Dishoom-Inspired Granola

From Bombay with love.

As they say.

Many granola recipes use oil. Since oil is super calorie dense and there is already a lovely array of whole sources of good fats here in the form of nuts and seeds, I decided to figure out a way to go oil-free for this one.

That's where the applesauce comes in. It provides additional moisture to help bind things together without too much additional sugar, and the maple syrup comes along to provide the rest. Due to the extra moisture, however, your granola may need a bit more time in a low oven (think 200 to 225 degrees F or so) after its main bake in order to fully dry out. While it will continue to dry out as it cools, you don't want it to be too wet when taking it out of the oven for good.

The oven temperatures and times below should be a good guide, but just keep that in mind as you pay attention to your specific batch, your oven, etc.

• 4 cups rolled oats

• 1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer a mix of pistachios, almonds, cashews, and walnuts)

• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

• 2 T. sesame seeds

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 3 T. maple syrup, or more to taste

• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. salt

Ingredients

Dishoom-Inspired Granola

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl.

3. Bake for 15 minutes. Take tray out of the oven and use a spatula to flip the granola over in large chunks (assuming it's sticking together a bit); for me, this usually looks like 6 large squares. Break those up a bit before returning the tray to the oven.

4. Bake another 15 minutes. After that, remove the tray to stir the granola (feel free to stir it a couple of times sooner, if needed, during this second 15 minutes to help the granola brown and cook evenly).

5. Turn the oven off. Return the granola to the oven and leave it in the oven another 30 minutes or so (oven OFF) to continue to dry out more without over-browning.

6. Place the baking tray on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before transferring into glass jar(s) for storage.

Makes about 8 cups

Instructions

Mix it up: if you want a bit of a spin, swap out 1 cup of rolled oats for buckwheat groats.

Serve with fresh fruit and yogurt* or your favorite plant-based milk.

*By the way, I've been making my own soy milk Greek yogurt in the Instant Pot and I'm loving it. Stay tuned. I'll have to share how to make that soon . . . .

Last updated: April 27, 2025

Dishoom is a restaurant in London, where I both ate breakfast and managed a "take-away" lunch. (Context: they don't typically do take-away . . . so my waitress was kind enough to seat me and give me to-go containers once my food arrived. I ate the lunch on the tube ride to Heathrow . . . . Messy. And YUM.)

Back to breakfast, however, I ordered the granola, which came with an array of fresh fruit and coconut yogurt. It was laden with loads of nuts and seeds, which you'll see replicated in the recipe below. The one addition I made was walnuts; I think they have such a fun texture in granola, and I thought they'd play nicely with the others. The cinnamon here is key. Indian flair calls for spice. Always.

So, here's to Dishoom. Cheers. From my kitchen with love.