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Pastel de Chaves
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Pastel de Chaves

Minced veal puff pastry pies

In the spa town of Chaves near the Spanish border, these crescent-shaped pasties are sold warm from bakeries all day and eaten for breakfast, lunch or with a coffee on the old Roman bridge. Many crisp, buttery layers enclose a savoury filling of minced veal. Chaves bakers use their own protected dough; at home, good all-butter puff pastry gets very close. A common mistake is a warm filling; it melts the butter in the pastry, so cool the meat completely before shaping. Chef's tip: cook the filling and let it cool completely before filling, or it melts the butter in the pastry and the layers will not rise.

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Jamaican roast fishFoil-roasted stuffed fish

On the beach at Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth, fishermen's cookshops wrap whole snapper or parrotfish in foil with okra, callaloo, onion and scotch bonnet and set them straight on the coals, opening the parcel at the table in a cloud of steam. The stuffing cooks down in the fish's own juices with a knob of butter, and it is eaten with roast yam or bammy. The common mistake is wrapping the foil loosely, so the juices leak and the fish dries out; seal it tightly. Chef's tip: lay a few lime slices under the fish to stop it sticking to the foil and lift the flavour.

45 minJamaicanFishGluten freeSpicy
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Jamaican grater cakeCoconut sugar squares

Grater cake is the pink-topped coconut sweet sold in glass cases by higglers at Jamaican bus parks and on school gates, named for the hand grater that shreds the coconut. It is chewy and very sweet, with the fresh, milky taste of coconut and a breath of ginger, and the classic look is a white layer under a pink one. The mistake most people make is taking the pan off too soon: undercooked syrup never sets and the squares slump. Chef's tip: test a little on a cold saucer; if it holds a soft ball when pushed together after a minute, it is ready.

40 minJamaicanDessertsVeganGluten free
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Jamaican hard dough breadDense sweet sandwich loaf

Chinese-Jamaican bakers gave the island hard dough bread, and today a sliced "hardo" loaf is in every shop from Montego Bay to Morant Bay, toasted with butter for breakfast, wrapped around fried fish or dipped in soup. The crumb is close, smooth and faintly sweet, firm enough to hold its own against ackee or bun and cheese. The usual mistake is making the dough too soft; it should be stiff and need hard kneading, which is where the name comes from. Allow around 2 hours for rising on top of the working time. Chef's tip: roll the dough into a tight Swiss roll before it goes into the tin, which gives the even, layered crumb that peels off in sheets.

70 minJamaicanBreads & Parathas
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Chek k'tisBanana and tapioca in coconut milk

Ask for something sweet at a Phnom Penh dessert cart on a rainy-season afternoon and you may be handed a warm cup of chek k'tis: chunks of small, tart-sweet bananas bobbing in coconut milk with clear, chewy tapioca pearls. The coconut milk is sweetened with palm sugar and seasoned with a good pinch of salt, which makes it taste rich rather than cloying, and a knot of pandan gives it a grassy vanilla scent. It is also cooked at home as an offering-day treat and eaten warm or at room temperature. The usual error is using very ripe, spotty bananas, which melt into grey sludge; firm, just-yellow fruit holds its shape and blushes pink as it cooks. Chef's tip: let the coconut milk only shiver, never boil hard, or it splits and turns oily.

30 minCambodianDessertsVeganGluten free
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Jamaican fried dumplingsFried flour dumplings

A Jamaican Sunday breakfast plate nearly always has fried dumplings on it, golden rounds with a crisp shell and a soft, slightly chewy centre, served beside ackee and saltfish, callaloo, or simply split with butter and a cup of cocoa tea. Many families still call them johnny cakes. The dough is just flour, a little baking powder, salt and water, and the mistake people make is overworking it, which gives tough, heavy dumplings; knead only until smooth. Fry them over medium heat, not high, so the middle cooks before the outside browns. Chef's tip: press a thumb into the centre of each ball before frying, which helps it cook evenly and stops it puffing into a hollow ball.

30 minJamaicanBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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Jamaican hard foodBoiled banana, yam and dumplings

From Kingston cookshops to farm kitchens in the hills, "hard food" is the plain boiled base that sits under ackee, callaloo, stew peas or a fried egg: green bananas, a wedge of yellow yam, dasheen and chewy flour dumplings, all from one big pot. Each piece keeps its own character, from the banana's firm, faintly tangy bite to the yam's floury softness, so nothing is mashed. The usual mistake is dropping everything in at once; the roots cook at different speeds, so they go in stages. Peel green bananas with oiled hands or gloves, as the sap stains. Chef's tip: if the bananas fight you, boil them in their scored skins for 2 minutes first and the peel slips straight off.

45 minJamaicanSidesVegan
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Jamaican rundownMackerel in coconut milk

Rundown, "run dung" in patois, is an old coastal dish from Portland and the north coast, where coconut palms and fishing boats share the beach: coconut milk is boiled until it "runs down" into thick, oily custard, and fish is gently cooked in it with tomato, onion, thyme and scotch bonnet. Salted mackerel is traditional, though fresh mackerel works beautifully and needs no soaking. People often stir the fish around once it is in, which breaks it to shreds; let it poach undisturbed. Chef's tip: keep boiling the coconut milk until you see clear oil pooling on top; that is when the sauce becomes rich and custardy. Serve with boiled green bananas, dumplings or breadfruit.

55 minJamaicanFishGluten freeSpicy
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Jeow hetGrilled mushroom dip

Monsoon jeow, this one: once the rains bring mushrooms to every Lao market from July onwards, cooks grill a basket of them over charcoal and pound them with roasted chilli and garlic for a meaty, smoky dip that disappears with sticky rice at dinner. The texture is shaggy rather than smooth, juicy shreds of mushroom held together by a hot, garlicky paste, with fresh herbs stirred through at the end. It is just as good with steamed greens, cucumber and long beans, or spooned over grilled tofu. Oyster and king oyster mushrooms are the closest match to the wild ones. Many people blitz or pound it to a paste and lose the chew, and that's the thing to avoid. Chef's tip: tear the grilled mushrooms into strips by hand before they go into the mortar, then pound only to bruise them.

25 minLaoChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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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 minJamaicanBakingVegan
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Jamaican coco breadCoconut milk bread rolls

Every patty shop in Kingston keeps a stack of coco bread by the till, because the classic lunch is a hot beef or vegetable patty tucked inside one of these soft, buttery folds. The rolls are rich with coconut milk and brushed with melted butter before folding, so they pull apart into two neat halves after baking. The common mistake is baking them too long; they should be pale golden and pillowy, not crusty. Allow about 1 hour 30 minutes of rising on top of the working time. Chef's tip: brush the tops with more butter the moment they leave the oven and cover them with a cloth, which keeps the crust soft.

48 minJamaicanBreads & Parathas
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Jamaican coconut dropsGinger coconut clusters

Coconut drops are the lumpy brown clusters sold beside grater cake at Jamaican roadside stalls and markets from Ocho Rios to Mandeville, made with coconut cut into small dice rather than grated, so every bite is chewy. Brown sugar and fresh ginger boil down around the coconut into a sticky, toffee-like glaze. The most common mistake is stopping before the syrup is thick enough, which leaves the drops wet and runny; it must coat the spoon heavily. Chef's tip: dice the coconut very small and even, about 5 mm, so the drops hold together.

45 minJamaicanDessertsVeganGluten free
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Sauce gouagouassouAubergine and smoked fish sauce

Bété country around Gagnoa and Daloa in western Côte d'Ivoire is known for sauces with plenty of chilli, and gouagouassou is one of the most loved: tomatoes, garden eggs and hot peppers boiled whole, then crushed by hand in a mortar and simmered with smoked fish. There is little or no oil, so the sauce tastes fresh, smoky and bright, with real heat and a rough, rustic texture. Spoon it over white rice or eat it with foutou at a weekday lunch. Use fewer chillies if you prefer, but keep at least one for the character. Chef's tip: soak the smoked fish in hot water for ten minutes first; it softens, rinses off ash and grit, and gives its flavour to the sauce more quickly.

60 minIvorianFishGluten freeSpicy
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Sauce djoumgbléDried okra sauce with smoked fish

Baoulé cooks in central Côte d'Ivoire dry okra in the sun during the harvest, then grind it into the dark green powder that makes sauce djoumgblé. Stirred into a beef and tomato stew with flaked smoked fish, it thickens the pot into a deep brown, slippery sauce with an earthy, smoky flavour quite different from fresh okra soup. It is the classic partner for foutou banane or placali in Bouaké and in Abidjan's maquis, where each mouthful of starch is pulled through the sauce. Look for the powder as dried or ground okra in African grocers. Chef's tip: whisk the okra powder into cold water before it goes into the pot; scattered straight into hot sauce, it forms lumps that never break down.

95 minIvorianFishGluten free
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PlacaliSoured cassava swallow

Abidjan's maquis serve placali in shining grey mounds next to bowls of sauce kopé, the okra sauce that slides off the spoon, and many Ivorians from the lagoon and southern forest regions eat it several times a week. It is made from soured cassava dough dissolved in water, strained and cooked while beaten hard until it becomes a translucent, sticky, stretchy paste. The taste is mildly sour and the texture smooth and elastic, meant to be swallowed rather than chewed. Pair it with okra, palm-nut or leaf sauces. Don't stop stirring once the dough thickens, or raw lumps hide in the swallow. Chef's tip: wet your hands and the serving bowl before shaping, otherwise placali clings to everything it touches.

35 minIvorianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Jaffna curry powderRoasted chilli curry powder

Jaffna families once made their year's supply of curry powder in one go, drying the spices on mats in the hard northern sun before carrying them to the local mill, and many Tamil households abroad still have a jar sent from home. It is far hotter and redder than the dark roasted curry powder of the Sinhala south, built on a big weight of dried red chillies with coriander, cumin, fennel, black pepper and a little fenugreek, plus crisp curry leaves and turmeric. This is what gives Jaffna crab curry, aubergine kulambu and odiyal kool their brick-red colour and their kick. Grinding the spices while they are still warm is the common error; the steam makes the powder clump and spoil quickly, so let everything cool on a plate first. Chef's tip: roast each spice separately, because the chillies and coriander need several minutes but fenugreek burns and goes bitter in under one.

30 minSri LankanBasicsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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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 minJamaicanBaking
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Itek timDuck and salted mustard greens soup

Sour, salty and cleansing, itek tim is the soup a Nyonya kitchen in Katong or Joo Chiat puts on the table to cut through the rich curries and sambals of a Chinese New Year reunion dinner, and it is often made in a big pot that lasts for days. Jointed duck simmers slowly with salted mustard greens, tomatoes, salted sour plums and a little dried tamarind until the meat is tender and the broth turns golden, tangy and deeply savoury. It is served with rice and sambal belacan, and many families say it is even better on day two. Not soaking the salted mustard greens is the classic trap; they can make the soup far too salty, so soak and taste a piece first. Chef's tip: chill the soup overnight and lift off the duck fat in one sheet before reheating, which gives a clear, clean broth.

130 minSingaporeanSoupsGluten free
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ManeštraBean, corn and potato soup

Farm kitchens across Istria, in north-west Croatia, keep a pot of maneštra on the stove through the cold months, a soup so thick a spoon nearly stands in it. Beans, sweetcorn and potatoes are its heart; in the villages it is usually cooked with smoked pork ribs or bacon, but this version is meat-free, with smoked paprika and a garlicky parsley and olive oil paste (an olive oil twist on the traditional pešt) to give it depth. Expect a sweet, earthy, creamy soup with soft corn kernels and herby green flecks; eat it with crusty bread and a drizzle of Istrian olive oil. The beans must soak overnight before you begin. A common mistake is serving it thin and brothy, so mash some of the potato against the side of the pot near the end. Chef's tip: maneštra is better the next day; loosen it with a little hot water when you reheat.

120 minBalkanSoupsVegan
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AkpessiPlantain and yam pottage

Around Bouaké and Yamoussoukro, akpessi is what Baoulé families cook when they want a filling one-pot meal with little fuss: chunks of green plantain and yam simmered right in a red palm oil and tomato sauce until tender. A few pieces are crushed into the liquid at the end, so the sauce turns thick and clings to everything. It is often made with smoked fish; this version keeps it meat-free, with soft garden eggs folded through for body. Expect an earthy, gently starchy dish with heat from the pepper, good with sliced avocado on the side. The usual mistake is stirring too much, which turns the whole pot to mush instead of leaving soft chunks. Chef's tip: oil your hands before peeling green plantains; the sticky sap washes off far more easily.

50 minIvorianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Isso curryPrawn coconut curry

Fishing boats come into Mirissa, Weligama and the harbour below Galle Fort every morning, and southern cooks turn their prawns into a curry that is quick, hot and gently sour. Goraka, the dried fruit of a garcinia tree, is soaked and ground into the gravy, and it gives a fruity tang that suits seafood far better than lime. Thin coconut milk carries the spices first, then a splash of thick milk at the end makes the sauce silky and pale orange, and the prawns go in only for the last few minutes. It is served with steamed white rice, a beetroot or snake-gourd curry and a crunchy sambol. Beginners tend to add the prawns too early and let them stew, which leaves them tough and shrunken. Chef's tip: leave the tails on and cook the prawns just until they curl into a loose C; a tight O means overdone.

35 minSri LankanFishGluten freeSpicy
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AttoukpouSteamed fermented cassava balls

Along the lagoons east and west of Abidjan, Ebrié and Attié cooks turn soured cassava dough into attoukpou, a soft steamed paste that is gentler and less stretchy than placali. The crumbled dough is steamed until it turns translucent, then pounded with a little hot water into smooth, pillowy balls with a light sourness. It is served at home and at village gatherings with palm-nut sauce, a light pepper soup or aubergine sauce, and it soaks up gravy beautifully. Ready-made fermented cassava dough from an African grocer saves days of work. Avoid packing the dough tightly into the steamer; it needs space for the steam to move through. Chef's tip: crumble the dough very finely before steaming; big lumps stay chalky in the middle however long they cook.

55 minIvorianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Dominican chenchénCracked corn pilaf

In the south-west of the Dominican Republic, around Barahona and San Juan de la Maguana, chenchén is what goes under the Sunday chivo guisado instead of rice. Cracked dried corn is cooked with coconut milk, onion, garlic, a stick of cinnamon and a little butter until the grains swell and turn fluffy and tender with a gentle sweetness. Here it is served as a side for vegetarian stews or with beans. The common mistake is stirring it constantly like polenta; it should be left covered to steam so the grains stay separate. Chef's tip: toast the cracked corn in the butter for a couple of minutes before adding liquid for a nuttier flavour.

50 minPuerto RicanRice & GrainsGluten free
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Iskus ko tarkariChayote and potato curry

Every hillside garden in the eastern hills, from Dharan up to Bhojpur, has an iskus vine rambling over the roof or a bamboo frame, and from late summer the pale green chayotes hang down by the dozen, so this simple dry curry appears on the table almost every day. The chayote is peeled, cut into chunks with a little potato and cooked in mustard oil with fenugreek, cumin, garlic, turmeric and green chilli until tender but still holding a crisp edge, with a splash of tomato for colour. It is mild, juicy and slightly sweet, the everyday tarkari beside dal, rice and a sharp achar, and it packs well into a tiffin box. The usual mistake is adding water, which turns the chayote watery and bland, as it releases plenty of its own juice. Chef's tip: oil your hands before peeling, because raw chayote leaves a sticky, tight film on the skin.

30 minNepaliVegetarianVeganGluten free
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KabatoCornmeal swallow with lemon

From Korhogo and Odienné down to Bouaké, households in northern and central Côte d'Ivoire eat kabato almost daily: a swallow of maize meal cooked with a squeeze of lemon. The acid gives the paste a faint tang and a firmer, cleaner bite than plain cornmeal. It is eaten warm with okra sauce, groundnut sauce or a sauce of pounded leaves, pinched off by hand and dragged through the bowl. A common slip is adding the cornmeal too fast, which makes lumps; rain it in while stirring. Chef's tip: whisk the lemony cornmeal slurry into the boiling water before adding the rest of the meal; starting with a thin porridge is what keeps kabato lump-free.

30 minIvorianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Jamaican fish teaPeppery fish broth

Fish tea is what Jamaicans along the coast from Kingston to Old Harbour sip from a cup when they feel run down, and it is ladled out at beach fish shacks and dances to steady late-night appetites. It is a thin, peppery broth made from fish heads and bones or cheap small fish, with green banana, pumpkin, thyme and a hint of scotch bonnet, light but full of flavour. The mistake to avoid is boiling it hard for a long time, which makes it cloudy and bitter; simmer gently and strain. Chef's tip: mash a few pieces of the soft pumpkin into the broth for body without any flour.

60 minJamaicanSoupsGluten freeSpicy
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Jeow mak keuaSmoky aubergine dip

Long purple aubergines laid straight on the embers turn into one of the softest dips on a Lao dinner tray, eaten up and down the country in the hot season when aubergines are cheap and plentiful. The skins blacken and the flesh collapses into a smoky, silky pulp, which is pounded loosely with charred garlic, shallot and green chilli until it is spoonable but still a little stringy. Pinch a ball of sticky rice, press a hollow in it and scoop up the jeow, or dip in cucumber, long beans and cabbage. Families often add fish sauce; here it is seasoned with salt and a little tamari so it suits vegetarians. Rinsing the charred aubergine under the tap is a mistake, as it washes away the very smoke you worked for. Chef's tip: peel with damp fingertips and leave a few flecks of black skin in the dip.

30 minLaoChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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ÎnvârtităRolled sweet cheese pastry

Sunday visits in the villages around Iași and Suceava rarely happen without a tray of învârtită, the coiled pastry whose name simply means 'twisted'. A soft dough is pulled over a floured tablecloth until it is as fine as paper, brushed with butter, covered in sweet cottage cheese with raisins and lemon zest, rolled up and wound into a snail before baking. Fresh from the oven it is crackly at the edges and moist in the middle; it is cut into wedges and eaten with coffee or a glass of milk. Families also fill it with sour cherries in June or grated pumpkin in autumn. Cottage cheese is usually made without animal rennet, but check the label if you keep strictly vegetarian. Lots of bakers stretch the dough too soon after mixing, and it tears into holes; give it the full rest. Chef's tip: drain the cottage cheese in a sieve for 20 minutes first, so the filling stays creamy and does not run out of the seams.

120 minRomanianBaking
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Inlagd sillPickled herring

No Swedish midsummer, Easter or Christmas table is without inlagd sill: salt herring fillets soaked to remove the salt, then pickled for at least two days in a sweet, clear brine of vinegar, sugar, onion, carrot, allspice and bay. It is eaten with new potatoes, sour cream, chives and crispbread, and a mustard sauce variant (senapssill) sits beside it. Herring that is pickled, not cooked, is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Use salt herring that has been frozen, as commercial salt herring is. A common mistake is skipping the soak, which makes the herring far too salty. Chef's tip: taste a corner after soaking; it should be pleasantly salty, like an olive.

35 minScandinavianFishGluten free
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IrimshikDried sweet cottage cheese

Irimshik is the sweet, caramel-coloured dried curd that Kazakh herding families make in summer on the jailau pastures: milk is soured with a little starter, heated until it splits, and the curds are cooked slowly in their own whey until they turn golden and fudgy, then dried in the sun. It is nibbled with tea in winter, from Almaty flats to steppe villages. This version needs no rennet, so it is vegetarian. A common mistake is draining the curd too soon; the long cook in the whey is what browns and sweetens it. Chef's tip: stir more often as the whey reduces, because the curd catches easily at the end.

180 minKazakhBasicsGluten free
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ChäschüechliCheese tartlets

Chäschüechli are the small, warm cheese tartlets of central Switzerland, sold in bakeries in Lucerne and Zug and eaten as a quick lunch with a salad or as a snack at a Fasnacht carnival stand: a crisp shortcrust case filled with a savoury custard of grated mountain cheese, cream, egg and a pinch of nutmeg, baked until puffed and golden. A common mistake is filling the cases to the brim; the custard puffs and spills over. Chef's tip: bake them on the lowest shelf so the bases crisp before the filling sets. Gruyère and Appenzeller are made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Swiss-style cheese.

55 minSwissSnacks & Starters
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IngriyiAubergine meat patty bake

Ingriyi is a Baghdadi-Jewish Shabbat dish that Iraqi families in Ramat Gan and Kiryat Gat make when aubergines are cheap in late summer: slices of fried aubergine and thin spiced beef patties are layered in a dish and baked in a sauce of tomato and tamarind until everything turns soft and glossy. The tamarind gives a dark sweet-sour tang that sets it apart from Levantine aubergine bakes. Serve it with white rice and a sharp salad. A common slip is frying the aubergine in too little oil at too low a heat, so it soaks up grease and stays grey; use hot oil and drain well. Chef's tip: salting the slices for 30 minutes makes them fry faster and drink less oil.

90 minIsraeliMeatGluten free
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Ilish dim bhunaFried hilsa roe

Early in the hilsa season the female fish carry a pair of large, golden roe sacs, and in Barisal kitchens nobody would dream of wasting them. Ilish dim bhuna is the quick and greedy way to cook them: the roe is fried with lots of onion, turmeric and green chilli until it breaks into soft, rich, slightly grainy crumbs, a little like a savoury fish scramble. It is eaten as a side dish with plain rice and dal, often on the same day the fish itself is cooked in mustard. Roe spoils quickly, so buy it bright and fresh-smelling with the fish and cook it the same day. Many cooks stir the roe too early and too hard, turning it into paste; let it set first. Chef's tip: steam the roe sacs for 3 minutes before frying, so they firm up and break into neat crumbs.

25 minBangladeshiFishGluten free
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Ilish polaoHilsa fish rice

Monsoon is hilsa season: as the fish run up the Meghna and the boats come back heavy into Chandpur ghat and the Barisal river markets, the richest cooks make ilish polao, a fragrant rice cooked in the oil left from frying the fish and in a light stock from the head and tail. Fried hilsa steaks are tucked into the rice to finish in the steam, so they stay moist and take on the scent of cardamom and bay. It is a dish for the hilsa season and for honoured guests, served with fried onions, a wedge of lime and a green chilli. The usual misjudgement is stirring once the fish is in; the steaks are fragile and fall apart into bones. Chef's tip: keep the oil the fish was fried in, because the whole dish depends on that hilsa-scented fat.

75 minBangladeshiFishGluten free
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Imli aloo bukhara sharbatTamarind and plum cooler

Pakistani grandmothers prescribe this deep brown drink for heatstroke, an upset stomach and the sluggish days of Ramadan fasting in June, and it is sold in tall glasses at sehri and iftar stalls in Karachi, Hyderabad and Lahore. Tamarind and dried aloo bukhara plums are soaked, simmered, mashed and strained into a concentrate, which is then sweetened, seasoned with black salt and roasted cumin and served poured over ice. The flavour is fruity, tart and slightly smoky from the plums, with the savoury lift of the salt. The concentrate keeps for a week in the fridge, so a big batch lasts through a heatwave. The usual problem is skipping the straining step and serving it thick with fibres and seeds, which makes it more like a chutney than a drink. Chef's tip: let the plums soak in the hot liquid for an hour after simmering, so they give up all their sourness and colour before you strain them.

30 minPakistaniDrinksVeganGluten free
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HusliankaFermented Hutsul milk

High in the Hutsul villages around Verkhovyna and Kosiv, milk was boiled, cooled and left to sour in a wooden keg called a berbenytsia, which held the cultures from the last batch and gave the drink its name and its gentle tang. The result is huslianka: thicker than kefir, smooth like loose yogurt, with a fresh, clean sourness that shepherds drank with mamalyha and new potatoes. Today you will find it bottled at Carpathian markets, but it is easy to make in a glass jar at home. For safety, always start from pasteurised milk, use a scrupulously clean jar and move it to the fridge as soon as it sets. The usual slip is adding the starter while the milk is still hot, which kills the cultures, so cool it to body temperature first. Discard any batch that grows fuzzy or pink mould or smells unpleasant. Chef's tip: keep two spoons of each batch to start the next one; the flavour gets rounder with every round.

1440 minUkrainianDrinksGluten free
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Hutki shiraDried fish and aubergine curry

Hutki is what Sylhetis call shutki, sun-dried fish, and a pot of hutki shira, a thin, soupy curry, is pure home cooking from Sylhet, Sunamganj and the haor villages, where fish dried in the dry season feeds families through the rest of the year. The broth is fiery with fresh and dried chilli and full of garlic, softened with chunks of potato, brinjal and sometimes tomato or shatkora, and it is ladled over plenty of plain rice. The smell of the dried fish is strong as it cooks, but it mellows into a deep savoury taste. Skipping the soak is the error that ruins it: unwashed hutki is gritty and far too salty. Buy dried fish from a busy, reputable Asian grocer, and choose pieces that are dry, firm and free of mould. Chef's tip: keep the broth loose; shira should be soupy enough to drown the rice.

50 minBangladeshiFishGluten freeSpicy
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Idrijski žlikrofiPotato and chive dumplings

Mercury miners in Idrija, the hill town in western Slovenia, lived on these: thumbnail-sized pasta parcels pinched into a little hat shape with a dimple in the middle and filled with potato, onion, chives and marjoram. They carry EU protected status, and in Idrija they come either with melted butter and crumbs or with bakalca, a slow-cooked lamb sauce; the traditional filling often has a spoon of pork fat or cracklings too. This vegetarian version uses butter throughout. Shaping 150 or so of them is a job for two people and a good chat. A wet filling is the usual downfall: boil the potatoes in their skins and mash them dry, or the dough tears when you pinch it shut. If you add the optional grated hard cheese, choose a vegetarian one, as parmesan-style cheeses use animal rennet. Chef's tip: dry the shaped žlikrofi on a floured cloth for 20 minutes before cooking so they hold their shape.

90 minBalkanPasta & Noodles
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CheburekiFried lamb pastry half-moons

Çiberek, as Crimean Tatars call them, are the great beach and roadside food of Crimea, from Bakhchysarai to Yevpatoria, and Crimean Tatar cafés in Kyiv and Lviv still fry them to order. A thin, blistered pastry, crisp at the edges, holds a filling of minced lamb, grated onion, black pepper and herbs that turns into a rich, peppery broth as it cooks; bite carefully, as it is meant to be juicy. Eat them hot from paper with a glass of ayran or a tomato salad. The mistake most home cooks make is leaving air pockets when sealing, so the pastry bursts and spits in the oil. Some cooks add a splash of vodka to the dough for extra blisters; this version uses none. Chef's tip: stir a few spoons of ice-cold water into the meat until it is almost sloppy; that water becomes the broth that makes a good chebureki.

75 minUkrainianFast Food
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HuzarensaladePotato, pickle and egg salad

Huzarensalade, 'hussars' salad', is the potato salad of Dutch birthdays and New Year's Day: diced potato, pickled gherkins, pickled onions, apple and boiled egg bound in mayonnaise, shaped into a mound and decorated with lettuce, tomato, egg and cucumber. It is normally made with cubes of cooked beef; this vegetarian version adds peas and a little extra egg. A common mistake is mixing warm potatoes with mayonnaise, which turns it greasy and loose. Chef's tip: let the potatoes cool completely and add a splash of pickle vinegar first, so they soak up flavour before the mayonnaise goes in.

50 minDutchSalads
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Iftari chhola bhunaDry-fried spiced chickpeas

An hour before sunset during Ramadan, the pavement of Chawkbazar disappears under trays of iftar food, and the one thing every family buys or makes is a bowl of chhola bhuna. It is chickpeas fried down with onion, ginger, garlic and cumin until almost dry, so each one is coated in a thick, dark masala rather than swimming in gravy. On the iftar plate it sits beside piyaju, beguni, muri and dates, and many people toss it with puffed rice, chopped onion and mustard oil into a quick muri makha. A frequent error is adding the chickpeas while the onions are still pale, which leaves the dish flat and sweet instead of deep and savoury. Chef's tip: finish with a pinch of bhaja moshla, dry-roasted cumin, coriander and chilli ground together, for the smoky taste of the street version.

65 minBangladeshiCurriesVeganGluten free
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IshlekliMinced meat pie

Ishlekli is the shepherds' pie of the Karakum desert: a large round of dough filled with chopped lamb and onion, sealed, and buried in sand heated by a fire, so it bakes slowly into a thick, golden crust filled with juicy meat. Turkmen families still make it on camping trips and at holidays in the countryside around Ashgabat. This version bakes it in a hot oven on a preheated tray. A common mistake is using lean meat, which makes the filling dry; the lamb fat bastes the inside as it bakes. Chef's tip: chop the lamb by hand rather than mincing it; small chunks stay juicy and give the pie its rustic texture. The filling should reach 71 °C.

100 minTurkmenMeat
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Huevos a la habaneraBaked eggs with peppers and peas

Old Havana households bake eggs this way for a late Sunday breakfast or a light supper, cracking them into a bed of slow-cooked onion, green pepper and tomato and scattering peas and grated cheese over the top. The whites set softly in the steam of the sofrito while the yolks stay rich and loose, ready for mopping up with toasted Cuban bread. A frequent mistake is baking until the yolks turn chalky; take the dish out while the yolks still wobble. Many hard cheeses are made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Gouda-style or Cheddar-style cheese if you need to. Chef's tip: make little wells in the sofrito with the back of a spoon so each egg sits in its own nest and doesn't spread.

35 minCubanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Htamin jinSour rice with fish

On the floating gardens and stilt-house kitchens of Inle Lake, the Intha make htamin jin to take out on the boats or to sell at the rotating five-day markets around the shore. Warm rice coloured with turmeric is kneaded by hand with flaked lake fish and tomatoes cooked down in garlic oil, then pressed into soft, tangy balls the size of a fist. It is eaten at room temperature, dressed with more garlic oil and crispy garlic, with fried dried chillies, whole raw garlic cloves and garlic chives on the side for crunch. Many cooks use firm, day-old rice, which never binds and crumbles apart; use freshly cooked rice that is a touch soft and still warm. Chef's tip: wear a food-safe glove and knead like dough for a full couple of minutes; the more you work it, the smoother and more evenly sour each ball becomes.

45 minBurmeseRice & GrainsGluten free
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