Featured recipe

Atol shuco

Sour black corn drink

In San Salvador's Plaza Libertad and outside churches on cool mornings, atol shuco is ladled from steaming clay pots into gourd bowls. Shuco means 'dirty', for its dusky purple-grey colour: it is made from fermented black corn, so it tastes slightly sour and earthy, topped with ground toasted pumpkin seeds, a few whole black beans and a pinch of chilli salt. It is savoury and filling rather than sweet. The usual mistake is leaving the masa to ferment too long in a hot kitchen; check it after a day and use it as soon as it smells pleasantly tangy. Throw it away if you see mould or it smells unpleasant. Chef's tip: if you can't wait for fermentation, a squeeze of lime at the end gives a similar tang.

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Bassi salté (festive millet couscous)

When a Senegalese family celebrates, a wedding, a baptism or a religious feast, bassi salté may well be the dish that comes out in huge enamel bowls. Fine millet couscous is steamed twice until feather-light, then crowned with lamb and chicken in a tomato-onion sauce with carrots, cabbage, turnips and sweet potato, and a sweet note from raisins. It is a long cook but most of it is simmering, and the reward is a dish that feeds a crowd: fluffy grains, rich sauce, tender meat and soft vegetables in every spoonful. Don't drown the millet when moistening it between steamings; it should be damp, not wet, or it turns into porridge. Chef's tip: cook the chicken only for the last 35 minutes and check that the thickest piece reaches 74 °C; added at the start with the lamb, it overcooks to dry shreds while the lamb is still tough.

180 min

Senegalese Meat

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Caldou (Casamance fish in lemon broth)

Light, tangy and clean-tasting, caldou is the fish dish of Ziguinchor and the river towns of Casamance, where fresh catches from the estuary are poached in a broth sharp with lemon, sweet with soft onion and tomato, and warmed by a whole chilli. It is ladled over plain white rice so the grains soak up the broth, with an extra squeeze of lemon at the table. Some cooks add a few okra or a spoon of palm oil; this version keeps it simple and light. Firm white fish such as grouper, sea bream or hake is ideal. Chef's tip: keep the broth at a bare simmer once the fish goes in; boiling it hard is the common mistake and turns delicate fish dry and broken.

40 min

Senegalese Fish

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Alu kesel curryPlantain turmeric curry

Alu kesel, the grey-skinned cooking plantain whose name means ash banana, is picked green and treated like a vegetable, and this creamy curry is a regular on Kandyan lunch tables and at temple almsgivings, where it fills out the spread cheaply and well. The slices are rubbed with turmeric and salt, fried until golden at the edges, then simmered in coconut milk with unroasted curry powder, fenugreek, cinnamon and pandan, so they turn soft and starchy like potato with a hint of banana sweetness. It sits happily beside parippu, a green mallung and a sharp pickle. Peeling the plantains with dry hands is a messy mistake, because the sap stains skin and knives black; oil your hands and the blade first. Chef's tip: frying the slices before they go into the gravy keeps them in neat pieces; unfried plantain tends to fall apart and thicken the curry into paste.

40 min

Sri Lankan Curries

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Lafidi (Guinean rice with lamb and peanut sauce)

High in the green hills of the Fouta Djallon in Guinea, Fula (Peul) families prepare lafidi for feast days and for guests: a mound of white rice topped with tender lamb and a generous peanut sauce, served on a shared platter. Some households make it with a leaf sauce of cassava or sweet potato leaves instead; this version uses the peanut sauce, which is smooth, nutty and lightly tangy from tomato, with a steady warmth of chilli. The lamb is simmered slowly in the sauce, so it is soft enough to pull apart with your fingers. Chef's tip: simmer the peanut sauce uncovered and stir it from the bottom often; peanut sauces catch and burn easily, and a scorched taste runs through the whole pot.

100 minAfrican Meat

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Corn chaff

Big pots of corn chaff are everyday food in the North West, from Bamenda's Food Market to boarding-school dining halls, where maize and beans stretch a long way. Dried corn and beans are simmered until soft, then folded into a red palm oil sauce with onion, tomato and hot pepper, with a handful of greens stirred through at the end. The result is hearty and chewy with a deep, slightly smoky sweetness from the oil, and it tastes even better the next day. Serve it in bowls, with ripe avocado on the side when it is in season. Soak the maize and beans overnight. Chef's tip: give the dried maize a head start of about 45 minutes before adding the beans, because it takes far longer to soften.

120 min

Cameroonian Vegetarian

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Wagasi in tomato sauce

In the Borgou and Alibori country of northern Benin, Fulani women carry wagasi to market in basins: small, springy rounds of fresh cheese, often with a red rind coloured by sorghum leaves. Sliced, fried golden and simmered in tomato and pepper sauce, it is sold across Benin and eaten with rice, akassa or bread. Herders traditionally set the milk with sap from the Calotropis shrub; that sap is toxic, so never use it at home. This version sets pasteurised whole milk with vegetarian rennet, giving the same mild, squeaky, slightly chewy cheese; bought wagasi, or paneer as a vegetarian stand-in, lets you skip straight to the frying. Chef's tip: let the slices sit undisturbed in the hot oil until a crust forms; moved too soon, fresh cheese sticks and tears.

120 minAfrican Vegetarian

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Okpa (Bambara nut pudding)

Early in the morning in Nsukka and Enugu, sellers set out wheelbarrows piled with steaming okpa wrapped in leaves or cooked in small tins, and students and workers eat it standing up with a bottle of cold drink or a cup of pap. It is made from Bambara nut flour beaten with palm oil, warm water, pepper and salt into a bright orange batter and steamed until it sets into a firm, dense pudding with a nutty, earthy taste. It is filling and naturally high in protein. Bambara nut flour is sold in African shops as okpa flour. Undercooked okpa tastes raw and bitter and is hard to digest, so steam until a knife comes out clean. A common mistake is a batter that is too thick, which steams into a hard, dry block instead of a soft-set pudding. Chef's tip: mix the oil into the dry flour before adding any water; it keeps the batter smooth and gives okpa its even colour.

95 min

Nigerian Breakfast & Brunch

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Ewedu (jute leaf soup)

Bright green, light and famously slippery, ewedu is the soup that makes amala slide down so easily, and in Ibadan and across Oyo State it is rare to see one without the other. Only the tender jute leaves are picked from the stems, boiled for a few minutes and then beaten with a small broom until finely shredded and stretchy, with a few locust beans for a savoury, funky depth. Some cooks add crayfish; this version keeps it meat-free. It tastes fresh and grassy and is eaten with amala, gbegiri and a red pepper stew. Frozen chopped ewedu or Egyptian molokhia leaves work well outside Nigeria. Chef's tip: cook it briefly and uncovered; long boiling or a lid turns the bright green an olive drab, the most common ewedu mistake.

25 min

Nigerian Soups

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Gbegiri (Yoruba bean soup)

Order amala at any buka in Ibadan or Oyo and the server will ask "abula?", meaning a ladle of gbegiri and a ladle of ewedu poured side by side, usually crowned with a spoon of pepper stew. Gbegiri itself is smooth, mellow and earthy: peeled black-eyed beans cooked until they fall apart, beaten to a cream and simmered with red palm oil and pungent locust beans. Many cooks add ground crayfish or smoked fish; this is the meat-free way, which loses nothing of its velvet texture. Serve it with amala and ewedu or spooned over boiled yam. The mistake to avoid is leaving bean skins in, which turns the soup grey and gritty, so rub and rinse until the beans are white. Chef's tip: whisk the cooked beans with a balloon whisk or the traditional ijabe broom rather than a blender for the lightest, fluffiest gbegiri.

90 min

Nigerian Soups

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Halwat tabaa (stamped jam biscuits)

Ask anyone who grew up in Algeria about the night before Eid and they will mention the smell of halwat tabaa baking: buttery shortbread cut and printed with a patterned metal stamp, then sandwiched in pairs with apricot jam. Children love helping to press the patterns, and the biscuits fill the tins offered to neighbours on the morning of the feast. They are tender and short, with a clean vanilla flavour against the tangy jam, and keep well for a week. A fluted round cutter and the tines of a fork will do if you have no stamp. Avoid working the dough too much or letting it get warm, as the stamped pattern then spreads and blurs in the oven. Chef's tip: dip the stamp in flour and tap off the excess before every press; a sticky stamp blurs the pattern, which is the most common disappointment.

45 min

Algerian Baking

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Rfis constantinois (date and semolina sweet)

Rather than toasting loose semolina, Constantine cooks first bake a thick semolina galette on the griddle, then crumble it while still hot and work it with melted butter and soft date paste until it turns into a fragrant, crumbly sweet. Rfis is made to celebrate a birth and for Mawlid, and is set out in a large dish, shaped into a dome and studded with almonds, for family to pinch from with coffee. It tastes of toasted bread, caramel-like dates and butter, with warm cinnamon at the end. Where rfis goes wrong is crumbling the galette after it has cooled; it must be broken up hot so the butter and dates bind it. Chef's tip: grate or rub the galette while it is hot; once it cools, it hardens and crumbles into coarse lumps instead of fine, even crumbs.

40 min

Algerian Desserts

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Potato leaf stew with groundnut

Freetown's Sunday pots and the cookshops of Lumley and Kissy turn out potato leaf almost as often as cassava leaf: tender sweet potato greens shredded finely, then simmered in red palm oil with onion and Scotch bonnet until the oil floats to the top. It is usually rich with fish or beef; this meat-free pot leans on a good spoonful of groundnut paste instead, which makes the sauce creamy and nutty and gives it real body. Spoon it over a mound of white rice, the way it is eaten all over Sierra Leone. Chef's tip: wait until the palm oil gathers in a red layer on the surface before you take the pot off the heat; that is the sign the stew is properly cooked.

75 minAfrican Curries

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Anchote (Oromo root with spiced butter)

Anchote is a climbing plant native to western Ethiopia, and its orange-fleshed root is treasured in Wollega, where it is served at Meskel, at weddings and whenever honoured guests arrive. The root is boiled whole in its skin, peeled, then chopped or roughly mashed and warmed through with niter kibbeh, garlic and a pinch of fiery mitmita. The result is soft, slightly sticky and buttery, with a gentle sweetness somewhere between sweet potato and squash, and it is eaten on its own or with ayib and injera. Look for anchote at Ethiopian grocers; if you cannot find it, taro or cassava boiled the same way gives a close texture with a milder taste. Peeling it raw is a mistake: the sap is sticky and the flesh crumbles; boil it in its skin and the peel slips off. Chef's tip: stir the butter in over a very low heat so the root becomes glossy without frying or catching.

60 min

Ethiopian Vegetarian

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Liberian rice bread

Liberian rice bread sits somewhere between banana bread and a soft pudding: a moist, close-textured loaf made with cream of rice instead of wheat, sweetened with very ripe bananas and warmed with nutmeg. Families in Monrovia bake it for Sunday breakfast, birthdays and holiday gatherings, and slices are often eaten with tea or coffee. Because it contains no wheat flour, it is naturally gluten free when you use a gluten-free baking powder. The batter is surprisingly runny, so do not be tempted to add more rice. Chef's tip: let the loaf cool in the tin for at least fifteen minutes; rice batters firm up as they cool and fall apart if cut hot.

70 minAfrican Baking

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Mombar (rice-stuffed beef casings)

Mombar is festival food: in the days after Eid al-Adha, when the butchers have plenty of cleaned casings, families across Cairo and the Delta settle down to stuff them together, and street cooks in popular neighbourhoods sell crisp coils of it by weight. The filling is Egyptian short-grain rice with tomato, onion, dill, parsley and coriander, which swells inside the casing as it simmers, so each bite is soft, herby rice wrapped in a thin, crackling skin. It is eaten hot as a main dish or a side to roast meat, with lemon and a plate of pickles. Buy the casings ready-cleaned from a butcher; this recipe assumes they have been. The commonest mistake is overfilling the casings; packed full, the rice swells and they burst in the pot. Chef's tip: fill each length only two-thirds full; the rice doubles in size and an overstuffed casing bursts in the pot.

145 min

Egyptian Meat

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Bhuga chawalBrown onion rice

Bhuga means fried, and in this everyday Sindhi rice it is the onions that are fried, slowly and patiently, until they are a deep mahogany brown, so the cooking water and then every grain turn a warm tan colour with a sweet, almost smoky flavour. In Karachi and Sukkur homes it is the rice that goes with Sindhi kadhi on a Friday, or with sai bhaji, the green dal and spinach stew, and a crisp aloo tuk or papad on the side. It is simple enough for a weeknight and good enough for guests. Burnt onions are the trap: there is only a short moment between dark brown and bitter black. Chef's tip: once the onions start to colour, lower the heat and stir constantly, and add the water the moment they reach the shade of strong tea.

45 min

Pakistani Rice & Grains

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Sayadiya (fisherman's fish and rice)

The name comes from the word for fisherman, and sayadiya is the pride of the fish restaurants along the Alexandria seafront and in Suez, where it is ordered as a platter for the whole table. Its signature is the colour: onions are fried slowly until mahogany, then simmered into a stock that turns the rice a deep brown and fills it with sweet, savoury, cumin-scented flavour. On top go pieces of crisp fried fish and a scatter of toasted pine nuts and almonds, with lemon wedges, tahini and a green salad alongside. Chef's tip: watch the onions closely in the last few minutes and lift them out when they are dark brown, never black; burnt onions make the whole pot bitter.

75 min

Egyptian Fish

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Telba (roasted flaxseed drink)

Flax grows across the highlands of Gojjam, and on Wednesdays, Fridays and through Lent its toasted seeds become telba, a creamy, nutty drink that fills you up when animal food is off the menu. The seeds are dry-roasted until they pop, ground fine, then whisked with water and strained, giving a pale brown drink with a faint toasted-sesame flavour and a slightly silky body. It is also taken as a gentle remedy for an upset stomach. Families often sweeten it with honey; sugar keeps it fully vegan. Don't roast the flaxseed too far: over-roasted seeds turn the drink bitter. Chef's tip: grind only what you need that day, because ground flax goes stale and bitter within days; whole roasted seeds keep for weeks in a jar.

18 min

Ethiopian Drinks

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Moza (Egyptian lamb shanks with rice)

On Eid al-Adha, when there is lamb in every kitchen, and in the grill houses of Cairo where it is a favourite order, moza is the cut people point to: a whole shank per person, standing on a mound of rice. The shanks are first simmered gently with onion, cardamom, bay and a little mastic until the meat is ready to slip off the bone, then roasted in a hot oven so the outside turns brown and sticky. The rice cooks in the fragrant broth, so every grain carries the lamb flavour. A bowl of the remaining broth, a salad of tomato and cucumber and some tahini make it a feast. Chef's tip: skim the pot carefully in the first 15 minutes of simmering; a clear broth makes cleaner-tasting rice.

155 min

Egyptian Meat

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Mullah tagalia (Sudanese dried-meat and okra stew)

Tagalia is the stew northern Sudanese families turn to for everyday lunches and when guests arrive unannounced, because it is made almost entirely from the store cupboard: pounded sharmout, dried okra powder called weika and a mountain of onions fried slowly until dark. Unlike mullah bamia, which uses fresh okra, it is smooth, thick and dark brown, with a rich, savoury, slightly smoky taste, and it is scooped up with kisra or aseeda from one shared bowl. Cooks in Nubia and along the Nile say good tagalia is all in the onion. Dumping the weika in at once is the classic mistake, and it sets into slimy lumps; sprinkle it slowly while whisking. Chef's tip: keep frying the onions until they are a deep chestnut colour but never black; burnt onion makes the whole pot bitter.

75 min

Sudanese Curries

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Gomen kitfo (Gurage minced collards with spiced butter)

Meskel in the Gurage highlands is the year's great feast, and next to the beef kitfo on the table there is always gomen kitfo, the meat-free 'kitfo' of greens. Collards are boiled until tender, squeezed hard and chopped so finely they become almost a paste, then worked with warm niter kibbeh, mitmita and a little korerima. The result is dark green, silky and rich, with a sharp chilli kick and a deep, slightly bitter leafy flavour. It is eaten with kocho and a heap of fresh ayib, and is also made on its own on non-fasting days. The usual mistake is leaving water in the greens, which makes it soggy and dilutes the butter; wring them out in a clean cloth. Chef's tip: chop with a heavy knife, rocking it again and again, rather than blending; a blender turns it into a purée and loses the fine, almost-minced texture.

40 min

Ethiopian Sides

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Besso (roasted barley flour drink and balls)

Farmers and travellers in Gojjam and Wollo have long carried a pouch of besso on journeys, because a handful of this roasted barley flour turns a cup of water into a filling meal. The barley is roasted until deep brown, ground fine and stored for weeks; stirred into cold water with a little sugar it makes a smooth, malty, slightly toasty drink, and kneaded with oil it becomes chewy little balls called chibto. It is eaten on fasting days, in the fields and by students before exams. Many families sweeten it with honey; sugar keeps this version vegan. The usual mistake is adding the barley flour to water all at once, which leaves dry clumps; whisk it in gradually. Chef's tip: roast the barley until it is the colour of milk chocolate and smells like toast; pale grains give a raw, floury taste, while black ones taste burnt.

35 min

Ethiopian Snacks & Starters

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Kebab halla (beef braised in onions)

Despite the name, nothing here goes near a grill: kebab halla means "pot kebab", and it is the kind of unfussy Sunday or Friday dish that Cairo home cooks put on the stove and leave to its own devices. Chunks of beef are seared and then buried under a heap of sliced onions, which slowly give up their water and collapse into a glossy, almost jammy brown sauce with cardamom and bay. The meat ends up spoon-tender and the gravy tastes deeply savoury and a little sweet. It is eaten with Egyptian vermicelli rice, crusty bread or chips. Chef's tip: slice the onions into half-moons rather than chopping them; they melt evenly and give the sauce its silky body.

125 min

Egyptian Meat

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Ekuru (white bean pudding with pepper sauce)

Pale and plain on purpose, ekuru is moin moin's quiet cousin: the same peeled black-eyed bean paste, but steamed with nothing in it except a little salt, so it comes out white, light and airy. In Ijebu and around Ogun State it is a breakfast and market snack, and all the flavour comes from the sauce served with it, a fried mix of red peppers, scotch bonnet, onion and locust beans in palm oil. The contrast of mild, fluffy pudding and hot, oily sauce is the whole point. This version is entirely plant-based. Chef's tip: beat the bean paste hard for several minutes before steaming; the trapped air is what makes ekuru light rather than dense.

90 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

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Sogo' (Alexandrian spicy sausage)

Sogo' sandwiches are as much a part of an Alexandrian night out as liver: the same street stalls fry coins of hot beef sausage with onion, green pepper, tomato and chilli until the juices turn red and sticky, then pack it into crusty rolls. The flavour is bold, garlicky and cumin-heavy, with fresh crunch from the peppers. Egyptian butchers sell the sausage ready-made; outside Egypt, use any spicy, coarse beef sausage such as beef merguez. Serve it in bread with tahini and pickles, or as a main dish with rice and salad. A frequent slip is crowding the pan, so the sausage stews grey instead of browning with the peppers. Chef's tip: fry the sausage first on its own until browned, then add the vegetables to its fat; you get far more flavour than cooking it all together.

25 min

Egyptian Meat

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Fetira (Harari layered egg flatbread with honey)

Morning in the old walled city of Harar and in Dire Dawa often starts with fetira, especially in Muslim homes during Ramadan's pre-dawn meal and on Eid mornings. A soft wheat dough is stretched until it is almost see-through, spread with beaten egg, folded into a parcel and fried in a little oil and butter until crisp and flaky outside, soft and eggy inside. It is cut into squares and eaten warm, drizzled with honey, with a cup of spiced tea or coffee. A common mistake is stretching the dough without a proper rest, so it tears; give it 30 minutes covered with oil and it stretches easily. Chef's tip: oil the worktop and your hands rather than flouring them, so the dough slides and stretches thin without sticking.

45 min

Ethiopian Breakfast & Brunch

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Kuti (Harari coffee-leaf tea)

Harar sits in old coffee country, and its households drink not only the beans but the leaves: kuti is made by toasting dried coffee leaves and brewing them into a light, amber tea. It tastes soft and grassy with a hint of roasted coffee and far less caffeine than a cup of buna, so it is sipped through the afternoon, during long chats and after the fast is broken in Ramadan. Many Harari homes add milk and sugar; leave the milk out or use a plant milk to keep it vegan. Dried coffee leaves are sold as coffee leaf tea by some coffee and tea merchants. Do not swap in cascara, which is the dried coffee cherry husk and makes a different, fruitier drink. Chef's tip: toast the leaves only until they darken a shade and smell like toasted hay; overdone, they taste of ash.

14 min

Ethiopian Drinks

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Ayib be gomen (fresh cheese with spiced collards)

Gurage cooks bring ayib be gomen to the table beside kitfo, and it is just as welcome on its own with kocho or injera on an ordinary non-fasting day. Soft, mild ayib is mixed with collards that have been boiled and chopped fine, then dressed with warm niter kibbeh, garlic and mitmita, so the creamy cheese cools the chilli and the greens add an earthy bite. Ayib is an acid-set cheese made by gently heating soured milk or buttermilk (or milk with lemon juice) until curds form, so it needs no rennet and suits vegetarians. Ricotta or well-drained cottage cheese are close substitutes; if you use a bought cottage cheese, check the label for vegetarian rennet. Do not heat the cheese in the pan, or it turns rubbery and weeps; fold it in off the heat. Chef's tip: squeeze the cooked greens until they are almost dry so the dish stays fluffy rather than watery.

25 min

Ethiopian Sides

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Fish singari (Alexandrian baked fish)

Alexandrian fish restaurants list singari next to grilled and fried fish, and families along the coast bake it at home for Friday lunch, usually with sea bream, sea bass or a large bolti. The fishmonger splits the fish down the back and opens it flat, then it is smothered in a garlicky cumin and lemon paste and laid over sliced tomatoes, green peppers, onion and chilli. In the oven the vegetables soften into a juicy sauce underneath while the fish roasts on top, so you get tender flesh, a slightly charred skin and plenty of sauce for spooning over rice. Serve with white rice, tahini and bread. Chef's tip: give the vegetables 10 minutes in the oven on their own first; it drives off water so the fish roasts instead of steaming.

65 min

Egyptian Fish

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Datta (Gurage green chilli relish)

A small bowl of datta sits beside every plate of kitfo in Gurage country, and Addis kitfo houses serve it the same way; a dab of it wakes up mild ayib, kocho or a bowl of shiro. Fresh green chillies are pounded in a mortar with garlic, ginger and salt, sometimes with a little onion and lemon, into a coarse, bright paste that is sharp, grassy and very hot. It is a fasting-friendly relish, since it is nothing but vegetables, oil and lemon. Blitzing it to a smooth liquid in a blender is a common mistake: you lose the texture and the chillies turn bitter; pound it, or pulse briefly. Wear gloves when handling the chillies, and wash the board well afterwards. Chef's tip: for a milder datta, scrape out the seeds and pale ribs of half the chillies before pounding.

10 min

Ethiopian Chutneys & Dips

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Shorbet lesan asfour (orzo soup)

Bowls of this golden broth start the meal on winter nights all over Cairo, and it is one of the first things set on the table at iftar, when a gentle, warm soup comes before anything heavier. Lesan asfour means "bird's tongue", the Egyptian name for the small rice-shaped pasta the rest of the world calls orzo. Fried in butter until nutty and then simmered in a well-seasoned chicken stock, the grains turn plump and silky, and a squeeze of lemon at the table lifts the whole bowl. Children love it, and it is what many Egyptian households cook for anyone feeling under the weather. Chef's tip: toast the pasta until it is the colour of roasted hazelnuts, not just pale gold; that browning is where all the flavour comes from.

25 min

Egyptian Soups

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Bula (enset starch porridge with spiced butter and ayib)

Bula is the finest part of the enset plant, a white starch that settles out when the pulp is squeezed, and in Sidama and Gurage homes it is cooked into a smooth, wobbly porridge for honoured guests, new mothers and anyone feeling weak. Whisked into water and stirred until glossy and translucent, it is very mild and slightly elastic, then topped with melted niter kibbeh, crumbled ayib and a pinch of mitmita for warmth. It is eaten for breakfast or as a light supper, often with coffee. Dried bula is sold in Ethiopian shops; tapioca starch is the closest stand-in. Lumps are the common mistake, so always slake the starch in cold water first and whisk as it heats. Chef's tip: keep stirring right to the end; bula thickens suddenly and catches on the base of the pan in seconds.

20 min

Ethiopian Breakfast & Brunch

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Jamaican roast yam

Roast yam stands beside roast fish at the beach shacks of Treasure Beach and at the roadside stalls along the Ocho Rios road, long pieces pulled out of the coals with blackened, smoky skins. Yellow yam roasted this way turns dense, dry and nutty, quite different from boiled, and it is eaten hot with a little coconut oil or butter and a sprinkle of salt. The usual mistake is cutting the yam too short or thin, so it dries out; roast it in thick 20 cm lengths with the skin on. Here it is done in a hot oven, with a flame option for a smoky edge. Chef's tip: wrap the pieces in foil for the first 30 minutes so they steam inside, then unwrap them to char the outside.

60 min

Jamaican Sides

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Ye-dinich wat (spicy Ethiopian potato stew)

Wednesday and Friday lunch in countless Ethiopian homes and canteens includes a pot of ye-dinich wat, the potato stew that turns a few cheap ingredients into something deeply savoury. Red onions are cooked down slowly, then berbere, garlic and ginger go in with oil to build a dark, glossy sauce, and cubes of potato simmer in it until they soften and start to thicken it at the edges. It is hot, earthy and comforting, and scooped up with injera next to shiro, misir and gomen on a fasting platter. Because it uses oil and no butter, it is fully vegan. Hurrying the onion base is the usual mistake; give it the full time or the sauce tastes thin and raw. Chef's tip: cut the potatoes into even 2 cm cubes, so they cook at the same rate and hold their shape.

45 min

Ethiopian Curries

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Gurian pickled cabbage

Gurian pickled cabbage turns heads at the Ozurgeti market: whole cabbage wedges stained deep pink by beetroot, layered with garlic, celery leaves and hot pepper and left to ferment in brine until crunchy and sour. Families in Guria put up big crocks in late autumn for the winter and the New Year table, and serve it beside fatty pork, beans and cornbread. A common mistake is using iodised salt, which can stop the ferment and darken the pickle. Chef's tip: keep the jar at cool room temperature for the first few days, then move it to the fridge once it tastes pleasantly sour, so it stays crisp.

30 min

Georgian Sides

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Timatim fitfit (torn injera with fresh tomato)

Leftover injera never goes to waste: torn into bite-sized pieces and tossed with juicy chopped tomato, red onion, green chilli, lemon and oil, it becomes timatim fitfit, a cool, tangy salad eaten for a light lunch on hot days and on fasting days all over the country. Unlike timatim salata, which is just the tomato salad, this version is a meal in itself: the injera drinks up the dressing and turns soft and spongy while keeping a little chew. It is usually served in a bowl and eaten with more injera or with a spoon. The common mistake is mixing it too early, which turns the bread soggy; toss it no more than ten minutes before eating. It is gluten free only if your injera is made from 100% teff. Chef's tip: use day-old injera, which is slightly drier and holds its shape better than fresh.

15 min

Ethiopian Salads

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Sinig karia (stuffed green chillies)

Long, pale green karia chillies are piled high in the markets of Addis Ababa, and on fasting days cooks slit them, scrape out the seeds and fill them with a sharp little salad of onion and tomato soaked in lemon. The result is crunchy, fresh and juicy, with a mild chilli warmth, and the chillies are eaten with the fingers between mouthfuls of injera and spicy wat, or set out as a starter. Choose mild long peppers such as Anaheim, Hungarian wax or long sweet green peppers. A common mistake is leaving the white ribs in, which keeps the heat high and can make them bitter; scrape them out with a teaspoon. Chef's tip: dip the chillies in boiling water for one minute and cool them in cold water first if you want them a little softer and easier to stuff.

20 min

Ethiopian Snacks & Starters

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Senafich (Ethiopian mustard seed paste)

On Ethiopian fasting platters there is often one little dab of yellow among the reds and greens: senafich, a punchy mustard paste that clears the nose and cuts through the oil of the wats. Brown or yellow mustard seed is ground, mixed with warm water and left to rest, which takes the bitterness away, then beaten with lemon, oil, ginger and garlic until it is smooth and creamy. It is served with injera, shimbra asa and boiled vegetables, and some cooks thin it into a sauce for raw chillies. A common mistake is serving it straight after mixing, when it is harsh and bitter; let it stand for at least an hour (it is even better the next day). Chef's tip: use warm water rather than boiling for the soak; very hot water kills the mustard's heat and leaves it flat.

15 min

Ethiopian Chutneys & Dips

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Bhee patataLotus stem and potato curry

Sindhis have a particular love of bhee, the lotus stems that come up from the lakes and canals around Manchhar and Keenjhar, and bhee patata is the most loved way of cooking them at home in Karachi and Hyderabad. Cut on the slant, the stems show their lacy, many-holed cross-section and keep a pleasing crunch even after a long simmer, while the potato pieces go soft and soak up a thick masala of browned onion, tomato and coriander. It is a Sunday lunch dish served with phulka or with plain rice and a bowl of yogurt. Mud trapped in the hollow channels is the usual problem and it makes the curry gritty. Chef's tip: slice the stems first and then wash every piece under running water, poking out any dark patches with a skewer, before you par-boil them.

60 min

Pakistani Vegetarian

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Jamaican bullaMolasses ginger spice cakes

Wrapped in paper at every Jamaican corner shop and school tuck shop, bulla is the cheap, dense little round cake that children take for lunch and grown-ups eat with a slice of cheese or ripe avocado. It is dark with molasses and brown sugar, warm with ginger and nutmeg, and has a slightly chewy crumb rather than a light sponge. This version uses oil, so it is vegan. The common mistake is overworking the dough, which makes bulla tough; mix only until the flour disappears. Chef's tip: leave the baked bulla in a tin overnight; the crumb softens and the spice deepens by the next day.

40 min

Jamaican Baking

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Jamaican Easter bunSpiced Easter loaf

Every Good Friday, Jamaicans from Kingston to London buy or bake a dark, glossy spiced bun to slice and eat with processed cheese, a tradition that grew out of the British hot cross bun. This quick-bread version is moist and dense with dried fruit, molasses and warm spice; it traditionally uses stout, which contains alcohol, so for an alcohol-free bun use the same amount of malt drink. The commonest mistake is slicing the bun warm, when it is still sticky and crumbles; it needs a day to firm and mellow. Chef's tip: brush the hot loaf with a honey or sugar syrup glaze straight from the oven for the shiny top.

90 min

Jamaican Baking

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Moukhbaza (Kassala mashed banana)

Kassala, in the green orchard country of eastern Sudan near the Eritrean border, grows bananas in abundance, and its signature dish uses them very simply: very ripe bananas mashed with a little sugar and cooked briefly until thick and jammy. Moukhbaza is eaten as a snack or light breakfast, torn kisra or soft gurasa pancakes dragged through it, and children adore it. It tastes like warm banana bread without the oven. Under-ripe fruit is the usual mistake; you want bananas with heavily speckled, almost black skins, or the mash is starchy and bland. Chef's tip: a squeeze of lime at the end keeps the colour bright and balances the sweetness.

15 min

Sudanese Snacks & Starters

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Ikokore (Ijebu water yam pottage)

Ikokore is the Ijebu people's own pottage, made in Ijebu-Ode and towns across Ogun State from water yam, the purple-tinged yam that grates into a sticky paste. Spoonfuls of that paste go into a pepper and palm-oil sauce and set into soft, dumpling-like lumps, so it is part soup and part porridge, rich and spicy. Smoked fish and crayfish are traditional; this meat-free version uses mushrooms for their savoury bite. It is eaten as a complete meal, often on its own or with a cold drink. Water yam makes the skin itch, so wear gloves to peel and grate it. If water yam is hard to find, white yam works but sets softer. Chef's tip: drop the paste in and leave it for 10 minutes before you stir; stirring too soon is the mistake that turns the lumps into a smooth paste.

60 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

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Eritrean frittata

Asmara's cafés kept the Italian word but changed the flavour: an Eritrean frittata is eggs beaten with softened onion, tomato and green chilli, warmed with berbere and cooked flat in a small pan until just set. It comes to the table in its pan with fresh bread and a coffee or sweet tea, and some places fold in a little extra chilli for those who ask. The texture is soft and moist in the middle, with sweet tomato and a gentle heat running through it. A common mistake is cooking the eggs over a high flame, which makes the base tough and brown before the top sets; keep the heat low and cover the pan. Chef's tip: cook the tomato until its juice has evaporated before the eggs go in, or the frittata turns watery.

20 min

Eritrean Breakfast & Brunch

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Asaro (yam pottage)

Lagos home cooks make asaro on busy weekdays because it needs one pot and very little fuss, and children usually love its soft, sweet-savoury comfort. Chunks of white puna yam simmer in a blended sauce of red bell pepper, tomato and scotch bonnet with palm oil, and as they cook some pieces collapse into a thick, orange porridge while others stay whole. It is often made with crayfish or smoked fish; this meat-free version gets its depth from locust beans and a vegetable stock cube. A handful of greens stirred in at the end turns it into a full meal, and it needs nothing alongside. For children, use half a scotch bonnet or leave it out. Chef's tip: don't stir in the first 15 minutes; mash only a third of the yam at the end, so there is both creamy sauce and tender chunks.

50 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

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Baasto (Somali spaghetti with spiced beef sauce)

Pasta arrived in Mogadishu during the Italian colonial period and was firmly adopted, so that today baasto with suugo is a standard Friday lunch and a staple of the city's restaurants. The sauce is a long-cooked mix of minced beef, onion, peppers and tomato seasoned with xawaash, garlic and a little chilli, closer to a spiced Somali stew than to an Italian ragù. A ripe banana is served alongside and eaten in alternate bites, cooling and sweet against the spice; a green chilli sauce and a squeeze of lime finish the plate. Overcooking the spaghetti is the usual error, because it carries on softening in the hot sauce; drain it a minute before the packet time. For a meat-free version simply leave out the beef and add a tin of chickpeas. Chef's tip: let the beef brown properly before the tomato goes in; that colour gives the sauce its depth.

50 min

Somali Pasta & Noodles

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Hamam mahshi (stuffed pigeon)

Pigeon towers still rise above villages in the Nile Delta, and stuffed pigeon is a celebration dish there and in Cairo's famous pigeon restaurants; it is traditionally served to newlyweds and at feasts. Each small bird is filled with freekeh (smoky green wheat) cooked with onion, giblets and warm spices, then simmered in a cardamom broth until tender and finished in a hot oven or fried so the skin turns deep brown and crackling. The meat is dark and rich, closer to duck than chicken, and the freekeh soaks up all the juices. Serve one bird each with a salad, pickles and the broth as soup. Use farmed squab from a poultry supplier. Chef's tip: stuff the birds loosely and sew or skewer them shut; freekeh swells as it cooks and an overfilled pigeon bursts.

125 min

Egyptian Chicken

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Gandofli (Alexandrian garlic clams)

Along the Alexandria Corniche and in the old Anfushi fish quarter, gandofli are a summer seaside snack, often sold by the plateful with lemon and sometimes eaten raw. Raw shellfish carries a real risk of food poisoning, so this home version cooks them: the little clams go into a hot pan with olive oil, garlic, a pinch of cumin and chilli, and steam open in a minute or two, releasing sweet, salty juices that mix with lemon into a sauce for mopping up with bread. Buy them live from a reputable fishmonger and cook them the same day. Chef's tip: soak the clams in salted water in the fridge for 30 minutes before cooking so they spit out their sand; nothing spoils them faster than grit.

25 min

Egyptian Fish

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Cambuulo (Somali adzuki beans with butter and sugar)

Small red adzuki beans, cooked slowly until they almost collapse, are the heart of cambuulo, a dish Mogadishu households make for a cheap, filling evening meal. Once the beans are soft they are glossed with butter, a spoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt, so the flavour lands somewhere between savoury and gently sweet. Many families stir the beans into plain rice or serve the two side by side, with a drizzle of sesame oil and a banana on the plate. The texture should be creamy, with some beans still whole. The usual mistake is pulling the pot off too early: firm beans never turn creamy, so keep simmering until one crushes easily against the side of the pan. Chef's tip: soak the beans overnight and change the water before cooking; they cook more evenly and are easier to digest.

90 min

Somali Vegetarian

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Muqmad (Somali spiced meat preserved in ghee)

Before fridges, nomadic families in Somaliland preserved meat as muqmad, also called oodkac: beef or camel cut into tiny cubes, dried in the sun, fried in ghee with garlic and spices and packed into a container topped with more ghee. A spoonful is eaten for breakfast with sabaayad or canjeero and tea, and jars are made for Eid, weddings and travellers. Sun-drying raw meat is risky in a home kitchen, so this safer version cooks the cubes through to 71 °C first, then dries them in a low oven and keeps the finished jar in the fridge. The traditional raw-dried version is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Cutting the cubes unevenly is the common mistake: big pieces stay moist inside while small ones burn, so aim for 1 cm all round. Chef's tip: partly freeze the meat for 45 minutes and it cuts into neat cubes far more easily.

240 min

Somali Meat

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Reform tortaWalnut meringue chocolate cake

Belgrade pastry shops have sold reform torta since the early twentieth century, and it is still the cake Serbian families bring out for birthdays, weddings and the slava. Three thin layers of walnut meringue, crisp at the edge and chewy inside, are stacked with a dense chocolate butter cream made with egg yolks cooked over steam until thick. It is very rich, so cut thin slices and serve with strong coffee. The usual slip is beating the butter into a chocolate mixture that is still warm, which melts it and splits the cream; let it cool to room temperature first. Chef's tip: assemble the cake the day before; overnight in the fridge the meringue softens a little and the cake slices cleanly with a hot knife.

150 minBalkan Baking

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Kalluun duban (Somali grilled whole fish)

Seafront restaurants on Mogadishu's Lido beach are famous for kalluun duban, whole fish rubbed with a paste of garlic, lime, chilli and xawaash and grilled over charcoal until the skin blisters. Diners pick a fresh catch, often snapper, grouper or kingfish, and it comes to the table on a platter of spiced rice with lime, salad, banana and fiery basbaas. The flesh should be moist and smoky, tangy with lime. Marinating fish for hours in lime juice is a mistake: the acid starts to 'cook' it and the flesh turns mushy, so 20–30 minutes in the fridge is plenty. Chef's tip: slash the fish deeply down to the bone on both sides, so the marinade gets in and the thick part cooks as fast as the tail.

40 min

Somali Fish

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Bedouin sage tea

Visitors to a Bedouin camp in the Sinai mountains are handed small glasses of this tea almost before they sit down, brewed in a blackened kettle over the fire and sweetened generously. Wild maramiya, the local sage, is dropped in at the end, giving the strong black tea a soft, herbal, slightly camphor scent that is soothing after a long walk or a heavy meal. Garden sage works well, and dried sage is fine in a pinch. Boiling the sage is the mistake to avoid, because it turns the tea bitter. Sage is best taken in moderation and avoided in large amounts during pregnancy. Chef's tip: pour from a height into the glasses; the froth that forms is how Bedouin hosts like it served.

10 min

Egyptian Drinks

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Malawax (Somali cardamom crepes)

Fragrant with cardamom and just sweet enough, malawax are the thin, soft pancakes Somali families make on weekend mornings and for guests, stacked high and eaten with honey, sugar or a smear of ghee beside a pot of shaah. They are thinner than canjeero and contain egg and milk, so they cook in a minute and stay tender rather than spongy. Children roll them up and eat them in their hands; adults tend to tear them and dip them in tea. The batter should be as thin as single cream, and the classic mistake is a pan that is not hot enough, which gives pale, rubbery crepes that stick. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the flour hydrates; the first crepe is always a tester, so adjust the heat after it.

30 min

Somali Breakfast & Brunch

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Doum drink

Spice and herb sellers in the Aswan souk pile up the hard, glossy brown fruit of the doum palm, and Nubian households soak it into a cold, sweet drink for the hot months and for Ramadan iftar. The dried flesh gives a cloudy amber drink that tastes surprisingly like gingerbread or caramel, with a faint woody bitterness. Buy it crushed or as coarse powder at Egyptian and African grocers; whole fruit is extremely hard to break. Leaving it to steep too long is the mistake to avoid, because it turns bitter. Chef's tip: strain twice, once through a sieve and again through muslin, to remove the gritty fibre.

15 min

Egyptian Drinks

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Doolsho (Somali cardamom sponge cake)

Ask a Somali host what goes with afternoon shaah and doolsho will be near the top of the list: a plain, airy sponge flavoured with cardamom and sometimes a little vanilla, baked in a tray and cut into generous squares. It turns up at Eid visits, weddings and family get-togethers, and is just as welcome at breakfast. The crumb should be fine and springy, never dense, which comes from whisking the eggs and sugar for a long time. Knocking the air out when the flour goes in is the mistake that ruins it; fold gently with a large spoon, in three goes, and stop as soon as no dry flour shows. Chef's tip: use eggs at room temperature; cold eggs never whip to the thick, pale ribbon that holds the cake up.

55 min

Somali Baking

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Sugarcane juice

Juice shops all over Cairo and the towns of Upper Egypt crush sugarcane through clattering steel rollers and serve the pale green juice ice-cold for a few pounds a glass, a favourite in the summer heat and after Ramadan fasting. It is sweet, grassy and refreshing, with a faint lemony edge, and it tastes best within minutes of pressing. Without a press, peeled cane chopped small and blended with a little water gives a very close result at home. Chef's tip: peel the cane completely, because the hard green rind makes the juice bitter and dark.

10 min

Egyptian Drinks

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Sabaayad (Somali flaky layered flatbread)

Hargeisa cooks are proud of their sabaayad, a soft, flaky flatbread made by brushing a thin sheet of dough with oil or ghee, rolling it into a coil and flattening it again so it cooks into dozens of buttery layers. It is eaten for breakfast with sugar and shaah, torn into pieces with muqmad or liver, and served at lunch with beef or chicken stews; at Eid and weddings it is made in big stacks. The texture should be tender and pliable with crisp spots, never dry. Rolling the dough straight after kneading is a common mistake: it springs back and tears, so give it at least 20 minutes to relax. Chef's tip: once each bread is cooked, scrunch it between your hands while hot to open up the layers.

60 min

Somali Breads & Parathas

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Kimis (Somali thick pan bread)

Thicker and plainer than sabaayad, kimis is the everyday bread of Hargeisa and the north, cooked in a heavy pan and cut into wedges to soak up maraq, the thin spiced meat or vegetable broths eaten at lunch. The dough is simple flour and water raised with a little baking powder, so it puffs into a soft, bready round about 2 cm thick with a lightly freckled crust. It is also good for breakfast with tea and a spoonful of sugar or honey. This version uses oil, so it is vegan. Cooking over too high a heat is the classic mistake: the outside scorches before the middle is done, so keep the flame medium-low and cover the pan. Chef's tip: knock the bread on its base when you think it is ready; it should sound hollow.

40 min

Somali Breads & Parathas

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Soor (Somali maize porridge with butter and milk)

Herding families in Somaliland and the countryside around Hargeisa have long relied on soor, a thick porridge of maize meal stirred until it holds its shape on a plate. It is shaped into a mound, a well is pressed into the centre and filled with melted butter or ghee, then warm milk and a little sugar are poured round the edge; on other days the well is filled with a meat sauce instead. You eat it with your right hand or a spoon, scooping porridge through the butter. The result is mild, sweet and very filling. Lumps are the usual complaint, and they come from tipping the meal in all at once; mix part of it with cold water first, then rain the rest in while stirring. The usual mistake is adding the maize meal too fast, so it goes lumpy; whisk constantly as you pour. Chef's tip: cover the pan and let the porridge steam for 5 minutes at the end to cook out any raw taste.

30 min

Somali Sides

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Sudanese shata (dried chilli, garlic and lime sauce)

No Sudanese meal is complete without a little dish of shata on the side, and every household and roadside grill from Port Sudan to Nyala has its own version. This one is the classic everyday type: dried red chillies soaked soft and pounded with raw garlic, salt and plenty of lime juice into a loose, brick-red sauce that is fiery, sour and garlicky all at once. A spoonful goes over ful, fried fish, grilled meat, salads and stews. Wear gloves when handling the chillies, and do not rub your eyes. Using the soaking water in place of fresh water is a mistake, as it can taste bitter and dusty; drain it off. Chef's tip: make it a few hours ahead and keep it in the fridge; the heat settles and the garlic mellows.

15 min

Sudanese Chutneys & Dips

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Bitifoor (Sudanese Eid butter biscuits)

During the last days of Ramadan, Khartoum neighbourhoods smell of butter and vanilla as women bake bitifoor, the piped biscuits whose name comes from the French petit four, for the Eid visits that follow. They are piped into rosettes, fingers and swirls, sometimes topped with a piece of glacé cherry or dipped in chocolate, and arranged on platters with ka'ak and sweets for guests. The texture is melt-in-the-mouth, short and delicate. Over-soft butter is the classic mistake, giving biscuits that spread into flat puddles; use butter soft enough to dent, not oily, and chill the piped trays for 15 minutes. Chef's tip: a little cornflour in the flour keeps them extra tender and crisp.

60 min

Sudanese Baking

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Amala (yam flour swallow)

Amala gets its dusky brown colour from elubo, yam that has been peeled, sliced, sun-dried and milled, which gives it a faintly smoky, earthy taste. Ibadan's amala joints serve it from morning to night, soft and steaming, wrapped in leaves or cling film, with ewedu, gbegiri and stew; it is pinched off with the fingers and dipped, never chewed for long. Making it takes five minutes and a strong arm: the flour goes into boiling water and is stirred and turned against the side of the pot until it is perfectly smooth and stretchy. Lumps are the usual mistake, so add the flour off the heat and stir hard from the first second. Chef's tip: use a sturdy wooden spatula (omorogun) and press the dough against the pot rather than just stirring it round; that is what makes it silky.

15 min

Nigerian Basics

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Guddaim (Sudanese grewia berry drink)

Small, round guddaim berries, the fruit of a wild grewia shrub that grows across Kordofan and Darfur, are dried and sold by the cupful in Sudanese markets. Soaked in water and rubbed off their stones, they give a cloudy reddish-brown drink that tastes a little like dates and sour cherries, with a pleasantly sharp finish. It is drunk ice-cold in the heat of the day, at iftar and to welcome guests. Look for dried guddaim in Sudanese or East African shops. If you cannot find it, a mix of 150 g pitted dates and 50 g tamarind pulp soaked the same way gives a similar sweet-sour drink, though not the same. Rubbing too hard and breaking the stones is the usual mistake, as it clouds the drink with grit; rub gently. Chef's tip: soak the berries in cool water overnight in the fridge for the fullest flavour.

20 min

Sudanese Drinks

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Qolqas (taro with chard and coriander)

Coptic Christians across Egypt eat qolqas for the Feast of the Epiphany (Eid el-Ghitas) in January, together with sugarcane and oranges, and it is a winter favourite in Muslim homes too. Peeled taro is cut into cubes and simmered in chicken or beef stock until soft and almost creamy, then a green paste of chard, fresh coriander and garlic fried in oil is stirred through, turning the broth a deep, herby green. The texture is soft and slightly velvety from the taro's natural starch, and the flavour fresh and garlicky. It is served with white rice and often with the meat from the stock. Raw taro irritates the skin and mouth, so wear gloves to peel it and always cook it until completely tender. The usual mistake is touching peeled taro with bare hands or eating it undercooked; both bring an itchy, scratchy feel. Chef's tip: rub the cut cubes with lemon juice before cooking to keep them pale and reduce their sliminess.

75 min

Egyptian Curries

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Madeeda (Sudanese warm millet and milk drink)

Thick enough to sip slowly from a glass but thinner than porridge, madeeda is a warming drink from northern Sudan made by cooking flour, often pearl millet, in milk and sweetening it with sugar or dates. Families make it on cool winter mornings, for anyone feeling under the weather and for new mothers, and it is a gentle way to break the fast in Ramadan. This version uses millet flour with cardamom and a little cinnamon, so it is smooth, nutty and lightly spiced. Lumps are the usual problem: whisk the flour into cold milk before it goes onto the heat. A frequent slip is not stirring enough, so the millet catches and the milk scorches. Chef's tip: for a date version, blitz 6 soft pitted dates with the milk and halve the sugar.

20 min

Sudanese Drinks

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Hilu-mur (Sudanese spiced sorghum Ramadan drink)

Weeks before Ramadan, households across Sudan fill with the smell of hilu-mur, literally 'sweet-bitter', as sorghum is sprouted, dried, ground and mixed with flour, dates and a heady spice blend, left to sour for a day, then spread paper-thin on a hot griddle into brittle reddish-brown flakes. Each evening during the month a handful is soaked in water, strained and sweetened, giving the dark, tangy, clove-and-ginger-scented drink that breaks the fast. The souring is short, like a sourdough, and the flakes are cooked dry; the drink is non-alcoholic and served to the whole family. The full process takes about 5 days: 3 days to sprout, 1 to dry and a night to sour, so only active and cooking time are in the totals. Many people buy ready-made flakes from Sudanese shops. Discard any grain that smells musty or shows mould while sprouting. The usual mistake is pouring the batter too thick on the griddle; the flakes should be paper-thin to dry crisp. Chef's tip: spread the batter as thinly as you can; thick flakes stay chewy and go mouldy in storage.

210 min

Sudanese Drinks

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Abreh (Sudanese white sorghum flake drink)

Where hilu-mur is dark and spiced, abreh abyad, white abreh, is its pale, gentle partner: a batter of white sorghum flour is left to sour lightly, then baked into thin cream-coloured flakes that are soaked in cold, sweetened water and served at iftar across northern Sudan. The drink is cloudy, refreshing and faintly tangy, a good way to rehydrate after a long day of fasting; some families add a splash of lime or a little cardamom. The overnight souring takes 12–18 hours and is not counted in the totals; it is non-alcoholic, and the flakes are dried hard on the griddle. Spreading the batter too thickly is the classic mistake, so work fast and thin. Chef's tip: make a big batch in one session; the dry flakes keep for months in a tin, so a jug of abreh is only an hour away.

110 min

Sudanese Drinks

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Egyptian mixed pickles

Every koshari shop, ful cart and shawarma stall in Cairo puts a little dish of mekhalel on the counter, and Egyptians at home keep a jar going all year. Turnip batons are the star, dyed bright pink by a single slice of beetroot, with carrot, cucumber, chilli and lemon packed in alongside for crunch, heat and a bitter citrus edge. This quick fridge version is ready to eat in about 5 days and keeps for a month, cold. A common mistake is using iodised table salt, which clouds the brine and can soften the vegetables, so buy plain non-iodised salt. Chef's tip: cut the lemon into quarters but leave them joined at the base, so they flavour the brine without turning the whole jar bitter.

30 min

Egyptian Chutneys & Dips

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Sudanese shorba (lamb and peanut Ramadan soup)

Every evening during Ramadan, Khartoum tables are set with dates, juices and a big pot of shorba, a lamb broth full of carrots, potato and onion made creamy with peanut butter and sharpened with lime. It is the first thing many families eat after the dates, warm and gentle on an empty stomach, and it is made in quantity to share with neighbours. The soup is savoury, nutty and lightly spiced, thick enough to coat a spoon. Adding peanut butter straight into the pot is a mistake, as it clumps; whisk it smooth with hot broth first. Chef's tip: skim the broth carefully in the first 10 minutes for a clean taste, and finish with lime just before serving.

90 min

Sudanese Soups

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Fondue chinoise

Despite its name, fondue chinoise is a fixture of the Swiss Christmas and New Year table: a pot of simmering broth set on a burner in the middle of the table, into which everyone dips paper-thin slices of beef on long forks, cooks them for a few seconds and eats them with a spread of sauces, rice or potato chips, pickles and salads. It came to Switzerland via travellers to Asia in the 20th century. The broth is often made with white wine; this one uses stock only. A common mistake is slicing the meat thick, which takes too long and tightens. Chef's tip: half-freeze the beef for an hour so it slices paper-thin. Cook each slice until no longer pink, then eat; never use the same fork for raw and cooked meat.

45 min

Swiss Meat

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Egyptian stuffed pickled aubergines

Pickle shops in old Cairo stack jars of these small dark aubergines next to the turnips and lemons, and at home they are sliced beside ful, falafel or a plate of koshari. Each one is boiled until just tender, split down one side and packed with a sharp, hot stuffing of garlic, chilli and green pepper, then left in vinegar for several days until it turns silky and tangy. Only about 40 minutes of the work is active; the jar then needs 5 days in the fridge. Keep the pickle refrigerated and eat it within 3 weeks. The usual mistake is undercooking the aubergines before stuffing, so they stay spongy and never absorb the brine. Chef's tip: press the boiled aubergines under a weighted plate before stuffing, so they hold the vinegar rather than their own bitter water.

40 min

Egyptian Chutneys & Dips

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