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Aloo keema
Featured recipe

Aloo keema

Minced meat with potatoes

Aloo keema is the dinner that turns up in Pakistani homes from Karachi to Peshawar several times a month: quick, cheap, and loved by children and grandparents alike. Mince is browned with onion, tomato and whole spices, then simmered with potato cubes and peas until the potatoes soak up the masala. It is usually eaten with hot chapati or paratha, and leftovers become a filling for sandwiches and samosas the next day. Chef's tip: keep frying the mince until all the water it releases has gone and it starts to sizzle; that's where the browned, meaty flavour comes from.

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Uuts-style roast lamb saddle

Uuts, the whole back and fat tail of a sheep, is the grandest dish of Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year: boiled, then set in the centre of the table in every Ulaanbaatar and countryside home and carved for each visitor during the days of family visits. The real thing weighs many kilos and needs a huge pot, so this home version uses a bone-in saddle of lamb with its fat, simmered first and then roasted until the fat is crisp, keeping the uuts idea of a whole, impressive cut to carve at the table. A common mistake is trimming away all the fat; in Mongolia it is the most prized part. Chef's tip: score the fat in a criss-cross so it renders and crisps evenly.

170 minMongolianMeatGluten free
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Koova kurukku (arrowroot porridge)

Koova, the arrowroot that grows in Kerala's backyards, is dug, washed, grated and dried into a snow-white powder that many families in Thrissur and Kottayam still make themselves. Stirred with water over a low flame, it turns from chalky to clear and glossy in a few minutes, and this kurukku is a classic first spoonful at six months, often given in the hot months because it is thought to be cooling. It is very mild and smooth. No salt, sugar, jaggery or honey goes in for babies. It is free of the major allergens. Chef's tip: buy pure koova or arrowroot powder, not a cornflour blend, and stop cooking the moment the whole pan turns translucent.

10 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Daegu-sal juk (cod and vegetable baby porridge)

In Korea, homemade baby food (iyusik) follows clear stages, and by the late stage around nine months, Seoul parents are making juk with roughly crushed rice and small pieces of fish and vegetables. Daegu-sal juk uses mild, flaky cod with sweet courgette (aehobak) and carrot, and no soy sauce, salt or sesame oil. It is creamy, delicate and soft enough to mash between the gums. It contains fish and is free of milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya and sesame. Chef's tip: crush the soaked rice lightly with a rolling pin or a couple of pulses in a blender; broken grains thicken the juk faster and give exactly the soft lumps this stage needs.

35 minKoreanRice & GrainsGluten free
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Menchi katsuCrumbed meat patties

Menchi katsu, a juicy mince patty of beef and pork in a crisp panko coat, is sold hot at Tokyo butchers' shops like the famous ones in Kichijoji and packed cold in bento across Japan, with shredded cabbage and a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce. Sweet fried onion makes the inside tender. The common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot, so the crumb burns before the pork and beef in the middle are cooked. Chef's tip: chill the shaped patties for 20 minutes before crumbing so they keep their shape and stay juicy.

45 minJapaneseMeat
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Zeng gao (Xi'an steamed rice cakes with jujube)

Walk the lanes of Huimin Jie in Xi'an in the late afternoon and you will see small round cakes steaming in stacked cups, then flipped out and speared onto bamboo sticks for children heading home from school. They are made from glutinous rice flour rubbed to a damp crumb, layered with sweet jujube paste and steamed until the crumb fuses into a soft, springy cake with a dark red stripe through the middle. They are lightly sweet, chewy and best eaten warm. Chef's tip: rub the flour with water until it just clumps when squeezed, then sieve it, because a light, airy crumb is what makes the cake tender.

60 minChineseDessertsVeganGluten free
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Huanggui shizi bing (Xi'an persimmon cakes)

Every autumn, when Lintong's soft persimmons ripen outside Xi'an, griddles across the Muslim Quarter fill with these orange cakes. The dough is little more than ripe persimmon pulp and flour, so it fries crisp and caramelised outside while staying chewy and sticky inside, and the filling of brown sugar, walnuts, sesame and dried osmanthus melts into a fragrant syrup. They are bought hot in a paper sleeve as an afternoon snack. They contain wheat and walnuts. Chef's tip: use persimmons so ripe they feel like a water balloon; firm ones make the dough taste furry and astringent.

60 minChineseDesserts
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TsukuneChicken meatball skewers

Tsukune are the minced chicken patties of yakitori bars all over Japan, and squashed into small ovals they are one of the most loved bento fillers, eaten cold at school or the office. Ginger and spring onion keep them fresh, and a glossy soy tare makes them sticky and sweet. The tare uses mirin, a sweet rice wine; most of its alcohol cooks off as it bubbles, and for an alcohol-free glaze use 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water instead. The common mistake is a loose mix that falls apart in the pan; knead it until sticky. Chef's tip: add a spoon of grated tofu or potato starch to the mince, which keeps the patties juicy even the next day.

30 minJapaneseChicken
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Parovye kotlety for toddlers (steamed cutlets)

Parovye kotlety, steamed cutlets, are the nursery and kindergarten classic of Russian homes from St Petersburg to Novosibirsk, served with mashed potato or buckwheat at lunch. Minced chicken or turkey is mixed with bread soaked in water and grated onion, shaped into small patties and steamed until soft and juicy, so there is no crust for small gums to struggle with. This version for toddlers from 12 months has no added salt and no egg. It contains wheat (gluten, in the bread); there is no milk, egg, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: beat the mince against the side of the bowl for a minute; it makes the cutlets hold together without egg.

35 minRussianChicken
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Jing gao (Xi'an steamed sticky rice and date cake)

Before the shops of Xi'an's Muslim Quarter open, vendors on Beiyuanmen and Sajinqiao lift the lids of huge iron zeng pots and carve out jing gao, a dense breakfast of glutinous rice, red dates and kidney beans steamed so long that the dates melt into a jammy layer. It is scooped onto paper plates with a flat spade and eaten hot, often with a sprinkle of sugar, by workers on their way in. The home version steams in a heatproof bowl and needs time rather than skill. The rice turns glossy and chewy, the dates taste of toffee and the beans give a soft, earthy bite. Chef's tip: lay the dates as the bottom and top layers, because their sugar is what colours and flavours the rice as it steams.

240 minChineseBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Jicaletas (jícama lollipops with chamoy)

At home time outside primary schools in Mexico City's Coyoacán and Narvarte, carts sell jicaletas, thick rounds of jícama pushed onto a stick like a giant lollipop and painted bright red with sweet-sour chamoy. They are crunchy, juicy and cold, with salty, sour and spicy layers on the outside, and make a light afternoon snack on a hot day. Chef's tip: cut the slices at least 1.5 cm thick, otherwise they snap off the stick at the first bite.

10 minMexicanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Torta de chile rellenoStuffed poblano sandwich

At Mexico City's torta stands and school gates, the chile relleno torta is the meat-free favourite: a whole poblano, roasted, peeled, stuffed with melting cheese, dipped in fluffy egg batter and fried, then pressed into a bolillo spread with refried beans and salsa. People buy them warm mid-morning or wrap them in foil for lunch. The common mistake is frying a wet chile: the batter slides off, so pat it dry and dust it with flour first. Oaxaca cheese and Monterey Jack are often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian melting cheese, and check the refried beans are made without lard. Chef's tip: beat the egg whites to stiff peaks before folding in the yolks; that airy capeado is what makes it puff and stay crisp.

60 minMexicanFast Food
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Tarta de zapallitosCourgette and cheese tart

In Buenos Aires every rotisería sells tartas by the slice, and at home a tarta de zapallitos is baked on Sunday evening so that a wedge can go into the vianda (packed lunch) for school and work all week. Zapallitos are round green courgettes; ordinary courgettes work just as well. The common mistake is adding the courgette raw, which floods the pastry; sauté it until the liquid has cooked away. Argentine queso rallado and many hard cheeses are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese. Chef's tip: bake the tart on a preheated baking tray so the base crisps before the filling soaks in.

70 minArgentinianBaking
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Cart noodles

Cart noodles began in the 1950s, when hawkers pushed carts of simmering pots through Sham Shui Po and Wong Tai Sin and let customers pick their own noodles and toppings. The carts are long gone, but the noodle shops of Mong Kok and Kowloon City keep the custom: tick off your choices on a slip, perhaps curry fish balls, soft braised daikon, chewy pork skin, pig's blood or squid, and choose your broth, here a spicy curry-satay one. It is a cheap, filling late-night meal. This version uses pork skin and pork stock. Contains fish, wheat, egg and soy. Chef's tip: give the pork skin time in the curry pot; it should be soft and jelly-like, soaking up the sauce.

60 minHong KongPasta & NoodlesSpicy
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Curried egg sandwich

A school canteen and church-fete favourite across Australia, the curried egg sandwich is soft white or wholemeal bread filled with hard-boiled egg mashed with mayonnaise and a little mild curry powder, often with lettuce or cress. It goes into lunch boxes cut into fingers. The common mistake is mashing the eggs while warm, which turns the mayonnaise oily and the filling runny; let them cool completely. Chef's tip: warm the curry powder in a dry pan for 20 seconds first, and the raw, dusty taste turns sweet and toasty.

20 minAustralianSnacks & Starters
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Aussie salad sandwich

The salad sandwich is the backbone of the Australian lunchbox and the school tuckshop order: soft bread built up with tinned beetroot, grated carrot, tasty cheese, tomato and crisp lettuce, cut into triangles and wrapped in paper. Beetroot is what makes it unmistakably Aussie. The common mistake is laying wet beetroot and tomato straight on bare bread, so by lunchtime it is pink and soggy. Many Cheddar-style "tasty" cheeses use animal rennet; choose one labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: butter both slices to the edge and put the cheese and lettuce next to the bread, with the wet fillings sealed in the middle.

10 minAustralianSnacks & Starters
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Dragon's beard candy

Dragon's beard candy is one of the old street crafts of Hong Kong, still demonstrated by a few hawkers in Tsim Sha Tsui and at Kowloon City snack shops, where children watch a hard disc of sugar stretched and folded in starch until it becomes a skein of hair-fine threads. Each cocoon is wrapped around a crunchy filling of peanuts, sesame and coconut and must be eaten within minutes, before it melts in the humidity. It takes practice; your first batch may be thicker threads, and that is fine. Contains peanuts and sesame; not for children under five, who can choke on the filling. Chef's tip: toast the cornflour first, as raw starch tastes chalky and is not safe to eat uncooked.

60 minHong KongDessertsVeganGluten free
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Morcipán (blood sausage roll)

At any Buenos Aires asado, and at the street grills outside football grounds like La Bombonera in La Boca, the choripán has a twin: the morcipán, a soft, rich morcilla split and laid in crusty bread. Argentine morcilla is a pork blood sausage with pork fat, onion and spices, sometimes with nuts or raisins, and it grills to a crisp skin around a soft, spoonable centre that tastes deep and slightly sweet. A sharp chimichurri cuts through it. Chef's tip: grill it over a gentle heat and turn it carefully with tongs; on a fierce grill the casing splits and the filling runs out.

25 minArgentinianFast Food
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Tacos de guisado (picadillo and rajas con crema)

From about nine in the morning, guisado stalls set up on corners near offices and markets all over Mexico City, from the famous counters on Calle Ámsterdam in the Condesa to the stands outside the Mercado de Medellín. Clay pots line the counter, each with a different home-style stew: chicharrón in salsa verde, potato with chorizo, mole and many more. You point, and they spoon it into two warm tortillas. This home version makes two of the favourites, a tomatoey beef picadillo with potato and carrot, and smoky poblano strips with corn in cream. Chef's tip: always double the tortillas, as the stalls do; one tortilla tears under a juicy stew.

90 minMexicanMeatGluten free
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Andaman mud crab curry

The mangrove creeks around Port Blair give the Andaman Islands their famous mud crabs, and families of Bengali, Tamil and Malayali descent there cook them in a rich red curry of coconut, tamarind and roasted chilli for Sunday lunch and celebrations. It is messy, hands-on eating with plain rice, cracking the claws to reach the sweet meat. Buy live or very fresh crabs from a trusted fishmonger and have them dispatched and cleaned there. The common mistake is undercooking the crab: cook until every shell is bright orange-red and the meat inside is white and opaque. Chef's tip: crack the claws lightly with the back of a knife before they go in, so the gravy seasons the meat.

65 minIndianFishGluten freeSpicy
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Pâté en croûtePork and veal pie in pastry

Lyon's charcuteries display pâté en croûte like jewellery: a tall loaf of crisp, golden pastry wrapped around a coarse terrine of pork and veal. A slice wrapped in paper is a picnic and lunchbox luxury, and the whole loaf is a Sunday project eaten over several days. The common mistake is undercooking it for fear of drying it out: as it is made with minced pork, the centre must reach 71 °C, so use a probe thermometer. The classic farce has a splash of cognac; it's optional here, and apple juice or extra stock is the alcohol-free swap. Chef's tip: chill the filled, unbaked loaf for 30 minutes before baking so the pastry keeps its shape and pattern.

150 minFrenchMeat
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Mâncare de dovleceiStewed courgettes

In Romanian homes, from Moldova to Oltenia, mâncare de dovlecei is the summer stew made when the garden is full of courgettes, and it fills a pot on fasting days when Orthodox families eat no animal products. Courgettes are cooked down slowly with onion, peppers and tomato until soft and sweet, then finished with a fistful of dill and garlic. Eat it warm or at room temperature with bread or a slice of mămăligă. The usual mistake is adding too much liquid: courgettes release their own water, and a watery pot loses its flavour. Chef's tip: let the onion and pepper soften properly before the courgettes go in; that sweetness is what seasons the whole stew.

40 minRomanianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Taiwanese grilled corn

At Raohe and Shilin night markets the grilled-corn stalls are easy to find: look for the queue and the smoky, sweet smell. Cobs are par-cooked, then turned slowly over charcoal while the cook brushes them with a dark glaze of sacha sauce, thick soy paste, garlic and chilli, layer after layer, until the kernels are sticky, slightly charred and deeply savoury. It is eaten hot from a paper sleeve while walking the market. Sacha (shacha) sauce, a Taiwanese barbecue paste, usually contains dried fish and shrimp; vegetarian sacha is sold in Asian shops. Contains soy, wheat and fish. Chef's tip: brush thin coats and turn often; one thick coat burns before the corn chars.

35 minTaiwaneseSnacks & Starters
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Keema naan (Lahore style)

Along Lahore's Fort Road food street, in sight of the Badshahi Mosque, tandoors work late into the night baking naan with a thin layer of spiced mince pressed inside. The bread puffs and chars in the oven and comes out glossy with butter, with juicy, peppery meat in every bite. At home a very hot oven and a preheated tray stand in for the tandoor. Contains wheat and dairy. Chef's tip: cook the mince first and let it cool fully; warm filling softens the dough and it tears when you roll it.

90 minPakistaniBreads & Parathas
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Jambon-beurreHam and butter baguette

France sells millions of jambon-beurre every working day: half a crusty baguette, split, spread with good salted butter and filled with thin slices of jambon de Paris, the delicate cooked pork ham. Parisians eat it at the office, on a park bench or on the train. The common mistake is a stingy smear of hard butter; the butter is a filling, not a glue, so spread it soft and generous. Some add cornichons, which purists call a different sandwich. Chef's tip: fold each slice of ham loosely in half rather than laying it flat, so the sandwich is airy and every bite has ham.

5 minFrenchFast Food
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Nutmeg juice

Penang is one of the few places in the world where nutmeg trees grow in back gardens, and its hawkers turn the pale, tart flesh around the nutmeg seed into jus buah pala, a frosty pale drink served at Gurney Drive and the coffee shops of Chulia Street to cool you down after spicy noodles. It tastes sweet and sour with a soft, woody spice. Outside Malaysia, look for preserved or candied nutmeg fruit strips in Asian grocers. Chef's tip: use only the fruit flesh; the seed (the nutmeg spice) and its red lace of mace are far too strong to blend into a drink and can make you unwell.

10 minMalaysianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Cremolada (Lima passion fruit slush)

From January to March, when Lima's coast swelters, queues form at the cremolada counters of Barranco and along the Jirón de la Unión downtown for cups of this thick fruit ice. It sits between a granita and a sorbet: frozen fruit pulp scraped again and again until it is slushy and spoonable, with real bits of fruit through it. Passion fruit (maracuyá) gives a sharp, bright flavour; creamy lúcuma, with its maple and sweet potato taste, is the other favourite. Chef's tip: use a shallow metal tray; it freezes faster and evenly, so you get fine crystals rather than chunks.

180 minPeruvianDessertsVeganGluten free
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Ka'i ladrilloPeanut molasses bricks

Ka'i ladrillo — 'monkey brick' in Guaraní — is the sweet sold by vendors on Asunción buses and at country fiestas: roasted peanuts bound in boiled cane molasses and set in brick-shaped blocks, crunchy and dark with a slightly smoky toffee taste. It contains peanuts, so keep it away from anyone with a peanut allergy. The common mistake is taking the syrup off too soon, so the bricks stay sticky and never set. Chef's tip: test the syrup by dropping a little into cold water; it is ready when it sets into a brittle thread that snaps.

40 minParaguayanDessertsVeganGluten free
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DakgangjeongSticky glazed fried chicken

Dakgangjeong is the boxed fried chicken of Sokcho's Jungang market on Korea's east coast, carried home by the tub and packed into lunchboxes the next day, because the double-fried pieces in their sticky glaze stay crunchy even when cold. The common mistake is frying only once; the second fry drives out moisture so the crust holds up to the sauce. Chef's tip: coat with potato starch rather than flour, and let the coated chicken sit for 5 minutes so the starch hydrates into a craggy crust.

55 minKoreanChickenSpicy
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Peameal bacon sandwich

The peameal bacon sandwich is Toronto's signature breakfast, served from the stalls of St Lawrence Market since the early 1900s. Peameal bacon is cured but unsmoked pork loin rolled in yellow cornmeal (once ground dried peas, hence the name). Thick slices are griddled until golden and piled into a soft kaiser roll with yellow mustard. It is a Saturday market ritual. A common mistake is slicing too thin, which dries it out; aim for 5 mm. Chef's tip: cook it over a medium heat, not high, so the cornmeal crisps without burning before the pork is cooked.

17 minCanadianFast Food
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Agretti all'agroSaltwort with lemon

Agretti, also called barba di frate or 'monk's beard', appear in Roman and Tuscan markets for a short season in March and April, tied in bunches that look like thick chives. Blanched for a minute and dressed all'agro, with lemon and good olive oil, they are a juicy, slightly salty spring side for an egg dish, grilled fish or beans. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, they are almost free of starch: about 80 kcal and 3 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is overcooking them into limp threads; they should keep a crisp, spinach-like snap. Chef's tip: agretti are naturally salty, so taste before adding any salt at all.

15 minItalianSidesVeganGluten free
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Bibim dangmyeonSpicy glass noodles

At the crossing of Gukje Market and BIFF Square, near Nampo-dong, women sit behind low tables mixing bibim dangmyeon to order for shoppers perched on plastic stools. Chewy sweet-potato noodles are piled with seasoned spinach, carrot, yellow pickled radish and strips of Busan fish cake, then drenched in a sweet, tangy chilli sauce that you mix with chopsticks. It is a quick, cheap bowl, eaten year round, cold in summer. Chef's tip: rinse the noodles in cold water straight after cooking; it stops them clumping and keeps them bouncy.

25 minKoreanPasta & NoodlesSpicy
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Mazorcada (Bogotá loaded corn bowl)

Late at night, when the bars of the Zona T and Usaquén empty, the food trucks and carts around Bogotá's Parque de la 93 do a roaring trade in mazorcada, a huge tray of sweetcorn buried under shredded chicken or beef, melted cheese, salsa rosada and crunchy potato sticks. It is messy, salty-sweet and very filling, and Colombians argue about whether pineapple sauce belongs on top. Chef's tip: melt the cheese first and add the potato sticks at the very end, so they stay crunchy.

40 minColombianFast Food
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FororoToasted corn porridge

Fororo is the name for finely ground toasted corn, and for the smooth porridge made from it that grandmothers in Lara, Barinas and the rest of the Llanos give to children before school or to anyone feeling under the weather. It tastes gently nutty, like warm popcorn in a cup, sweetened with panela and scented with cinnamon. If you can't find fororo flour, toasting fine cornmeal in a dry pan gives the same result. The common mistake is tipping the flour straight into hot milk, which makes lumps. Chef's tip: whisk the flour into a little cold milk first, then pour it into the pot.

20 minVenezuelanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Bokkeum kimchiStir-fried kimchi with pork belly

When a jar of kimchi turns very sour in Korean homes, it gets stir-fried with a little sugar and sesame oil, and often with pork belly, into bokkeum kimchi, a deep, mellow side dish that keeps for days and is a favourite in school and office dosirak. For a vegan version, use kimchi made without fish sauce or salted shrimp and leave out the pork. The usual mistake is using fresh, crisp kimchi, which tastes harsh when fried; it needs to be properly sour. Chef's tip: fry the kimchi until the edges just begin to catch and caramelise, which is where the flavour is.

17 minKoreanSidesSpicy
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Capeletis a la CarusoStuffed pasta in cream sauce

Capeletis a la Caruso were created in a Montevideo restaurant in the 1950s and named after the great tenor, and they are still a Sunday lunch favourite in Uruguayan homes: little stuffed pasta hats in a rich sauce of cream, cooked ham (pork), mushrooms and onion, finished with grated cheese. Buy good fresh capeletis or tortellini; the sauce is what you make. The usual mistake is boiling the cream sauce hard, which makes it oily and grainy. Chef's tip: cook the mushrooms in a dry hot pan first until they squeak and brown, before any butter goes in, for a deeper taste.

35 minParaguayanPasta & Noodles
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Ginataang puso ng sagingBanana blossom in coconut milk

Every banana tree in the Philippine countryside gives a heavy purple flower, and in Bicol, Batangas and the Visayas it is shredded and stewed in coconut milk as an everyday ulam for lunch with rice. The banana blossom has a tender, slightly flaky texture and soaks up the ginger, garlic and chilli. The traditional version includes shrimp or fish; this one is vegan. The usual mistake is skipping the salt rub: unrubbed banana blossom stays bitter and turns the sauce grey, so squeeze out its dark sap first. Chef's tip: keep the shredded blossom in water with a spoon of vinegar while you work, so it stays pale.

35 minFilipinoVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Mula ko tarkariRadish curry

In the hills around Kathmandu and Pokhara, long white winter radishes are pulled with their leaves still on, and both go into this simple tarkari served beside dal-bhat. The radish is cut into thin batons and cooked down in mustard oil with a sizzle of fenugreek seed, turmeric and tingly timur pepper until it turns sweet and translucent, while the greens wilt in at the end. The usual mistake is adding too much water: radish releases plenty of its own juice, and extra water turns it into a bland soup. Chef's tip: let the fenugreek seeds turn dark brown, almost black, before the radish goes in; that toasty bitterness is what makes Nepali radish taste right.

30 minNepaliVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Piña colada

Two bars in 1950s San Juan claim to have created the piña colada, and Puerto Rico made it the island's official drink in 1978. It is the drink of hot afternoons on the beaches of Condado and Isla Verde, of hotel pools and of family parties where the blender runs all day. The rum version is for adults only, and because it tastes like a dessert it is easy to drink too fast, so keep to one or two and drink responsibly. A good piña colada is thick, frosty and smooth, coconut-sweet but kept fresh by the sharp acidity of pineapple, with the rum warming the finish. The common mistake is using coconut milk or unsweetened coconut cream instead of cream of coconut, the thick sweetened coconut syrup sold in tins and squeeze bottles: the drink comes out bland and splits into icy water and fat. If you only have coconut cream, blend in 2 tbsp sugar. It is ready when the drink is thick enough to hold a straw upright for a moment, has no crunchy ice and has turned a pale, creamy yellow. Chef's tip: freeze half of the pineapple juice into ice cubes the day before; you will need less ice and the colada stays thick to the last sip.

5 minPuerto RicanDrinksVeganGluten free
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Ají de tomate de árbolTamarillo chilli sauce

No Ecuadorian table in the Sierra, from Quito to Cuenca, is complete without a small bowl of ají, and the tamarillo version is the household favourite. Tomate de árbol, the egg-shaped, wine-red tree tomato, is blanched and peeled, blended with fresh hot chilli, salt and a little water, then finished with finely chopped onion and fresh coriander. It is spooned over locro de papa, llapingachos, empanadas de viento, hornado and fritada at the long Sunday family lunch, and onto everything at the street stalls of the Saturday markets. The flavour is tangy, fruity and slightly bitter-sweet, more sour than a tomato salsa, with a fresh bite of onion and a clean chilli heat. The common mistake is blending the tamarillos with their skins on, which makes the sauce bitter; blanch them until the skins split and slip off. It is ready when it is bright orange-red, loose and juicy, and the onion is still crisp. Abroad, tamarillos turn up in larger supermarkets; ripe plum tomatoes with the pulp of a passion fruit are the best stand-in. Chef's tip: rinse the chopped onion in salted water first, which tames its sharpness, as Ecuadorians do.

20 minAndeanChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Pineapple soybean paste

Hakka households in Miaoli, Hsinchu and Pingtung are frugal and patient, and pineapple soybean paste (ong lai dau jiong) shows both. In early summer, when Taiwan's pineapples are plentiful, the fruit is cut into wedges and layered in jars with salted soybean koji and sugar, then left in a cool corner for months. The pineapple softens and goes golden-brown, the beans melt into a thick sauce, and the whole jar turns sweet, salty and tangy with a soft funk like miso. Spooned over steamed fish with ginger and scallion, stirred into braised bitter melon or tossed through stir-fried greens and wood ear, it is a back-pocket seasoning for everyday Hakka meals and bento. Common mistake: using very ripe, juicy pineapple; the fruit breaks into mush and the extra water dilutes the salt. Choose firm, just-ripe fruit and dry it after cutting. It is ready when the pineapple has turned amber and translucent and the beans are soft, after 1–3 months. Chef's tip: read the koji label — many brands are dusted with wheat flour, so it is not reliably gluten free.

45 minTaiwaneseBasicsVegan
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AkibiyeCreamy taro with fermented soybean

Akibiye is Sumi Naga comfort food from Nagaland: colocasia boiled until it melts into a thick, creamy stew, flavoured with chilli and axone, the fermented soybean that gives Naga cooking its deep savour. It is eaten with rice, especially in winter. For homemade axone, keep boiled soybeans wrapped in leaves at 30–40 °C for 3–5 days until sticky and pungent, then dry or use fresh; discard if black, green or pink mould appears or it smells rotten. The mistake is handling raw taro with bare hands, which itches; wear gloves or oil your hands. Chef's tip: bought axone, kinema or natto work well.

45 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Soft idli for babies

Idli is breakfast across Tamil Nadu, from Chennai's Mylapore tiffin rooms to village kitchens, and a fluffy, plain idli is one of the first finger foods many South Indian babies hold. Since family batter is salted, parents make a separate salt-free batch for babies under one, or steam a few from it before the salt goes in. The cakes are pillowy, faintly sour and melt under the gums, torn into pieces or mashed with ghee or thin dal. They contain no gluten, egg, nuts, soya or sesame; they contain milk only if served with ghee. Chef's tip: grind the urad dal with ice-cold water until it is light and foamy; air in the batter, not salt, is what makes idli soft.

45 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Kari gros poisButter bean curry

In Mauritius, gros pois (butter beans) are a pantry staple, and kari gros pois is cooked in Creole and Indo-Mauritian homes alike for weekday lunches and Friday meat-free meals. The beans simmer in a curry of onion, tomato, garlic and ginger, flavoured with curry powder, fresh thyme and curry leaves, so it tastes of both India and the island's French side. It is served with rice, farata flatbreads and a tomato or chilli chutney. The usual mistake is frying the curry powder on high heat; it scorches in seconds and turns bitter. Pressure cooker option: cook the soaked beans for 15 minutes at pressure. Chef's tip: crush a few beans into the sauce at the end, which thickens it without any flour.

85 minMauritianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Bolo de pote (cake in a jar)

On Sundays, when Avenida Paulista closes to cars, sellers line the pavement with cool boxes of bolo de pote, and the same jars turn up at São Paulo's weekly street fairs and outside metro stations: soft sponge cake layered with creamy fillings and eaten with a spoon. Brigadeiro cream (condensed milk cooked with cocoa) and a sweet, milky cream made with milk powder are the two everyone wants. They are rich and very sweet, so the jars are small. They contain egg, wheat and milk. Chef's tip: take both creams off the heat while they are still a little runny; they thicken as they cool and must stay soft enough to spread.

90 minBrazilianDesserts
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Aloo pitikaMashed potato with mustard oil

Aloo pitika is the first thing on many Assamese lunch plates, a rough mash of boiled potato sharpened with raw mustard oil, onion, green chilli and coriander, eaten with the first mouthfuls of rice and dal. Guwahati families make it daily, and in winter it may be mixed with roasted aubergine or a boiled egg. The usual mistake is making it smooth like a Western purée; it should be coarse and hand-mashed so the onion and chilli stay crunchy. Chef's tip: use pungent kachi ghani mustard oil and rub it in last, so its heat hits the nose.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Gē da tāng (flour-knot soup with tomato and egg)

Gē da tāng is the soup of northern Chinese homes, from Beijing hutongs to the kitchens of Hebei and Shandong, made on cold evenings or when someone is under the weather. Water is dripped onto flour until it forms little knots, which are rained into a broth of soft tomatoes and finished with egg, so the bowl is part soup, part tiny dumpling. For toddlers from 12 months it is cooked without salt or soy sauce, and the egg is simmered until fully set. It contains wheat (gluten) and egg, and sesame if you add the oil; there is no milk, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: drip the water in a thin trickle while stirring with chopsticks, so you get rice-sized knots, not a paste.

20 minChineseSoups
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AmadumbeBoiled taro

Market women in Pietermaritzburg and along the KwaZulu-Natal north coast sell amadumbe by the bucket, hairy brown corms that look unpromising until boiled and peeled to reveal dense, creamy white flesh with a nutty, almost chestnut-like flavour. They are eaten hot as a starch with a stew, cold as a snack, or simply split and buttered; this vegan version dresses them in oil warmed with spring onion and chilli. Peeling them raw is the mistake to avoid, because the sap irritates the skin and leaves your hands itching. Always cook taro right through: undercooked corms taste scratchy in the throat. Chef's tip: boil them in their skins and slip the skins off while still warm, when they come away cleanly with a small knife.

40 minSouth AfricanSidesVeganGluten free
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Arepa andina de trigoPuffy wheat flour arepas

Up in Mérida and Táchira, where wheat grows on the terraced slopes, breakfast arepas are made from flour rather than corn: thick, lightly sweet griddle cakes that puff as they cook and split open like a scone. Andean families eat them hot with butter, a slab of smoked or fresh white cheese and a mug of milky coffee, often beside a bowl of pisca. Most commercial white cheeses are made with animal rennet, so look for one labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. The usual mistake is a griddle that is too hot, which scorches the outside before the thick centre has cooked through. Chef's tip: knead only until smooth and rest the dough for 15 minutes; overworked dough gives tough, flat arepas.

50 minVenezuelanBreads & Parathas
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ThenthukHand-pulled noodle soup

In the Tibetan restaurants around Boudha stupa in Kathmandu, thenthuk is what people order on cold evenings and winter mornings: pieces of dough are pulled flat and pinched straight into a light broth with mutton or buffalo, tomato, radish and spinach. The noodles are thick, soft and slightly uneven, and the soup is gentle and warming, with a little soy and spring onion. This home version uses mutton or lamb. Contains wheat and soya. Chef's tip: pull the dough so thin you can almost see your fingers through it; thick pieces stay doughy in the middle.

50 minNepaliSoups
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