Featured recipe

Sakarpada

Sweet fried dough diamonds

Sakarpada (shakarpara) are little sweet diamonds of a rich dough made with ghee, milk and sugar, fried until golden and crunchy. They are a Diwali favourite with tea, and the cubes go into bhusu too. They keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.

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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 min

Mongolian Meat

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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 min

Indian Vegetarian

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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 min

Chinese Chicken

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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 min

Chinese Snacks & Starters

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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 min

Chinese Desserts

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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 min

Chinese Meat

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Chhurpi ko jholCheese curry

Soft chhurpi is the fresh, crumbly cheese that Sikkimese and Darjeeling hill families make by souring leftover buttermilk, and on cold, misty evenings it goes into this thin, fiery soup that is drunk from a bowl alongside rice. The broth is little more than tomato, onion, chilli and coriander, so the cheese has to be good: ricotta-like and mild. The most common mistake is boiling hard once the cheese is in, which makes it rubbery and the soup grainy; keep it at a gentle simmer. Chef's tip: if you cannot find chhurpi, drain fresh ricotta or crumble homemade paneer while it is still soft.

23 min

Indian Soups

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ChirmolCharred tomato and mint salsa

Wherever Guatemalans light a grill for Sunday carne asada, a bowl of chirmol sits beside it. The tomatoes are blackened on a comal until their skins split, then crushed with raw onion, lime and fresh mint, which is the herb that sets it apart from Mexican salsas. It is smoky, sharp and loose, meant to be spooned over grilled meat, black beans, eggs or plain rice. A common mistake is blending it smooth; chirmol should be chunky and juicy, crushed by hand or with a fork. Chef's tip: leave some of the charred skin in; those black flecks carry most of the smoky flavour.

20 minCentral American Chutneys & Dips

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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 min

Korean Soups

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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 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Ojingeo sukhoeBlanched squid with chilli sauce

Ojingeo sukhoe is a summer favourite in the fishing towns of Gangwon and on Ulleungdo island, where squid are landed overnight and served at home and in harbour restaurants within hours. The squid is scored, blanched for barely a minute so it stays tender, sliced into rings and eaten with crisp cucumber, lettuce and chogochujang, a tangy chilli-vinegar sauce. Suitable as part of a balanced diet: lean protein and fresh vegetables. About 160 kcal and 10 g carbohydrate per portion; the teaspoon of sugar in the sauce is optional, or use a sweetener. The usual mistake is overcooking: squid goes from tender to rubbery after about 90 seconds. Chef's tip: plunge it into iced water the moment it curls, so the cooking stops instantly.

15 min

Korean Fish

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Ojiya for babiesRice and vegetable porridge for babies

Ojiya, cooked rice simmered into a soft porridge with broth and vegetables, is what Japanese families eat on chilly evenings or after a cold, and it is a staple of the kamikami-ki, the stage around nine months when babies start mashing soft lumps with their gums. Instead of soy sauce or salted dashi, it is made with plain home-made kombu stock, so the flavour comes from the sweetness of the carrot and daikon. For babies, the beaten egg is cooked until completely set. It contains egg and is free of milk, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame and fish. Chef's tip: chop the vegetables to the size of a grain of rice; that is just right for the kamikami stage.

20 min

Japanese Rice & Grains

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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 min

Indian Desserts

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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 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Fish in coconut milk

Ika vakalolo is the Sunday and everyday fish dish of iTaukei Fijian homes, from the fishing villages of the Coral Coast to the outer islands of Lau. Fresh reef fish is gently simmered in lolo, fresh coconut milk, with onion, tomato, chilli and a squeeze of lemon, then served with boiled cassava, taro or rice. It is mild, creamy and ready in half an hour. A common mistake is stirring once the fish is in, which breaks the fillets; just spoon the sauce over. Chef's tip: lemon goes in at the very end so the coconut milk doesn't split.

30 minPacific Islander Fish

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ChichingaSpicy peanut beef kebabs

As the sun goes down on Oxford Street in Osu, Accra, chichinga sellers fan their charcoal grills at the roadside and the smell of spiced beef and roasting peanuts pulls in the evening crowd. The skewers came south with traders from northern Ghana and are close cousins of Nigerian suya: chunks of beef rubbed with a hot powder of ground peanuts, ginger and chilli, grilled with onion and green pepper and eaten with a sprinkle of extra spice, sliced tomato and a cold drink. It contains peanuts. Chef's tip: dust on most of the peanut spice in the second half of grilling; over fierce coals it scorches if it goes on too early.

50 min

Ghanaian Meat

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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 minAndean Meat

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ChichemeCold cracked corn drink

Chicheme comes from La Chorrera, just west of Panama City, where it is sold by the glass at the town's fairs alongside bollos and chorizo, and it is now drunk all over the country on hot afternoons. Cracked white corn is cooked until soft and swollen, then mixed with sweetened milk, cinnamon and vanilla and served very cold, so every sip has chewy grains in it. Undercooked corn is the classic mistake; the kernels must be soft right through or the drink feels gritty. Chef's tip: soak the corn overnight, and it cooks in under an hour instead of two.

60 minCentral American Drinks

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Chicons braisésBraised endives

Belgian endive, called chicon in Wallonia and witloof in Flanders, is grown in the dark around Brussels and eaten all winter, from November to March. Braised slowly in butter with a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lemon, the pale heads turn golden, soft and gently caramelised, with only a whisper of their raw bitterness left. Serve them beside mashed potatoes and a fried egg, or as a side for a Sunday roast. The usual mistake is crowding the pan and boiling them in their own water, which leaves them grey and bitter. Chef's tip: lay the heads in a single layer and press a round of baking paper on top, so they steam gently and then brown in the butter once the juices cook off.

45 min

Belgian Sides

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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 Islander Chicken

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Boil-upPork bones with greens and kumara

Boil-up is the great Māori one-pot of Aotearoa New Zealand, cooked on marae for hui, at whānau gatherings and on cold weeknights everywhere from Northland to the King Country. Pork bones and brisket are boiled for hours until the meat falls away, then potatoes, kūmara and handfuls of watercress or wild pūhā go in, and fluffy flour doughboys steam on top. The broth is drunk alongside, with buttered bread. The usual mistake is letting the doughboys sit in boiling liquid uncovered, which makes them heavy; once in, clamp the lid on and don't peek for 15 minutes. Chef's tip: skim the pot well during the first half hour and the broth stays clear and sweet rather than greasy.

170 min

New Zealand Meat

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ChifrijoRice, beans and crisp pork bowl

Chifrijo was born in a San José bar in the 1990s and is now on every Costa Rican cantina menu as the snack to share over a cold drink: a bowl layered with rice, saucy red beans, crunchy pork chicharrón, pico de gallo and avocado, with tortilla chips stuck in for scooping. The name joins chicharrón and frijoles. The pork is belly, simmered and then fried in its own fat until crisp. Soggy chips are the common mistake: add them at the very last moment, never before serving. Chef's tip: squeeze lime over the pork right before it goes on top; the acid cuts the richness and wakes up the beans.

50 minCentral American Snacks & Starters

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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 min

Mexican Vegetarian

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Mongolian salty milk tea

Süütei tsai is the first thing offered to anyone who steps into a ger on the Mongolian steppe, from Arkhangai to the Gobi, and families drink it all day long from wide bowls. Green brick tea is boiled in water, then milk and a pinch of salt go in, and the tea is ladled high and poured back again and again to aerate it. Some households add a knob of butter or a spoon of toasted millet for a richer, more filling bowl. It is savoury, not sweet, which surprises first-time visitors. A common mistake is using black tea leaves, which go bitter; use green brick tea or a mild green tea. Chef's tip: the ladling is not just ritual, it gives the tea a smooth, rounded taste.

15 min

Mongolian Drinks

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ChilenitosDulce de leche biscuit sandwiches

Chilenitos are small, fragile sweets from the bakeries and convent traditions of Chile's countryside: two paper-thin, crisp biscuits sandwiched with manjar and coated on top with a glossy white meringue. They are a fixture of once, christenings and the sweets table at weddings. The biscuits must be rolled almost transparent; thick dough gives a hard, dry chilenito. Chef's tip: use an Italian meringue (whites whisked with hot sugar syrup); it sets smooth and shiny and the eggs are cooked by the syrup, so it is safe to serve to everyone.

100 min

Chilean Baking

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ChileroPickled vegetable and chilli relish

Sit down in any soda in Costa Rica, from San José to the Caribbean coast at Limón, and next to the napkins you will find a jar of chilero: small dice of carrot, cauliflower, onion and green beans with hot chile panameño, swimming in vinegar. Costa Ricans shake the spicy vinegar over gallo pinto at breakfast, spoon the crunchy vegetables onto a lunchtime casado of rice, black beans, plantain and salad, and add a splash to olla de carne on a rainy afternoon. It is more vinegar than vegetable, sharp and clean, with crunchy, sour bites and a fruity heat that grows the longer the jar sits. Unlike Guatemalan escabeche, nothing is blanched; the hot vinegar alone softens the vegetables slightly. The usual mistake is cutting the vegetables too big, so they will not come out of the bottle and do not pickle through; dice them no larger than 5 mm. It is ready after three days, when the vinegar has turned faintly yellow and tastes hot and the cauliflower is sour all the way through. Chef's tip: add a few strips of the vinegar-softened chile to your rice, but warn your guests.

35 minCentral American Chutneys & Dips

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Escabeche de polloChicken in vinegar and carrot

Pollo en escabeche is a home classic in Córdoba and Buenos Aires, a legacy of Spanish preserving that Argentines make on a Saturday to eat cold all week. It comes out of the fridge for a picada before the asado, as a summer lunch with a green salad and crusty bread, or packed for a day in the sierras. Chicken is browned, then gently cooked in oil and vinegar with carrot, onion, red pepper, garlic, bay and black peppercorns, and left to rest at least a day. The meat turns tender and lightly tangy, the carrots keep a little crunch, and the oil carries the flavour of bay and pepper. Because garlic sits in oil, safety matters: the liquid is half strong vinegar (at least 5% acidity, never diluted beyond what the recipe says), and the jar always lives in the fridge, never on the shelf. Eat it within 5 days. The common mistake is letting it boil hard, which makes the chicken dry and stringy; it should barely tremble. It is ready the next day, when the chicken tastes seasoned right through and the oil has turned golden. Chef's tip: take it out 20 minutes before serving so the oil melts back to liquid.

65 min

Argentinian Chicken

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Chintha chiguru pappuDal with young tamarind leaves

Every spring the tamarind trees of Telangana put out soft, coppery new leaves, chintha chiguru, and housewives in Hyderabad and the districts strip them by the handful for a few weeks of this pleasantly sour dal. The leaves give the tang that tamarind pulp gives the rest of the year, and the pappu is eaten with hot rice, ghee and a crisp papad. The common mistake is adding all the leaves at the start; they lose their fresh sourness, so stir half in near the end. Chef's tip: if tamarind shoots are out of reach, use a mix of sorrel and a teaspoon of tamarind paste.

35 min

Indian Curries

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Chintakaya pachadiGreen tamarind pickle

In Telangana and coastal Andhra, the tamarind trees hang heavy with tender green pods from December to February, and every household that can lays in a jar of chintakaya before the pods ripen and turn brown. The raw pods are pounded with salt and turmeric and left to mature into a sharp, olive-green base that keeps for the whole year. Small portions are then ground with chillies and finished with a crackling tadka whenever the family wants it. The taste is pure, mouth-puckering sourness with a fresh, almost apple-like green note, very different from ripe tamarind. Mix it into hot rice with sesame oil, or eat it with jonna rotte (sorghum flatbread) and raw onion. The common mistake is to let wet pods into the jar: wash the tamarind the day before, then spread it to dry completely. The salted base is very acidic and roughly 15% salt, so it keeps in a cool cupboard; the finished pachadi with chillies belongs in the fridge and is best within 3 weeks. It is ready when the paste is coarse, dark green and smells sharply sour. Chef's tip: roast dried chillies for a smoky winter version, or use green chillies for a brighter, fresher heat.

63 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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PabaRoasted barley and pea dough

Paba is the plain, sustaining staple of Ladakhi farm kitchens, especially in Zanskar and the Nubra valley, where roasted barley, dried peas and wheat are ground together and stirred into hot water with a little butter. It is eaten at lunch with tangtur, the cool curd-and-greens side, or with a thin vegetable soup, pinched off by hand. The texture is dense and earthy, with a nutty taste from the roasting. The most common mistake is adding the flour all at once, which leaves dry lumps in the middle; sprinkle it in while stirring hard. Chef's tip: toast the flours in a dry pan until they smell like biscuits before you start, even if the bag says roasted, because fresh toasting makes all the difference.

20 min

Indian Breads & Parathas

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Leung cha (Cantonese herbal tea)

Across Guangdong and Hong Kong, the leung cha shop with its gleaming brass urns is a neighbourhood fixture. People drop in after a run of fried food, late nights or the heavy, humid weather of early summer, when Cantonese tradition says the body has too much 'heat', and down a bowl standing at the counter, then chase it with a dried plum. Brews range from the gentle 'five-flower tea' to fiercely bitter 24-herb mixes. This home version uses dried mesona (sin cho), prunella spike (ha fu cho), chrysanthemum and honeysuckle: dark brown, earthy and grassy, clearly bitter but rounded by the flowers and a little rock sugar. The common mistake is boiling everything together for an hour; the flowers turn harsh and muddy. Simmer the woody herbs first, add the flowers only for the last 10 minutes. It is ready when the liquor is the colour of strong tea and has reduced by about a third. It is traditionally drunk for comfort, not as medicine: skip it in pregnancy and check with a doctor if you take regular medication. Chef's tip: buy herbs pre-weighed as a packet from a Chinese herbalist, who will rinse-check them for grit and freshness.

85 min

Hong Kong Drinks

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Biltong

Rugby on the television, a paper bag of biltong passed round the room: few snacks say South Africa so plainly. Thick strips of beef are cured with vinegar, toasted coriander, salt and pepper, then dried until the outside is dark and firm and the inside still a little moist, ready to be sliced thin with a sharp knife. Farmers once hung it in the cold winter wind; this home method first heats the cured strips to 71 °C in a hot oven to make them safe, then dries them low and slow in the oven or a biltong box. Even so, home-dried meat is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The classic mistake is cutting the strips across the grain, so they crumble when you slice them. Chef's tip: toast the coriander seeds until they smell like orange peel before crushing them; that warm, citrusy note is what makes biltong taste right.

525 min

South African Snacks & Starters

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Arroz e feijão amassadinho for babiesMashed rice and beans for babies

Rice and beans are on almost every lunch plate in Brazil, from São Paulo office canteens to family tables in Minas Gerais, and babies join in from about eight or nine months with an amassadinho, a soft fork-mashed version. The beans are simmered with a little onion, garlic and bay leaf for flavour instead of salt, bacon or stock cubes, then mashed into soft rice with their thick broth. It is creamy, earthy and filling. It is free of the major allergens: no milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: mash the beans well and press them through a sieve the first few times; the skins are the part babies find hardest.

50 min

Brazilian Rice & Grains

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Arrope de chañarChañar fruit syrup

In the oases of the Atacama, from San Pedro to Toconao, the small brown fruit of the chañar tree is gathered in late summer, dried in the sun and boiled for hours into arrope, a molasses-like syrup with notes of dates and caramel. Grandmothers keep a bottle for winter coughs, but most of it ends up on toast, stirred into hot water or over mote (cooked wheat) and fresh cheese. Dried chañar is sold in northern markets and online; it needs no sugar at all. The classic mistake is walking away at the end, when the syrup thickens fast and scorches, turning bitter. Chef's tip: stop reducing when the syrup coats a spoon thinly; it sets much thicker as it cools.

240 min

Chilean Basics

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MarchuDeep-fried wheat breads

In the high Lahaul valley, marchu are fried by the basketful before the winter festivals of Halda and Losar, when families visit each other and every house must have a pile ready for guests. They are thick, soft rounds of wheat dough, sometimes lightly sweetened, fried in oil until puffed and golden, and they keep for days in the cold. They are eaten with butter tea or a spicy potato dish. The common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot, which browns the outside before the inside cooks; keep the heat medium. Chef's tip: prick each round twice with a fork so it puffs evenly rather than ballooning on one side.

50 min

Indian Breads & Parathas

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Chivo en cocoGoat in coconut milk

Goats graze the dry scrub of the Guajira peninsula, and in Zulia the meat is stewed in fresh coconut milk with a sofrito of onion, ají dulce and garlic until it falls from the bone. It's party and Sunday food in Maracaibo, served with fried ripe plantain, white rice or arepas to soak up the sauce. The common mistake is boiling the coconut milk hard, which splits it into a greasy sauce. Chef's tip: add the coconut milk only for the last 40 minutes and keep the pot at a gentle bubble.

180 min

Venezuelan Meat

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ChochocaPotato flatbread

On Chiloé, chochoca is a feast-day sight: potato dough wrapped round a thick wooden pole and turned slowly in front of the fire until it browns, then sliced off, filled and rolled up. Islanders often fill it with pork crackling; this vegetarian version uses butter and sugar, or cheese. Without a fire pit, roll the dough into thin rounds and cook them on a hot griddle, which gives the same chewy, toasty bread. The usual mistake is a wet dough: squeeze the grated potato really dry or the sheets tear. Chef's tip: if you have a barbecue, wrap the dough round a foil-covered rolling pin or thick metal pipe and turn it over glowing coals for the true smoky crust.

80 min

Chilean Breads & Parathas

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Chłodnik litewskiChilled beet leaf soup

In Podlasie and the lake country of north-east Poland, chłodnik is the soup of hot June and July days, when young beets are pulled with their leaves still tender. The beet greens and baby beets are cooked briefly, chilled, then stirred into kefir with cucumber, radish, spring onion and lots of dill, so the soup turns shocking pink, tangy and cold. It is served as a starter or a light lunch with half a hard-boiled egg in each bowl. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 170 kcal and 13 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is mixing the kefir into warm beets, which makes it split and dulls the colour, so chill them completely first. Chef's tip: add a squeeze of lemon to the cooking beets; the acid keeps the colour a vivid pink instead of brownish.

30 min

Polish Soups

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Chupe de centollaKing crab and cheese stew

In Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, at the bottom of Chile, centolla (southern king crab) is the pride of every restaurant, and chupe is how it is served on a cold Magallanes evening: a soft, spoonable stew of crab meat cooked with bread, milk and stock until creamy, then topped with cheese and browned for a minute. It is looser than a crab gratin and eaten with a spoon. Any good cooked crab meat works. The usual mistake is boiling it fiercely once the cheese and cream go in, which makes the chupe grainy; keep it at a gentle bubble. Chef's tip: add the crab right at the end, just to heat through, so the big pieces of king crab stay whole and sweet.

45 min

Chilean Fish

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Chocolate cracklesChocolate puffed rice cakes

No Australian child's birthday party is complete without chocolate crackles, served in paper patty cases alongside fairy bread at backyard parties from Adelaide to Cairns. Puffed rice cereal is bound with melted solid coconut fat, icing sugar, cocoa and desiccated coconut, then set in the fridge. Kids can make them almost entirely on their own. A common mistake is using hot fat, which makes the mixture greasy; let it cool a few minutes. Chef's tip: use solid white hydrogenated coconut fat sold in blocks, not jarred coconut oil, which won't set firm at room temperature.

20 min

Australian Desserts

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Chouris paoSpicy pork sausage in a bun

Chouris pao is Goa's favourite pork snack, sold from feast-day stalls at Mapusa's Friday market and village church fairs, and made at home whenever a string of chouriço comes out of the larder. The Goan pork sausage is cured with red chilli, garlic, spices and toddy vinegar (vinegar, not alcohol), then crumbled out of its casing and fried with onion and potato until sticky and red. The common mistake is frying it fiercely from the start: the fat needs a splash of water and gentle heat to render, otherwise the outside burns while the pork stays raw. Cook until the pork is no longer pink and reaches 71 °C. Chef's tip: soak the sausage links in hot water for 10 minutes first; it softens the casing and takes away harsh salt.

30 min

Indian Meat

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Pan de jamónChristmas ham bread

Caracas bakeries start taking orders for pan de jamón in early December, and families set it on the Christmas table beside the hallacas: a soft, slightly sweet bread rolled around cooked ham and smoked bacon (both pork), green olives and raisins, glazed with panela syrup. Each slice shows a spiral of salty and sweet. The common mistake is rolling loosely, which leaves gaps in the spiral. Chef's tip: roll it as tightly as you can, pressing as you go, and seal the seam well before it proves.

170 min

Venezuelan Baking

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Sugarcane and cogon root drink

Ask a Hong Kong family what they drink at the first hint of a sore throat in autumn, or when the city's spring humidity sets in, and many will say jook je mao gun soi. Lengths of thin green bamboo sugarcane, split open, are simmered with dried cogon grass root and carrots, sometimes with water chestnuts and a few dried corn silks, into a pale amber broth that tastes of sugarcane, sweet carrot and a faint grassiness. It is drunk warm after dinner or chilled from the fridge during the day, and herbal tea shops sell it by the bottle for children who refuse the bitter stuff. The common mistake is skipping the splitting of the cane: whole sticks barely release any sweetness, and you end up adding sugar. Bash each piece with the back of a cleaver until it cracks lengthwise. The drink is ready when the carrots are soft, the liquid is clear and light amber, and it tastes naturally sweet. Bamboo cane and cogon root are sold as soup packs in Chinese grocers; ordinary purple or green sugarcane works too. It is traditionally drunk to 'clear heat', but it is a refreshment, not a cure. Chef's tip: add a few peeled water chestnuts for extra crunch-sweetness.

80 min

Hong Kong Drinks

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Pandu mirapakaya pachadiRipe red chilli pickle

Guntur is chilli country, and when the fields turn red between January and March, Andhra kitchens buy fresh, fully ripe red chillies by the kilo for this pachadi. The chillies are chopped, salted and packed with tamarind for two days, then ground coarse with roasted fenugreek and sealed under a tempering of gingelly oil, mustard and hing. The result is brick red, fiery and fruity rather than smoky, with a sour backbone from the tamarind and a faint bitterness from the methi. A teaspoon is mashed into hot rice with a spoon of ghee or sesame oil, and it is just as good beside idli, dosa or pesarattu. The big mistake is washing the chillies and grinding them while still damp: water is what makes this pachadi spoil, so wipe them dry and leave them on a cloth for a few hours. It is ready when the paste is thick and glossy and the oil pools on top. Salt here is high on purpose, about 12 g for every 100 g of chillies, and the tamarind makes it acidic; even so, keep it in the fridge, where it lasts up to 6 months. Chef's tip: mix in a few Byadgi or Kashmiri chillies with the hot Guntur ones for a deeper red without extra fire.

60 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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ChumbequeLayered honey biscuit

Iquique's Chinese community began baking chumbeque in the port's corner shops more than a century ago, and today it is the city's edible souvenir: crisp, honey-sweet pastry stacked in thin layers with a sharp lemon filling and a sticky guava one, cut into small bricks. People take it home from the Zofri market or nibble it with tea at once. At home, bake it as one slab and slice it when cold. Many people roll the dough too thick, which gives a cakey, dry bar instead of fine layers; aim for 3 mm. Chef's tip: chill the rolled sheets for 10 minutes before you stack them so they don't stretch out of shape.

85 min

Chilean Baking

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Panes con chumpeTurkey rolls in pumpkin seed sauce

On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in El Salvador, families line up crusty rolls and fill them with turkey (chumpe) soaked in a rich, rust-coloured recado of tomatoes, toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds, mild dried chillies and warm spices, then stuff in watercress, cucumber, radish and tomato. At home, turkey legs and thighs give all the flavour of a whole bird and fit an ordinary oven. The common mistake is a thin, watery sauce; it should be thick enough to cling to the meat and soak into the bread without dripping off. Chef's tip: marinate the turkey overnight in the fridge and add its roasting juices to the recado; they carry most of the flavour.

180 minCentral American Chicken

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ChyhyrtmaEggs with tomatoes and onions

Çığırtma is the Azerbaijani way with breakfast eggs: onions softened slowly in butter, ripe tomatoes cooked down with them, then beaten eggs poured over and set gently, sometimes with spinach or herbs and sometimes over chicken. This vegetarian tomato version is eaten in Baku with lavash or tandir bread and strong tea. The mistake is rushing the onions; they must turn soft and sweet before the tomatoes go in. Cook the eggs until set if serving anyone pregnant, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: do not stir once the eggs are in; cover the pan and let them puff over the tomatoes like a soft omelette.

25 min

Azerbaijani Breakfast & Brunch

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Dal dhokli for toddlersWheat dumplings in dal for toddlers

In Ahmedabad pols and Surat kitchens dal dhokli is the Sunday one-pot lunch: diamonds of spiced wheat dough cooked straight in tangy toor dal. This toddler version, for children from 12 months, keeps the soft pasta-like pieces small, leaves out the chilli, peanuts and cloves, and uses only a pinch of jaggery so the dal stays sweet-sour the way Gujarati families like it. It is cooked in oil, so it is dairy free and vegan. It contains wheat (gluten); there is no milk, egg, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin, about 2 mm; thick dhokli stay chewy in the middle.

45 min

Indian Curries

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Chura matarFlattened rice with peas

When fresh peas pile up in the markets of Varanasi and eastern Uttar Pradesh in winter, breakfast becomes chura matar: thick flattened rice tossed in ghee with sweet green peas, ginger, green chilli and a pinch of sugar, finished with lemon and coriander. It is softer and richer than poha, and is often eaten on the ghats with a cup of chai. The mistake is soaking the chura in water; it turns mushy. Rinse it quickly in a sieve and let it rest, and it softens just enough. Chef's tip: crush half the peas lightly with the back of a spoon in the pan so they coat the rice and make each mouthful sweeter.

25 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Durban prawn curry

Durban's beachfront takeaways and Indian family kitchens along the North Coast make prawn curry fast: the gravy of tomato, red masala, mustard seeds and curry leaves is cooked first, and the prawns go in only for the last few minutes. The result is a tangy, fiery red sauce with sweet, juicy prawns, lighter and sharper than a slow meat curry. Serve it with white rice or soft rotis and a wedge of lemon. Overcooking is the big mistake: prawns turn rubbery within a minute or two of being done, so take the pot off as soon as they are pink and opaque all the way through. Chef's tip: thaw frozen prawns overnight in the fridge and pat them very dry, or their water thins the gravy.

30 min

South African Fish

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Churma na ladvaWheat crumb and jaggery balls

Churma na ladva are the laddus that sit beside Ganesh at Chaturthi in Kathiawad and fill the sweet course at Gujarati weddings, big rough-edged balls with a sandy crumb and a coat of white poppy seeds. Coarse wholewheat dough is shaped into fist-pressed muthiya, fried slowly in ghee until crisp right through, ground to crumbs and bound with jaggery melted in ghee, nutmeg and cardamom. The mistake that ruins them is frying the muthiya too fast: the outside browns while the inside stays doughy and the crumbs turn gummy. Chef's tip: break one muthiya open before you take the batch out; it should be dry and biscuit-like right to the centre.

70 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Králík na smetaněRabbit in cream sauce

Králík na smetaně is a Sunday lunch in the Czech countryside, especially in Moravia and South Bohemia, where many families once kept rabbits in the yard. Rabbit pieces are braised with carrot, celeriac, parsley root and onion, then the vegetables are blended into a velvety cream sauce brightened with lemon and a pinch of sugar, much like the famous svíčková. It is served with sliced bread dumplings (houskové knedlíky) and a spoon of cranberry sauce. The usual mistake is boiling the sauce after the cream goes in, which can split it; keep it at a bare simmer. Rabbit is lean, so cook it gently and check that the meat comes easily off the bone. Chef's tip: blend the vegetables until completely smooth and pass them through a sieve for the silky sauce Czech cooks are proud of.

120 min

Czech Meat

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BusecaTripe and white bean stew

Buseca arrived in Montevideo with Italian immigrants from Lombardy and became a classic winter dish of Uruguayan bodegones and family kitchens, eaten on cold June and July days. Honeycomb tripe is simmered until tender, then stewed with white beans, pork chorizo, bacon, peppers, tomato and paprika into a thick, warming stew served with crusty bread. Buy tripe that is already cleaned and blanched (dressed). The usual mistake is undercooking the tripe: it needs a full 2 hours, until it's soft enough to cut with a spoon. Slow-cooker option: after step 4, cook on low for 8 hours. Chef's tip: a little grated lemon zest and parsley stirred in at the end lifts the rich, gelatinous sauce.

185 min

Paraguayan Meat

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ChutagiWheat pasta in vegetable soup

In Leh and the villages along the Indus, chutagi is the one-pot supper of the long winter: little hand-pinched bow-ties of wheat dough dropped into a broth of turnip, carrot, onion and greens. Families sit around the stove pinching the dough together while the pot comes to the boil, and the soup is eaten piping hot, often with a spoon of chilli paste on the side. The broth is light but the pasta makes it filling. The usual mistake is rolling the dough too thick, which leaves the centres of the bows doughy; roll it about as thin as a coin. Chef's tip: let the shaped bows dry on a floured tray for ten minutes before they go in, so they hold their pinched centre instead of opening up in the pot.

55 min

Indian Soups

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Pasta e broccoliPasta with broccoli

In Neapolitan homes pasta e broccoli is a midweek winter lunch, the sort of 'pasta e…' dish where vegetables and pasta are cooked in the same pot until they turn creamy without any cream. Broccoli is simmered with garlic, chilli and olive oil until it falls apart, then broken short pasta goes straight in with a little hot water and is stirred like a risotto, so the starch binds it all into a thick, green sauce. Finish with grated cheese and a thread of good oil. The usual mistake is adding too much water at once, which turns it into soup; add a ladle at a time. Chef's tip: chop the broccoli stalks finely and start them first, because they give the sauce most of its body.

35 min

Italian Pasta & Noodles

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Pasta jajecznaEgg spread

In Poland pasta jajeczna is the everyday breakfast and kanapki spread, piled thickly on rye bread or a crusty roll and topped with radish slices, and it is always on the table at Easter breakfast. Hard-boiled eggs are chopped finely or mashed with mayonnaise, a little mustard and a lot of chives into a creamy, savoury spread. The common mistake is boiling the eggs too long: overcooked yolks turn grey-green and taste sulphurous, so stop at 10 minutes and chill them at once. Chef's tip: grate the eggs on the coarse side of a box grater instead of chopping; you get a fluffy, even spread in seconds without mashing it to paste.

18 min

Polish Breakfast & Brunch

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Pastel de jaibaCrab and cheese bake

Pastel de jaiba is the rich starter of the central coast's seafood restaurants, from Quintero to San Antonio: sweet crab meat folded into bread soaked in milk, cream and gently cooked onion, baked in individual clay dishes under a crust of cheese until it bubbles. Chileans use local jaiba crabs; any good cooked white and brown crab meat works. The mistake to avoid is leaving bits of shell in the crab; pick it over twice on a plate. Chef's tip: squeeze the soaked bread lightly before mixing, so the pastel is creamy rather than soggy, and bake until it is bubbling and steaming in the middle.

50 min

Chilean Fish

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PasuljWhite bean soup

Pasulj is the beloved bean soup of Serbia, served in Belgrade's old taverns and in army and school canteens, and especially on Thursdays and cold weekends. Usually it is cooked with smoked pork ribs or bacon; this vegetarian version gets its smoky depth from smoked paprika instead, and it is the version cooked on Orthodox fasting days. White beans simmer slowly with onion, carrot, bay and paprika until creamy and thick enough to stand a spoon in. Eat it with bread and pickled peppers. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 310 kcal and 40 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is thickening with too much flour roux; mashing some beans gives the same body and keeps it gluten free. Pressure cooker option: 25 minutes at pressure. Chef's tip: change the water after the first boil, as Serbian cooks do, for a softer, gentler soup.

130 minBalkan Soups

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Citron presséFresh lemon drink

Order a citron pressé on a Paris terrace in July, or at a café in Nice after the beach, and the waiter brings a tall glass with an inch of freshly squeezed lemon juice, a carafe of iced water, a sugar bowl or a little jug of syrup and a long spoon. You build the drink yourself, as sharp or as sweet as you like, which is half the pleasure; French children learn to drink it with plenty of sugar, grown-ups often with almost none. It is bright, sour and cleansing, nothing like bottled lemonade, and best in the late afternoon heat. The common mistake is stirring granulated sugar straight into cold lemon water: it sinks and never dissolves, so the first sips are sour and the last a sludge. Dissolve the sugar in the juice first, or use a quick syrup. It is ready when the sugar has vanished, the drink tastes balanced to you and the glass is beaded with cold. Unwaxed lemons matter if you add a twist of peel. Chef's tip: pour the water over ice slowly and taste after half the carafe; most people find they need less water than they expect.

5 min

French Drinks

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Braaied lamb chops

Ask a Karoo farmer for a braai rub and you will be handed the salt grinder: good lamb chops off the veld need salt, pepper and wood coals, and nothing else. On a Saturday evening in Colesberg or Cradock the chops go on last, after the boerewors, and come off with crisp, smoky fat and juicy, rosy meat. Pile them on a board with pap and tomato smoor, a potato salad and a braaibroodjie or two. Chops cut too thin, under 2 cm, dry out before the fat crisps, so ask the butcher for thick ones. Chef's tip: stand the chops upright on their fat edge for the first few minutes, held together with tongs, so the fat renders and crisps before the meat goes flat on the grid.

25 min

South African Meat

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Bol renverséUpside-down rice bowl

Order a bol renversé in a Port Louis canteen or a Grand Baie food court and it arrives as a neat dome of rice with a fried egg perched on top; break into it and a glossy stir-fry of chicken, prawns, mushrooms and Chinese leaves spills out. The trick is building it backwards in a bowl, egg first, then the stir-fry, then rice packed down, before flipping it onto a plate. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the vegetables but loose enough to soak into the rice. People often make the sauce too thin and the dome slides apart in a flood, so simmer it until it glazes the back of a spoon. Chef's tip: fry the eggs only until the whites are set and the edges are crisp, and lay them yolk-side down in the bowl so the yolk faces up and stays runny when you turn it out.

45 min

Mauritian Rice & Grains

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Arepa dominicanaSweet cornmeal coconut cake

Not the stuffed corn patty of Venezuela: in the Dominican Republic arepa means a dense, sweet cornmeal cake that grandmothers once baked in a covered pot with hot coals on the lid. The cornmeal is first cooked with coconut milk, milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon into a thick porridge, then baked until it sets with a dark, caramelised crust and a soft, pudding-like centre. It is eaten at merienda with coffee or a glass of cold milk. The common mistake is not cooking the cornmeal long enough on the hob, which leaves the cake gritty. Chef's tip: let the arepa cool completely before slicing; warm, it is too soft to cut cleanly.

75 min

Puerto Rican Baking

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Green beans with egg

In the villages around Gori and Mtskheta, high summer brings sacks of flat green beans, and this is how many Kartli families eat them on a weekday: slowly softened with onion, then tossed with coriander, basil and garlic and bound at the last minute with beaten egg. The result sits halfway between a warm salad and a soft scramble, eaten with a hunk of shoti bread and a few slices of cheese. A common mistake is adding the eggs while the pan is still wet with bean water; they turn watery and grey instead of clinging in golden curds. Chef's tip: Georgian cooks use purple basil (reyhan), and its clove-like scent is what makes the dish taste of home, so look for it at Turkish or Georgian grocers.

30 min

Georgian Vegetarian

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Shoti bread

Every Kakhetian village has a bakery where the baker leans into a round, pit-like tone oven and slaps long, pointed loaves onto its hot clay wall; the bread comes out crackly at the tips and soft in the middle, and it is bought warm every morning in Telavi and Sighnaghi. Shoti is just flour, water, yeast and salt, so the shape and the blast of heat do the work. At home a pizza stone or an upturned heavy baking tray, heated for a long time, gives a good copy. A common mistake is a dry, stiff dough; it should be soft enough to stretch into a long canoe without tearing. Chef's tip: spray the oven walls with water as the bread goes in; the burst of steam gives the blistered, glossy crust of the tone.

50 min

Georgian Breads & Parathas

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Filet américainRaw minced steak spread

Despite its name, filet américain is a Belgian classic, served in Brussels brasseries with a mound of fries, or spread on a baguette as the famous 'broodje américain': very fresh lean beef, finely minced and mixed with mayonnaise, mustard, capers, chopped onion, parsley and a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco, so it is creamy and tangy. The beef is eaten raw, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Buy a whole piece of the freshest steak from a trusted butcher, trim it and mince it yourself just before serving; never use ready-minced beef. A common mistake is preparing it in advance; make it and eat it at once. Chef's tip: chill the meat and the bowl well and mix with a fork, not a processor, so it stays loose. Use shop-bought mayonnaise, which is made with pasteurised egg.

20 min

Belgian Meat

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AreekaWholemeal bread with ghee and honey

In the green mountains of Asir in south-west Saudi Arabia, areeka is the breakfast for guests, weddings and cold mornings in Abha: thick wholemeal breads are torn while still hot and kneaded with ghee into a smooth, soft dome, then hollowed out and filled with a pool of warm ghee, mountain honey and date syrup. Everyone eats from the same plate, pinching off pieces and dragging them through the sweet centre. It is rich, warm and comforting, with a nutty wheat flavour. The usual mistake is letting the bread cool before kneading; it must be worked hot or it will not bind. Serve with cardamom coffee or milky tea, and a spoonful of cream if you like. Chef's tip: wear clean rubber gloves so you can knead the bread while it is properly hot.

45 minGulf Arabian Breakfast & Brunch

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Jaffna crab curry

The shallow lagoons around Jaffna and the islands of Kayts and Delft produce big, sweet mud crabs, and the town's answer to them is a curry so dark and hot that visitors are warned before they order. Jaffna curry powder, heavy with roasted red chilli, coriander and fennel, is fried in sesame oil with onion and garlic, then loosened with tamarind and a little coconut milk so the sauce clings to every crack in the shell. A handful of moringa leaves wilted in at the end adds a grassy note, and the crab is eaten with the hands, sucked from the shell, alongside plain rice or puttu. A frequent misstep is boiling the crab hard for too long, which makes the meat dry and stringy. Chef's tip: crack the claws before cooking so the sauce soaks in and the meat is easy to reach at the table.

60 min

Sri Lankan Fish

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Rachan ham

Rachuli lori is the pride of Racha: pork legs salted and hung in the smoky rafters above a wood fire, then sliced and fried until crisp, and above all eaten with lobiani bean bread, which in Racha is made with fried ham inside. This is a pork dish. Home kitchens cannot copy months in a chimney, so this version brines a boneless pork leg joint for two days in the fridge and then hot-smokes and roasts it until cooked through, giving a ham you can slice cold or fry. A common mistake is skipping the rinse after brining, which makes the ham far too salty. Chef's tip: smoke over fruit wood with a few dried bay leaves for the dark, sweet smoke of a Rachan kitchen. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C followed by a 10-minute rest.

240 min

Georgian Meat

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SalufPuffy flatbread

Saluf is the everyday bread of Yemenite Israelis, slapped onto a hot pan or taboon in Rosh HaAyin and Sha'arayim in Rehovot and eaten with marak temani, hilbe and zhug. It is soft and blistered, thicker than pita and with no pocket, made to tear and dunk. Home cooks often roll it too thin, which gives a cracker; it should be about 1 cm thick so it stays pillowy. Chef's tip: cook it under a lid on a very hot dry pan for the first minute, which traps steam and puffs it the way a taboon does.

45 min

Israeli Breads & Parathas

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Jamaican roast breadfruit

Portland roadsides smell of smoke when breadfruit is in season, with whole fruit sitting straight in wood fires until their green skins turn black. Inside, the flesh steams to a soft, fragrant cream somewhere between potato and fresh bread, and it is eaten in thick slices with ackee and saltfish, callaloo or a knob of butter, or fried the next morning. People often pick a fruit that is either too ripe (it turns mushy and sweet) or too young (it stays hard and gluey); you want a heavy, firm one with a little sap beading on the skin. A gas hob or a hot oven works when there is no open fire. Chef's tip: cut a small cross in the stem end before roasting so steam can escape, and push a skewer into it to check doneness without opening the fruit.

75 min

Jamaican Sides

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Arepa di pampunaCinnamon pumpkin pancakes

Curaçao and Aruba use the word arepa differently from their South American neighbours: arepa di pampuna are not corn arepas but small, sweet pumpkin pancakes, fried in a little oil and eaten warm for breakfast, or alongside a bowl of soup or stoba at lunch. The mashed pumpkin makes them tender and bright orange, with cinnamon and a little sugar. The mistake is too much flour, which makes them dense; the batter should be thick but soft. Chef's tip: cook the pumpkin the day before and drain it overnight in the fridge for the lightest pancakes.

30 minCaribbean Breakfast & Brunch

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Filets de percheFried perch fillets

Filets de perche are the signature dish of the lakeside restaurants around Lake Geneva, from Geneva to Lausanne and Montreux: small, delicate perch fillets dusted with flour, fried quickly in butter until golden, and served with lemon, tartare sauce, a pile of fries and a green salad on a summer terrace. Lake perch is scarce today; ask for responsibly sourced perch or use small fillets of pike-perch or another delicate white fish. A common mistake is crowding the pan, which steams the thin fillets. Chef's tip: fry in batches in foaming butter for just a minute or so a side; the fish is done when opaque and it flakes.

25 min

Swiss Fish

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AranygaluskaGolden walnut yeast dumplings

Aranygaluska means golden dumplings, and the pull-apart cake really does come out of the oven bronze and gleaming. Walnut-sized balls of sweet yeast dough are dipped in melted butter, rolled in ground walnuts and sugar, stacked loosely in a ring tin and baked, so the nuts caramelise into a sticky crust. It is a family Sunday pudding all over Hungary and a favourite at school canteens, and Hungarian emigrants took it to America, where it became monkey bread. Pour warm vanilla custard over each helping. Some cooks serve it with a wine custard; this version keeps to vanilla, so it is alcohol-free. Where it goes wrong is packing the balls tightly; leave gaps so they can rise and the walnut coating reaches every side. Chef's tip: spoon a little apricot jam between the layers for a tart note.

120 min

Hungarian Desserts

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Jaffna goat curry

Goat is the celebration meat of the Tamil north, and a Jaffna aattukkari cooked for a temple feast day, a wedding lunch or a Sunday at home is thick, brick-red and ferociously spicy. The secret is the local curry powder, roasted much darker and hotter than in the south, fried in oil with onion, garlic and fennel until it almost catches, then simmered slowly with the meat until the gravy reduces to a coating. Chunks of potato soak up the sauce, and the whole thing is eaten with rice, idiyappam or Jaffna-style puttu, with a cooling bowl of curd or coconut sambol on the side. The pitfall here is rushing the simmer; goat needs patience and goes chewy if it is cooked hard and fast. Chef's tip: brown the meat well in the spice paste before any liquid goes in, which gives the gravy its deep, almost smoky flavour.

120 min

Sri Lankan Meat

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Bergen fish soup

Bergensk fiskesuppe is the soup of Bergen's rainy harbour: a creamy, slightly sweet-sour broth with julienned carrot, leek and celeriac, chunks of white fish and salmon, small fish dumplings and a spoon of sour cream, finished with chives. Bergen families make it on Saturdays, and every restaurant on the Bryggen wharf has its own. A common mistake is boiling the fish, which breaks it up and makes it dry. Chef's tip: add the fish at the end and poach it in barely trembling soup for 3–4 minutes, until just opaque and flaking.

55 minScandinavian Soups

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ArikanchanTaro leaf rolls in mustard gravy

Arikanchan is a monsoon speciality of Maithil kitchens in Janakpur and the eastern Terai, cooked when the taro plants in the courtyard put out huge, tender leaves. A spiced chickpea-flour paste is spread over the leaves, which are rolled up tight like a Swiss roll and steamed, then the rolls are sliced into spirals, fried and simmered in a punchy gravy of ground mustard seed, garlic, chilli and tomato cooked in mustard oil. The result is soft and layered, with a gentle sourness and the nose-tingling heat of fresh mustard, eaten with rice and a dal. The biggest risk is undercooking the taro leaves, which can leave an itchy, scratchy feeling in the throat. Chef's tip: use only young leaves, strip the thick ribs, and always include the tamarind in the paste, because the sourness neutralises the irritant in the leaves.

70 min

Nepali Vegetarian

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Jamaican sweet potato pudding

Once baked in Dutch pots with coals heaped on the lid, Jamaica's sweet potato pudding gave rise to the saying "hell a top, hell a bottom, hallelujah in the middle", and it is still a Sunday and Christmas favourite in homes across the island. Grated sweet potato, coconut milk, a little flour-free cornmeal and spice bake into a dense, moist slab with a soft, custardy layer on top. People often cut it hot, but it needs to cool for at least an hour to set. Chef's tip: grate the sweet potato on the fine side of the grater; coarse shreds make a grainy pudding.

110 min

Jamaican Desserts

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Hot butter cuttlefish

Along Colombo's Galle Road and in the seafood restaurants of Negombo, hot butter cuttlefish is the dish nearly every table orders first, a heap of golden, crunchy strips that disappear while the rice and curries are still on their way. The cuttlefish is scored, dipped in a light, chilli-spiked batter and fried hard, then thrown into a pan of foaming butter with garlic, dried chilli flakes, green chilli and a big handful of spring onion. The result is crisp outside, tender within, rich, salty and properly hot, and it is eaten as a starter or alongside fried rice and a fresh lime. It goes wrong when the cuttlefish fries too long, because it turns rubbery after about two minutes in the oil. Chef's tip: score the inside of each piece in a fine criss-cross so it curls and grabs the batter, and fry in small batches so the oil stays hot.

35 min

Sri Lankan Fish

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FijuelasHoney-soaked fried dough spirals

Fijuelas are the Hanukkah sweet of Moroccan Jews, also made for weddings and bar mitzvahs, and grandmothers in Netanya and Ashkelon still roll them by the hundred on a fork. Paper-thin strips of egg dough are wound into spirals as they hit the hot oil, puffing into crisp, lacy roses, then dipped in warm honey syrup with orange blossom. They should shatter when bitten and taste of honey rather than grease. The mistake that ruins them is rolling the dough too thick, which makes them chewy and oily; you should almost see the counter through it. Chef's tip: keep the syrup warm and the fried spirals cool, so they absorb a thin glaze and stay crisp for days.

60 min

Israeli Desserts

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AnoushabourChristmas wheat pudding

Anoushabour, 'sweet soup', is cooked by Armenian families for New Year and for Christmas, which the Armenian church keeps on 6 January; in Yerevan and diaspora kitchens a big pot is made and bowls are carried to friends. Whole hulled wheat is simmered until creamy, sweetened and filled with apricots, raisins and prunes, then topped with walnuts, almonds, pomegranate and cinnamon. A common mistake is adding the fruit early, which turns it to pulp. Chef's tip: stir in a spoon of rose water at the end and serve the pudding cool; it sets slightly and the flavours come together.

120 min

Armenian Desserts

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Sri Lankan chicken curry

Sunday lunch in a Colombo family home very often means a pot of kukul mas curry, the chicken chopped small on the bone and simmered in a gravy darkened by curry powder that has been roasted until it smells almost like coffee. Pandan leaf, curry leaves, cinnamon bark and cardamom carry the perfume, while coconut milk stirred in towards the end rounds off the chilli heat without making the sauce heavy. It shares the table with red rice, parippu, pol sambol and a green mallung, and whatever is left over tastes even better the next morning with string hoppers. A common slip is using raw, unroasted curry powder, which tastes dusty and flat instead of deep and smoky. Chef's tip: roast the spices for the powder until they are the colour of milk chocolate and grind them while still warm, so the oils release into the powder.

70 min

Sri Lankan Chicken

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Antiguan chop upMashed aubergine, okra and spinach

Antigua's national plate pairs fungee, a cornmeal and okra loaf, with pepperpot, and on the side there is often chop up: aubergine, okra and spinach cooked down with onion, garlic and thyme, then mashed to a soft, green-flecked purée. It is gentle, savoury and silky, and some cooks add butter or salted meat; this version is vegan and uses coconut oil. The mistake to avoid is stirring the okra too much early on, which makes it slimy; let it soften undisturbed, then mash. Chef's tip: a squeeze of lime at the end lifts the flavour and calms any okra stickiness.

45 minCaribbean Vegetarian

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Fever grass teaLemongrass and ginger tea

In Jamaican country yards a clump of fever grass, the local name for lemongrass, grows by the kitchen door, and a handful steeped in boiling water is the old remedy for colds, aches and restless nights. Brewed with fresh ginger, it is lemony, gently peppery and soothing, and is drunk hot, sweetened with a little brown sugar. The mistake people make is using the stalks whole, which gives a weak tea; bruise and cut them to release the oils. Chef's tip: tie long leaves in a knot before you add them, as country cooks do, so they are easy to lift out.

15 min

Jamaican Drinks

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FaworkiCrisp fried dough ribbons

On Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent, Polish queues for pączki are matched only by the piles of faworki, also called chruściki, sold by the bag. They are paper-thin strips of rich egg-yolk and sour-cream dough, each pulled through a slit to make a twist, fried for seconds until they blister and puff into shattering, bubbly shards. Many families add a spoon of spirit to the dough to make them extra crisp; vinegar does the same job alcohol-free and is used here. Where most people go wrong is rolling the dough too thick, which gives chewy biscuits rather than glass-thin crisps. Chef's tip: beat the dough with a rolling pin for 5 minutes before rolling; the air you trap makes the bubbles.

60 min

Polish Desserts

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Devilled chicken

Few plates are more Colombo than devilled chicken, the sticky, fiery stir-fry born in the city's Sri Lankan-Chinese restaurants and now cooked in home kitchens for birthday parties, Saturday fried-rice nights and office lunch boxes. Bite-sized pieces of chicken are fried crisp, then tossed in a wok with wedges of onion, green capsicum and tomato in a glossy sauce of chilli flakes, ketchup and soy, so every piece is sweet, salty and hot at once. It is served with yellow fried rice or simply as a side to a rice-and-curry spread, and for a meat-free version you can devil button mushrooms or parboiled potato cubes in exactly the same sauce. Where most people go wrong is overloading the wok with vegetables, which then steam and go limp instead of staying crunchy. Chef's tip: separate the onion wedges into single petals before they hit the pan, so they char at the edges in under a minute.

45 min

Sri Lankan Chicken

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Antiguan ducanaSweet potato coconut dumplings

In Antigua, ducana turns up beside saltfish and chop up on Saturday plates and at Independence celebrations in November, little leaf-wrapped parcels of grated sweet potato and coconut with sugar, raisins and spice, boiled until set. It cuts through the salty fish with a soft, sticky sweetness. Many cooks add a little flour; this version keeps to sweet potato and coconut and is gluten free. The common mistake is wrapping the parcels loosely, so water seeps in and they turn mushy. Chef's tip: grate the sweet potato finely on the small holes and the ducana will hold together without any flour.

75 minCaribbean Desserts

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FendishaSweet or salted popcorn

Popcorn might seem an odd companion to coffee, but at an Ethiopian buna ceremony a heaped tray of fendisha is as expected as the incense and the little cups. The hostess pops it while the coffee boils, and it is eaten in small handfuls between the three rounds of coffee. Some families like it plain with a pinch of salt, others scatter sugar over it while it is still hot so it catches in the crevices; both are made here. It is crisp, light and best within an hour or two. Whole popcorn is a choking risk for children under five, so serve them something else. Chef's tip: leave the lid slightly ajar while it pops so the steam escapes; trapped steam is what makes popcorn chewy.

8 min

Ethiopian Snacks & Starters

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Figgy duffSteamed raisin pudding

Figgy duff is the pudding that boils in its cloth bag alongside a Newfoundland Jiggs dinner on Sundays; in Newfoundland, raisins are called figs. Breadcrumbs, molasses, raisins and spices make a dark, soft, steamed pudding that is cut into thick slices and eaten hot with molasses coady (a butter-molasses sauce) or custard. This home version steams in a pudding basin rather than a cloth. A common mistake is letting the pan boil dry; keep a kettle hot for topping up. Chef's tip: soak the breadcrumbs and raisins first so the pudding is moist all through.

170 min

Canadian Desserts

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Ang ku kuehRed glutinous rice cakes

Red for luck and shaped like a tortoise for long life, ang ku kueh are carried to Hokkien and Teochew family altars and handed out in boxes at a baby's first-month celebration, at elders' birthdays and at temple festivals across Singapore, from Chinatown shophouses to neighbourhood confectioners in Bukit Merah. The skin is soft, chewy and slightly elastic, made from glutinous rice flour kneaded with mashed sweet potato, and it wraps a smooth, mildly sweet filling of split mung bean (or crushed peanut and sugar). Each cake is pressed in a carved wooden mould and steamed on a square of banana leaf. The usual mistake is steaming over a fierce boil, which makes the skin puff up, crack and lose the printed pattern; steam gently with the lid slightly open. Chef's tip: brush the cakes with a little oil the moment they come out of the steamer, so the pattern shines and the skin doesn't dry out or stick together.

130 min

Singaporean Desserts

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Fasolka po bretońskuWhite beans in tomato with sausage

Despite its name, nothing about fasolka po bretońsku is French; this is pure Polish canteen and milk-bar food, the thick, brick-red bean stew that has fed Warsaw students, soldiers and hungry families for generations. White beans simmer in tomato with smoked pork sausage, smoked bacon, onion and plenty of marjoram until creamy, smoky and slightly sweet. It is filling enough on its own with a hunk of bread and even better reheated the next day. Under-cooked beans are the most common disappointment; they must be soft right through before the tomato goes in, because acid stops them softening. Soak the dried beans overnight beforehand. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the cooked beans against the side of the pot before serving to give the sauce its typical velvety body.

90 min

Polish Meat

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