Meet the Chef : Naved Nasir
The Executive Chef at Dishoom shares one of the most popular dishes on his menu; Prawn Moilee
Dishoom pays loving homage to the Irani cafés that were once part of the fabric of life in Bombay. These were the first spaces in the city where people from all walks of life shared tables, rubbed shoulders and broke bread together. The first Dishoom opened in London in 2010, serving Naved Nasir’s lovingly curated menu of Bombay comfort food. From hearty breakfasts to street food staples, nourishing dishes of biryani to the curries of Mohammed Ali Road, and the famous grills of Colaba, Chef Naved’s menu brings together the food of all Bombay.
Dishoom now has eight cafés, including the much-loved Dishoom Manchester, which took up residence on the ground floor of Manchester Hall, a beautiful 1920s Grade II listed building originally used as a Freemasons’ Hall, in late 2018 – a most impressive setting for everything from a laid-back breakfast to an opulent evening feast.
After attending catering college in Delhi, Naved joined one of India’s best hotel chains, ITC, working in the Bukhara restaurant, before moving to Dum Pukht restaurant in the hotel group’s Bombay outpost. He moved to the UK in 2010 and has been Dishoom’s Executive Chef ever since.
Everything the Dishoom team does shares their love for Bombay – its food, its history, its culture and its quirks. Chef Naved tells us “When I first worked in Bombay, I hated it – it was so crowded. Over time, I fell for its charms, and it feels a great honour to bring the flavours of this cherished city to our guests. Each of our cafés is a small love letter to Bombay, and all our dishes are deeply rooted in the heritage and flavours of the city.”
Chef Naved is perhaps best known for Dishoom’s signature House Black Daal – a dark, rich, deeply flavoured dish that it lovingly cooked over 24 hours – but it’s not the restaurant’s only must-try dish. For each restaurant Chef Naved creates a Chef’s Special, and Dishoom Manchester’s special, Nalli Nihari Biryani, is another of his most cherished creations. “Nihari is a rich and hearty lamb dish that is regularly enjoyed during religious celebrations like Eid al-Adha. In Manchester we make it into a biryani that sees a tender shank of lamb layered with rice and caramelised onions then sealed beneath a pastry blanket. The results are really quite gratifying.”
CHEF’S RECIPE
Prawn Moilee
It’s a light, fragrant and utterly delicious south-Indian-style curry, packed with juicy prawns and tempered with coconut milk. Although it looks impressive, it is actually very easy to make, so you can serve it either as a week-night supper or as an indulgent dinner. We serve it with idiyappam, the white, lacy noodle pancakes, also known as stringhoppers. If you can’t get these, it goes just as well with steamed rice.
INGREDIENTS
SERVES 4 PEOPLE:
6 green chillies, 55ml vegetable oil, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 30 fresh curry leaves, 300g Spanish white onions, sliced (a little chunky is good), 15g garlic paste, 15g ginger paste, 2 tsp fine sea salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 1⁄4 tsp ground turmeric, 25g fresh root ginger cut into matchsticks, 400ml coconut milk, 250ml coconut cream, 24 large prawns, 300g medium tomatoes, cut into small bite-sized wedges
METHOD
Remove and discard the stalks from the chillies, then slice each one into 3 or 4 long strips. Set to one side.
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add 40ml of the oil, let it warm for a few seconds, then add the mustard seeds and 20 curry leaves. Let them crackle for a few seconds.
Add the onions and sauté lightly for 12–14 minutes, until soft but not coloured.
Add the garlic and ginger pastes, salt, black pepper and turmeric and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the sliced chillies and ginger matchsticks and cook for 3 minutes.
Pour in the coconut milk and cream and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the curry is simmering, place a small frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp oil. Toss in the rest of the curry leaves and fry for 1 minute, until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and 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.
Serve scattered with the fried curry leaves, with lemon wedges on the side.
Note: If you’d like to prepare the dish in advance, make the sauce (up to and including the fifth step), chill and refrigerate, then reheat and continue from step 6 just before serving.
Extract taken from Dishoom by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar & Naved Nasir (£26, Bloomsbury)
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