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Olive salsa dip
Featured recipe

Olive salsa dip

A chunky Mediterranean salsa of chopped black olives, tomato, pepper and spring onions with chives, basil, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Serve it cold or at room temperature with corn chips or toasted bread.

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Tandoori chicken

Tandoori chicken comes from Punjab, where clay tandoor ovens fired with wood or charcoal reach well over 400 °C and roast marinated chicken in minutes. In Punjabi dhabas and wedding buffets it arrives on a sizzling plate with raw onion rings, lemon and mint chutney, and it's the starting point for butter chicken. A home oven can't match a tandoor, but a very hot oven plus a final blast under the grill gets you charred edges and juicy meat. The two-step marinade (lemon and salt first, then spiced yogurt) is the key. Chef's tip: cut deep slashes right down to the bone; the marinade gets inside and the thick legs cook through at the same time as the thinner parts.

55 minIndianChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LahmacunThin spiced meat flatbread

Lahmacun belongs to south-east Turkey, especially Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa, where bakeries slide dozens at a time into wood-fired ovens and people eat them on the street at any hour, often with a cold ayran. The dough is rolled almost see-through and spread with a raw paste of minced lamb, onion, peppers, tomato and herbs that cooks in minutes in fierce heat. To eat, squeeze lemon over, add a handful of parsley and onion, roll it up and fold. Chef's tip: blitz the topping vegetables to a fine paste and squeeze out the excess juice, so the meat spreads in a thin, even layer that bakes crisp rather than soggy.

90 minTurkishPizza
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lahori charghaSteamed and fried spiced chicken

Chargha is a Lahore speciality, sold from the busy food streets of Lakshmi Chowk and the old city, where whole birds are coated in a red, tangy masala, steamed in big pots and then dropped into hot oil to order. It is the centrepiece of wedding dinners and Saturday-night family outings, and makes an impressive home dinner for guests. Steaming keeps the meat moist and cooked through before frying gives it a crisp, spicy skin. Serve it with naan, raita, salad and a squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: slash the chicken deeply to the bone so the masala and steam reach the thickest parts.

90 minPakistaniChickenGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Smoked salmon on brown wheaten bread

Irish smoked salmon, bradán deataithe, comes from smokehouses along the west coast in Connemara and Cork, and a plate of it on buttered brown wheaten bread is a classic starter at weddings and Christmas, and a light lunch in country hotels. The bread is a quick wholemeal soda bread made with buttermilk and no yeast, nutty and slightly sweet. Serve with lemon, capers and red onion. Cold-smoked salmon is not cooked, so pregnant people and anyone with low immunity should avoid it or use hot-smoked salmon instead. Chef's tip: cut the bread only when it has cooled completely; warm soda bread squashes and turns gummy.

60 minIrishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Irish seafood chowder

Along Ireland's west coast, from Galway Bay to the harbours of Kerry and West Cork, nearly every pub kitchen has its own seafood chowder, served with a thick slice of brown bread and butter. It is chunkier and smokier than the American kind: fresh mussels, a piece of smoked haddock or coley, salmon and white fish poached in a creamy base with leek, celery and potato, finished with dill. Chef's tip: add the fish in order of cooking time and take the pot off the heat as soon as it is just done; it keeps cooking in the hot soup.

55 minIrishSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lahpet thokePickled tea leaf salad

Lahpet thoke is how Myanmar welcomes a guest: a lacquered tray of pickled tea leaves surrounded by fried beans, peanuts, sesame and garlic, offered after meals, at weddings and at monk feasts from Mandalay to Yangon. Mixed into a salad with cabbage, tomato, chilli and lime, it becomes the country's most famous dish: bitter, sour, salty and crunchy at once, with a gentle caffeine lift. Ready-made lahpet sometimes contains fish sauce and the crunchy mix often has dried shrimp, so this version quick-pickles loose green tea at home. Chef's tip: soak the tea in several changes of hot water and squeeze it hard each time; that's what tames the bitterness.

25 minBurmeseSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LaingTaro leaves in coconut milk

Laing is the pride of Bicol, the chilli-loving region at the southern tip of Luzon. Dried taro leaves are simmered for close to an hour in coconut milk with ginger, lemongrass and siling labuyo until they collapse into a dark, creamy, spicy mass, then finished with thick coconut cream. Bicolano cooks usually add pork or dried fish and shrimp paste; this vegetarian version leans on extra ginger and a little salt and stays rich. Eat it with plain rice, often as a Friday or Lenten dish. Chef's tip: lay the leaves on top of the coconut milk and don't stir until they have soaked it up; stirring raw taro leaves early is said to leave an itchy taste.

70 minFilipinoVegetarianVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Irish stout beef stew

In pubs across Ireland, and in plenty of homes on a wet Sunday, beef stewed in dark stout is the dish that arrives with mash or a slab of brown bread. The stout (it contains alcohol, most of which cooks off but not all) gives the gravy a deep, slightly bitter malt flavour that a spoon of brown sugar balances. For an alcohol-free version use alcohol-free stout, or the same volume of extra beef stock with 1 tablespoon of black treacle. Chef's tip: brown the beef properly in batches; the dark crust on the meat is half the flavour of the gravy.

190 minIrishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dublin coddle

Coddle is Dublin's own dish, a Saturday-night pot from the city's old working-class neighbourhoods that would sit on a low heat until people came home. It is a pork dish: thick pork sausages and back bacon, with layers of onion and potato, gently stewed in stock so everything turns soft and savoury. Many Dublin families still make it on Saturdays. Serve with brown soda bread to mop up the broth. Chef's tip: brown the sausages first; the traditional pale coddle is authentic, but a little colour adds a lot of flavour.

95 minIrishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LaksamRice noodles in coconut fish gravy

Kota Bharu's morning market has its own noodle: laksam, thick sheets of steamed rice batter rolled up like little carpets and sliced into wheels. They are drowned in a pale, creamy gravy of pounded fish and coconut milk, then heaped with raw herbs and vegetables (ulam): cucumber, long beans, bean sprouts, daun kesum and torch ginger flower, with a spoonful of fiery chilli and budu, the region's fermented anchovy sauce. The result is soft and slippery, rich and cool at the same time. Locals eat it for breakfast or as a mid-morning snack. Chef's tip: pound the cooked fish with the shallots instead of blending it smooth; the gravy should feel faintly textured, like a thin porridge.

60 minMalaysianPasta & NoodlesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 1 views

Lal sahRed tea

In Assam, the home of half of India's tea, the everyday cup is lal sah, 'red tea': strong CTC or orthodox Assam leaf brewed briefly, poured off, sweetened and drunk black. It is what tea-garden workers, Guwahati office-goers and grandmothers drink from morning till evening, often with a slice of lemon, a crushed piece of ginger or, in upper Assam, a bay leaf. Its colour is a deep, clear red and its taste is malty and brisk, never stewed. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat before adding the leaves; boiling them makes the tea harsh and cloudy.

7 minIndianDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 1 views

Lancashire hotpot

Lancashire hotpot was the slow supper of the cotton-mill towns of north-west England, left in a low oven while families worked long shifts, and it is still served in pubs and homes around Bolton and Preston with pickled red cabbage on the side. Chunks of lamb neck and lots of onion cook slowly in stock beneath overlapping slices of potato that turn golden and crisp on top and soft underneath. Chef's tip: brush the top layer with melted butter and take the lid off for the last 40 minutes; that is how the potatoes crisp.

180 minBritishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mast-o khiarCucumber yogurt

Mast-o khiar is the cool yogurt bowl that sits beside rice and stew on Iranian tables all summer, and families pack it in a cool box for picnics in the parks of Tehran and Isfahan. Thick yogurt is mixed with crunchy diced cucumber and dried mint, then dressed up with walnuts, raisins and a scattering of dried rose petals, which make it sweeter and more fragrant than the plain garlic-cucumber dips of its neighbours. Serve it with polo, kuku or simply with bread. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes first so they are plump, not chewy.

10 minPersianChutneys & DipsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cornish pasty

The Cornish pasty fed tin miners and fishermen in Cornwall for centuries, its thick crimped edge a handle for dirty hands, and today bakeries from Penzance to St Ives sell them warm all day. The filling goes into the pastry raw: thinly sliced beef skirt, potato, swede and onion, seasoned only with salt and plenty of pepper, so everything steams in its own juices inside the crust. Chef's tip: slice the vegetables thinly and evenly, not in cubes; thin pieces cook through in the same time as the beef.

100 minBritishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LamingtonsChocolate coconut sponge squares

Lamingtons are said to be named after Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland at the turn of the twentieth century, and they're the cake of Australian school fundraisers, Country Women's Association stalls and morning tea at work; there's even a National Lamington Day on 21 July. Cubes of light butter sponge are dunked in a thin, glossy chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut, so each one has a soft, chocolate-soaked outside and a fluffy middle. Some bakeries split them and fill them with jam and cream. Chef's tip: bake the sponge a day ahead, or freeze the cut squares for an hour; fresh sponge crumbles in the icing, firm sponge dips cleanly.

75 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sunday roast chicken

Sunday lunch across England and Wales means a roast, and a golden chicken is the most common one on family tables, with crisp roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy made in the roasting tin. A lemon and herbs perfume the bird from inside, and a sage-and-onion stuffing is baked alongside so the chicken cooks evenly. The stuffing can include sausage meat (pork) if you like; leave it out for a pork-free roast. Chef's tip: dry the skin with kitchen paper and leave the bird uncovered in the fridge overnight; dry skin is crisp skin.

130 minBritishChicken
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lamprais (home version)Rice parcel with meat curry

Lamprais came to Sri Lanka with the Dutch Burgher community, and Colombo's Burgher families still make it for Sunday lunch, christenings and Christmas. Each banana-leaf parcel holds rice cooked in rich stock, a mixed meat curry, little fried meatballs called frikkadels, a hard-boiled egg, aubergine moju and seeni sambol, all baked together until the leaf perfumes everything. The traditional version uses three meats including pork; this home version keeps it to chicken and beef so it is manageable in one day, and the steps still take time. Chef's tip: make the curry and frikkadels the day before; on lamprais day you only cook the rice and wrap.

210 minSri LankanRice & Grains
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Butter chicken

Butter chicken was born in the Punjabi restaurants of Old Delhi after Partition, when cooks found a way to use up tandoori chicken by simmering it in tomatoes, butter and cream. It is not the same as chicken tikka masala: tikka masala builds its sauce on fried onions and is chunkier and spicier, while makhani gravy has no onion at all, is strained silky-smooth, and gets its gentle sweetness and smoky-savoury note from butter, cashews and dried fenugreek leaves. It is the dish families order for celebrations across Delhi and Punjab, mopped up with butter naan or eaten with jeera rice, and it's mild enough for children. Chef's tip: crush the kasuri methi between your palms right over the pot; that one step is what makes it taste like the restaurant version.

70 minIndianChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie comes from the sheep-farming hill country of northern England and Scotland, where Monday's pie once used up Sunday's roast lamb; with minced beef the same dish is called cottage pie. Minced lamb simmers with onion, carrot, a little tomato and Worcestershire sauce into a deep gravy, then hides under a thick layer of buttery mash that browns in the oven. A family supper all over Britain, it is served with peas or buttered cabbage. Chef's tip: rough up the top of the mash with a fork; the ridges catch the heat and turn crunchy.

100 minBritishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fish and chips

From seaside towns like Whitby and Brighton to every high street chippy in the land, fish and chips wrapped in paper is Britain's Friday-night supper. Thick white fish is dipped in a light, bubbly batter and fried until it shatters, next to chunky chips cooked twice so they are fluffy inside and crisp outside. Serve with mushy peas, malt vinegar, salt and a lemon wedge. The classic batter uses cold beer; for an alcohol-free version use the same amount of ice-cold sparkling water. Chef's tip: mix the batter at the last moment and keep it ice cold; the bigger the temperature difference with the oil, the crisper the crust.

70 minBritishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LángosFried bread with garlic and cheese

Lángos is the deep-fried flatbread of Hungarian beaches and markets: it is eaten in swimsuits on the shore of Lake Balaton, at Budapest's Great Market Hall and at every summer fair. The dough is soft and yeasted, often enriched with mashed potato, and it fries into a puffy disc that is crisp at the edges and chewy in the middle. The classic topping is garlic water brushed on hot, then sour cream and a snowfall of grated cheese. Chef's tip: stretch the dough thinner in the centre than at the rim; the edge puffs into a crisp crust while the middle stays soft enough to hold the toppings. Choose a cheese made with vegetarian rennet (many supermarket Cheddars and Edams are).

60 minHungarianFast Food
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shopska salad

Shopska salata is named after the Shopi people of the Sofia region and has become Bulgaria's national salad, the first thing ordered at any mehana (tavern) with a cold glass of rakia. Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, onion and soft roasted peppers are dressed simply with sunflower oil and vinegar, then buried under finely grated sirene, the Bulgarian white brined cheese, so the top looks like fresh snow. Unlike a Greek village salad, there are no olives and the cheese is grated, not in a slab. Chef's tip: salt and dress the vegetables before the cheese goes on; dressing over the cheese is the common mistake and turns the white snow soggy.

20 minBulgarianSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Toad in the hole

Toad in the hole has been a thrifty family supper across northern England for two centuries, and children still love it for the name as much as the taste. Plump pork sausages are browned in a hot tin, then a simple egg-and-milk batter is poured around them and puffs up into a golden, crisp Yorkshire pudding. It is always served with onion gravy and green vegetables. Chef's tip: the fat must be smoking hot when the batter goes in, and the oven door must stay shut for the first 25 minutes, or the batter will not rise.

60 minBritishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict belongs to New York, where two Manhattan restaurants still argue over who served it first, and it remains the star of weekend brunch from diners to grand hotels. Toasted English muffins carry warm ham (pork), softly poached eggs and a blanket of buttery, lemony hollandaise. Chef's tip: use the freshest eggs you can get for poaching; their whites hold together instead of spreading into wisps.

30 minAmericanBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kullu trout

Rainbow trout were introduced to the cold, fast Beas river over a century ago, and today the farms and roadside dhabas between Kullu and Manali serve it simply: rubbed with lemon and a light masala, then fried whole in a hot pan. It is what travellers stop for on the drive up to the snow, eaten with rice, a green salad and a squeeze of lemon. The spicing is gentle so the clean, sweet flavour of the fish stays in front. Chef's tip: dry the fish very well and leave it alone in the pan for the first few minutes; moving it too early tears the skin, which should come out crisp.

25 minIndianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cobb salad

The Cobb salad was born at the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood in the 1930s, and it is still a lunch classic in Los Angeles delis and hotel coffee shops. Rows of chopped chicken, crisp bacon (pork), hard-boiled egg, avocado, tomato and blue cheese sit on crisp lettuce, and everyone mixes them with a sharp red wine vinegar dressing at the table. Chef's tip: chop everything to roughly the same small size so each forkful gets a bit of everything.

45 minAmericanSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Smash burger

Diners and drive-ins across the American Midwest have smashed burgers on hot griddles for a century, and the style is now everywhere from food trucks to backyard cookouts. A ball of beef is pressed hard onto a very hot pan so it spreads thin and develops a deep brown, lacy crust, then gets a slice of cheese and goes into a soft toasted bun with pickles and a tangy sauce. Two thin patties per burger is the classic. Chef's tip: smash within the first 30 seconds only; pressing later squeezes out the juice.

25 minAmericanFast Food
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Larb gaiSpicy chicken salad

Out in the rice-farming provinces of Isan, a plate of larb turns up at almost every family meal and roadside som tam shack, always with a basket of sticky rice and a pile of raw greens. Warm minced chicken is tossed with fish sauce, plenty of lime, dried chilli and a fistful of mint, then finished with nutty, crunchy toasted rice powder. The result is bright, sour, salty and hot all at once, with a pleasing coarse texture. Wrap spoonfuls in lettuce, or eat it with sticky rice, cucumber and long beans. Chef's tip: toast your own rice powder; shop-bought tastes flat, and freshly ground grains smell like popcorn.

25 minThaiSaladsGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lasaniya batakaGarlic potatoes

Lasaniya bataka is a dhaba favourite along the highways of Kathiawad, where it lands on the table next to bajra rotla, a lump of white butter, raw onion and a glass of chaas. Baby potatoes are boiled, lightly fried, then coated in a thick paste of pounded garlic and red chilli that has been cooked down until it smells sweet rather than sharp. It is hot, garlicky and a little tangy, the kind of side dish that turns plain flatbread into a meal. Make it for a winter lunch with Kathiawadi kadhi and khichdi. Chef's tip: pound the garlic and chilli in a mortar instead of blending; a slightly coarse paste clings to the potatoes and gives you little bursts of garlic.

40 minIndianSidesVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lasary legiomaTurmeric pickled vegetables

Lasary legioma, vegetable lasary, is a tangy, turmeric-yellow pickle of carrot, green beans and cabbage that sits on the table in Malagasy homes and hotelys (small canteens) to brighten rice and plain dishes. It is close to the achards of Réunion and Mauritius and is made in large jars to last the week. Chef's tip: blanch the vegetables for only a minute and cool them fast; they should stay crunchy, not cooked.

33 minMalagasyChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lasary voatabiaTomato and spring onion relish

Lasary voatabia is the fresh tomato relish served beside the rice at almost every Malagasy meal, from Antananarivo's highland homes to the coast. Tomatoes and spring onion are chopped very small, sharpened with lime or vinegar and a little sakay (chilli), and spooned onto the rice to wake up broths like romazava. It is juicier and finer than a salad. Chef's tip: chop the tomatoes very small, almost to a pulp at the edges; the juice is meant to soak into the rice.

10 minMalagasyChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cincinnati chili

Cincinnati, Ohio has hundreds of 'chili parlors', a tradition started by Greek-Macedonian immigrants in the 1920s, and their chili is nothing like the Texan kind. Minced beef is simmered (not browned) in water with tomato and a warm spice mix of cinnamon, allspice, clove, cumin and a little cocoa until it becomes a fine, thin sauce. It is ladled over spaghetti and buried in finely grated cheddar: a 'three-way'. Add onions for a four-way, beans for a five-way. Chef's tip: break the raw mince up in cold water before heating; that gives the signature smooth texture.

135 minAmericanPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ShorwaLamb and vegetable soup

Shorwa is the everyday soup of Afghan homes from Kabul to Herat, simmered on winter evenings and during Ramadan, when a bowl of it breaks the fast. Lamb on the bone cooks slowly with onion, tomato, chickpeas and a little turmeric and coriander until the broth turns golden, then potatoes and carrots go in for the last half hour. The family tears naan into their bowls and eats it with fresh mint, onion and green chilli on the side. It is a gentle, clear soup rather than a thick stew. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes the broth cloudy and the lamb tough; keep it at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: skim the broth carefully in the first 10 minutes, as soon as the grey foam rises, for a clean golden shorwa.

130 minAfghanSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Burmese chicken curry

Burmese curries are cooked the 'see pyan' way, meaning 'oil returns': onion, garlic and ginger are slowly fried with turmeric and paprika until the water cooks away and the oil floats red and clear on top. This chicken curry is the everyday heart of a Yangon or Mandalay meal, set on the table with rice, a sour soup, a salad and fish-sauce-based relishes, and every family eats it on ordinary weeknights. It is mild in chilli but deep in flavour, with fish sauce adding a savoury edge. The common mistake is draining off the oil because it looks like too much; the oil carries the flavour, and you spoon around it when serving. Chef's tip: pound the onion, garlic and ginger to a rough paste rather than blending them smooth, so they fry rather than stew.

65 minBurmeseCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Singapore Hokkien prawn mee

Singapore's Hokkien mee is nothing like the dark, soy-coated noodles of Kuala Lumpur: here yellow egg noodles and thick rice vermicelli are fried with egg, then braised in a cloudy, intensely savoury stock made from prawn heads and shells until the noodles soak it up and stay just wet. Hawkers at Old Airport Road and Geylang serve it with lime and fiery sambal belacan on a square of paper or opeh leaf. It is a late-lunch or supper dish, eaten hot from the wok. Traditional versions use pork belly and pork lard; this one uses prawns and squid only, with vegetable oil. The common mistake is adding all the stock at once, which makes it soupy; add it in two goes and let the noodles drink it. Chef's tip: fry the prawn heads hard until they turn deep orange before adding water; the stock is the whole dish.

65 minSingaporeanPasta & NoodlesSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Black pepper crab

If chilli crab is Singapore's sweet crowd-pleaser, black pepper crab is the one locals often order beside it: dry rather than saucy, sharp with freshly cracked black pepper, rich with butter and with a salty edge from oyster and soy sauce. It was created in the 1950s–60s at the seafood restaurants of Upper Serangoon and East Coast, and is eaten at long family dinners with rice or plain bread to mop the buttery wok juices. Note that this dish contains butter, so it is not dairy free. Buy crabs live or freshly cooked the same day from a fishmonger you trust. Discard any live crab that doesn't move, smells of ammonia or has a cracked, leaking shell. The common mistake is using pre-ground pepper powder, which tastes dusty and burns; crack whole peppercorns coarsely. Chef's tip: toast the cracked pepper in the dry wok for a minute before the butter goes in to wake up its aroma.

45 minSingaporeanFishSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LaugenbrezelSoft pretzels

The Brezel is the emblem of German bakeries in Bavaria and Swabia: deep chestnut-brown and shiny outside, soft and chewy inside, with a fat 'belly' and thin crisp arms, studded with coarse salt. In Munich it's eaten with sweet mustard and Obatzda in beer gardens; in Stuttgart it's split and buttered for breakfast. Bakeries dip them in a lye solution, which is too caustic for most home kitchens; a bath of baked baking soda gets close in colour and flavour and is safe to handle. Chef's tip: chill the shaped pretzels uncovered for 30 minutes before the bath; a slightly dry skin holds its shape and turns darker and shinier.

120 minGermanBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Louisiana jambalaya

Jambalaya feeds crowds at church fairs and Mardi Gras parties all over south Louisiana, from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. This is the Creole or 'red' style from the city, with tomato in the pot; the Cajun country version leaves it out. Chicken thighs and smoked andouille (a pork sausage) are browned first, then rice cooks in the spiced tomato stock with the holy trinity, and prawns go in at the end. Chef's tip: once the rice is in, resist stirring; just turn it once halfway so the bottom does not catch.

65 minAmericanRice & GrainsSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Southern fried chicken

Across Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, a platter of fried chicken still anchors Sunday dinner after church and every summer family reunion. Bone-in pieces soak overnight in salted, peppery buttermilk, which seasons the meat right through and keeps it juicy, then get a craggy flour coat that fries up deep gold and crackly. Serve hot or at room temperature with coleslaw, biscuits, mashed potatoes or corn on the cob. Chef's tip: let the dredged pieces sit on a rack for 15 minutes before frying so the coating turns slightly pasty; it clings better and makes the crunchiest crust.

65 minAmericanChicken
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Cape Malay chicken curry

In Cape Town's Bo-Kaap, the brightly painted quarter under Signal Hill, Cape Malay families cook this curry for Sunday lunch and for Eid. It is gentler than an Indian curry: fragrant with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and fennel, sweetened with dried apricots and a spoon of apricot chutney, and soured with a splash of vinegar and tomato. Potatoes simmer in the sauce with the chicken. Serve it with yellow rice (geelrys), sambals and chutney. A common mistake is adding the potatoes too late, so they stay hard in a finished curry; they go in with the chicken. Chef's tip: let the whole spices sizzle in the oil until the cinnamon unfurls before adding the onion, which builds the sweet perfume of the dish.

70 minSouth AfricanCurriesGluten free
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Kenkey with fried fish and pepper sauce

In Accra and along the Ga coast, kenkey is lunch: balls of fermented corn dough, steamed in dried corn husks, eaten with crisp whole fried fish and a sharp raw pepper sauce. Kenkey takes days to ferment and is sold everywhere ready-made in its husks, so buy it from an African grocer and make the fish and sauce at home. Small whole fish such as tilapia, red snapper or mackerel are scored, seasoned and fried until the skin crackles. The common mistake is moving the fish in the pan too soon; leave it alone until the first side is crisp, or the skin tears and sticks. Chef's tip: dust the fish very lightly with flour after drying it, and it fries crisp without spitting.

50 minGhanaianFishSpicy
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Ghanaian light soup with goat

Light soup is the everyday soup of southern Ghana, cooked in Accra and Kumasi homes several times a week and served alongside fufu, omo tuo (rice balls) or banku, with each bite dipped in the hot broth. Goat meat is the favourite, though chicken light soup is just as common: use 1.2 kg of bone-in chicken pieces and cut the simmering time to 35 minutes. Tomatoes, onion, ginger and pepper are boiled whole with the meat, then blended and strained back in, so the soup is clear, bright orange and very peppery but never heavy. The usual mistake is skipping the straining step, which leaves the soup gritty with seeds and skins. Chef's tip: steam the goat in its seasoning with no water for the first 15 minutes; the meat flavours the whole soup from the inside.

115 minGhanaianSoupsGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Manok pansohBamboo-cooked chicken

Iban longhouses in Sarawak cook manok pansoh for Gawai, the harvest festival at the start of June: chicken pieces packed into lengths of fresh bamboo with lemongrass, ginger, shallots and tapioca leaves, plugged with leaves and leaned over an open fire. No stock or water goes in; the chicken steams in its own juices, which turn into a clear, herby broth that tastes faintly of green bamboo. At home a lidded casserole wrapped in banana leaf gets you very close. Serve it with plain rice, and with the broth spooned over. Chef's tip: bruise the lemongrass and ginger hard with a pestle before packing; with no added liquid, crushed aromatics are what flavour the juices.

90 minMalaysianChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nigerian meat pie

No Nigerian party, from a Lagos wedding to a child's birthday in Abuja, is complete without a tray of meat pies. Rich, crumbly short pastry is folded around a filling of minced beef, diced potato and carrot cooked with thyme and curry powder, crimped with a fork and baked golden. They are just as popular as a bakery snack with a cold drink. A common mistake is filling the pastry with hot or runny filling, which melts the butter and makes soggy pies; cool it and thicken it first. Chef's tip: keep the dough cold, and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling so the pies stay short and flaky.

90 minNigerianBaking
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Man'oushe jibnehCheese flatbread

On the street corners of Beirut and Tripoli the cheese man'oushe, bi jibneh, is the one children queue for: the same soft bakery dough as the za'atar kind but covered with salty white akkawi cheese mixed with stretchy mozzarella and a scatter of nigella seeds, baked until the cheese bubbles and freckles brown. It is a weekend breakfast and an after-school snack, eaten folded with a few slices of tomato and a sprig of mint. Akkawi is very salty, and the usual mistake is to use it straight from the packet, which makes the bread almost inedible; soak it first. Check the label for a vegetarian (microbial) rennet; many supermarket mozzarellas and some halloumis use it, and halloumi works if you can't find akkawi. Chef's tip: grate the cheese coarsely and keep a 1 cm bare rim, so the edge puffs up into a crisp border that holds the melted cheese in.

90 minLebaneseBreads & Parathas
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Man'oushe za'atarZa'atar flatbread

Ask anyone from Beirut what breakfast is and the answer is often man'oushe bi za'atar: a round of soft dough pressed with fingertips, spread with a paste of za'atar and olive oil and baked in the corner bakery's hot oven, then folded in paper and eaten on the way to school or work. At home it is rolled around sliced tomato, cucumber, olives and fresh mint. The most common mistake is too little oil in the topping, which leaves the za'atar dry and dusty, or baking it too long so the herbs scorch and turn bitter; the paste should be loose and spreadable and the bread pulled out once the rim is just golden. Chef's tip: get the oven and tray properly hot, at its highest setting for 20 minutes, so the dough puffs and blisters before the topping has time to burn.

90 minLebaneseBreads & ParathasVegan
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Rogan josh

In the Kashmir Valley this deep-red lamb braise turns up at every wazwan, the multi-course wedding feast cooked by hereditary chefs, and on Sunday tables in Srinagar through the cold months. The Kashmiri Pandit version cooked here uses no onion, garlic or tomato: the colour comes from mild Kashmiri chillies, the warmth from ground fennel and dry ginger, and the body from yogurt cooked down until the fat rises red to the top (that red oil is the 'rogan'). Eat it with plain steamed rice, the Kashmiri way. Chef's tip: use bone-in shoulder or leg and give it time; the bones and slow simmer make the thick, glossy gravy, and boneless meat turns stringy before the sauce is ready.

120 minIndianMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Łazanki with cabbage and mushroomsSquare noodles with cabbage and mushrooms

Łazanki are short, square egg noodles, and in the Podhale highlands and around Kraków they are tossed with soft-fried white cabbage, a little sauerkraut and mushrooms for a cheap weekday supper, especially in autumn when the cabbage is new. Most cooks add smoked bacon; this version leaves it out and gets its depth from dried ceps, browned fresh mushrooms and plenty of black pepper and marjoram. It is soft, savoury and slightly sour. Serve it on its own with a glass of buttermilk or kefir, as people do in the mountains. Chef's tip: let the cabbage catch and brown in places before you add the noodles; that browning is the flavour bacon would otherwise give.

45 minPolishPasta & Noodles
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KaftaGrilled minced meat skewers

Kafta is the everyday grilled mince of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine: a Sunday barbecue staple in the Lebanese mountains and a quick dinner in city flats, cooked on skewers, shaped into fingers for the pan, or baked in a tray with potatoes and tomato. Lamb and beef are mixed with plenty of onion and parsley and warmed with baharat (seven spice). Wrap them in bread with tomato, onion and a smear of hummus or tahini sauce. Chef's tip: grate the onion and squeeze it hard in a clean cloth; dry onion keeps the kafta firm on the skewer and stops it steaming.

27 minLebaneseMeatGluten free
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Nigerian chicken stew

Almost every Nigerian kitchen has a pot of this red stew in the fridge. Lagos households cook a big batch on Saturday and eat it all week over white rice, boiled yam, plantain or beans. Red bell peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet and onion are blended and fried in oil for a long time until the raw taste is gone and the oil rises to the top, then browned chicken goes in. The classic mistake is not frying the pepper base long enough; the stew tastes sour and raw if you rush it. Chef's tip: boil the chicken first with seasoning, then fry it before it goes into the stew, and use that seasoned stock in the sauce.

95 minNigerianCurriesGluten freeSpicy
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Tobago curry crab and dumpling

On Tobago, curry crab and dumpling is the dish people travel for, eaten with fingers on Sunday afternoons and sold at the Store Bay food huts near Crown Point, where a plate is half the reason to visit. Blue crabs are cleaned, rubbed with green seasoning, 'burnt' in curry and simmered in coconut milk until the shells turn red and the sauce goes rich, spicy and sweet with crab. Long, flat flour dumplings cook right in the gravy and soak it all up. It's messy, so have bowls for shells and plenty of napkins. Chef's tip: crack the claws lightly before they go in the pot, so the curry can get inside and the meat is easy to pull out at the table.

90 minTrinidadianFishSpicy
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Oxtail with butter beans

Oxtail started out as a cheap cut in Jamaica and is now the Sunday-best dish that cookshops in Kingston sell out of first, and that people across the diaspora queue for on Saturdays. The bony pieces are seasoned overnight, browned hard, then braised slowly for hours with pimento, thyme and whole scotch bonnet until the meat slides off the bone and the gravy turns glossy with gelatine. Butter beans go in near the end to soak up the gravy. Serve with rice and peas, steamed cabbage and fried plantain. Chef's tip: cook it a day ahead, chill, and lift off the hard layer of fat before reheating; the gravy is cleaner and the flavour deeper.

235 minJamaicanMeat
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Brown stew chicken

Ask a Jamaican what was on the table for weekday dinner growing up and brown stew chicken will be near the top of the list, served at home and at every cookshop from Montego Bay to Spanish Town. The deep colour comes from 'browning': sugar caramelised in hot oil until it is dark, then the seasoned chicken is turned in it so every piece takes on a mahogany coat. Peppers, onion, tomato and thyme simmer down into a sticky, savoury gravy that begs for a pile of white rice, rice and peas or boiled dumplings. Chef's tip: season the chicken the night before and dry each piece well before it goes into the caramel; wet chicken spits violently and won't take on that deep brown colour.

70 minJamaicanChickenGluten free
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Maraq digaagChicken and vegetable stew

Maraq digaag is the gentle chicken stew Somali mothers make on ordinary weekdays, and the one people ask for when they are unwell: chicken simmered with potato, carrot, tomato and green pepper in a light broth fragrant with xawaash and garlic. It is served with rice, canjeero or bread for dipping. The mistake is boiling it hard, which makes the chicken stringy; keep it at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: stir in chopped coriander and a little lemon at the end to lift the broth.

60 minSomaliChickenGluten free
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Mathura pedaMilk fudge discs

Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Krishna's birthplace, has a peda all its own: not the pale milky kind found elsewhere, but a dusty-brown disc with a deep, toffee-like flavour from milk solids slowly roasted until they caramelise. Pilgrims buy boxes after visiting the temples, and they are made in huge batches around Janmashtami as an offering. The texture should be dense yet slightly grainy, rolled in fine boora sugar so the outside sparkles. The usual mistake is rushing the roasting over high heat, which scorches the khoya in spots and makes it bitter and greasy. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and scrape the bottom of the pan constantly; the colour should change gradually from cream to light brown, then to the shade of milky coffee.

50 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Leche flanCaramel custard

Leche flan is on the table for every Filipino Noche Buena on Christmas Eve, at fiestas and at birthdays, steamed in the oval aluminium tins called llaneras and turned out shining under a dark caramel. Unlike Spanish flan or the Brazilian pudim, it is made with egg yolks only, condensed milk and evaporated milk, so it is much denser and smoother, almost like a firm custard fudge, and a little goes a long way. A grating of calamansi or lime zest cuts the richness, and many cooks steam rather than bake it. The leftover whites go into meringue biscuits. Chef's tip: strain the custard twice and stir, don't whisk; air bubbles become holes in the finished flan.

60 minFilipinoDessertsGluten free
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Goat meat pepper soup

Pepper soup is what Nigerians order at a bar on a Friday night, what a mother cooks for someone with a cold, and what a host puts out at every naming ceremony. Goat meat on the bone is simmered with pepper soup spice, a blend that usually includes calabash nutmeg (ehuru), alligator pepper and uda pods, plus scotch bonnet and scent leaf, into a thin, fiery, deeply aromatic broth. Catfish pepper soup is the other favourite: add 800 g of catfish steaks for the last 15 minutes instead of the goat. The usual mistake is boiling the goat hard, which makes it tough; it needs a gentle simmer. Chef's tip: toast the whole spices in a dry pan for a minute before grinding, and the broth smells twice as strong.

110 minNigerianSoupsGluten freeSpicy
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Lechón asadoRoast pork with mojo

This is a pork dish. In Cuba a whole pig is roasted for Nochebuena, Christmas Eve, and for big family parties, often in a pit in the yard; at home in Miami or Havana the same flavour comes from a pork shoulder soaked overnight in mojo, the sour-orange, garlic and oregano marinade. The meat roasts slowly until it pulls apart, and the skin turns to crackling. Serve it with moros y cristianos, yuca con mojo and a squeeze of lime. A common mistake is leaving the shoulder in the marinade on the kitchen counter: it must always marinate in the fridge. Chef's tip: if you can't find sour (Seville) oranges, mix two parts orange juice with one part lime juice for the same sharp edge.

330 minCubanMeatGluten free
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Lechon kawaliCrispy fried pork belly

Lechon kawali is pork belly, boiled with garlic and bay, dried, then fried in a wok (kawali) until the rind blisters into crackling. It is the everyday cousin of the whole roast pig: Manila carinderias sell it by the slice at lunchtime, and home cooks make it for weekend lunches all over Luzon. Each piece should be shatteringly crisp on top and juicy underneath. Serve it chopped with rice and a sharp garlic-vinegar dip, or with the sweet liver sauce sold in jars. Chef's tip: after boiling, leave the belly uncovered in the fridge overnight; a bone-dry rind puffs up and spits far less in the oil.

110 minFilipinoMeat
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LecsóPepper and tomato stew

Lecsó is what Hungarian kitchens cook in late August, when markets in Szeged and Kecskemét are heaped with pale yellow wax peppers and over-ripe tomatoes. It is a soft, sweet-sour stew of peppers and tomato cooked down in paprika-scented oil; many families add smoked sausage or scramble eggs into it, but this version keeps it vegan and lets the peppers carry the flavour. Eat it hot with crusty bread or rice, or cold the next day, and jars of it are put up for winter. Chef's tip: add the tomatoes only once the peppers have softened; if they go in together, the tomato juice stews the peppers instead of letting them sweeten in the oil.

40 minHungarianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Frango piri-piri

Guia, a small inland village in the Algarve, is famous across Portugal for its churrasqueiras, where flattened chickens are grilled over charcoal and painted with fiery piri-piri sauce; families drive out on summer evenings just to eat it. The bird marinates in a blend of small hot chillies, garlic, lemon, paprika and olive oil, then grills until the skin is blistered and the meat juicy. Serve with chips, rice or a tomato salad, and extra sauce for brave diners. Chef's tip: keep back some of the sauce before it touches the chicken; that fresh portion is for basting and the table.

70 minPortugueseChickenGluten freeSpicy
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Cebu-style lechon belly

Cebu claims the best lechon in the Philippines, and its whole roast pigs are stuffed with lemongrass, garlic and spring onion so the meat needs no sauce. Lechon belly (lechon belyo) brings that flavour to a home oven: a slab of pork belly is rolled around the same herbs, tied, and roasted slowly, then blasted with heat until the rind turns to crackling. It is the centrepiece for Cebuano fiestas, Christmas and big birthdays, carved at the table and eaten with rice and a little spiced vinegar. Chef's tip: score only the meat side, never the skin, and dry the rind in the fridge overnight; an unbroken, dry skin crackles evenly.

250 minFilipinoMeatGluten free
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LefseSoft potato flatbread

In Norway, and among Norwegian-American families in Minnesota and the Dakotas, lefse appears at Christmas in towering stacks wrapped in tea towels. These are soft, almost cloth-thin rounds made from riced potato and a little flour, cooked dry on a hot griddle until freckled with brown spots. The classic way to eat them in Telemark and Hallingdal is spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar and sometimes cinnamon, then rolled up or folded into triangles; savoury rolls with cheese are just as common. Home cooks use a grooved rolling pin and a long wooden stick to turn them, but a floured ordinary pin and a wide spatula do the job. Chef's tip: rice the potatoes while hot and let the mash cool completely, even overnight; warm potato soaks up too much flour and the lefse go tough.

80 minScandinavianBreads & Parathas
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LegimMashed vegetable stew

Legim (from the French légumes) is a Haitian Sunday dish, made in big pots in Port-au-Prince and the countryside and eaten with white rice or diri kole. Aubergine, cabbage, chayote (mirliton), carrots and spinach or watercress are cooked down slowly with epis and tomato paste until soft, then crushed with a pilon or spoon into a thick, rough, savoury mash. It's often cooked with beef or crab; this vegetable version is just as traditional for the days without meat. It tastes deep and green, gently sweet from the carrot and warm from clove and scotch bonnet. Chef's tip: cook it uncovered at the end until the liquid has almost gone and the oil shows at the edges; that's when the flavours concentrate and it stops tasting boiled.

75 minHaitianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Cullen skink

Cullen skink takes its name from the fishing village of Cullen on the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland, and it is now served in pubs from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Undyed smoked haddock is poached in milk, which then becomes the base of a creamy soup with potato, onion and leek; the flaked fish goes back in at the end. Smoky, gentle and filling, it is eaten with oatcakes or crusty bread. Chef's tip: choose pale, undyed smoked haddock; the bright yellow kind is coloured and tastes harsher.

45 minBritishSoupsGluten free
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Chicken tikka (Karachi style)

Karachi's barbecue streets, from Burns Road to Boat Basin, are famous for chicken tikka cooked on the bone: whole legs and breast quarters soaked in a red, sharp yogurt-chilli marinade and grilled over charcoal until charred at the edges. It's late-night food after a wedding or a cricket match, eaten with paratha, raita and onion rings. This home version uses the oven grill and a quick smoke at the end for that barbecue taste. Chef's tip: let the marinade sit overnight; chicken on the bone needs time for the flavour to reach the middle.

60 minPakistaniChickenGluten freeSpicy
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Jamaican curry goat

No Jamaican wedding, nine-night or big Sunday family lunch is complete without a pot of curry goat, often cooked outdoors in a huge pot by whoever has the steadiest hand with the seasoning. It came to the island with Indian indentured workers in the 1800s and became fully Jamaican with scotch bonnet, pimento and thyme. The bone-in pieces are seasoned overnight, browned with the curry powder until it darkens, then simmered for a couple of hours into a rich, brick-yellow gravy with soft potatoes that thicken it. Serve with white rice or rice and peas and a little fried plantain. If you can't find goat, bone-in mutton or lamb shoulder works the same way. Chef's tip: 'burn' the curry first; fry the curry powder in hot oil for a minute until it darkens and smells toasty before the meat goes in, and the gravy will never taste raw or chalky.

160 minJamaicanCurriesGluten freeSpicy
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Akashiyaki (Akashi egg and octopus dumplings)

Ask for tamagoyaki in Akashi, a fishing town on the coast of Hyogo, and you will be served these dumplings rather than a rolled omelette: that is what locals call them. Small shops near the Uonotana fish market sell them on tilted wooden boards, with a bowl of warm dashi for dipping. Compared with Osaka takoyaki, the batter is mostly egg and stock, so the balls are soft and trembling inside, and they come without sauce or mayonnaise. Akashi is famous for its octopus, and a piece sits in every ball. Chef's tip: oil the pan generously and fill each hollow right to the brim; the soft batter needs the extra to make a round, puffy ball.

45 minJapaneseSnacks & Starters
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Ackee and saltfish

On a Jamaican Sunday morning, from Kingston yards to country kitchens in St Mary, the smell of salt cod frying with onion, thyme and scotch bonnet means breakfast is nearly ready. The ackee itself is a red tree fruit whose cream-coloured flesh cooks up soft and mild, a lot like scrambled egg, and it soaks up the salty fish and peppery oil around it. It is eaten with fried dumplings, boiled green banana, roast breadfruit or hard dough bread, and is just as welcome at lunch. A note on safety: ackee is only safe when the pod has ripened on the tree and opened by itself, and the black seeds and pink membrane are removed. Outside Jamaica, tinned ackee is the safe, easy choice and is what this recipe uses. Chef's tip: soak the saltfish overnight and then boil it once; taste a flake before it goes in the pan, because you can always add salt but you can't take it out.

50 minJamaicanFishGluten free
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Lahori fried fish

When the first cold nights arrive in Lahore, people head to the fish stalls around Mozang and Gawalmandi, where chunks of river fish sizzle in giant woks of oil. The batter is made with gram flour, ajwain (carom seeds), red chilli and a squeeze of lemon, so it fries crisp, orange and very savoury. It's winter street food, but it's quick enough for a weeknight at home with a white fish fillet. Eat it hot with mint chutney, lemon and sliced onion. Chef's tip: marinate the fish in lemon and garlic first, then add the gram flour just before frying so the coating stays crisp, not pasty.

30 minPakistaniFishGluten freeSpicy
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Sri Lankan fish cutlets

No Sri Lankan party table, from Colombo office leaving-dos to village weddings, is complete without a tray of fish cutlets. These are small, round balls of tinned or fresh tuna mashed with potato, onion, green chilli and black pepper, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried until crisp. They're also a go-to teatime short eat, eaten with a cup of plain tea or tucked into a lunch box. Serve them with chilli sauce or a squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: fry the onion and spices with the fish before mixing in the potato; it dries the filling and makes the cutlets far tastier than mixing everything raw.

65 minSri LankanSnacks & Starters
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Bircher muesli

Around 1900 the Zürich doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner served his sanatorium patients a small bowl of raw food before every meal, which he called d'Spys (the dish): a spoonful of soaked oats, plenty of grated apple, lemon juice, nuts and condensed milk. His original was mostly apple, not mostly oats, and that is what sets it apart from the dry muesli mix sold in packets. Swiss cafés and railway kiosks still serve Birchermüesli for breakfast or a light supper, creamy, sharp and fresh, now often with yogurt and berries. This version keeps his balance: oats soaked overnight, a whole apple grated in at the last moment, lemon, hazelnuts and a little honey and yogurt. Chef's tip: grate the apple straight into the lemon juice, skin and all, and stir at once; it stays pale and juicy instead of turning brown.

10 minSwissBreakfast & Brunch
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Sri Lankan black pork curry

This is a pork dish. In the southern and western coastal towns, from Negombo down to Galle, kalu uru mas is the curry that comes out for Christmas lunch, family get-togethers and Sunday rice spreads. Its colour comes from curry powder roasted in a dry pan until it is nearly black, plus goraka, a sour dried fruit that tenderises the meat and balances the fat. The sauce ends up thick, glossy and smoky-sour, clinging to every cube of pork. Eat it with plain rice, string hoppers or bread, and it tastes even better the next day. Chef's tip: roast the curry powder over a low heat and keep stirring; take it off the moment it turns the colour of dark chocolate and smells toasty, because burnt powder turns bitter.

120 minSri LankanMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Lentil bobotieCurried lentil bake

Bobotie is the dish Cape Town is proudest of, brought to the Cape by Malay and Indonesian cooks centuries ago and still baked for Sunday lunch in the Bo-Kaap and across the Western Cape. Its flavour sits between sweet, sour and mildly hot: curry spices, apricot jam, fruit chutney and lemon, with a set egg-and-milk custard on top scented with bay leaves. The classic uses beef mince and milk-soaked bread; here brown lentils carry the spices so well that no bread is needed. Serve with yellow rice, chutney and a sliced banana and tomato sambal. Chef's tip: let the lentil filling cook down until thick and almost dry before baking, or the custard sinks into it instead of setting on top.

70 minSouth AfricanVegetarianGluten free
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Lentilles du Puy saladGreen lentil salad

Le Puy-en-Velay, in the volcanic hills of the Auvergne, grows a small, slate-green lentil with its own protected name. Lentilles du Puy hold their shape when cooked and have a peppery, almost mineral taste, which makes them perfect for salad. In French homes and bistros this salad is dressed while warm with a sharp mustard vinaigrette, shallot, carrot and parsley, then eaten as a starter, a packed lunch or a side to a quiche. Chef's tip: dress the lentils while they're still warm so they absorb the vinaigrette; dressing them cold is the common mistake and the flavour just sits on the outside.

30 minFrenchSaladsVeganGluten free
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Croque monsieur

Croque monsieur first appeared on Paris café menus in the early 1900s and is still the quick lunch of the city's brasseries, eaten at the zinc bar with a green salad. It contains pork (ham). Good white bread is spread with Dijon mustard and béchamel, filled with ham and Gruyère, then topped with more sauce and cheese and baked until golden. Put a fried egg on top and it becomes a croque madame. Chef's tip: toast the bread lightly first so it stays crisp under the sauce.

30 minFrenchFast Food
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Quiche lorraine

Quiche lorraine comes from Lorraine in north-eastern France, near Nancy and Metz, where it began as a bread-dough tart filled with eggs, cream and smoked bacon. It contains pork. The true Lorraine version has no cheese, just a deep, wobbly custard and crisp lardons, and it is eaten warm for lunch with a green salad or cut into slices for picnics. Chef's tip: blind-bake the pastry until it is golden and sealed; a pale base turns soggy under the custard.

105 minFrenchBaking
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Salade niçoise

In Nice the salad is a summer lunch eaten on shady terraces near the Cours Saleya market, and locals argue about what belongs in it. This is the generous everyday version found across the Riviera: ripe tomatoes, little potatoes, crisp green beans, soft-boiled eggs, good tuna and black olives, dressed with a sharp mustard vinaigrette. Use tuna in olive oil from a jar or tin, or a fresh tuna steak seared rare to medium. Chef's tip: dress the warm potatoes and beans first so they soak up the vinaigrette, then build the rest of the salad around them.

35 minFrenchSaladsGluten free
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Coq au vin

Coq au vin comes from Burgundy, where farm cooks once used the local red wine to soften a tough old rooster for a long Sunday lunch. This version uses chicken thighs and legs, which stay juicy, and contains pork (smoked lardons). The wine cooks for over an hour, so most of the alcohol is driven off but not all of it; for an alcohol-free version use 500 ml chicken stock with 100 ml red grape juice and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes and a crusty loaf. Chef's tip: marinate the chicken in the wine overnight in the fridge; it colours the meat deep purple and seasons it right through.

130 minFrenchChickenGluten free
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Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse began as the fishermen's supper on the quays of Marseille's Vieux-Port, made from the bony rockfish nobody could sell, and today it is a long, slow Sunday lunch in Provence. A deep orange broth of fennel, tomato, orange peel and saffron is boiled hard so the olive oil emulsifies, then firm white fish and shellfish are poached in it at the last minute. In Marseille the broth is served first with garlicky rouille on toasted bread, then the fish on a platter. Chef's tip: add the fish in order of thickness, firmest first, so every piece finishes at the same moment.

110 minFrenchFish
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Chicken avgolemono soup

Kotosoupa is what a Greek grandmother puts on the stove when someone has a cold, and on the night after Easter Saturday's midnight service many families break the fast with a lemony soup much like it. A whole chicken poaches with onion, carrot and celery, rice cooks in the broth, and at the end beaten eggs and lemon are tempered in so the soup turns creamy and pale without any cream. The chicken is often served on the side with potatoes, or shredded back into the bowl. Chef's tip: whisk the eggs until frothy before adding lemon and hot broth; it makes the soup silky and helps stop it curdling.

95 minGreekSoupsGluten free
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Pork gyros at home

This is a pork recipe; chicken thigh works the same way. In Thessaloniki and Athens gyros is cut from a tall turning spit, so thin that the edges crackle, and wrapped with chips, tomato, onion and tzatziki for a late-night bite after a football match or a night out. Home kitchens have no spit, so here thinly sliced pork shoulder is marinated in paprika, cumin, garlic and oregano, roasted in a tight stack, then sliced and crisped in a hot pan to get those charred edges. Chef's tip: slice the cooked meat as thinly as you can, then fry it in a dry hot pan; the crisp edges are what make it taste like the street version.

75 minGreekFast Food
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Paella valenciana

In the villages around Valencia, paella is a Sunday lunch dish, never a dinner one, cooked in the open air by whoever in the family has the steadiest hand and eaten straight from the pan with spoons. The Valencian original has no seafood, no chorizo and no peas: just chicken, rabbit, wide flat green beans (ferraura), big white garrofó beans, tomato, sweet pimentón, saffron and short round rice. If you can't get rabbit, use all chicken; it is still very good. This version is sized for a 38–40 cm paella pan on a large hob ring or a barbecue. Chef's tip: once the rice goes in, smooth it flat and then leave it alone; stirring releases starch and turns paella into risotto.

75 minSpanishRice & GrainsGluten free
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Lamb kleftiko

Kleftiko takes its name from the klephts, mountain fighters of the Peloponnese who were said to cook stolen lamb in sealed pits so no smoke gave them away. Today it is a celebration dish across mainland Greece and Cyprus, baked for Easter week and name days. Lamb on the bone is sealed in parchment with potatoes, garlic, lemon and herbs and baked low for hours, so it steams in its own juices until it falls from the bone. Serve with a village salad and bread. Chef's tip: seal the parcel tightly; if steam escapes, the meat dries and the potatoes never soak up the juices.

235 minGreekMeatGluten free
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Beef stifado

Stifado is the Sunday stew of Greek home cooks, especially in winter, and on islands like Corfu and Crete it fills village tavernas long before lunch. Chunks of beef braise slowly with a mountain of whole small onions, tomato, cinnamon, cloves and bay until the onions turn sweet and jammy. Traditionally red wine and red wine vinegar go in; this recipe uses wine, but you can swap it for the same amount of beef stock plus an extra tablespoon of vinegar and lose nothing important. Serve with crusty bread, rice or orzo. Chef's tip: use as many onions by weight as meat; the onions are the point of the dish, not a garnish.

175 minGreekMeatGluten free
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Hummus with spiced lamb

In Beirut and across Lebanon, a plain bowl of hummus becomes a meal when the cook pours sizzling minced lamb and pine nuts over it straight from the pan. You find it on the mezze table at long Sunday lunches and in neighbourhood breakfast shops, eaten with warm bread, raw onion, mint and pickles. The contrast is the thing: cool, creamy chickpeas and hot, crisp-edged, spiced meat. Chef's tip: peel the warm chickpeas by rubbing them in a tea towel; it takes 5 minutes and makes the hummus really silky.

30 minLebaneseSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Raclette

In the Valais, the vineyard-and-glacier canton along the upper Rhône, raclette began as a herders' meal: half a wheel of cheese propped beside an open fire, the melting face scraped (racler) onto a plate of potatoes. Today Valais families and village festivals still serve it the slow way, one plate at a time, while at home most people use a tabletop grill with small pans. The cheese is soft and pungent from the wheel and turns sweet and nutty as it bubbles, set off by sharp cornichons and little pickled onions. A proper Valais raclette needs nothing else: no charcuterie, just potatoes, pickles, pepper and a glass of Fendant or hot tea. Raclette cheese is usually made with animal rennet; choose a wheel or slices labelled with microbial or vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: keep the potatoes hot in a covered basket wrapped in a cloth, so each scoop of cheese lands on a steaming potato and stays runny.

45 minSwissVegetarianGluten free
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Adana kebab

In Adana, on the hot Çukurova plain in southern Turkey, this is the kebab of the ocakbaşı, the grill-side counters where the cook presses fatty lamb mince onto broad flat skewers and sets them over glowing coals. It is meant to be fiery with red pepper flakes, juicy from the lamb fat and wrapped in thin lavash with sumac-dusted onions, parsley and blistered peppers. Make it for a summer barbecue, or under a very hot oven grill on a weeknight. Chef's tip: knead the mince with wet hands for a full 5 minutes until it turns sticky; that is what holds it on the skewer.

55 minTurkishMeatSpicy
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Gaeng som plaSour fish curry

Down the Andaman coast and in Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, this is everyday home food, the curry that turns up at lunch alongside rice, fried egg and a plate of raw vegetables. It is thin, brothy and startlingly bright: fresh turmeric turns it orange, tamarind makes it sour, and a pounded paste of chillies and shrimp paste gives it real heat, all without any coconut milk. Chunks of firm white fish poach gently in the soup with green papaya and long beans. Eat it with plenty of jasmine rice to soak up the broth. Chef's tip: pound a little of the poached fish into the curry paste; it thickens the broth slightly and makes it taste of the sea.

30 minThaiCurriesGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bucatini all'amatriciana

Shepherds from Amatrice, a mountain town in northern Lazio, carried guanciale and pecorino up to summer pastures, and once tomatoes arrived from the south the sauce took the shape it has kept ever since. The town still holds a sagra every August, and the dish became a Roman staple through the cooks who moved to the capital. Thick, hollow bucatini catch the sweet-sharp tomato inside and out, while the guanciale gives rich, porky pockets and the chilli a gentle warmth. Locals are firm that onion and garlic do not belong in it; they soften the clean taste of the pork. Chef's tip: lift the browned guanciale out of the pan before the tomatoes go in and return it just before serving, so it keeps its bite instead of turning soft in the sauce.

30 minItalianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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