Chilli. Mexican. Or maybe Tex-Mex. Not really Bombay, or indeed Indian, at all. So when we were first asked to take part in the UK “Chilli Standoff“, which took place last Saturday 17th November, we had to put our (slightly dirty and dog-eared) thinking topis on. But we quickly decided it looked such damn good fun that we simply had to be the Pete Sellers at this particular party.
And so, Chef Naved set to work in the kitchen. A bit of keema here, a few rajma there… liberal amounts of spices, onions, fresh lime, garlic, ginger… and as it turns out, it wasn’t such a leap of faith after all. Served with a sprinkle of crispy fried onions, a twist of lime, fried green mirchi and some toasted, buttered pau bun, it wouldn’t have felt out of place on our menu at all.
In the end – we came third. A podium finish! Not quite the first place we were hoping for, but against such food legends as Lucky Chip (1st) – with their slow-cooked chilli with bone marrow and vanilla butter – and Will Yates‘ (2nd) complex rare-breed chilli (stalwart Will was undaunted by a potentially broken hand), third place was a proud achievement. (We were just a touch sad that Salim did not get to do his victory dance.) And even before the results were announced, it was already a first-class day out, in the company of some of the best names in the food business (Gizzi Erskine, Angela Harnett, Tom Parker-Bowles…). All proceedings were helped along by plenty of ale (from Texas – or Hackney), a chota-peg of tequila, chocolate-chilli gelato, and a meringue s“kiss”.
(A great – and somewhat more objective! – write-up of the event can be found here.)
And really – what could we have called it, but Slumdog Chillionaire? For anyone that’s still hankering after it – you can recreate it at home. And we may even serve it up as a special one day soon.
DISHOOM’S “PODIUM” SLUMDOG CHILLIONAIRE RECIPE
Ingredients & Quantity
Oil 20ml
Bay leaves 1
Chopped onions 200g
Chopped tomato 400g
Garlic puree/minced garlic 30g
Ginger puree/grated ginger 20g
Salt ½ tsp
Coriander powder 1 ½ tsp
Cumin powder ½ tsp
Deggi mirch (red chilli powder) 1 ½ tsp
Turmeric powder 9gm
Rajma (dried kidney beans) 200g
Cooked Lamb Boti Kabab, chopped 300g
Fresh coriander, chopped Handful
Lime 1, in wedges
Crispy fried onions 4 tbsp
We used this as the meat in our Slumdog Chillionaire – but it’s very good indeed on its own, straight from the grill.
Ingredients & Quantity
Lamb leg, boneless steak, cubed 500g
Ginger paste 25g
Garlic paste 15g
Deggi mirch (red chilli powder) 1/2 tsp
Ginger juice 5ml
Salt pinch
Lime juice 15ml
Oil 25ml
Greek yogurt 250ml
Garam masala powder 15g
Red chilli powder 5g
Coriander stalks, finely chopped 25g
With each new café that we open, we write a story deeply rooted in Bombay history or culture. This story, known to us as the founding myth, informs all aspects of the restaurant’s design. We spend months researching the Bombay of the period and combing the city for the right furniture, both vintage and new. In a way, you walk across our thresholds into our stories.
Bedecked in their annual finery of baubles, tinsel and lights, our cafés are ready to receive you for your Christmas celebration. So too are our chefs, who have assembled a most excellent array of festive fare for your table.
Our soft launch will run from 27th November to 2.30pm on 5th December. And to express our gratitude for being among our first guests, all food can be enjoyed at 50% off across breakfast, lunch and dinner – yes, really.
Stop by any Bombay tapri (street stall), café, or home, and you will likely find yourself with a gently steaming glass of chai in hand. Before the invention of chai, Bombayites drank kadha, an ayurvedic remedy for coughs and colds made of boiled water and spices like cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. Eventually locals started adding tea leaves, milk, honey and sugar to their ‘kadha’. Chai was born.