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Crema de malanga
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Crema de malanga

Malanga root soup

Ask anyone raised in Havana what they were fed when they were ill and the answer is usually crema de malanga: a pale, velvety soup of the starchy root, gently scented with garlic and onion. It is also one of the first foods Cuban babies and grandparents alike are given, because it is soft, mild and filling. The classic mistake is grating raw malanga with bare hands, which can make your skin itch; peel it wearing gloves and rinse it well. Serve it plain or with a few croutons. Chef's tip: blend in the butter at the end rather than frying in it, so the soup tastes clean and creamy rather than heavy.

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40 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Chancho en piedraCrushed tomato, garlic and chilli salsa

Despite the name, 'pig in stone' has no pork in it. It is a rough salsa of ripe tomato, garlic and chilli crushed in a stone mortar (piedra), and it is on the table at every September fonda during the Fiestas Patrias, with hot sopaipillas, bread straight from the oven or choripán. Blending it smooth in a machine is the classic mistake: it should be rustic and juicy, with small pieces. Chef's tip: pound the garlic, chilli and salt to a paste first, then add the tomatoes; the salt acts as grit and the flavour gets into every bit.

15 minChileanChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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PhaanuGround mixed lentil stew

Phaanu is everyday food in Garhwal's hill villages, from Pauri to Tehri, made on cold days and in large pots for family gatherings. Mixed lentils are soaked overnight, ground to a coarse paste and simmered slowly in an iron pot until the paste turns into a thick, earthy stew, with spinach or other greens and a mustard-oil and jakhya tempering. It is eaten with steamed rice and a little ghee. The usual mistake is adding the paste to the pot and walking away; for the first 10 minutes it must be stirred constantly or it forms lumps and sticks to the bottom. Chef's tip: whisk the lentil paste into cold water before it goes on the heat; it thickens smoothly and never catches.

70 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Lagmi (fresh palm sap)

In the oases of the Tunisian south, in Gabès, Tozeur, Nefta, Kebili and on Djerba, palm climbers cut a small wound at the crown of an ageing date palm and hang a clay pot under it overnight. By sunrise it holds lagmi: cloudy, ivory-white sap, cool and sweet, with notes of coconut water and fresh dates. It is sold in recycled bottles at the roadside and drunk the same morning, because the wild yeasts in it begin to ferment almost at once. By afternoon it is fizzy and sour, and by the next day it has become an alcoholic palm wine, also called lagmi, which is a different drink altogether. The common mistake is buying more than you can drink by lunchtime or leaving it in the sun: keep it on ice from the moment you get it. Fresh lagmi is ready to drink when it is sweet, smells clean and milky, and only a few tiny bubbles rise; once it tastes sour or prickles on the tongue, it has started to turn. It is raw and unpasteurised, so pregnant people, babies, older people and anyone unwell should skip it. Outside the oases, fresh coconut water is the closest stand-in. Chef's tip: chill the glasses too; lagmi is at its best ice-cold.

5 minTunisianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Chanka de polloChicken soup with broad beans

Every Cochabamba market has a corner where chanka de pollo bubbles in huge pots: a clear, herby chicken broth full of broad beans, potatoes and spring onion, with a whole joint of chicken in each bowl and chuño or a boiled potato on the side. It is fresh and grassy rather than rich, sharpened with a little locoto. Many people let it boil hard, which clouds the broth. Chef's tip: add the herbs and spring onion right at the end so they stay bright green.

75 minAndeanSoupsGluten free
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Cháo sườnRice porridge with pork ribs

On Hanoi street corners, cháo sườn sellers ladle out this porridge from first light, and children eat it before school with a heap of crisp quẩy (fried dough) and fluffy pork floss on top. Unlike whole-grain congee, the rice is ground first, so it cooks into a pale, silky cream flavoured by a long-simmered pork rib broth. The usual mistake is adding the ground rice to boiling broth all at once, which makes stubborn lumps; whisk it into a slurry first. Chef's tip: toast the rice in a dry pan until it smells like popcorn before you grind it, which gives the porridge its gentle nutty depth.

120 minVietnameseRice & Grains
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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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Chech bhajiJute leaf curry

Chech bhaji is a monsoon green in Chhattisgarh, picked from the jute plants that come up in field edges and village gardens, and cooked almost every week during Sawan. The leaves turn slippery as they soften, a bit like okra, and the cook reins that in with tomato and a little rice water left from washing the rice. It is eaten with plain rice and dal or bore baasi. The mistake to avoid is stirring it endlessly; the leaves go stringy and gluey, so stir only now and then. Chef's tip: frozen or dried molokhia leaves from an Arab grocery are the same plant and work well outside India.

25 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Chileajo de verdurasVegetables in guajillo garlic sauce

Chileajo is a cold dish of the Mixteca and the Oaxaca valley markets, sold from big clay bowls on Sundays and during Lent, and piled onto crisp tostadas at family fiestas. Potatoes, green beans, carrots, chayote, cauliflower and peas are cooked just tender and folded into a brick-red sauce of guajillo chiles, plenty of garlic, cloves and vinegar, then left to soak up its tangy, smoky heat. It keeps for days and improves as it sits. The usual mistake is overcooking the vegetables before they meet the sauce, so they turn mushy once mixed; they should still have a little bite. Chef's tip: toast the chiles only until they smell fragrant and blister, a few seconds a side; burnt chiles make the whole sauce bitter.

60 minMexicanVegetarianVeganGluten freeSpicy
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ChauselaRice flour puris

Chausela is the puri of the Chhattisgarh plains, where rice rather than wheat fills the granary, and it turns up at Hareli, Pola and any Sunday breakfast with a sharp tomato chutney or a potato curry. The dough is scalded with boiling water so the rice flour holds together, and the puris fry up pale, soft and lightly crisp at the edges. The usual mistake is mixing the flour with cold water; it cracks as you roll and the puris split in the oil. Chef's tip: knead the dough while it is still warm, using the heel of an oiled palm, and keep it under a damp cloth so the rounds stay supple.

30 minIndianBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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Daechu-cha (jujube tea)

Boeun county in North Chungcheong is famous for its large, sweet jujubes, harvested each October and sold at a lively autumn festival. Once dried, they become daechu-cha, the deep amber tea Korean traditional teahouses in Insadong and Jeonju serve from late autumn to early spring, topped with pine nuts. Long, slow simmering with ginger and a stick of cinnamon draws out a flavour like dates, caramel and baked apple; pressing the softened flesh through a sieve gives the tea its velvety, almost soup-thick body. It is traditionally drunk to warm up on cold nights. The common mistake is simply boiling whole jujubes and straining: the skins stay sealed, the tea comes out thin and pale, and most of the sweetness is thrown away. Slit each jujube, simmer until the flesh slides off the stone, then mash the pulp through the sieve. It is ready when the liquid has reduced by about half, is dark amber and lightly coats a spoon. Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days and reheat gently. Chef's tip: a few slices of fresh ginger added in the last 20 minutes give a brighter heat than ginger boiled for the whole time.

110 minKoreanDrinksGluten free
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San da paoGlutinous rice balls in soybean flour

On Jinli Ancient Street and in the Kuanzhai Xiangzi alleys, san da pao vendors draw a crowd by hurling balls of hot glutinous rice dough at a wooden board hung with brass plates: bang, bang, bang, the "three cannons" of the name, before the balls drop into a tray of roasted soybean flour. Served with dark brown sugar syrup and sesame, they are a soft, chewy, nutty afternoon snack. They contain soya and sesame. Glutinous rice is very sticky, so cut the balls small for children. Chef's tip: work the steamed dough while it is still hot; once it cools it stiffens and will not stretch.

45 minChineseDessertsVeganGluten free
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Fu qi fei pianCold beef and tripe

Fu qi fei pian, "husband-and-wife lung slices", takes its name from a couple who sold it from a shoulder-pole stall in 1930s Chengdu; today's version uses no lung, just beef shin and tripe. It is a cold dish, kept in big trays in the old snack restaurants around Chunxi Road and eaten at lunch or as a starter: paper-thin slices glossy with red chilli oil and numbing Sichuan pepper, with crushed peanuts and celery for crunch. It contains peanuts, sesame and soya. Chef's tip: slice the meat only when completely cold, and as thinly as you can; that is what lets the dressing coat every piece.

180 minChineseMeatSpicy
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Bobo chickenCold chicken skewers in chilli oil

Bobo chicken came to Chengdu from Leshan and is now sold in snack shops off Chunxi Road and down Jinli, where dozens of bamboo skewers stand in a big clay bowl of chilli oil and you pay by the stick you pull out. It is summer evening food, eaten cold: tender poached chicken, lotus root, potato, mushroom and kelp, all soaked in a sweet, savoury, tongue-tingling red broth. Stalls also skewer chicken gizzards and hearts; this version keeps to chicken thigh and vegetables. It contains sesame and soya. Chef's tip: plunge the poached chicken into iced water; it keeps the meat juicy and the skin pleasantly springy.

60 minChineseChickenSpicy
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Ye er baSesame sticky rice dumplings

Ye er ba, "leaf cakes", come from Xinjin on Chengdu's southern edge and are sold all over the city in snack restaurants and teahouses, including the busy tea gardens of People's Park, at breakfast and through the afternoon. Each dumpling is wrapped in a leaf, which keeps it moist and adds a faint green fragrance as it steams; the skin is soft and stretchy, the filling a sweet, nutty black sesame paste. Traditional fillings use lard; this version uses coconut oil and is vegan. It contains sesame. Chef's tip: keep the dough as soft as an earlobe; dry dough cracks and the filling leaks out.

60 minChineseSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Chilcano de piscoPisco and ginger ale highball

When Lima's grey winter finally lifts and summer reaches the beaches south of the city, the chilcano takes over from the pisco sour: lighter, longer and made for an afternoon. Peru even gives it a Semana del Chilcano each January, and it is poured at weekend lunches with chifa or fried fish. This is a highball for adults only: pisco poured over a tall glass of ice with fresh lime and ginger ale, finished with a few drops of bitters. It should taste crisp and fizzy, with the ginger and lime lifting the floral grape notes of the pisco rather than hiding them. The common mistake is using too little ice and warm ginger ale, which gives a sweet, diluted drink that goes flat in minutes. Fill the glass to the top with ice and keep the ginger ale in the fridge until the last second. It is ready when the glass is frosty, the bubbles race up the sides and the bitters drift through the top as a pink haze. Light it may be, but drink responsibly. Chef's tip: try a fruit-infused pisco, made by steeping passion fruit or mandarin peel in the bottle for a few days; Limeños love a chilcano de maracuyá.

10 minPeruvianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Cheonggukjang jjigaeFermented soybean stew

Cheonggukjang is a sticky, quick-fermented soybean paste made over two or three days in a warm room, and in Korean homes it becomes a bubbling winter stew, cooked in an earthenware pot and set in the middle of the table with rice and banchan. Its smell is famously strong, but the taste is nutty and deeply savoury, with tofu, courgette, onion and greens simmered in an anchovy-kelp stock. Suitable as part of a balanced diet: it is high in plant protein and fibre. About 230 kcal and 14 g carbohydrate per portion; eat it with a small bowl of mixed-grain rice. The usual mistake is boiling the cheonggukjang for a long time, which makes it bitter and dulls its flavour; it goes in for the last few minutes. Chef's tip: mash a spoon of doenjang in with it for a rounder, saltier base.

30 minKoreanSoups
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Mushroom kaalanCrisp fried mushroom

Kaalan is the Chennai evening snack you smell before you see: carts around Pondy Bazaar in T. Nagar and along Besant Nagar beach fry clumps of chopped mushroom and cabbage, then chop them with a steel scraper on a giant tawa into a dark, peppery masala and heap them on paper plates with raw onion and coriander. It is crunchy at first, then soft and spicy as the gravy soaks in. Contains wheat. Chef's tip: mix the batter only when the oil is hot; salted mushrooms start weeping water within minutes and the batter turns sloppy.

40 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganSpicy
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Yuja-cha (citron tea)

Goheung, on the southern coast of South Jeolla, is Korea's yuja country: in November the groves turn gold and families slice the knobbly citrons for yuja-cheong, the honeyed preserve that becomes tea all winter. From December to March a spoonful in hot water is offered to guests, to students cramming late and to anyone with a scratchy throat, as it is traditionally drunk for colds. The tea is sweet, floral and sharp, with soft, chewy strands of peel that you eat at the end with a spoon. The common mistake is leaving the fruit damp or the pith too thick: wet fruit lets mould in, and thick white pith makes the preserve bitter. Scrub, dry completely and pare away any pith thicker than a few millimetres. The cheong is ready after a day or two, when the sugar has dissolved into a clear, glossy syrup around the peel. Keep it in the fridge for up to three months, always with a dry spoon; throw it away if you see fuzzy mould, smell alcohol or it bubbles. No yuja? Japanese yuzu is the same fruit; otherwise use 2 lemons and 2 mandarins. Chef's tip: soak the seeds in a little of the honey and add that liquid back for a silkier syrup.

45 minKoreanDrinksGluten free
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Sungnyung (scorched rice tea)

Before electric rice cookers, every Korean pot of rice left a golden crust, nurungji, stuck to the bottom. Rather than waste it, cooks poured in water and simmered it while the family ate, and the warm, cloudy sungnyung was drunk at the end of the meal in place of tea. Older Koreans still describe it as the taste of home, and many Seoul restaurants that cook rice in stone pots finish by pouring water over the crust at the table. It tastes of toasted grain and has a faint natural sweetness, with soft pieces of crust to spoon up at the bottom. Without a stone pot you can make the crust from leftover rice in a frying pan. The common mistake is rushing the crust over high heat: it blackens on the outside and turns the drink bitter while the middle stays soft. Keep the heat low and patient, and aim for even golden-brown. The crust is ready when it lifts away from the pan in one sheet and smells like popcorn; the sungnyung is ready when the water is milky and pale gold. Chef's tip: make extra crust, dry it completely and keep it in a jar, so you can make sungnyung in ten minutes any evening.

35 minKoreanDrinksVeganGluten free
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Chhena jhiliFried cheese patties in syrup

Chhena jhili comes from Nimapara near Puri in Odisha, where sweet shops fry these flat, oval chhena patties all day for pilgrims heading to and from the Jagannath temple. They are soft and spongy, golden-brown outside and creamy within, soaked in a thin syrup scented with cardamom, and are eaten at Rath Yatra, weddings and any good-news visit. The common mistake is using dry, crumbly chhena; it should be moist enough to press into a smooth patty without cracks, so hang it for no more than 30 minutes. Chef's tip: fry in ghee rather than oil for the true Odia flavour, keeping the heat gentle so the outside stays golden, not dark.

80 minIndianIndian Sweets
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ChhangbanPounded sticky rice cakes

Chhangban are soft, chewy cakes that Mizo families make from steamed sticky rice pounded in a wooden mortar, traditionally for Christmas, Chapchar Kut and visits from relatives. They are eaten warm, dipped in sugar, or toasted the next day with a mug of black tea. The mistake people make is pounding cold rice: it will not come together, so work while it is steaming hot. Chef's tip: wet the pestle or your hands with salted water so the rice does not stick.

60 minIndianDessertsVeganGluten free
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Chicharrón cochabambinoPork fried in chicha

Cochabamba's Sunday chicharrón is pork, cooked the slow way: big chunks of pork rib and shoulder simmered in chicha, the valley's fermented corn drink, with garlic and cumin until the liquid evaporates and the meat fries golden in its own fat. It is eaten with mote (big white corn), boiled potatoes and llajwa. Chicha contains alcohol, and some remains after cooking, so this dish is for adults; for an alcohol-free version use unsweetened apple juice with a splash of cider vinegar. The common mistake is rushing the last stage over a high heat, which burns the outside before the inside is tender. Chef's tip: once the liquid has gone, turn the pieces only every few minutes so a real crust can form.

150 minAndeanMeatGluten free
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Chicken kelaguenGrilled chicken with lemon and coconut

Chicken kelaguen is the dish that tells you you're at a Chamorro fiesta in Guam or Saipan: grilled chicken chopped fine and tossed with lots of fresh lemon juice, onion, hot donne' peppers, salt and freshly grated coconut. It is eaten cold or at room temperature, scooped up with warm titiyas or alongside red rice. The chicken is fully grilled first; only some other kelaguen are lemon-cured raw. A common mistake is skimping on lemon; it should taste bright and sharp. Chef's tip: grill the chicken over charcoal for the smoky flavour that makes kelaguen special.

45 minPacific IslanderChickenGluten freeSpicy
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Kawal

Kawal is one of the most distinctive pantry foods of western Sudan, made in Darfur and Kordofan at the height of the rains in August and September, when wild senna (Senna obtusifolia, called kawal or fedo) springs up thickly around villages. Women strip the young leaves, pound them to a dark green pulp and pack it into a clay pot sealed with sorghum leaves, then leave it in a cool, shaded spot for about two weeks, remixing it every few days. The fermented paste is rolled into small balls and dried in the sun, and these keep through the dry months. Crumbled into mullah stews with okra, onions and dried meat and eaten with kisra or aseeda, kawal gives a deep, meaty, pungent savour much like West African dawadawa; the smell straight from the pot is strong and ammonia-like but mellows completely in cooking. The usual mistake is leaving the pot somewhere warm and forgetting to remix it, so the paste rots instead of fermenting. It is ready when the paste is dark, sticky and strongly savoury but not putrid. Chef's tip: if you cannot be certain of the plant, buy dried kawal from a Sudanese grocer.

90 minSudaneseBasicsVeganGluten free
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Yachae jeonVegetable pancakes

Korean fridge-clearing at its best: courgette, carrot, onion and chives shredded thin and bound with just enough batter to hold them together, then fried into lacy pancakes. Hot, they are a rainy-day snack with makgeolli; cut into wedges the next day, they fill a dosirak and taste good cold. The common mistake is too much batter, which gives a thick, doughy pancake; the vegetables should look barely coated. Chef's tip: use ice-cold water in the batter and press each pancake flat with the spatula after flipping, for crisp edges that last until lunchtime.

30 minKoreanSnacks & StartersVegan
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