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Sayur lodeh

Sayur lodeh is everyday cooking in Central Java, made in big pots in Solo and Semarang kitchens and ladled over rice, with lontong rice cakes at Lebaran, or alongside opor and sambal goreng on festive tables. It's soupy rather than thick: a fragrant broth of coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf that carries chunks of aubergine, long beans, chayote and sweetcorn, plus tempeh and tofu to make it a meal. The flavour is mellow and slightly sweet, so the heat comes from sambal on the side. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a gentle simmer once the coconut milk goes in and stir now and then — a rolling boil splits the coconut milk into oily curds.

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Chakki ki shaak

This Malwa dish from around Indore and Ujjain is a lesson in thrift: wheat dough is washed under water until only its stretchy gluten remains, then steamed into a firm block and cut into rounds that look like little grinding stones, or chakki. Fried and simmered in a spiced yogurt gravy, the pieces turn chewy and meaty, soaking up flavour like a sponge. It is a Sunday or special-occasion sabzi in Marwari and Malwi homes, eaten with hot rotis or bafla. It takes time, but most of it is hands-off resting and washing. Chef's tip: whisk the yogurt with the coriander powder and add it off the heat, then bring it back slowly, so the gravy stays smooth instead of curdling.

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Mine frite

Mine frite (fried noodles) arrived with the Hakka Chinese community of Port Louis and is now everyone's favourite, sold from food vans and stalls all over Mauritius and made at home for weekend lunches. Egg noodles are tossed in a very hot wok with garlic, cabbage, carrot, spring onion and soy sauce, then topped with an omelette in strips. It is usually eaten with a spoon of chilli paste and a pickled chilli. Chef's tip: dry the noodles well after boiling; wet noodles steam instead of frying and clump.

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Indori shikanji

Anyone who orders shikanji in Indore expecting lemonade gets a surprise: here it is a spoonably thick drink of slow-reduced milk, saffron and cardamom, with a gentle tang from thick yogurt and plenty of chopped dry fruit. It is a late-night treat at Sarafa and Chhappan Dukan, poured from steel jugs into glasses after a round of savoury snacks. Think of it as somewhere between a lassi and a cold rabri. Chef's tip: the milk must be completely cold before the yogurt goes in, or the drink splits into grainy curds.

45 min

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Garadu chaat

When the nights turn cold in Indore, the stalls of Sarafa Bazaar pile their woks with garadu, a starchy, slightly sticky yam that only appears from November to February. It is boiled, fried until the edges crunch, then shaken with a punchy masala of roasted cumin, black salt and chilli and finished with lime. People eat it standing up from a leaf bowl, often as the savoury stop between jalebi and rabri. Garadu can be hard to find outside Madhya Pradesh; purple yam or white yam from an Asian or African grocer is the closest match, and taro (arbi) works in a pinch. Chef's tip: boil the cubes only until a knife meets slight resistance, then let them steam dry completely, because wet yam spits in the oil and never crisps.

45 min

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Ajvar

Every September the smell of charring peppers drifts over courtyards from Leskovac in southern Serbia to Strumica in North Macedonia, as families roast crates of long red babura peppers on wood stoves and spend a whole Sunday stirring the pulp into ajvar for the winter shelves. A little roasted aubergine softens the flavour, and long cooking with sunflower oil turns it into a glossy, sweet-smoky spread that is eaten on bread with white cheese, beside beans or potatoes, and with almost every winter meal. This is a home-sized batch for two medium jars rather than a cellar full. Chef's tip: do not rinse the roasted peppers under the tap to get the skins off; it washes away the smoky juices that make ajvar taste of autumn, so peel them with oiled fingers and a paper towel instead.

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Kane rava fry

In the seafood canteens of Mangalore and along the Udupi coast, kane, a slim, sweet ladyfish, is the fried fish everyone orders with a fish thali. It is slashed, packed with a red masala of Byadgi chilli, garlic and tamarind, then pressed into coarse semolina and shallow-fried in coconut oil until the crust crackles. Unlike Mumbai's soft bombil, kane is firm, so it holds its shape and is eaten off the bone. Chef's tip: leave the fish alone for the first 3 minutes in the pan; the crust sets and then releases on its own.

30 min

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Vegetable vindaye

Vindaye is a Mauritian dish descended from the vindaloo and vinha d'alhos traditions but entirely its own: fried ingredients coated in a bright yellow paste of mustard seed, turmeric, garlic, ginger and vinegar, with lots of raw-crisp onion. Fish and octopus vindaye are the classics, served at room temperature with rice, faratas or bread; aubergine and potato vindaye is a well-loved vegetarian version for Hindu fasting days and buffets. Chef's tip: grind the mustard seeds fresh; ready-ground mustard gives a flat, dusty taste.

50 min

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Bikaneri bhujia

Bikaner in the Thar desert has made bhujia for well over a century, and the city's version stands apart for its use of moth-bean flour mixed with gram flour. Moth beans, hardy little desert pulses, give the sev an earthy flavour and a brittle, short crunch, while black pepper, black cardamom and a touch of clove add a peppery warmth. Families keep a tin of bhujia for tea time, sprinkle it over poha and chaat, and take boxes home after Diwali visits. A common mistake is making the dough too stiff; it is hard to press and the strands snap. Chef's tip: the dough should feel softer than chapati dough—so soft that a fingertip leaves a smooth dent. Use a sev press with the finest plate.

45 min

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Gâteaux piments

Gâteaux piments ('chilli cakes') are the snack of Mauritius, sold hot in paper bags at every bus station, school gate and market from Port Louis to Rose-Hill, and stuffed into buttered baguettes at breakfast. Yellow split peas are soaked, ground coarse with chilli, spring onion and coriander, and fried into small crunchy rounds. They are related to Indian vadas, brought by the island's Indian community. Chef's tip: grind the peas coarsely and without water; a smooth, wet paste makes dense, oily fritters.

40 min

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Majjiga pulusu

Majjiga pulusu is the cooling yogurt curry of Andhra Pradesh, cooked in summer when the buttermilk at home turns a little sour. Unlike Gujarati kadhi, it isn't thickened with gram flour: soaked chana dal is ground with coconut, ginger, green chillies and cumin, stirred into the curd, and simmered gently with soft pieces of ash gourd (or okra, or chayote). It's mild, tangy and creamy, and eaten mixed into rice with a fried vegetable or fritter on the side, especially at Telugu wedding meals. Chef's tip: whisk the yogurt until completely smooth before it goes near the heat; lumpy yogurt splits much more easily.

30 min

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Tebasaki (Nagoya fried chicken wings)

In Nagoya's izakaya, chicken wings come whole, with the mid-joint and tip still joined in a V, and they arrive in piles beside cold drinks. Tebasaki are fried without batter until the skin turns crisp and thin, then brushed with a sweet soy glaze and dusted heavily with pepper and sesame. The spice is the point: they should taste peppery, salty and sticky at once. Eat them with your hands, twisting the two bones apart to pull the meat off. Chef's tip: brush on the glaze the moment the wings leave the oil; hot, crisp skin soaks it up and stays crunchy, while cooled wings just turn sticky.

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Mawa bati

Ask a halwai in Ujjain, Indore or Ratlam for something festive and they will point to mawa bati: a fist-sized cousin of gulab jamun, made richer with more khoya, fried slowly to a near-mahogany shell and stuffed with nuts, saffron and cardamom. It turns up on wedding menus across Malwa and in sweet-shop boxes at Diwali, usually served warm with a spoonful of its own syrup. Cutting one open to find the green-gold filling is half the pleasure. Chef's tip: fry on a really gentle heat, with the oil barely shimmering; the bati should take a full 12–15 minutes to darken, which is how the middle cooks through.

70 min

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Rougaille

Rougaille is the Creole tomato sauce at the heart of Mauritian home cooking, made in every kitchen from Port Louis to Mahébourg and also in the Seychelles and Réunion. Tomatoes are cooked down with onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and chilli until thick, and then something is simmered in it: sausages, salted fish, or, in many homes on a weeknight, hard-boiled eggs. Serve with rice, lentils (dholl) and chatini. Chef's tip: cook the tomatoes until the oil separates at the edges; watery rougaille tastes thin.

35 min

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Jaipuri malpua

Jaipur's old-city sweet shops fry malpua in wide pans of ghee from winter through Holi and Teej, and serve them stacked in a bowl with thick rabri. The batter is made with milk, a little khoya and crushed fennel, so each pancake turns soft and spongy in the middle with crisp, lacy brown edges, then soaks up a saffron-cardamom syrup. Some families also make them as an offering on Holi morning. The usual mistake is skipping the rest: unrested batter spreads unevenly and stays flat and chewy. Chef's tip: pour the batter into the centre of the pan from close above so it spreads by itself; this is how the lacy edges form.

70 min

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Jodhpuri kabuli

Jodhpuri kabuli is a celebration rice from Marwar that has nothing to do with chickpeas; the name refers to its rich, layered style. Rice is stacked with vegetables simmered in spiced yogurt and milk, crisp fried bread cubes, cashews, raisins and saffron, then steamed under a lid so the bread absorbs the juices while the top stays crunchy. Jodhpur families cook it for weddings and festive lunches, and it is eaten on its own with raita or kadhi. A common mistake is layering the bread at the bottom, where it becomes soggy; it belongs in the middle and on top. Chef's tip: cook the rice only until it still has a firm bite, because it will finish cooking during the dum.

75 min

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Wagyu steak, Kobe style

Kobe's steakhouses cook beef on a hot iron plate in front of the diners, cut it into bite-size pieces and serve it with little more than salt, wasabi and golden garlic chips. Genuine Kobe beef is a protected name: it can only come from certified Tajima cattle born and raised in Hyogo prefecture that meet strict grading rules, and it is rare and costly outside Japan. This recipe is cooked in the same style, with any good wagyu, or a well-marbled sirloin or ribeye if you cannot get wagyu. Because the fat is so rich, a modest portion goes a long way. Chef's tip: cut a small piece of fat from the edge of the steak and melt it in the pan instead of oil; it greases the pan and adds a lovely beefy aroma.

20 min

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Cochinita pibil

The Maya of the Yucatán peninsula cooked pork in a pib, a pit lined with hot stones, and in Mérida cochinita pibil is still sold at dawn from market stalls, piled into tacos and tortas for breakfast. Pork shoulder sits overnight in a brick-red paste of achiote and sour orange juice, then roasts slowly wrapped in banana leaves until it pulls apart, soaking in its own tangy juices. It goes into warm tortillas with bright pink pickled onions and, for the brave, a habanero salsa. Chef's tip: if you can't find bitter Seville oranges, mix sweet orange juice with lime juice; the sourness is what tenderises and balances the pork.

270 min

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Ranon'apango

Ranon'apango is the everyday drink of Madagascar: after rice is cooked, the crust at the bottom of the pot is left to toast until golden, then water is boiled with it to make a pale amber, nutty, slightly smoky drink. It is served warm or cold in jugs alongside meals in homes and hotelys, and is a safe way to drink boiled water. Chef's tip: toast the crust until golden-brown, not black; burnt rice makes the drink bitter.

30 min

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