade step is 2 hours; second marinade step is 24 hours; 15 items to measure for second marinade. This is not a last minute recipe - it is make a serious commitment to the recipe. I ignored the cooking instruction "until nicely caramelized" having decided I was more concerned with not overcooking the lamb ... so, yes, a bit more caramelized would be good but I can't expect perfection on the first try.

• Tamarind chutney

  • chrisbing on January 02, 2021

    Used for crab masala recipe, worked well. Not tasted on its own.

• Soft-shell crab masala

  • chrisbing on January 02, 2021

    Used king prawns, as no crab available, still very good.

• Awadhi lamb biryani

  • metacritic on December 19, 2021

    It takes a great deal of labor - I'd say I worked over three hours in active cooking - but the results are terrific. A very traditional biryani, which is just how it should be, even as the layers of flavor yield a jolt. It was not as spicy a biryani as I tend to prefer, but that can be worked on. My aging garam masala, which desperately needs a refresh, could not have helped. But the lime, the kewra water, the rose water, the fried onions, all yield something that is exciting to eat and deeply satisfying at the same time.

• Lamb raan

  • metacritic on December 28, 2022

    An easy, delicious, stewed, and then pulled lamb leg. A savory dish that is finished with its own broth, butter, and kebab masala. A good company dish.

• Murgh malai

  • metacritic on May 17, 2020

    I tried out of curiosity but with some skepticism. Cheddar? Malt vinegar? They worked! This is a fantastic dish.

• Paneer & mango salad

  • Xyz123 on October 30, 2021

    This salad is absolutely fabulous! The dressing is so well balanced. The crispy onions make it all come together. I could live off of this!

• Chocolate mousse

  • JJ2018 on August 14, 2021

    My first attempt at a traditional chocolate mousse which we all enjoyed. It was very rich though and used a lot of bowls so would only make for a special occasion

• Keema puffs

  • shylastrath on December 29, 2023

    I made the vegetable version. Did 16 puffs the first day, 8 bigger puffs with leftover filling (used a full batch of filling for 2 sheets of pastry). Served with Trader Joe’s Mango Chutney. Great starter for a meal or as part of an appetizer spread.

• Banana & date porridge

  • lholtzman on August 07, 2024

    Last time I made this it was way too sweet for me. This time I decided to use only two dates and the banana was just ripe, so not too sweet. Both of these factors made it less sweet, which was good. I also added a pinch of salt to counteract the sweetness and add a bit of depth. I like that the steel cut oats don’t fully turn to mush and this porridge is creamy with a bit of bite. I like the porridge better this time, but not so much that I would make again. It’s a bit time consuming for breakfast and I find it pretty one note.

• Aloo tikki chaat

  • Hansyhobs on March 29, 2022

    Mother's Day 2022. First time making this dish and everyone loved it. I took a shortcut and blitzed the whole (peeled and cooked) potatoes in a food processor with the cornflour etc. which I don't recommend - went gummy. I fried the potatoes for much longer (in butter) than the recipe suggested to make them very golden and crispy. Careful the chickpeas don't clump when deep-frying, just add a few at a time, although it doesn't really matter. I didn't make the tamarind drizzle, instead, I just drizzled over some Waitrose tamarind paste and sprinkled with the degi mirch chilli powder.

• Pineapple & black pepper crumble

  • Hansyhobs on March 29, 2022

    Mother's Day 2022. Lovely, although I realise just now (two days later) that I forgot about the vanilla.

  • raymondantony on May 25, 2022

    The pineapple filling was way too sweet! almost sickeningly sweet for my taste. a 100g of sugar for the filling of already sweet ripe pineapples + 100g of sugar for the crumble makes this dessert too sweet. I would at most add 1 tbsp of sugar to the filling and use brown sugar for part of the sugar needed for the crumble. will try making this again but with less sugar and negligible simmering (as I feel it took away from the pineapple flavor)

• Coriander-mint chutney

  • Hansyhobs on March 29, 2022

    Mother's Day 2022. Nice and simple but it does oxidise fast so make it last minute if you want to retain the super vibrant green colour.

• Chilli pomelo salad

  • Naila.e on January 09, 2023

    I was looking for a fun salad recipe—I love salad but I usually find them quite boring, even from my local salad places. This salad was everything I could have hoped for and more. Best salad I’ve ever had. And I normally hate kale!! I only made it because pomelo happened to be in season. The pomelo provides a perfect citrusy burst of brightness in every bite. I left the kale to sit with the pomelo and other salad ingredients (except for the dressing) for about 1 hour before serving to mitigate the rough texture of the kale. It was perfect that way. I made the salad exactly as directed, I only left out the chopped chili and the cilantro because my sweetie doesn’t eat either (although luckily she was just fine with the hint of heat from the dressing!!) if I were to make it again I might chop the dates into smaller bits. Highly recommend this salad in November/December when pomelo is in season!

• Rice

  • hlange on June 12, 2024

    As good as plain rice can be. Good cooking method.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  The one Indian cookbook that will always remain in my collection as it is a gift to my palate and spirit.

  Full review

• Food52

  The book, fittingly, begins with a fold-out map of the city that inspired the recipes inside, as the reader is taken on a winding tour of its best-loved crevices...

  Full review