There are few cookbooks that immerse you in their subject so thoroughly and so lovingly as Dishoom ‘From Bombay with Love’. Part travel guide, part history, part food manual, this reads like a personal diary with a stonking recipe collection as a bonus. I could eat the Mattar Paneer every week and I probably will, with a Chilli Cheese Toast chaser.” – Lulu Grimes As you learn to cook the Dishoom menu, you’ll also discover the simple joy of early chai and omelette at Kyani and Co., of dawdling in Horniman Circle on a lazy morning, of eating your fill on Mohammed Ali Road, of strolling on the sands at Chowpatty at sunset or taking the air at Nariman Point at night. By now, you may have an initial impression of Bombay. It’s a crowded place, of course. Glass and steel alternates with corrugated iron and then gives way to fading Art Deco and wild, slightly oriental Gothic. It’s not really the same as the rest of India. It’s somewhat monochromatic, with less of the colour that people seem to associate with the country. It is clearly a city of massive and closely juxtaposed extremes. Put the chopped chilli, coriander and red onion into a bowl. Remove and discard the seeds from the other tomato half, finely chop the flesh and add to the bowl. Add the turmeric and chilli powder. Set the bowl to one side. Put the bread in your toaster now.

Put the dal into a large bowl, cover with water and whisk for 10 seconds. Let the dal settle, then pour out the water. Repeat three or four times, until the water is clear. Tip the dal into a large saucepan and pour in at least four litres of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook steadily for two to three hours. Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface, and add more boiling water as required to keep the grains well covered. The dal grains need to become completely soft, with the skins coming away from the white grain. When pressed, the white part should be creamy, rather than crumbly. When cooked, turn off the heat and set aside for 15 minutes.This sweet and spicy take on chai makes a wonderful alternative to your run-of-the-mill cuppa. It’s best served piping hot – just make sure you’ve got a pot nearby for refills.

Drain the rice when the soaking time is up. Pour two litres of boiling water into a large pan and add the two teaspoons of salt and the lime juice. Tip the rice into the pan and stir well. Boil until it is three-quarters cooked, which should take four minutes from the time the rice went into the pan – you can tell that it’s at this stage by taking a grain between your forefinger and thumb, and pressing down on it with your nail: it should still be slightly firm and break into five or six pieces. Drain the rice; you don’t need to shake it completely dry, because a little extra moisture helps during cooking. It’s simply a beautiful, hefty thing to have in your home, fragrant with stories of the Parsi cafes dotted across Bombay and a narrative that’ll have you greedily racing towards the end like a pulp fiction novella." – Lucas Oakeley Let the grated cheese come up to room temperature; it needs to be quite soft and workable. Heat the oven to 240°C/Fan 220°C/Gas 9. Place a baking tray inside to warm up.

Warm a dry frying pan over a high heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Toast for two minutes, or until golden brown, shaking the pan to keep the seeds moving so they don’t burn. Add the sesame seeds and toast for a further minute, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Add 1 teaspoon of garam masala, 20g of sugar, 1 tablespoon of runny honey, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, the crispy sliced garlic (fried earlier), 1 teaspoon of crushed fenugreek leaves and ½ teaspoon of fresh dill fronds to the saucepan. Cook for another 15 minutes. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces, add to a pan of boiling, salted water and cook until almost tender. Drain and pat dry, then set aside.Add the prawns and tomatoes to the sauce and simmer gently for a further 5-6 minutes, until the prawns are cooked; do not overcook or they will be tough. A beautiful book that will transport your palate straight to the Irani cafés of Bombay.” – Susan Low Now with seven branches across the country, in less than decade Dishoom has become everybody's favourite boutique restaurant chain... and with good reason. The atmosphere, attitude and attention to detail are all spot on, but it is the all-day menu that has won most visitors over. So for those of us who can't get enough of the Irani café-inspired menu, here are three must-make dishes from the new Dishoom recipe book... Breakfast: akuri