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Ful nabit
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Ful nabit

Sprouted fava bean soup

Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.

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AppeltaartDutch apple pie

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115 minDutchBaking
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Açorda alentejanaGarlic and coriander bread soup

Açorda à alentejana is the shepherd's supper of the Alentejo, the wide, hot plain of cork oaks and wheat fields south of Lisbon. It is barely cooked at all: raw garlic, salt and a big handful of fresh coriander are pounded to a paste in the bowl, sliced day-old bread goes on top, and boiling water poured over turns it all into a fragrant, green broth, crowned with a soft poached egg. Unlike Spain's sopa de ajo, nothing is fried and there is no paprika; the flavour is fresh herbs, sharp garlic and fruity olive oil. Alentejanos eat it at home in summer and winter alike, and in Évora's tascas in the evening, sometimes with a few olives or a slice of fresh cheese. Chef's tip: use firm, dense, two-day-old country bread; soft sandwich bread collapses into mush the moment the water hits it.

20 minPortugueseSoups
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Ishikari nabeSalmon miso hot pot

Autumn salmon swimming up the Ishikari River, near Sapporo, gave the fishing families at its mouth a glut of fish, and this miso hot pot is how they cooked it. Today Hokkaido families bring a clay pot of it to the table on cold nights from October onwards, and everyone helps themselves as it bubbles on a portable burner. Chunks of salmon, potato, cabbage, tofu and mushrooms simmer in kombu broth thickened with miso. A pinch of sansho pepper at the end lifts the richness, and some cooks melt a knob of butter on top. Chef's tip: salt the salmon for 10 minutes and pour boiling water over it before it goes in the pot, as this firms the flesh and washes away any fishy smell.

45 minJapaneseFish
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Crossing-the-bridge noodles with vegetable brothRice noodles in hot broth

Guo qiao mi xian comes from Mengzi in southern Yunnan. The story goes that a scholar's wife carried soup across a bridge to his island study each day, and found that a layer of oil kept it piping hot. Today in Kunming it arrives as a big bowl of scalding broth plus small plates of raw thinly sliced vegetables, tofu skin, herbs and rice noodles, which you slide in yourself so they cook at the table. This vegetarian broth is built on mushroom, corn and soybean sprouts. Chef's tip: the broth must be at a rolling boil when it goes into a warmed bowl; that heat is what cooks the toppings.

60 minChineseSoups
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TakoyakiOctopus batter balls

Walk through Dotonbori in Osaka on any evening and you'll see cooks flicking dozens of batter balls around a cast-iron plate with metal picks. Stalls in the city have sold them since the 1930s, and they turn up at every summer festival, eaten from a paper boat with a cocktail stick. The outside is crisp, the inside almost molten, with a chewy piece of octopus at the centre. You need a takoyaki pan, either a stovetop cast-iron one or an electric plate. Chef's tip: fill the cups right to the top and let the batter flood across the whole plate, as the overflow is what you fold in to make each ball round.

40 minJapaneseSnacks & Starters
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İskender kebabLamb over pide with tomato sauce

İskender comes from Bursa, the old Ottoman capital below Mount Uludağ, where restaurants have served it since the late 1800s and families still queue for it at weekend lunch. Shavings of grilled meat are laid over cubes of soft pide, soaked in a buttery tomato sauce and finished at the table with a pour of foaming brown butter beside a mound of thick yogurt. Without a vertical döner grill at home, very thin slices of marinated lamb leg seared fast in a hot pan get you close: crisp at the edges, juicy in the middle. Serve it with roasted green peppers and a glass of ayran. Chef's tip: partly freeze the meat for 30–40 minutes before slicing; it firms up and you can cut it almost as thin as döner shavings.

60 minTurkishMeat
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Crni rižotBlack cuttlefish risotto

Along the Dalmatian coast, from Korčula to Dubrovnik, konobas serve crni rižot as the first thing fishermen order when they come ashore, its jet-black colour startling against a white plate. Cuttlefish is cooked slowly with onion and garlic until tender, then rice goes in with fish stock and the ink sac, making a creamy, sea-sweet rice that tastes of the shore. It traditionally includes a splash of dry white wine; for an alcohol-free version, use more stock with a squeeze of lemon. The usual mistake is adding the cuttlefish late and cooking it fast, which leaves it rubbery; it needs to stew first. Chef's tip: serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and grated hard sheep's cheese if you like, and warn your guests about black teeth.

75 minBalkanFishGluten free
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Ada pradhamanRice flake pudding with coconut milk

Ada pradhaman is the king of payasams on the Onam sadya across Kerala, served last on the banana leaf, sometimes with a crushed pappadam stirred in. Small flakes of rice ada are cooked soft, glazed in ghee and jaggery syrup, then simmered in thin coconut milk and finished with thick first-press milk, cardamom and a pinch of dried ginger. It is deep caramel-brown, silky and chewy at once. Serve warm in small bowls, or slightly chilled the next day. Chef's tip: rinse the cooked ada under cold water straight away; it stops the flakes sticking into a lump.

65 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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TaktoukaRoasted pepper and tomato salad

Taktouka is the pepper partner to zaalouk, served side by side on the salad plates of Moroccan homes and cafés, especially around Casablanca and the north. Grilled green peppers are peeled and cooked down with tomato, garlic and cumin until soft and jammy, then eaten lukewarm with bread or as a side to tagines and grilled vegetables. It is cheap, quick and keeps for three days in the fridge. Chef's tip: use the thin-skinned, slightly bitter green peppers if you can find them; they give a more authentic flavour than sweet bell peppers.

30 minMoroccanSaladsVeganGluten free
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Crème brûléeBurnt cream custard

Crème brûlée, 'burnt cream', is the dessert on almost every Paris bistro menu: a shallow dish of rich vanilla custard, cold and silky, under a thin sheet of caramelised sugar you crack with the back of a spoon. Unlike the stovetop Spanish crema catalana, it's made with cream and baked gently in a water bath. The custards are made a day ahead, which makes it ideal for dinner parties; only the sugar is burnt at the last minute. Chef's tip: take them out of the oven while the middle still wobbles like jelly; overbaking is the common mistake and the custard turns grainy and splits.

60 minFrenchDessertsGluten free
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Isso vadaiPrawn and lentil fritters

As the sun goes down on Galle Face Green in Colombo, carts line the seafront selling isso vadai: crunchy lentil fritters with a whole prawn pressed into the top of each one. Families buy them in paper bags with sliced onion and a squeeze of lime while the kids fly kites. At home they make a great teatime snack or a starter for guests, and they're best eaten within minutes of frying. Chef's tip: soak the split peas but don't grind them too smoothly; a coarse, slightly grainy batter is what gives the fritters their crunch.

55 minSri LankanSnacks & StartersGluten freeSpicy
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Juane de gallinaChicken and rice parcels

In Iquitos, Tarapoto and the river towns of Peru's Amazon, juanes are steamed by the hundred for the feast of San Juan on 24 June, when families picnic by the rivers to mark the start of the dry season. Each parcel hides a piece of chicken, half a boiled egg and a black olive inside rice seasoned with turmeric, cumin and the herb sacha culantro, all wrapped in broad bijao leaves that perfume the rice. Banana leaves are the easiest swap outside the jungle. Chef's tip: let the rice cool before you wrap it; warm rice is too soft to shape and the parcels lose their round shape.

130 minPeruvianRice & GrainsGluten free
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CozonacSweet braided bread

Cozonac is the festive loaf every Romanian family bakes for Easter and Christmas, filling kitchens from Craiova to Suceava with the smell of butter, rum, lemon and orange zest. The rich yeast dough is rolled around a walnut and cocoa filling studded with pieces of rahat (Turkish delight), then braided and baked in a tall loaf tin so each slice shows a dark swirl. Unlike Slovenian potica, which is rolled into a thin spiral ring, cozonac is a braided loaf. It is eaten in thick slices with coffee on the feast mornings. Chef's tip: knead until the dough is silky and comes away from the bowl, then be patient with the rises; under-proving is the classic mistake and gives a dense, heavy loaf.

110 minRomanianBaking
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Couscous tfayaCouscous with caramelised onions

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60 minMoroccanRice & Grains
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Couscous royalCouscous with lamb, chicken and sausage

Couscous royal is the big-occasion couscous that Algerian and Moroccan families brought to France and that is now served for weddings and Sunday gatherings from Oran to Marseille: a pot of lamb and chicken simmered with vegetables and chickpeas in a mildly spiced broth, grilled merguez on the side, and a mountain of steamed couscous. The mistake is putting all the vegetables in at once; the courgettes go mushy while the turnips are still hard, so add them in stages. Chef's tip: brown the lamb and chicken well before the water goes in; that colour flavours the whole broth.

160 minAlgerianMeat
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Thayir sadamCurd rice

No Tamil meal is really finished without thayir sadam. It's the last course on a banana-leaf lunch, the comfort food packed for train journeys and school tiffins, and the prasadam handed out in some Tamil Nadu temples. Soft, mashed rice is mixed with cool yogurt and a splash of milk, seasoned with ginger, green chilli and curry leaves popped in hot oil, then dotted with pomegranate, grated carrot or green grapes. It's eaten slightly cool with a spoonful of pickle or a fried vathal on the side. Chef's tip: mix a little milk in with the yogurt; it keeps the rice creamy and stops it turning sour if you pack it for lunch several hours ahead.

25 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Cou-cou with Bajan vegetable stewCornmeal and okra with vegetable stew

Cou-cou is Friday lunch in Barbados, and paired with flying fish it makes the island's national dish, served in homes and the fish fry stalls of Oistins. Fine cornmeal is stirred into okra and its cooking water with a flat wooden cou-cou stick until it is smooth, thick and pulls away from the pot, then shaped in a buttered bowl. It's soft, mild and comforting, made for soaking up the rich tomato gravy around it. Here the gravy is a stew of peppers, tomatoes, aubergine and butter beans cooked with Bajan seasoning; flying fish steamed in the same sauce is the classic for fish eaters. Chef's tip: whisk the cornmeal into cold water before it goes into the pot; adding it dry to boiling liquid is the fastest way to lumps.

65 minBajanVegetarianGluten free
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Coto MakassarBeef and peanut soup

Before the sun is fully up over Makassar's harbour, coto warungs are already serving dockers and office workers alike from huge clay-coloured pots. This South Sulawesi soup is thick, brown and opaque, its body coming from roasted peanuts ground almost to flour and simmered into a broth made with the cloudy water from rinsing rice. Diced beef (and traditionally offal) sits in a nutty, cumin-and-pepper broth that's eaten with diamond-shaped ketupat rice cakes broken into the bowl, plus lime and a spoon of chilli. Chef's tip: grind the cooled peanuts in short bursts and stop while they're still sandy; a few seconds too long and you get peanut butter that turns the soup claggy.

120 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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CornulețeJam-filled crescent cookies

Cornulețe are the little crescent cookies that fill tins in Romanian kitchens before Christmas and New Year, and that grandmothers in Sibiu and Timișoara bake by the hundred for weddings and name days. This version uses a tender yeasted dough made with butter and yogurt, wrapped around a spoonful of thick plum jam (magiun) or rose rahat and rolled into horns. They bake pale and soft, not flaky, and are rolled in vanilla sugar while warm (the recipe makes 32, two per serving), which sets them apart from the cream-cheese rugelach of Jewish baking. Chef's tip: use thick jam and pinch the ends shut; runny jam is the usual mistake and bubbles out and burns on the tray.

80 minRomanianBaking
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Izumo warigo sobaBuckwheat noodles in stacked bowls

Izumo, in Shimane, is home to one of Japan's oldest shrines, and its soba is among the country's three most famous. The buckwheat is ground whole, husk and all, so the noodles are grey-brown, rough and strongly nutty. They come in a stack of three shallow round lacquer boxes called warigo, a custom from the picnic boxes Izumo townspeople carried to view flowers in the Edo period. You don't dip the noodles: you pour sauce and toppings straight onto the top bowl, eat it, then tip what's left onto the next. Classic toppings are grated daikon, spring onion and nori; ours leave out the usual bonito flakes. Chef's tip: look for 'inaka' (country-style) or 100% buckwheat soba. Paler noodles taste too mild for this dish.

25 minJapanesePasta & NoodlesVegan
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JachnunSlow-baked rolled pastry

Jachnun belongs to Yemenite Jewish families, who put the sealed pot in a very low oven on Friday before sunset and open it on Saturday morning to golden, sticky, layered rolls that taste faintly of caramel. In Rosh HaAyin and Tel Aviv's Kerem HaTeimanim it is now Saturday brunch for everyone, served with grated fresh tomato, fiery zhug and brown eggs baked in the same pot. The dough is stretched paper-thin with butter, rolled into logs and left to bake for 10 hours or more. Chef's tip: oil your work surface and hands rather than flouring them; flour stops the dough stretching thin enough to see through.

720 minIsraeliBreads & Parathas
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Jackfruit rendangJackfruit and potato coconut curry

Rendang belongs to the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, who cook it for weddings, Eid and every big family gathering, stirring a wide pan for hours until the coconut milk cooks right down and fries the spices in its own oil. Minang cooks also make vegetable rendangs, and young jackfruit suits the method perfectly: its stringy texture soaks up the chilli, galangal and toasted coconut until each piece is dark brown and almost chewy at the edges. It's drier than a curry, eaten with plain rice in small portions because it's so rich. Chef's tip: once the oil separates, keep stirring over a low heat and let the paste darken to the colour of strong coffee — stopping early leaves you with a red curry, not rendang.

90 minIndonesianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Jaew bongRoasted chilli paste

Isan and Lao households keep a jar of this thick, smoky relish in the kitchen the way other cooks keep mustard, scooping it onto sticky rice for a quick lunch or setting it out with steamed vegetables and crackling. Its backbone is pla ra, the funky fermented fish of the north-east, pounded with charred shallots, garlic, galangal and toasted chillies into a dark, rough-textured paste that is salty, sweet-smoky and fiery. For safety and ease this version uses bottled cooked pla ra (or anchovy sauce) and boils it before it goes in, since homemade raw pla ra can carry parasites. Serve with sticky rice, cucumber, cabbage and long beans. Chef's tip: roast the aromatics until properly blackened in patches; the char is the flavour, so don't stop when they are merely soft.

30 minThaiChutneys & DipsGluten freeSpicy
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Corn bombSpiced corn on the cob chunks

Chunks of tender corn on the cob tossed in hot oil with cumin, green chillies, fresh coriander, turmeric, black pepper and lemon until every kernel is coated. It's hot, tangy and messy to eat with your fingers. Serve hot from the barbecue.

35 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Jaipuri malpuaSweet fried pancakes in syrup

Jaipur's old-city sweet shops fry malpua in wide pans of ghee from winter through Holi and Teej, and serve them stacked in a bowl with thick rabri. The batter is made with milk, a little khoya and crushed fennel, so each pancake turns soft and spongy in the middle with crisp, lacy brown edges, then soaks up a saffron-cardamom syrup. Some families also make them as an offering on Holi morning. The usual mistake is skipping the rest: unrested batter spreads unevenly and stays flat and chewy. Chef's tip: pour the batter into the centre of the pan from close above so it spreads by itself; this is how the lacy edges form.

70 minIndianIndian Sweets
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JajangmyeonBlack bean noodles

Jajangmyeon was first served by Chinese cooks in Incheon's Chinatown, by the port, and the old restaurant building there is now a museum about the dish. Today it is the most ordered takeaway in Korea, delivered in minutes by scooter on moving day, and eaten by singles on Black Day, 14 April. The sauce is built on chunjang, a thick, salty black-bean paste, fried with diced pork, onion, courgette and potato until it shines. Chef's tip: cut the pork and all the vegetables into the same 1.5 cm dice so they cook evenly and every forkful gets a bit of each.

40 minKoreanPasta & Noodles
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CoquitoCoconut rum drink

Coquito is Puerto Rico's Christmas in a glass: bottles of it are made in early December, given to neighbours and poured at every parranda, the late-night singing visits from house to house, until the Fiesta de San Sebastián in Old San Juan in January. This version contains alcohol: it blends coconut milk, sweet cream of coconut and condensed and evaporated milk with Puerto Rican white rum, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. It's thick, cold and sweet, with the warmth of rum behind the spice. For children and anyone avoiding alcohol, make it without the rum as described in the steps. Chef's tip: let it rest in the fridge overnight; the spices bloom and the rum mellows, and it tastes far rounder on the second day.

10 minPuerto RicanDrinksGluten free
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Adas poloLentil rice with dates

Adas polo is a homely Tehran weekday rice, also served at the Yalda winter-solstice gathering in December, when tables fill with dried fruit. Brown lentils and long-grain rice are layered and steamed together, then topped with dates and raisins warmed in butter with cinnamon, so every spoonful is savoury, earthy and lightly sweet. Unlike Levantine lentil-and-rice dishes, the rice keeps its long separate grains and gets a saffron crust underneath. Serve it with yogurt, a herb plate and salad shirazi for a complete meal. Chef's tip: cook the lentils separately until just tender but whole; they finish softening during the steam.

75 minPersianRice & GrainsGluten free
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JallabDate and grape molasses drink

During Ramadan in Beirut and Sidon, street sellers ladle jallab from big glass jars at sunset, and families keep a bottle of the dark syrup in the fridge all summer. Made from date and grape molasses with a hint of rose water, it tastes of caramel and dried fruit, and it is served over crushed ice with a spoon for the pine nuts and golden raisins floating on top. Bottled jallab gets its smoky edge from incense smoke; this home version skips that and is made straight from the two molasses. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in the drink for five minutes before serving so they plump up and sink less.

5 minLebaneseDrinksVeganGluten free
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Coorg pandi curryDark spiced pork curry

Up in the coffee estates of Kodagu (Coorg), pandi curry is the dish of the Kodava people, cooked for Puttari, the harvest festival, and for every family gathering in between. Fatty pork simmers in its own juices with a masala of coriander and black pepper roasted almost black, then finishes with kachampuli, a dark, sour vinegar made from the Garcinia fruit. It is eaten with kadambuttu (steamed rice balls) or akki otti. Chef's tip: roast the spices slowly over a low heat until they are the colour of strong coffee; this is the dark colour and smoky flavour of a real pandi curry.

105 minIndianMeatGluten freeSpicy
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ThalipeethMultigrain flatbread

Thalipeeth is a rustic Maharashtrian flatbread made from bhajani, a flour of roasted grains and lentils. The dough is soft and sticky with onion, green chilli and coriander, and is patted out by hand straight onto the pan, with holes poked in it so the oil can crisp it from both sides. It comes off the tawa crunchy at the edges and soft in the middle, smoky with cumin and coriander seed. Eat it hot for breakfast with thick yogurt, white butter or a garlic and peanut chutney, or with lemon pickle. Chef's tip: pat the dough out on a damp cloth or wet baking paper and flip it straight onto the pan; it's too soft to roll, and wet hands keep it from sticking.

35 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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ConkiesSteamed pumpkin and cornmeal parcels

Conkies are made all over Barbados in late November for Independence Day on 30 November, when they're sold at roadside stalls and steamed in big pots at home; older Bajans remember them from Guy Fawkes Night, too. A spiced batter of grated pumpkin, sweet potato and coconut, cornmeal, sugar and raisins is folded into squares of banana leaf and steamed until it sets. Unwrapped, they're moist, dense, sweet and fragrant with nutmeg, almond and the faint green tea scent of the leaf. Chef's tip: pass the banana leaves briefly over a gas flame or dip them in hot water first; they turn glossy and supple and fold without splitting.

120 minBajanDessertsGluten free
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Plain rice congee with toppingsRice porridge with toppings

Congee (zhou in Mandarin, juk in Cantonese) is what much of China eats for breakfast, and what everyone is given when they are under the weather. The base is just rice and water cooked until the grains burst into a smooth, gentle porridge; the fun is in the toppings, from fried shallots to peanuts and salty pickles, so everyone builds their own bowl. Chef's tip: rinse the rice, then rub it with a little oil and salt and freeze it for an hour if you can; the grains crack and break down twice as fast.

75 minChineseBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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ConchasSweet bread buns

Conchas are the most famous pan dulce (sweet bread) in Mexico, piled high in every panadería and eaten for breakfast or merienda with hot chocolate or coffee. The bun is soft, slightly sweet and enriched with egg and butter, and it wears a crunchy, crumbly topping of sugar, fat and flour scored into the seashell pattern that gives it its name. Make some vanilla and some chocolate topping for the classic mix. Chef's tip: shape the dough into very tight balls before adding the topping; the tension makes them rise up instead of spreading out, so the shell cracks into neat stripes.

180 minMexicanBaking
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Soupe au pistouBean and vegetable soup with basil

Soupe au pistou is Provence's summer minestrone, eaten from July to September when basil grows thick in the gardens around Marseille and Avignon. Beans, courgettes, green beans, carrots, potato and small pasta simmer in a light broth, then each bowl gets a spoonful of pistou, a pounded paste of basil, garlic, olive oil and hard cheese with no pine nuts. Stirred in at the table, it turns the broth fragrant and green. It is a whole meal with bread. The traditional cheese is Parmesan or aged Gouda, so use a vegetarian hard cheese. Chef's tip: never boil the pistou; adding it to the pot is the common mistake that turns the basil dark and kills its smell.

60 minFrenchSoups
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Soufflé au fromageCheese soufflé

The cheese soufflé is a French bistro classic and a favourite family starter or light supper all over France, often served with a green salad and a glass of white wine. A thick cheese sauce is lightened with whisked egg whites and baked until it rises tall above the dish, golden and crusty outside and soft, almost creamy in the middle. It sounds hard but it's mostly about timing. We thicken the sauce with cornflour so it's gluten free (classic recipes use plain flour). Comté and Gruyère are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian alternative. Chef's tip: fold the whites in gently with a big spoon, in three goes; stirring hard is the common mistake that knocks out the air so it never rises.

50 minFrenchVegetarianGluten free
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Adjaruli khachapuriCheese bread boat with egg

On the Black Sea promenade in Batumi, the capital of Adjara, this is the bread people queue for after a swim: a boat of soft yeasted dough, the middle filled with molten cheese, and an egg yolk and a slab of butter dropped in at the very end. You stir the yolk and butter through the cheese with a fork at the table, then tear off the crisp ends and dip them in. Locals say the shape is a boat and the yolk the sun over the sea. Georgian imeruli and sulguni cheeses are hard to find outside Georgia, so this uses mozzarella with feta for the salty tang. Choose cheeses labelled vegetarian (microbial rennet). The usual home mistake is putting the egg in too early, which sets it hard; the yolk should go in only for the last 2 minutes so it stays runny. Chef's tip: roll the long edges inwards tightly and pinch the tips hard, or they will unroll in the oven and the cheese will flood the tray.

120 minGeorgianBreads & Parathas
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Soto BetawiBeef and coconut milk soup

Jakarta's original Betawi community gave the capital this rich, pale-gold soup, and on a Sunday the soto Betawi stalls along the city's side streets are packed with families. Beef brisket (and, for many, tripe) simmers until tender, then goes into a gently spiced broth made creamy with coconut milk and a splash of fresh milk, scented with lemongrass, cinnamon and cloves. Each bowl is loaded with fried potato, raw tomato and spring onion and comes with rice, lime, sambal and bitter-crisp emping crackers. It's comforting and mellow rather than fiery. Chef's tip: for a dairy-free bowl, swap the milk for more coconut milk; the soup will be a little heavier but just as good.

90 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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Cocido madrileñoChickpea and meat stew

Cocido madrileño is the slow pot of the capital's winter, served at lunch in old Madrid taverns and at home on cold weekends. Everything simmers together for hours (chickpeas, beef shin, chicken, pork belly, ham bone, chorizo, carrots and potatoes) and then it comes to the table in three vuelcos, or 'tippings out': first the broth as a soup with thin noodles, then the chickpeas and vegetables, then the platter of meats. Cabbage and chorizo are cooked in a separate pan so they don't cloud or redden the broth. It is a big project, but most of the time the pot looks after itself. Chef's tip: put the soaked chickpeas into a mesh bag or a loose muslin bundle; they're easy to lift out whole at the end and don't break up in the long simmer.

180 minSpanishMeat
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Cochinita pibilAchiote slow-roast pork

The Maya of the Yucatán peninsula cooked pork in a pib, a pit lined with hot stones, and in Mérida cochinita pibil is still sold at dawn from market stalls, piled into tacos and tortas for breakfast. Pork shoulder sits overnight in a brick-red paste of achiote and sour orange juice, then roasts slowly wrapped in banana leaves until it pulls apart, soaking in its own tangy juices. It goes into warm tortillas with bright pink pickled onions and, for the brave, a habanero salsa. Chef's tip: if you can't find bitter Seville oranges, mix sweet orange juice with lime juice; the sourness is what tenderises and balances the pork.

270 minMexicanMeatGluten free
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Çoban salatasıChopped tomato and cucumber salad

Çoban salatası, the shepherd's salad, is on the table at almost every Turkish meal from Edirne to Van, whether that is a home dinner, a lokanta lunch or a summer barbecue. It is simple by design: small dice of tomato, cucumber, green pepper and onion with parsley, dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and a little sumac. It is eaten alongside pilaf, beans, börek or anything grilled. The common mistake is salting it too early, which draws the water out of the tomatoes and leaves it swimming. Chef's tip: rub the onion slices with salt and sumac and rinse them before adding; the onion stays crunchy but loses its harsh bite.

10 minTurkishSaladsVeganGluten free
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Coastal Mombasa mixChickpea and potato coconut-mango broth

A Mombasa street-food bowl: chickpeas and potato simmered in coconut milk with raw mango and chilli, ladled into small bowls and topped with crisp lentil fritters, crunchy chevdo and red, green and tamarind chutneys. Make the fritters and chevdo ahead and assemble at the table. It's sweet, sour, hot and crunchy all at once.

60 minAfricanSnacks & StartersSpicy
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Clafoutis aux cerisesCherry batter pudding

Clafoutis comes from the Limousin in central France, where black cherries ripen in early summer and families make this simple pudding for Sunday lunch. Whole cherries are scattered in a buttered dish and covered with a sweet, eggy batter, like a cross between a pancake and a custard, then baked until puffed and golden. In the Limousin the cherries are left unstoned, which cooks say gives a faint almond flavour; stone them if you are serving children. It's best warm, dusted with icing sugar. Chef's tip: don't overmix the batter once the flour is in; beating it hard is the common mistake and makes the clafoutis tough and rubbery.

50 minFrenchDesserts
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Tallarín saltadoStir-fried noodles with vegetables

Tallarín saltado is the noodle cousin of lomo saltado, a chifa favourite from Lima where Chinese wok technique meets Peruvian ingredients. Spaghetti-style wheat noodles are tossed over a fierce heat with mushrooms, pak choi, red onion, tomato, ginger and ají amarillo, then glossed with soy sauce and a splash of vinegar. The noodles soak up the smoky, tangy sauce while the vegetables stay crisp. Peruvians use plain spaghetti from the shop on the corner, and so can you. Chef's tip: cook the noodles a minute short of the packet time and rinse them in cold water; they finish cooking in the wok and won't turn soft or clump.

25 minPeruvianPasta & NoodlesVegan
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Arepa con quesoCorn cakes with cheese

In the Andean cities of Bogotá, Medellín and the coffee region, breakfast very often means an arepa: a thick, griddled round of white corn dough, split or topped with butter and melting fresh cheese. This Colombian arepa con queso has cheese kneaded into the dough as well as on top, so it comes out soft and steamy inside with a crisp, freckled crust. Serve it with hot chocolate, aguapanela or eggs scrambled with tomato and spring onion (huevos pericos). Chef's tip: the dough should feel like soft play dough; if the edges crack when you flatten a ball, it needs a splash more warm water.

30 minColombianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Jansson's temptationPotato, onion and sprat gratin

No Swedish Christmas table, from Gothenburg to Luleå, is complete without a dish of Janssons frestelse, and it often comes back at Easter and midsummer too. Matchsticks of potato and soft onion are baked in cream with Swedish-style spiced sprats (labelled ansjovis in Sweden), which melt into the sauce and season it with a salty, sweet-spiced depth rather than a fishy taste. It is rich, so a spoonful sits beside ham, meatballs and pickled herring rather than being a main course on its own. Many people go wrong by buying Mediterranean salted anchovies; they are far saltier and the gratin turns harsh, so look for the sweet-cured sprats in Scandinavian shops. Chef's tip: cut the potatoes into thin sticks rather than slices; the starch on their many edges thickens the cream as it bakes.

75 minScandinavianFish
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Soto BanjarSpiced chicken soup

Along the rivers of Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, breakfast often means soto Banjar eaten at a wooden riverside warung, sometimes after a dawn trip to the floating market. Unlike the turmeric sotos of Java, this broth is pale and clear, perfumed with the sweet spices that traders brought up the river centuries ago: cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom and nutmeg. Shredded chicken, glass noodles, carrot and a boiled egg go into the bowl with rice cakes, and lime and a little chilli sharpen it at the table. Chef's tip: toast the whole spices in the pan for a minute before the paste goes in; it brings out their sweetness without the dusty edge of ground spice.

75 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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Ciorbă de perișoareSour soup with meatballs

Across Romania, from Bucharest canteens to Moldavian grandmothers' kitchens, a pot of ciorbă de perișoare turns up on the Sunday table and again on Monday, when it tastes even better. This version contains pork: soft meatballs of minced pork and rice simmer in a clear vegetable broth that is soured at the end with borș (fermented wheat-bran liquid) or lemon juice, then finished with a handful of lovage. It is eaten very hot with a spoon of sour cream and a fresh green chilli to bite between spoonfuls. A frequent slip is boiling the soup hard once the meatballs are in, which breaks them apart and clouds the broth. Chef's tip: wet your hands in cold water before rolling each meatball; the mixture will not stick and the balls stay smooth and round.

80 minRomanianSoups
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Adobong kangkongBraised water spinach

In Manila and across Luzon, adobong kangkong is the cheap green that sits in a tray at the carinderia, the roadside canteen where office workers and jeepney drivers point at two or three dishes to go with their rice. It is not a stir-fry in the Chinese or Malay sense: the water spinach is cooked briefly in an adobo base of cane vinegar, soy sauce, bay and cracked pepper, so the stems stay crunchy while the leaves soak up a sharp, salty, garlicky sauce that runs into the rice. It costs very little, takes ten minutes and is often the only vegetable on a weekday plate. Chef's tip: let the vinegar boil for a full minute before you stir anything, the way Filipino cooks do; the raw, harsh edge cooks off and the sauce turns mellow.

18 minFilipinoSidesVegan
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ÆbleskiverRound pancake puffs

From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas, Danish homes and Christmas markets in Copenhagen's Tivoli smell of æbleskiver: little round pancake puffs cooked in a cast-iron pan with seven hemispherical wells. They are crisp and golden outside, light and almost custardy within, dipped in icing sugar and raspberry or strawberry jam, and washed down with gløgg or hot cocoa. The name means 'apple slices', a reminder that cooks once tucked a piece of apple inside; many families still do. Danes turn them with knitting needles or wooden skewers, a knack that takes a few rounds to learn. Chef's tip: turn each puff a quarter at a time; the raw batter flows into the space and builds the sphere, rather than flipping it all at once.

45 minScandinavianDesserts
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Jeonbok jukAbalone rice porridge

Jeju's haenyeo, the island's women free-divers, have gathered abalone from its rocky coast for generations, and porridge made with it is a favourite breakfast on the island. Restaurants near the harbours and many hotel breakfast tables offer it, often a soft green-grey from the abalone guts cooked into the rice. It's gentle, warming food, also cooked for anyone who is unwell or tired. Frozen cleaned abalone works well; the porridge is just paler without the guts. Chef's tip: toast the soaked rice in sesame oil with the abalone until the grains turn translucent at the edges before adding any water; it gives the porridge its nutty flavour.

50 minKoreanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Jeonju kongnamul gukbapBean sprout rice soup

Jeonju, the North Jeolla city known for bibimbap, starts its day with kongnamul gukbap (콩나물국밥): a scalding clay bowl of clear soybean-sprout broth over rice, sharp with garlic and chilli, served before dawn to market traders and, famously, to anyone with a hangover. Many Jeonju shops bring a half-cooked egg in a separate cup, which you season with a little broth and crumbled seaweed and slurp first. The usual broth is anchovy based, with salted shrimp at the table; here it is kelp, shiitake and soup soy sauce. Chef's tip: keep the lid on while the sprouts cook and don't open it until they are done; lifting it early is said to give them a raw, grassy smell.

35 minKoreanSoups
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Jeow bongSweet-hot chilli paste with pork skin

Jeow bong is the famous chilli relish of Luang Prabang, the old royal capital, sold in little jars at its night market and eaten with sticky rice, crisp river-weed sheets and fresh vegetables at almost every Lao meal. Dried chillies, roasted garlic, shallot and galangal are pounded with palm sugar and fish sauce into a sticky, smoky, sweet-hot jam. This version contains pork: traditionally it includes thin strips of dried buffalo skin, and here it uses cooked pork skin for the same chewy texture. Chef's tip: roast the aromatics until truly blackened in spots; that char gives jeow bong its smoky depth.

50 minLaoChutneys & DipsGluten freeSpicy
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Ciorbă de legumeSoured vegetable soup

Ciorbă is the sour soup that opens a Romanian lunch, from canteens in Cluj to Sunday tables in Moldavia, and the vegetable version is cooked all through the fasting weeks before Easter and Christmas. Root vegetables, beans and peppers simmer in a light broth that is soured at the end with borș, the fermented wheat-bran liquid sold in bottles at Romanian shops, or with lemon juice. Fresh lovage (leuștean) gives its unmistakable celery-like perfume. It is eaten piping hot with bread and a fresh green chilli on the side. Chef's tip: add the borș only at the end and let it come back just to a simmer; boiling it hard dulls the sour tang.

60 minRomanianSoupsVegan
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Ciorbă de burtăCreamy sour tripe soup

Romanians swear by ciorbă de burtă the morning after a wedding or a long night out, and in Bucharest there are restaurants that serve little else from breakfast onwards. Strips of beef tripe sit in a silky broth thickened with egg yolk and sour cream, sharpened with vinegar and served with mujdei, a raw garlic sauce, and a hot pepper on the side. It takes time, because tripe only turns tender after a long, slow simmer. The mistake most people make is boiling the soup after the yolks go in, which scrambles them into flecks. Chef's tip: buy cleaned, blanched (white, 'dressed') tripe from the butcher; it saves an hour of scrubbing and is much milder.

240 minRomanianSoupsGluten free
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Jeow mak lenRoasted tomato and chilli dip

No Lao meal is complete without a jeow, a pounded dip eaten by pinching a ball of sticky rice and dragging it through. Jeow mak len, made from tomatoes charred over the coals until their skins split, is the everyday one from Vientiane to the villages of the north, smoky, garlicky and as hot as you dare. It's served alongside grilled vegetables, raw cucumber and long beans, and keeps well for a few days. Chef's tip: grill everything until it is genuinely blackened in patches; the burnt bits are the flavour, so don't peel all the skin away.

25 minLaoChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Soto ayamTurmeric chicken soup

From Lamongan to Semarang, Java's soto carts start ladling before the morning commute, and a bowl of soto ayam is how many people begin a working day. The broth is light but bright yellow with fresh turmeric, scented with lemongrass and lime leaf, and poured over slippery glass noodles, shredded chicken, crunchy bean sprouts and half a boiled egg. Squeeze in lime, stir in as much sambal as you dare and eat it with plain rice or rice cakes on the side. In East Java vendors finish it with koya, a sandy powder of prawn crackers and fried garlic that thickens the broth as you eat. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a lazy simmer the whole time; a hard boil turns the golden broth cloudy and greasy.

60 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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Jeyuk bokkeumSpicy stir-fried pork

Jeyuk bokkeum is the backbone of the Korean lunch: almost every baekban (set-meal) restaurant near offices and building sites serves it with rice, soup and little side dishes, and it is just as common at home on weeknights. Thin slices of pork are fried hard in a sauce of gochujang, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger until the edges catch and caramelise. Eat it over rice, or wrap a piece in a lettuce leaf with a slice of raw garlic. Chef's tip: fry the pork on its own first until the fat runs, then add the sauce; you get smoky, sticky edges instead of boiled meat.

25 minKoreanMeatSpicy
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JhalmuriSpiced puffed rice

Jhalmuri is the snack Kolkata eats on the move: outside Howrah station, along the Maidan, on suburban local trains, where a vendor tosses puffed rice in a tin with raw mustard oil, chopped onion, cucumber, green chilli and a fistful of chanachur, then tips it into a cone of newspaper. The sharp, nose-tingling mustard oil is what separates it from Mumbai's bhel; there is no sweet chutney at all, only salt, lime and heat. Eat it the minute it is mixed, while it still crackles. Chef's tip: warm the puffed rice in a dry pan for a couple of minutes first; even fresh muri crisps up noticeably.

13 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganSpicy
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Jhangora ki kheerBarnyard millet pudding

Jhangora is barnyard millet, a hardy grain that grows on the high fields of Garhwal and Kumaon, and this kheer is how most hill families turn it into something special. It cooks faster than rice kheer and ends up softer and silkier, with a light, nutty taste. Because millet isn't a cereal grain, it's eaten on Navratri and Ekadashi fasts, when you'll find bowls of it at temples and in homes from Rishikesh to Chamoli. It is just as good chilled the next day. Chef's tip: soak the millet for 20 minutes before cooking; it softens evenly and you won't be left with hard little grains in the pudding.

60 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Juju dhauThick sweet curd

Juju dhau means king of curds in the Newar language, and it belongs to Bhaktapur, the old brick-and-temple city east of Kathmandu, where it is sold in round clay bowls from shops around Durbar Square and taken home by the stack. Full-fat milk, traditionally buffalo milk, is boiled down by a third until it is rich and faintly caramel, sweetened, then set overnight in unglazed clay pots that soak up the whey, leaving a custard-thick, creamy yogurt with a pale golden skin. No wedding, festival or important meal in the Valley ends without it, and it is eaten on its own with a small spoon. People often rush the reduction, and the yogurt then sets thin and sour. Chef's tip: if you don't have clay pots, set it in ceramic ramekins and pour off any whey after setting; and keep it warm and undisturbed, wrapped in a blanket, so it sets in one smooth layer.

35 minNepaliDessertsGluten free
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Chushki byurekFried cheese-stuffed peppers

Chushki byurek are one of the great autumn dishes of Bulgaria: in September, when the long red peppers ripen around Plovdiv and Pazardzhik, they are roasted, peeled, filled with sirene and egg, then dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fried. The outside crunches, the pepper is silky and sweet, and the salty cheese melts inside. They are served hot as a main course with a tomato salad, or cold the next day. Chef's tip: dry the peeled peppers well before filling; a wet pepper is the usual mistake, and the batter slides off and the oil spits.

60 minBulgarianVegetarian
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JianbingSavoury egg crêpe

Jianbing guozi began in Tianjin and is now Beijing's favourite breakfast on the go: a crêpe spread on a round griddle, cracked over with egg, brushed with sauces and folded round a crunchy fried cracker. Vendors make one in two minutes; at home a large non-stick pan works. The batter mixes mung bean and wheat flour for a tender, slightly nutty pancake. Chef's tip: spread the batter thin and fast while the pan is hot, then lower the heat before adding the egg so the crêpe stays pliable.

25 minChineseBreakfast & Brunch
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