Dishoom's East India Gimlet

I love this twist on one of my favourite cocktails, the gimlet, from the hugely successful Indian restaurant Dishoom.

The original gimlet was devised to prevent scurvy. When sailors, anxious to avoid death, took to mixing lime cordial with their gin, they created one of the earliest cocktails. Our version adds fresh lime and dill, with a dash of celery bitters.

The cordial must be Rose’s. Accept no imitations. Ensure also that your dill is fresh; anything slightly ailing will ruin the flavour of the drink.

This gimlet will go with almost any recipe in this book. But be warned: there’s a hefty measure of gin contained within this very easy-drinking tipple.

SERVES 1

1 lime wedge

1 small sprig of dill, plus an extra sprig to garnish

40ml Rose’s lime cordial

2 dashes of celery bitters

40ml London Dry Gin

Ice cubes

Squeeze the lime wedge into your cocktail shaker and discard the spent skin. Place the sprig of dill on one palm and give it a short, sharp slap with the other hand; this helps to release the oils. Add to the cocktail shaker.

Add the lime cordial, celery bitters and gin. Top up with lots of ice and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Taste the drink; it should be sour, sweet, fairly strong and very refreshing.

Strain into a coupe or martini glass and carefully balance a small sprig of dill on the inside of the glass.

Extract taken from Dishoom by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar & Naved Nasir (£26, Bloomsbury) Photography © Haarala Hamilton

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