Even the most orderly of hosts can fray under the demands of preparing a successful barbecue. To prevent this, below we provide some crowd pleasing side dish ideas that will both pair optimally with our Summer Barbecue Box and provide popularity with friends and family.
If you act with promptitude (preparing the Mint-coriander Chutney in advance and boiling the potatoes before your guests arrive), all dishes can be ready in 30 minutes or less, leaving you time to do something rather spontaneous and cooling with your long summer days – whatsoever that may be.
A feisty dish of new potatoes grilled, broken apart then tossed with toasted spices, fresh green chillies, spring onions and coriander.
Serves 4 as a side
500g baby new potatoes
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil, for basting
25g butter, melted
6 spring onions, finely chopped
5g coriander leaves, finely chopped
3 green chillies, very finely chopped
½ tsp flaky sea salt
30ml lime juice
1–2 tsp kabab masala
This salad has plenty of bite thanks to vibrant broccoli and red chilli, while plump Medjool dates add a delectable sweetness. Mint for freshness, the crunch of pumpkin seeds and toasted pistachios, dressed up in a zesty lime and honey dressing to finish.
Serves 2 as a side
1 small broccoli head
75g roasted pistachio nuts
¾ fresh red chilli
25 coriander leaves
4–5 mint leaves
25g roasted pumpkin seeds
25g Medjool dates
Salt, to taste
45g lime & chilli dressing
1 lime wedge
For the lime & chilli dressing
25ml lime juice
4–5 thin slices of ginger
1¼ small green chilli
½ tsp fine sea salt
19g granulated sugar
12ml rice vinegar
75ml mild olive oil or vegetable oil
A few mint leaves
To make the lime & chilli dressing
A messy to-do of cucumber, onion and tomato. A little lime lifts the whole affair.
Serves 2
1 small red onion
½ cucumber
1 tomato
20 coriander leaves
Juice of ½ lime
A generous pinch of fine sea salt or ½ tsp kabab masala
In Bombay, vibrantly fresh green chutney is very often served with hot grills, for dipping and daubing as you see fit. This fresh yet slightly spicy one is most fine and moreish.
Makes 70g
½ tsp cumin seeds
20g coriander leaves and stems
20g mint leaves
1 tsp granulated sugar
5g green chilli (1–2), roughly chopped
25ml lime juice
Order your Summer Barbecue Box here, or for other Dishoom recipes, please see Dishoom: from Bombay with love, our cookery book and highly subjective guide to Bombay.
The sun is momentarily out again. Calendars are fast filling up. There’s many a thing to do and many a friend to meet. And if we may kindly add to the excitement and the plan-making, here’s our list of what we’re looking forward to in September.
While we were at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we caught Evening Conversations, an engaging show by Sudha Bhuchar. We caught up with her after the show to talk about her journey and her views on South Asian representation on screen, which you can read below. And for those who didn’t walk down the cobbled streets of the city or stumble into an impromptu performance this year, we highly recommend it for 2024.
Each year as August dawns, the streets and rooms and corners of Edinburgh fill with music, art, laughter and song. Wander into grand halls and pokey pubs, as the morning sun rises or in the dark of night, to see creations of every kind as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In honour of this wonderful celebration of the performing arts (and as a little treat), here’s a special edition Dishoom Loves, covering all the acts we’ve circled on our festival programme.
For anyone looking to learn or read more on Partition, this page holds a series of resources, for all ages, created by people knowledgeable and knowing about such matters. It is by no means definitive – we have simply found them to be useful, inspiring and accessible.