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Erbokvertskhi
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Erbokvertskhi

Eggs fried in butter

Erbokvertskhi means simply "butter-egg", and in Georgian homes from Tbilisi to the Imereti villages it is the breakfast cooked in a small clay ketsi or pan: eggs fried in plenty of erbo, the golden clarified butter, with slices of salty sulguni cheese melting around them. It is eaten with shoti bread and fresh herbs. Sulguni is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian mozzarella-style cheese if needed. The mistake is a timid amount of butter: the eggs should sizzle in it so the edges crisp. Serve the yolks fully set for anyone pregnant, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: let the cheese melt and brown slightly before adding the eggs, so you get crisp cheese edges under soft whites.

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Ayam betutuSpiced slow-braised chicken

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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.

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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.

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Axone porkPork with fermented soybean

Axone, called akhuni in the Sumi Naga language, is soybean fermented in banana leaves until it is pungent and deeply savoury, and pork cooked with it is a signature of the Sumi people of Zunheboto in Nagaland. The smell is strong while it cooks, but the finished curry tastes rich, earthy and meaty, sharpened by tomato and chilli. Serve with rice and a green vegetable. Chef's tip: open a window and warn the household; axone is famously smelly in the pan and wonderful on the plate.

75 minIndianMeatGluten freeSpicy
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AvialMixed vegetables in coconut yogurt

Avial is a mainstay of the Kerala sadya, the vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf at Onam and weddings. Batons of vegetables (raw banana, drumstick, yam, carrot, beans, ash gourd) are cooked just tender, then coated in a coarse paste of fresh coconut, cumin and green chilli, soured with curd and finished with raw coconut oil and curry leaves. It's thick rather than saucy, mild, tangy and fragrant. Serve with rice and sambar, or with adai. Chef's tip: cut every vegetable into the same 5 cm batons and add them in order of hardness, so they're all tender together and nothing turns to mush.

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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.

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Lal sahRed tea

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AvakayaRaw mango pickle

Every April and May, when the hard, sour green mangoes arrive, Andhra homes turn into pickle factories. The mangoes are cut, stone and all, with a heavy cleaver, then mixed with freshly ground mustard, fiery red chilli powder, salt and a flood of sesame oil, and packed into ceramic jars to mature. Avakaya is fierce, pungent, salty and sour, and a tiny piece mashed into hot rice with ghee and dal is many Telugu people's idea of perfect lunch. A jar lasts the whole year. Chef's tip: every piece of mango, every knife and the jar must be bone dry; a single drop of water can turn a whole batch mouldy.

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Riz grasRice cooked in beef stew

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Attiéké with tomato and onionCassava couscous with tomato salad

Attiéké is the light, slightly sour cassava 'couscous' of the Ébrié and Adjoukrou peoples around Abidjan's lagoons, and it is eaten across Côte d'Ivoire every day of the week. In maquis (open-air restaurants) it comes heaped beside grilled fish with a raw salad of tomato, onion and chilli; at home many people eat it simply with that salad, fried plantain and a fried egg, which is how it is served here. Buy it frozen or dried in African shops. Chef's tip: steam attiéké rather than boiling it; water turns it to paste, while steam keeps the grains fluffy and separate.

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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.

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Atol de eloteWarm fresh corn drink

When the new maize comes in, Central Americans drink their corn: atol de elote is fresh sweetcorn blended, strained and cooked with milk and cinnamon into a thick, pale-yellow drink, sipped from a cup or a gourd. In El Salvador it's sold at roadside stands with tamales de elote; in Guatemala it warms chilly highland evenings. Taste is like sweet corn custard you can drink. Chef's tip: strain the blended corn through a fine sieve and press hard; the skins make the drink gritty.

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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.

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Assida zgougouAleppo pine seed pudding

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Asperges à la flamandeWhite asparagus with egg and butter

In May and June, white asparagus from Mechelen and the sandy fields around Limburg arrive in Belgian markets, and asperges à la flamande (asperges op Vlaamse wijze) is the way to eat them. The pale spears are peeled and cooked until tender, then covered with a warm sauce of melted butter, chopped hard-boiled egg, parsley and nutmeg that is half sauce and half garnish. It is served as a starter in Flemish restaurants all through the short asparagus season, sometimes with a slice of ham alongside; here it stays meat-free. Chef's tip: peel the spears from just below the tip all the way down with a swivel peeler; white asparagus has a thick, bitter skin, and missing even a strip leaves woody threads.

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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).

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Zupa ogórkowaSour pickled cucumber soup

Zupa ogórkowa is the soup Polish families make when the crock of brine-fermented cucumbers from summer starts to run low in late autumn: grated sour pickles and their cloudy brine simmered with potatoes, carrot and root vegetables, then softened with soured cream and a fistful of dill. It is a staple of canteen lunches and Sunday-in-the-country cooking, from Mazovia to Silesia, and it tastes tangy, garlicky and comforting all at once. Traditionally it is made on meat stock; here a good vegetable stock does the job. Use real ogórki kiszone (fermented in salt water), not sweet vinegar gherkins. Chef's tip: stir the cucumbers in only after the potatoes are soft; acid stops potatoes from softening, so if they go in together the potatoes stay hard.

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Asmara pasta al sugoSpaghetti in berbere tomato sauce

Pasta is part of everyday life in Asmara, a legacy of the Italian years, and in Eritrean homes and cafés 'pasta al sugo' means spaghetti in a slow tomato sauce warmed with berbere, garlic and plenty of onion. It is eaten on weekdays and after church on Sundays, often with a banana or a green chilli on the side. The usual sauce has minced beef; this one uses finely chopped mushrooms and carrot for the same body. Chef's tip: cook the onions and berbere slowly before the tomato goes in; raw berbere tastes dusty.

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Ashlyan-fuCold noodle soup with starch jelly

Ashlyan-fu is the street food of Karakol, the town on the eastern shore of Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk-Kul, brought by Dungan (Hui) families more than a century ago. Locals eat it for lunch on hot days at the 'ashlyan-fu row' near the bazaar: thick wheat noodles and cubes of wobbly starch jelly in a chilled, sour and fiery broth, with a strip of thin omelette, often alongside a fried potato pirozhok. It's eaten all over Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan now. This version uses a vegetable sauce rather than meat. Chef's tip: everything must be cold; chill the broth and the jelly properly, as lukewarm ashlyan-fu tastes flat.

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Zeytinyağlı enginarArtichokes braised with peas

In spring, when globe artichokes pile up on stalls in İzmir and Urla, market sellers trim them on the spot into pale hearts kept in lemon water, and families take them home to make zeytinyağlı enginar. The hearts are braised cup-side up with small onions, carrots, potato and peas in olive oil and lemon, then served cold with a shower of dill, often as the first course of a spring dinner. The classic mistake is leaving trimmed artichokes in the air: they turn grey within minutes. Chef's tip: rub every cut surface with lemon as you go and drop the hearts straight into water with lemon juice and a spoonful of flour, which keeps them pale and cream-coloured.

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AshakLeek-filled dumplings

Ashak are the dumplings Kabul families fold together for Eid, Nowruz and weddings: thin wheat wrappers stuffed with gandana (Afghan garlic chives, here replaced with leeks and spring onions), boiled, then laid on a bed of garlicky strained yoghurt and topped with a tomato sauce and dried mint. Ashak usually come with a minced-meat sauce; this vegetarian version uses yellow split peas in a spiced tomato base, as many Afghan cooks do on meatless days. Making them is a sociable afternoon job, so rope in helpers. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted leeks hard in a cloth before filling; any water left in them soaks the wrappers and they split in the pot.

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Ash reshtehNoodle, bean and herb soup

Ash reshteh is the thick soup Iranians cook in big pots in the days before Nowruz and for Sizdah Bedar, the spring picnic day, when the noodles (reshteh) are said to help you grasp the threads of good luck for the coming year. Chickpeas, beans and lentils are simmered with a mountain of green herbs and spinach, thickened with flat noodles and finished at the table with tangy kashk, crisp onions and a sizzling swirl of mint oil. It is a meal in a bowl, hearty and herby. Kashk is usually made without rennet, but check the label; strained yogurt is a good substitute. Chef's tip: add the noodles only once the beans are soft, and stir often after that, because they thicken the pot and it can catch on the bottom.

120 minPersianSoups
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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
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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.

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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.

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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.

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AseedaSorghum porridge

Aseeda (asida) is the stiff, slightly sour sorghum porridge eaten across Sudan, especially in Darfur, Kordofan and the countryside, where it is the daily staple. The batter is left to ferment before being cooked into a smooth, firm dough, shaped in a bowl into a dome, and turned out with mullah poured around it. During Ramadan it is a common iftar dish. Chef's tip: beat hard with a wooden spoon once the dough thickens; that beating is what makes aseeda smooth instead of lumpy.

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Asado uruguayoGrilled beef short ribs and chorizo

Sunday in Uruguay means asado: in Montevideo backyards and the cattle towns of the interior, beef ribs (asado de tira), chorizo and morcilla cook slowly over the embers of a wood fire, with only coarse salt, while the family waits. The parrillero rakes coals under the grill and keeps the heat low and even. This recipe includes pork chorizo. The mistake is cooking over flames; the fire should burn down to embers you can hold your hand above for 6–8 seconds. Chef's tip: salt the meat only when it goes on the grill, with coarse salt, never fine.

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Asado negroBeef braised in panela

Asado negro is the Sunday lunch of Caracas families: a whole piece of beef eye of round (muchacho redondo) is seared in sugar caramelised almost to black, then slowly braised until the sauce is dark, glossy and sweet-savoury. Despite how it looks, it doesn't taste burnt, just deep and rich. It is sliced and served with white rice, fried ripe plantain and sometimes a mash of potatoes. Many cooks add a glass of red wine to the braise; to keep it alcohol-free, use the same amount of beef stock and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar instead. The mistake to avoid is stirring the panela while it caramelises: it crystallises and goes grainy. Chef's tip: get the caramel really dark, just before it smokes, because the colour and depth of the whole dish come from that minute.

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Asado argentinoGrilled beef short ribs

For Argentines the Sunday asado is less a recipe than a ritual: someone (the asador) lights the fire mid-morning in a backyard in Buenos Aires or a ranch in the Pampas, and lunch happens hours later. Beef is cooked low and slow over glowing embers, seasoned with nothing but coarse salt, and carved at the grill to be eaten with bread, salad and a bowl of chimichurri. This home version uses two favourite cuts: tira de asado (thin cross-cut short ribs) and vacío (flank). The classic mistake is grilling over flames; wait until the coals are covered in white ash, and spread them so the heat is gentle. Chef's tip: hold your hand 15 cm above the grill; if you can keep it there for 8–10 seconds, the heat is right for asado.

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ÄrtsoppaYellow pea soup

For centuries Swedes have eaten ärtsoppa on Thursday: school canteens, army messes and home kitchens all serve thick yellow pea soup, followed by thin pancakes with jam (ärtsoppa och pannkakor). The tradition is said to date from Catholic times, a filling meal before Friday's fast. The soup is usually cooked with salt pork, but the soul of it is the dried yellow peas, onion and a generous hand of thyme and marjoram, so this version is fully plant-based and seasons the broth with a little smoked paprika instead. Each bowl gets a spoonful of sharp Swedish mustard stirred in at the table. Chef's tip: soak whole yellow peas overnight and skim the foam as they come to the boil; the skins that float up can then be lifted off, giving a smoother soup.

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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
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Arroz verdeGreen rice

Arroz verde is red rice's fresher sister, popular across central Mexico as a side for mole, enchiladas and beans. The rice is toasted in oil and then simmered in a vivid green purée of poblano pepper, coriander, parsley and a handful of spinach, so it comes out fluffy, herby and gently peppery, the colour of spring grass. It is vegan with vegetable stock and pairs especially well with mole rojo or roasted vegetables. Chef's tip: blend the greens with cold stock and add it straight to the rice; heated slowly or left standing the purée loses its colour, so make it right before you need it.

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Arroz rojoMexican red rice

Arroz rojo (also called arroz a la mexicana) is the rice served beside almost everything in Mexico, from enchiladas to beans to a fried egg. Long-grain rice is fried in oil until golden, then simmered in a blended tomato, onion and garlic broth until every grain is separate, tender and tinted orange-red. Diced carrot and peas add colour and sweetness, and a whole chilli in the pot gives a gentle warmth without heat. Made with vegetable stock it is vegan and a favourite with children. Chef's tip: rinse the rice until the water runs clear and let it dry well before frying; wet rice won't toast and turns out sticky.

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Arroz negroBlack rice with squid ink

Along the coast from Valencia up to the Costa Brava, arroz negro (arròs negre in Catalan and Valencian) is a seafront restaurant favourite, ordered for the table at lunchtime and brought out in its pan. Squid and its ink turn the rice glossy black and give it a deep taste of the sea, and every forkful gets a dab of garlicky all-i-oli. This version uses the traditional egg-free all-i-oli, just garlic, oil and salt pounded together; if you'd rather make the easier egg version, use a pasteurised egg, and note that raw egg is not suitable for pregnant women, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: buy squid ink in sachets or small jars from a fishmonger or Spanish deli; the ink sac inside a whole squid is far too small to colour a whole pan.

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Arroz doceRice pudding

Arroz doce is set out on every Portuguese table at Christmas, at weddings and at the summer romarias (village saints' festivals) of the Minho, poured into wide, shallow platters and dusted with cinnamon in lattices, initials or little hearts. Short-grain carolino rice is first boiled in water with lemon peel and cinnamon, then simmered slowly in milk and sugar, and finally thickened off the heat with egg yolks, which turns it pale gold and custardy; that last step is what sets it apart from Spanish or Mexican rice puddings. It is eaten cold or at room temperature, by the spoonful straight from the platter. Chef's tip: cook the rice in water first until it has swollen, and only then add the milk; starting in milk scorches easily and leaves the grains firm in the middle.

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Zupa pomidorowaCreamy tomato soup with rice

In Poland, zupa pomidorowa is famously Monday's soup: on Sunday the family drinks rosół, and the next day the leftover broth becomes tomato soup with rice or thin noodles and a swirl of soured cream. Children across the country rank it as their favourite school-canteen dish. It is creamy, mild and a little sweet, nothing like a spicy Mediterranean tomato soup. This version starts from vegetable stock (the traditional base is chicken broth) and builds the flavour with carrot, celery root and tomato paste fried in butter. Serve it with rice cooked in the pot or with makaron (fine noodles). Chef's tip: fry the tomato paste in butter until it darkens one shade; raw paste tastes tinny and that one minute makes the soup taste like it simmered for hours.

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Arroz con pollo peruanoCoriander rice with chicken

Across Spanish-speaking America arroz con pollo means yellow rice, but in Lima it comes out deep green, thanks to a big bunch of coriander blended into the cooking liquid. Mothers make it for Sunday lunch and for birthday parties, and street stalls ladle it out with salsa criolla, the sharp onion-and-lime relish that cuts through the rice. Chicken pieces are browned first, then the rice cooks in the same pot so it takes on all their flavour. Chef's tip: blend the coriander with cold stock right before it goes in, so it stays bright green rather than turning khaki.

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Zeytinyağlı pırasaLeeks braised in olive oil

Winter in Istanbul brings fat leeks to every neighbourhood market, and zeytinyağlı pırasa is how many households use them: chunks of leek and carrot stewed gently in olive oil with a handful of rice to thicken the juices, finished with lemon. It is served at room temperature on the side of a winter table, or as a light lunch with bread and white cheese, and grandmothers often say it is better the second day. The usual mistake is skipping a proper wash: grit hides between the layers and ruins the whole pot. Chef's tip: cut the leeks on a slant into thick pieces and keep them whole rather than separating the rings, so they hold their shape through the slow braise.

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Tiyula itumBlack beef soup

Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.

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Zeytinyağlı taze fasulyeGreen beans braised in olive oil

Along the Aegean coast, from İzmir down to Bodrum, summer lunch often begins with a plate of flat green beans that have been stewed in olive oil and tomato until they are silky, then left to cool to room temperature. It belongs to the zeytinyağlı family: vegetables cooked in olive oil, with no meat, and eaten cold or barely warm with bread to mop up the orange-red juices. Home cooks make a big pan in the morning and serve it over two or three days, because it tastes better after a night in the fridge. The most common mistake is rushing it on a high flame: the beans stay squeaky and the oil never turns glossy. Chef's tip: lay the beans on top of the onions and tomatoes without stirring, cover tightly and let the steam do the work; stirring breaks the beans and turns the sauce muddy.

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Vegetable saloonaVegetable and tomato stew

Saloona is the stew Emirati families make on an ordinary weekday, ladled over white rice for lunch in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and every town between. Each household has its own mix, but the base is always the same: tomatoes, onions and the local bezar spice blend, sharpened with dried lime and simmered with whatever vegetables are in the fridge. This meat-free pot uses potato, courgette, aubergine, carrot and okra with chickpeas for body, and it tastes even better the next day. Chef's tip: add the okra in the last 10 minutes and leave it whole; cut okra goes slimy in a long simmer.

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Vegetable saltadoWok-fried vegetables

Saltado comes from Lima's chifa tradition, the cooking of Chinese-Peruvian families who brought the wok to Peru in the nineteenth century. The famous version is lomo saltado with beef; this saltado de verduras uses meaty mushrooms in its place. Thick wedges of red onion and tomato are tossed over a fierce flame with garlic, ají amarillo, soy sauce and a splash of vinegar until just wilted, so the vegetables keep their shape and the pan juices turn smoky and savoury. It is always served with both chips and white rice, which soak up those juices. Chef's tip: cook in two batches if your pan is small; a crowded wok steams the vegetables instead of searing them, and the tomatoes collapse into soup.

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Vegetable Shan noodlesRice noodles with tomato sauce

Shan khao swe comes from the hills of Shan State in eastern Myanmar, where it's eaten for breakfast at markets around Inle Lake and Taunggyi before the day's work begins. Sticky rice noodles are tossed with a garlicky tomato sauce, sesame oil and crushed peanuts, then served with pickled mustard greens and a small bowl of clear broth on the side. Markets usually make the sauce with chicken or pork; here mushrooms and tofu give it the same savoury depth. Chef's tip: cook the tomatoes down until the oil separates and the sauce turns jammy; a watery sauce slides off the noodles and tastes flat.

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Vegetable Sindhi biryaniLayered vegetable biryani

Sindhi biryani is the biryani of Karachi, Hyderabad and the rest of Sindh, and it is the one people order by the deg (a huge pot) for weddings, Eid lunches and every big family gathering. What makes it Sindhi is the tang and the heat: plenty of tomatoes, yogurt, whole green chillies and sour dried plums (aloo bukhara) in the masala, with chunks of potato that soak up all of it. This vegetable version keeps all of that and swaps the meat for potato, carrot, cauliflower and peas, layered with half-cooked basmati, fried onions, mint and saffron milk, then steamed shut. A common mistake is boiling the rice until soft before layering; take it out when a grain still has a firm white core, because it finishes in the steam. Chef's tip: fry the onions until deep brown but not black, and keep the oil they fried in; it carries their flavour into every layer.

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Vegetable sinigangSour tamarind vegetable soup

Sinigang is the sour soup that Tagalog families crave when the monsoon arrives between June and October, when rain hammers the tin roofs and a steaming bowl next to rice feels like the only sensible lunch. The sourness traditionally comes from young tamarind (sampalok) boiled and mashed into the broth, and the vegetables are whatever the market has: white radish, taro to thicken the soup slightly, okra, yard-long beans, aubergine and a final handful of water spinach. This vegetarian sinigang na gulay skips the pork or fish and relies on the tamarind, tomato and onion for flavour. The broth should make you pucker a little on the first sip. Chef's tip: add the tamarind in stages and taste between each, since blocks of tamarind vary a lot in sourness.

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Vegetable siu maiOpen-topped vegetable dumplings

Siu mai are among the first baskets wheeled past at Cantonese dim sum in Guangzhou's tea houses, where people meet over yum cha on weekend mornings. The classic is pork and prawn; this one is packed with shiitake, tofu, crunchy water chestnut and carrot, with a dot of diced carrot on top in place of fish roe. Steam them in a bamboo basket and serve with chilli oil and soy. Chef's tip: squeeze the wrapper into a 'waist' with your thumb and finger and flatten the base on the board, so they stand up straight in the steamer.

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Vegetable Uzbek plovVegetable pilaf

Plov (osh) is the dish Uzbeks cook for weddings, for Friday lunch and for guests, traditionally by men over a fire in a wide cast-iron kazan. Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara each have their own style, but all are built the same way: a zirvak (base) of onions and long strips of carrot fried in oil, rice laid on top and steamed until every grain is separate and glossy. This vegetarian version keeps the zirvak and swaps the meat for chickpeas (nohat), whole heads of garlic and barberries, as in Samarkand's chickpea plov. For the classic meat version, lamb or beef is browned in the oil before the onions and simmered in the zirvak for 40 minutes. Serve with achichuk. Chef's tip: hunt out yellow carrots from Central Asian or Turkish grocers; they are sweeter and less watery than orange ones and give plov its honeyed colour.

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Vegetable vindayeMustard vegetable pickle curry

Vindaye is a Mauritian dish descended from the vindaloo and vinha d'alhos traditions but entirely its own: fried ingredients coated in a bright yellow paste of mustard seed, turmeric, garlic, ginger and vinegar, with lots of raw-crisp onion. Fish and octopus vindaye are the classics, served at room temperature with rice, faratas or bread; aubergine and potato vindaye is a well-loved vegetarian version for Hindu fasting days and buffets. Chef's tip: grind the mustard seeds fresh; ready-ground mustard gives a flat, dusty taste.

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Vegetarian char kway teowStir-fried flat rice noodles

Char kway teow is the dish Singaporeans queue for at hawker centres like Old Airport Road and Zion Riverside: flat rice noodles and yellow noodles tossed over a roaring wok with dark sweet soy, egg, beansprouts and chives until smoky and sticky. The classic uses lard, cockles and Chinese sausage; this vegetarian version gets its richness from fried tofu puffs and plenty of garlic, and its char from a very hot pan. Chef's tip: cook one or two portions at a time; a crowded pan can't get hot enough for the smoky wok hei that defines the dish.

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Vegetarian erwtensoepSplit pea soup

Erwtensoep, or snert, is the soup that Dutch skaters drink from paper cups at the koek-en-zopie stalls on frozen lakes, and that families leave to simmer on a Saturday in January. A proper snert is so thick that a spoon should stand upright in the pan, and it tastes better on the second day. The traditional pot is full of pork and smoked sausage; this version gets its depth from celeriac, leek, a little smoked paprika and a long, slow simmer. Serve it with dark rye bread (roggebrood), butter and mustard. Chef's tip: stir the bottom of the pan every 10 minutes in the last half hour; split peas settle as they thicken and catch easily, and a scorched taste spreads through the whole pot.

140 minDutchSoupsVeganGluten free
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HariraTomato, lentil and chickpea soup

When the call to prayer ends the fast during Ramadan, tables from Tangier to Ouarzazate are set with a bowl of harira, dates and chebakia. This tomato soup is thick with lentils, chickpeas and a great deal of coriander, parsley and celery, and gets its silky body from a flour-and-water slurry stirred in at the end. Many families cook it with a little lamb; this meat-free version uses a well-browned onion and tomato base and olive oil instead of smen, so it is fully vegan and still deeply savoury. Chef's tip: the soup should coat a spoon like thin custard; add the flour slurry slowly while stirring and stop when it reaches that point. Variation: for the meat version, brown 250 g diced lamb with the onion at the start.

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Vegetarian mohingaRice noodle soup with lemongrass

Mohinga is Myanmar's national breakfast, ladled from steaming pots at dawn on street corners from Yangon to Mandalay: thin rice noodles in a thick, golden broth fragrant with lemongrass, ginger and toasted chickpea flour, topped with crisp fritters, lime and chilli. The real thing is built on catfish and fish sauce. This vegetarian version is honestly different: dried shiitake and kombu give savouriness instead of fish, and the body comes from toasted chickpea flour, toasted rice powder and banana stem (or palm heart), so it's lighter and earthier rather than fishy. Chef's tip: toast the chickpea flour and rice until golden and nutty before they go in; they carry most of the flavour.

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Vegetarian popiahFresh spring rolls

Popiah are the soft, fresh spring rolls that Hokkien and Peranakan families in Singapore make together at home, especially for Qing Ming and family reunions, with everyone wrapping their own at the table. Thin wheat skins are brushed with sweet sauce and chilli, then filled with a slow-braised mix of jicama (bangkuang) and carrot, plus lettuce, beansprouts, egg, peanuts and crispy shallots. This version leaves out the prawns and Chinese sausage and braises the filling in vegetable stock. Chef's tip: drain the braised filling very well before rolling; extra liquid tears the delicate skins.

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Vegetarian smørrebrødOpen sandwiches

Smørrebrød, 'buttered bread', is Denmark's lunch: a single slice of dense rye bread, buttered right to the edges and piled with toppings so carefully arranged they are eaten with a knife and fork. Copenhagen lunch restaurants such as the old cellar places around Nyhavn serve them in a set order, and at home they make up a Sunday or Christmas lunch table (det kolde bord). Many classics use fish or meat, but three of the best-loved toppings are vegetarian: sliced egg with tomato and cress, waxy new potatoes with crisp onion and chives (kartoffelmad), and peppery radishes on salted butter. Chef's tip: butter the bread thickly and all the way to the crust; in Denmark the butter is the glue that holds the toppings and keeps the rye from going soggy.

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Arroz con pollo cubanoChicken and yellow rice

Cuban arroz con pollo is the one-pot Sunday lunch of the island, and every abuela in Santiago or Havana has her own way with it. Chicken pieces are browned, then the rice cooks right in the pot with sofrito, a pinch of saffron (or bijol, the annatto colouring most Cuban kitchens use) and stock until each grain is golden and moist, almost creamy. Peas and roasted red peppers go on top at the end. It is eaten with fried ripe plantain and a green salad. Many versions add a splash of beer to the pot; this one uses chicken stock only, so it is alcohol-free. The usual mistake is stirring the rice once it is covered, which breaks the grains and makes it gluey. Chef's tip: let the pot rest off the heat with the lid on for 10 minutes before serving, so the rice finishes softening in its own steam.

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