"It's an oasis, it's Dishoom"

Towards the end of last year a real live bona fide poet came to Dishoom and loved it so much he wrote a poem about it! We were truly touched.

The poet happens also to be the father of one of our staff (Prerna) whom you may remember from her lovely peacock Diwali chalk rangoli. Joe, the poet in question, lived in Bengal for many years and has written one of the authoritative translations of Tagore’s famous Gitanjali (which is an incredibly beautiful work). He’s also a fantastic chap.

TO A NEW RESTAURANT

It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom,
a new jewel in St Martin’s Lane.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom.

It could be London’s ritziest room.
Sit in splendour and rest your brain.
It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom.

It’s something else. From India’s loom
an offering to drive you insane.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom.

Oh man, the food. A bride and groom
each couple will become again.
It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom.

A red wine in the cunning gloom
downstairs . . . you have not lived in vain.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom.

Ganesh, observe a café boom,
from where upon the wall you reign.
It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom!

Joe Winter
November 2010

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Ayesha Erkin shares one of her delectable date recipes

We’re turning page after page of Ayesha Erkin’s recipe book Date of the Day, featuring 30+ recipes for the modest date – timely for breaking fast and after. Our dear friend Ayesha has now kindly shared a recipe for you to make at home. Try it this Iftar or any time you need a salty-spiced sticky treat.

Celebrate Iftar with Dishoom

The holy month of Ramadan is upon us, when Muslims around the world fast daily from dawn till dusk. It is a time of private worship and spiritual discipline, but also of shared joy and abundant feasting. Families and communities come together at suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, and at iftar, the evening meal, to break their fasts with copious, delicious dishes. Join us on 7th April for our own Iftar celebration – for an evening of feasting and live music.

Caring hands at Ramadan

Ramadan

We often find it too easy to hurtle through the days, in an attempt to outpace the bustling city – be it London or Bombay – which always seems to be running away like a steam-engine train on a rickety track. Occasionally, it does us good to pause for thought, to disembark the carriage and sit on the platform awhile.

Dishoom's Cheese & Masala Sticks Recipe

The month of Ramadan may be a period of fasting but it’s equally synonymous with feasting. Iftar – the evening meal with which Muslims break their fast – is an occasion for eating favourite dishes and indulging in the naughtiness of moreish snacks after a day of abstaining, and these cheese-and-pastry twirls make the perfect snack.