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Sarde a beccafico
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Sarde a beccafico

Stuffed sardine rolls

In Palermo, sarde a beccafico are a working family's take on a noble dish: the aristocrats once stuffed small birds called beccafichi, while ordinary people made the same sweet-savoury filling of breadcrumbs, raisins, pine nuts and orange and rolled it inside fresh sardines. Rolled up with their tails sticking up and baked between bay leaves, they look a little like the little birds they are named after. They are served as an antipasto or a main with salad, warm or at room temperature. Chef's tip: toast the breadcrumbs in olive oil until golden before mixing the filling; raw crumbs turn pasty and grey inside the fish.

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Jhangora ki kheerBarnyard millet pudding

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JolpanFlattened rice with curd and jaggery

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Joojeh kababSaffron chicken skewers

Joojeh kabab is what fills Tehran's parks on Sizdah Bedar, the thirteenth day of Nowruz, when families picnic outdoors and grills smoke under the plane trees; it is just as common on restaurant platters beside koobideh. Chunks of chicken soak overnight in yogurt, grated onion, lemon and bloomed saffron, then cook fast over high heat so the edges char while the middle stays juicy and golden-orange. Serve with buttery chelow rice, grilled tomatoes and a pinch of sumac. Chef's tip: grind the saffron threads with a pinch of sugar before steeping them in hot water; you get twice the colour from the same few threads.

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Aloo ke gutkePotato cubes with mountain spices

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