Featured recipe

Koloocheh Fuman

Walnut-filled cookies

On the road from Rasht up to the hill village of Masuleh, the little town of Fuman is lined with bakeries selling koloocheh: thick round cookies, crisp outside and cake-like inside, filled with ground walnut, sugar and cardamom and stamped with a pattern on top. Travellers buy them by the box for tea, and they are a favourite gift at Nowruz. A common mistake is overworking the dough, which makes them tough rather than tender and crumbly. Chef's tip: chill the filled discs for 15 minutes before stamping and baking, so the pattern stays sharp and the walnut filling does not burst through.

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Colada moradaPurple corn and berry drink

Every year in the days before 2 November, the Día de los Difuntos, Quito's kitchens and bakeries fill with the smell of colada morada: a warm, spoon-thick drink of purple corn flour cooked with blackberries, blueberries, pineapple and a bundle of fragrant herbs and spices. It is deep violet, sweet-tart and full of chopped fruit, and it is always served with guaguas de pan, the bread babies, often shared with family at the cemetery. The most common mistake is stirring the corn flour straight into hot liquid, which makes lumps: whisk it into cold water first. Chef's tip: lemon verbena and lemongrass give the authentic perfume; if you can find naranjilla or a few orange leaves, add them to the spice pot too.

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Before trains, buses and school trips, families in northern Vietnam press warm rice into firm, dense blocks and wrap them in banana leaf or paper with a twist of muối vừng, toasted sesame and peanut salt, for dipping. It is humble, filling and keeps its shape for a whole day's journey. Peanuts and sesame are both allergens. The common mistake is using cold or loose rice, which will not stick; it must be pressed hot. Chef's tip: mix a handful of sticky rice into ordinary jasmine rice before cooking, and the blocks hold together firmly without being gluey.

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45 min

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DobradinhaTripe and white bean stew

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180 min

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LupisSticky rice with coconut sugar

At morning markets across Central and East Java, vendors unwrap banana-leaf triangles of chewy sticky rice, roll them in fresh grated coconut and drench them in dark palm sugar syrup, all served on a square of leaf. Lupis is breakfast and snack at once, eaten with sweet tea. The common mistake is packing the leaves too full: the rice swells as it cooks, so fill each cone only two-thirds, or the parcels split and turn watery. Chef's tip: steam the grated coconut with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes before using it; it keeps longer and the salt sharpens the caramel taste of the syrup.

120 min

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Dombrés aux haricots rougesFlour dumplings in red beans

Dombrés are the small rolled flour dumplings that Guianese Creole cooks in Cayenne and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni drop into a pot of red kidney beans, so they swell and soak up the herb-scented sauce. In French Guiana and the Antilles the beans are often cooked with salted pork tail or smoked meat; this version leaves out the meat and uses smoked paprika, onion, chives, thyme and cloves for depth, making a hearty vegan dinner with rice. Dried kidney beans must be boiled hard for 10 minutes before simmering to destroy a natural toxin, so don't skip that step or cook them in a slow cooker from raw. Dumplings that fall apart are the usual problem: keep the dough firm and the pot at a gentle simmer once they go in. Chef's tip: roll each dombré between your palms into a small torpedo; that shape cooks evenly and holds together.

120 min

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DouchiFermented black beans

Yangjiang in western Guangdong and Liuyang in Hunan are the two great douchi towns, and both traditionally make their fermented black beans in the dry season, when beans can be moulded indoors and dried in the sun without spoiling. Cooked black soybeans are covered until a yellow-green koji mould grows over them, then washed, salted, packed and fermented for weeks before drying. The result is wrinkled, soft-chewy beans with an intense salty, savoury, almost chocolate-dark flavour. A spoonful steamed with spare ribs or a whole fish, stir-fried with bitter melon or pounded into Hunan's chilli dishes seasons the whole plate. At home, buying koji spores (Aspergillus oryzae) is far more reliable than waiting for wild moulds. Common mistake: letting the beans sit wet or warm in a sealed container during the moulding stage; they must breathe at 28–32 °C. Good koji smells sweet and chestnut-like; discard any batch with black, pink or bright coloured mould, slime or a rotten smell. Keep the salt as given. It is ready when the beans are dark, wrinkled and dry outside but supple within. Store dried douchi in the fridge for 1 year. Chef's tip: rinse and lightly crush the beans before cooking.

180 min

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DrachenaBaked egg and milk custard

Drachena belongs to the old peasant cooking of northern Russia, from Arkhangelsk to Vologda, where it was baked in the cooling Russian stove on Sunday mornings. Eggs are whisked with milk, a little sour cream and flour, poured into a hot buttered pan and baked until puffed, golden and wobbly, somewhere between an omelette and a soufflé. It is eaten warm, plain or with sour cream. The common mistake is opening the oven early; the drachena collapses if it gets a draught before it is set. Chef's tip: heat the buttered dish in the oven before pouring in the batter, so it starts to set and rise from the bottom at once.

40 min

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Manipuri boraGram flour fritters

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30 min

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Dubki wale alooHing-scented potato curry

In the lanes of Mathura and Agra, breakfast is bedai or kachori with dubki wale aloo, a thin, peppery potato curry with so much gravy the puri can take a dip, or dubki. Its flavour comes from hing, crushed coriander seed and fennel rather than onion or garlic, which suits the Vaishnav kitchens of Braj and Holi mornings. The common mistake is making the gravy thick; it should run, so add enough water and mash only a few potatoes to give it body. Chef's tip: crush the boiled potatoes by hand into rough pieces rather than cubing them; the jagged edges soak up the spice.

35 min

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Dudh pithaRice dumplings in milk

Dudh pitha is made in Jharkhand and Bihar for Makar Sankranti, Sohrai and winter evenings, when the new rice is milled: small rice-flour dumplings are stuffed with coconut and jaggery (some families use spiced chana dal instead) and simmered in milk until it thickens around them. It is eaten warm from a bowl with a spoon. The common mistake is adding jaggery straight to boiling milk, which can curdle it; sweeten the milk with sugar and keep the jaggery inside the dumplings. Chef's tip: shape the dumplings while the dough is warm and keep your palms greased, so the edges seal without cracking.

60 min

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Dulce de lechosaPapaya in clove syrup

No Venezuelan Christmas plate is complete without a spoonful of dulce de lechosa beside the hallaca, pan de jamón and ensalada de gallina: strips of green papaya simmered in a dark panela syrup with cinnamon and cloves until translucent, sweet and gently chewy. Families make big jars in mid-December to share. The common mistake is cutting the strips too thin, so they fall apart in the syrup. Chef's tip: soak the strips in water with bicarbonate for 30 minutes first; it firms them so they keep their shape.

120 min

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Arvi ka salanColocasia in tangy gravy

Arvi ka salan is a Lahore and Karachi home curry, cooked on weekday evenings when the vegetable seller has a basket of small, hairy colocasia roots. The roots are boiled, peeled and simmered in a loose, sour gravy of onion, tomato, ajwain and a squeeze of lemon, so the slightly slippery arvi soaks up the spice and turns creamy at the centre. Eat it with hot roti or plain rice and a little raw onion. The usual mistake is undercooking the arvi: half-cooked colocasia leaves an itchy, scratchy feeling in the throat, so it must be soft all the way through. Chef's tip: once the boiled arvi is peeled, press each piece flat with your palm before it goes into the gravy, so the rough edges thicken the sauce.

50 min

Pakistani Curries

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Kaju pulao (cashew pulao)

Kaju pulao is the "special" tiffin of Mumbai and Hyderabad homes, packed for a birthday at school or a festival day at the office, yet it takes no more effort than plain rice. Basmati is cooked with whole spices and golden onion in ghee, and a generous handful of cashews fried separately until crisp is folded through at the end. The mistake is cooking the cashews with the rice, which leaves them soft and pale; fry them on their own and add them last. Chef's tip: stop frying the cashews when they are light gold; they keep darkening in the hot ghee after you lift them out. Contains milk (ghee) and cashews.

35 min

Indian Rice & Grains

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Karawila curryBitter gourd coconut curry

Bitter gourd is a favourite of older Sri Lankan cooks, and karawila curry appears on weekday tables across the island alongside rice, dal and a mild white curry to balance its bite. The gourd is salted, squeezed and lightly fried, then stewed in coconut milk with roasted curry powder, tamarind and a touch of sugar, so it becomes dark, glossy and pleasantly bitter rather than harsh. The usual mistake is skipping the salting and squeezing, which leaves the curry fiercely bitter. Chef's tip: fry the gourd until the edges are brown before it meets the coconut milk; the browning softens the bitterness more than sugar does.

35 min

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Duo jiaoFermented chopped chillies

In late summer, Hunan kitchens ring with the thud of two cleavers chopping heaps of red chillies, the sound of duo jiao (chopped chilli) being made for the year. Chillies, garlic and ginger are chopped coarse, salted heavily and packed into jars to ferment for about a week, until the heat turns rounder, slightly sour and fruity. Spread thickly over steamed fish fillets, stirred into stir-fried pork or eggs, or spooned over steamed taro, it brings colour as much as fire. Common mistake: chopping it to a smooth paste in a blender; the texture should be rough, pieces the size of rice grains, so pulse briefly or use a knife. Normal ferment signs are a few bubbles, a sour smell and a little liquid rising; a fuzzy coloured mould or a rotten smell means discard. It is ready after 5–7 days at cool room temperature, when it tastes tangy rather than raw. Because it contains garlic and ginger and is a low-sugar paste, it then lives in the fridge for up to 3 months, or in the freezer for a year. Chef's tip: wear gloves and open a window; a kilo of chopped chillies is fierce.

30 min

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Kerau ko tarkariGreen pea and potato curry

Kerau ko tarkari turns up on Nepali tables in winter, when fresh peas are cheap in Kathmandu's Asan market, and it is a favourite in children's tiffin boxes with beaten rice or roti. Potatoes and peas are simmered with cumin, tomato and a little timur pepper until the potatoes start to break and thicken a soft, golden gravy. It is mild enough for children and goes with rice, roti or sel roti. The usual mistake is adding the peas with the potatoes: fresh peas go grey and mushy, so add them once the potatoes are half cooked. Chef's tip: crush a few potato pieces with the back of the spoon at the end; it gives the gravy body without cream.

30 min

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JiaoquanCrisp fried dough rings

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60 min

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Kohila curryLasia root curry

Kohila (lasia root) grows in the marshy paddy edges of Sri Lanka's south and west, and kohila curry is a traditional village dish, eaten at home and served at New Year and almsgiving lunches. The thorny stems and roots are peeled, sliced into crunchy rounds and boiled in tamarind water to take away their itchy bite, then simmered with roasted curry powder, mustard and coconut milk until tender but still slightly crisp. Serve with red rice and a green mallung. The usual mistake is skipping the boil, which leaves an itch in the throat. If you can't find fresh kohila, use frozen sliced kohila from Sri Lankan grocers. Chef's tip: wear gloves to peel kohila and drop the slices straight into water so they don't darken.

50 min

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Egg kejriwalChilli cheese toast with egg

Egg kejriwal was born at the Willingdon Club in Mumbai, where a member from a vegetarian family ordered his eggs on cheese toast away from home, and the name stuck to the dish. Today it is a weekend breakfast in Mumbai cafés: toast spread with green chilli and mustard, smothered in melted cheese and crowned with a fried egg. The mistake is laying the egg on cheese that has not melted; grill the cheese first until bubbling. Cheddar is often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian cheddar if needed. The yolk is traditionally runny; cook it until set for anyone pregnant, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: mix the chopped chilli into the softened butter rather than scattering it, so the heat spreads evenly.

15 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Adobong talong (aubergine adobo)

Adobo is a method in the Philippines, not a single dish, and when meat is short or it's Lent, Filipino families make it with long eggplant: fried until soft and browned, then simmered briefly in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay and peppercorns. Like any adobo it tastes better the next day, which makes it a favourite for baon with rice. The common mistake is stirring as soon as the vinegar goes in; let it boil untouched for a minute first, or the sauce keeps a raw, sharp edge. Chef's tip: crush the garlic and fry half of it until golden to scatter on top at the end, for crunch.

30 min

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Lempeng kelapaThin coconut pancakes

On Malaysia's east coast, in Terengganu and Kelantan, lempeng is the morning flatbread nobody buys because every home can make it in minutes: flour, freshly grated coconut, salt and water, spread thin on a griddle. It is eaten warm, torn and dipped into sambal tumis or last night's fish or vegetable curry. The mistake is a thick batter; it should spread on its own into a thin round, or the middle stays doughy. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the coconut softens and the flour hydrates, which gives lempeng that bend without tearing.

30 min

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Ajwaini arbiPan-fried colocasia with carom seeds

Across Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, arbi is the vegetable that goes into a dabba with ajwain rotis or plain phulkas: the small colocasia roots are boiled, flattened slightly and pan-fried with carom seeds, red chilli and dried mango powder until crisp outside and creamy inside. Ajwain is there for its flavour and because it is said to help digest the starchy root. The mistake is boiling the arbi too long: it turns slimy and falls apart in the pan. Cook it until just tender, then cool fully before peeling. Chef's tip: press each piece gently with your palm to crack it before frying; the cracks catch the spices and crisp up.

40 min

Indian Sides

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EinspännerBlack coffee with whipped cream

The Einspänner is named after the one-horse carriages of old Vienna: coachmen waiting outside in winter supposedly liked their coffee under a lid of cream that kept it hot and stopped it slopping. Today it is served in a handled glass at classic coffee houses, a strong black mocha (a double espresso or Großer Brauner without milk) topped with a thick layer of cold, lightly sweetened whipped cream and a pinch of icing sugar. You do not stir it: you sip the hot, bitter coffee through the cold, sweet cream, so each mouthful is two temperatures and two textures. It is an afternoon or late-morning coffee, often with a slice of Sachertorte. The common mistake is runny cream that sinks and turns the drink into a milky latte; whip it until it just holds a peak and spoon it on gently so it floats. It is ready when the cream stands at least 2 cm above the coffee and slowly sinks at the edges. It is strong: a double shot of caffeine in one glass. Chef's tip: pour the coffee in first and wait ten seconds before adding the cream, so the crema settles and helps support the cap.

6 min

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Dubu gangjeongSticky fried tofu cubes

Gangjeong usually means sticky glazed fried chicken, but Korean mothers make this tofu version for the dosirak because the starch coating stays crisp even after a morning in the lunchbox. The glaze is mild, sweet and garlicky, so children love it; add gochujang for the grown-ups. The common mistake is skipping the pressing, which leaves wet tofu that spits in the oil and goes soggy under the sauce. Chef's tip: let the fried cubes cool for two minutes before glazing, and boil the sauce to large, slow bubbles first, so it clings instead of soaking in.

30 min

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Ensalada de feriaBeetroot potato salad

No Panamanian Christmas, birthday or town feria table is complete without this bright pink potato salad: cubed potato, beetroot, chopped egg, onion and celery bound in mayonnaise, the beet staining everything a vivid rose. It is served cold next to arroz con pollo, tamales and roast meats. Overcooked potatoes are the usual mistake, turning the salad to mush; boil them whole and cube them once cool. Keep it chilled because of the eggs and mayonnaise, and don't leave it out more than two hours. Chef's tip: dress the warm potatoes with a little vinegar first; they absorb it and the salad tastes brighter.

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Vazhakkai podimas (raw banana podimas)

Podimas comes from Tamil Brahmin kitchens in Thanjavur and Chennai, where green plantain is boiled whole, grated into soft crumbs and tossed with a tempering of mustard, dal, ginger, green chilli and coconut, then sharpened with lemon. It is light and fluffy, and it sits happily next to sambar rice or rasam rice in a tiffin. The mistake is overboiling the plantain: it turns sticky and will not grate into crumbs. Pull it out as soon as a knife slides in with a little resistance. Chef's tip: grate it on the large holes of a box grater while still warm, then let it cool before tossing, so the shreds stay separate.

28 min

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Ensalada de pulpoOctopus salad

Ensalada de pulpo is a beach-shack favourite of Puerto Rico, sold at the kiosks of Luquillo and Piñones and made at home for summer gatherings and Christmas parties. Tender octopus is cut into bite-sized pieces and dressed with sweet peppers, red onion, olives, cilantro, olive oil and vinegar, then chilled so the flavours soak in. Lean protein with no starch, suitable as part of a balanced diet; eat it with a green salad rather than tostones. About 260 kcal and 8 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is undercooking the octopus, which leaves it rubbery; it needs a slow simmer until a skewer slides easily into the thickest part of a tentacle. Chef's tip: buy octopus frozen, or freeze fresh octopus for a day, because freezing tenderises it.

90 min

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Awan bangwiSticky rice with nuts

Awan bangwi belongs to the Kokborok-speaking communities of Tripura, who make it for weddings, Garia Puja and New Year gatherings. Soaked sticky rice is mixed with ginger, cashews, raisins and a little ghee, folded into cones of leaf and steamed until glossy and chewy. The mistake to avoid is packing the cones too tightly: the rice swells and the leaves split. Banana leaf or turmeric leaf replaces the local leaf well. Chef's tip: soak the rice overnight; under-soaked grains stay chalky however long you steam them.

75 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Erizos con salsa verdeSea urchin with green salsa

On the docks of Punta Arenas and in the markets of Valparaíso and Puerto Montt, Chilean sea urchins are cracked open in front of you and their orange tongues (lenguas) piled on a plate with a sharp green sauce of onion, parsley, coriander and lemon. They taste of the sea, sweet and creamy, and are eaten raw with bread. Because the urchin is raw, this dish is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Buy urchins live or freshly packed roe from a licensed fishmonger, keep it at 0–4 °C and eat it the same day. The common mistake is drowning the delicate roe in lemon, which 'cooks' and toughens it. Chef's tip: spoon the sauce over just before eating. For a safer version, serve the same salsa verde over cooked, chilled prawns.

15 min

Chilean Fish

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Escabeche de pescadoFried fish in sweet-sour onion sauce

In Lima, escabeche de pescado belongs to the criollo kitchen of the old city: it turns up on Friday lunch menus, on buffet tables, and above all in Lent and Holy Week, when families eat fish and this dish can be made the day before. Fish is fried until golden, then covered in a warm sauce of thick-cut red onion softened in oil with garlic, ají amarillo, ají panca, cumin and vinegar, and left to cool so the flavours soak in. It is served cold or at room temperature with boiled sweet potato, hard-boiled egg and purple botija olives. It tastes tangy, sweet and gently fruity-hot, with crunchy onion over tender fish. The fish here is fully cooked, but because it is a cold seafood dish, pregnant people, babies, older people and anyone with weak immunity should eat it well chilled and within 2 days. Common mistake: stewing the onions until limp; they should only lose their raw bite. It is ready when the sauce has soaked a little into the fish and smells of vinegar and toasted chilli. Chef's tip: use thick fillets of corvina or bonito; thin fillets break under the sauce.

50 min

Peruvian Fish

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Escabeche guatemaltecoPickled vegetables

Guatemalan families keep a big jar of escabeche in the fridge for weeks: it goes into the bread rolls of shucos and panes con chile, beside fried fish during Lent and, above all, into fiambre, the enormous cold salad assembled for Día de Todos los Santos on 1 November. Carrots, cauliflower, green beans, onion and jalapeños are blanched just enough to lose their raw edge, turned briefly in oil with garlic, then left to soak in vinegar seasoned with thyme, bay, oregano, cloves and black pepper. The result is tangy, aromatic and only mildly hot, with vegetables that stay crisp-tender in a golden, lightly oily brine. The common mistake is boiling the vegetables until soft; they keep softening once the hot vinegar goes on, so blanch each one briefly and cool it at once in cold water. It is ready after a night in the fridge, when the carrots taste sour right through and the onion has turned soft, sweet and translucent. Chef's tip: blanch the vegetables one after another in the same pot, cauliflower first and carrots last, so the cauliflower stays snowy white.

45 minCentral American Chutneys & Dips

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NakatiBitter eggplant leaves with tomato

Nakati are the leaves of the African eggplant, and in Kampala and the Buganda countryside they are cooked as an everyday green beside matooke, posho or rice. The leaves are simmered down with onion and tomato until soft, then often enriched with a spoonful of groundnut paste that softens their pleasant bitterness and makes a creamy sauce. Look for nakati at African grocers; young spinach with a handful of kale is a good stand-in. The usual mistake is adding the groundnut paste too early, which lets it catch and burn. Chef's tip: loosen the groundnut paste with a little hot water before stirring it in, so it melts smoothly into the greens.

28 minEast African Vegetarian

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Papayas en almíbarPapayas in clove syrup

Drive up the Elqui Valley from La Serena and every roadside stall sells jars of these: small, intensely fragrant mountain papayas (papaya chilena) poached until they turn amber and translucent. Families spoon them over vanilla ice cream, eat them with a slice of fresh cheese, or simply serve them chilled after Sunday lunch. Outside Chile, tinned Chilean papayas are easy to find, or use firm, under-ripe ordinary papaya, which holds its shape in the syrup. The usual mistake is boiling the fruit hard: it breaks up and clouds the syrup, so keep it at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: once the fruit is cooked, lift it out and boil the syrup alone for 5 minutes, so it is thick enough to cling and keeps longer in the jar.

65 min

Chilean Desserts

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