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Ensaïmada
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Ensaïmada

Spiral sweet breakfast pastry

This contains pork: the name comes from saïm, the pork lard brushed over the dough before it is coiled, and it is what gives an ensaïmada its shattering, flaky layers. Mallorcans eat them for breakfast with hot chocolate or coffee, and at Palma airport you will see travellers carrying flat hexagonal boxes of large ones home as gifts. The dough is enriched with egg and sugar, stretched until thin enough to see through, rolled into a rope and wound into a loose spiral, then proved overnight. Chef's tip: oil your hands and the worktop generously before stretching, so the dough slides rather than sticks and tears.

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

20 minBelgianMeat
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Flaki po warszawskuBeef tripe soup

Warsaw's old milk bars and wedding receptions share one great soup: flaki, a peppery tripe broth scented with marjoram, nutmeg and ginger, served piping hot, traditionally late at night to revive tired guests. The Warsaw version adds tender beef meatballs (pulpety) and plenty of julienned root vegetables, so it is heartier than the plain flaki of other regions. Tripe has a soft, slightly chewy bite and soaks up the warm spices. Buy cleaned, blanched beef tripe from a butcher. A mistake that ruins many pots is skipping the first blanching: without it the soup smells strongly and never tastes clean. Make it a day ahead if you can; it improves overnight. Chef's tip: add the marjoram twice, a spoon during cooking and a generous pinch rubbed between your palms just before serving, which is what gives Warsaw flaki its signature smell.

240 minPolishSoups
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BezarSpice blend

Every Emirati kitchen keeps a jar of bezar, and many families in Dubai and Al Ain still roast and grind their own each winter to last the year. It is the warm, earthy backbone of machboos, saloona, harees and grilled fish, built mainly on coriander and cumin with fennel, a little chilli heat, cinnamon and plenty of turmeric for colour. Toasting the whole spices first gives it a deeper, nuttier taste than any ready-mixed powder. The common slip is toasting everything together on a high heat, so the small seeds burn while the coriander is still raw. Chef's tip: stir the turmeric and ground ginger in after grinding, never into the hot pan, or they turn bitter.

15 minGulf ArabianBasicsVeganGluten free
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BhakkaSteamed rice cakes

On foggy December mornings in Biratnagar, Itahari and the bazaars of Jhapa and Morang, street sellers sit behind a smoking clay pot turning out bhakka one at a time, little round cakes of damp, freshly ground rice flour steamed in a cloth-covered bowl over boiling water. Each one is light and crumbly, almost like a soft rice sponge, and slightly sweet, and it is eaten straight away, broken up and dipped into a hot, garlicky tomato achar. It is a Tharu and Madhesi winter favourite that has become everyone's breakfast in the eastern Terai. Many first attempts fail because the flour is too fine and dry, so it packs into a hard puck. Chef's tip: grind soaked rice coarsely at home and keep it just damp enough to clump when squeezed, then sprinkle it loosely into the bowl without pressing.

40 minNepaliBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Figgy duffSteamed raisin pudding

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

170 minCanadianDesserts
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FatirLayered butter flatbread

Fatir is the rich, flaky flatbread of Tajik homes and Dushanbe bakeries, made for qurutob, for guests and for festivals: dough rolled thin, spread with butter or ghee, folded and coiled into many layers, then baked against the wall of a tandir until crisp outside and soft and layered inside. It tears into flakes and soaks up sauces beautifully. A common mistake is baking it too slowly, which dries it out; it needs a very hot oven. Chef's tip: brush with ghee as soon as it comes out, then wrap it in a cloth for 5 minutes to soften the crust slightly.

75 minTajikBreads & Parathas
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Bermuda cassava pieCassava pie with chicken and pork

No Bermudian Christmas table is complete without cassava pie, a dense, golden, faintly sweet bake of grated cassava, eggs, butter, sugar and nutmeg layered around a filling of stewed chicken and pork. Families compare recipes and argue over sweetness; it is served in slices with the turkey on Christmas Day and eaten cold for days after. The pork here is boneless pork shoulder, stewed with the chicken until tender. The common mistake is underbaking: the cassava must set firm and brown deeply, or it is gluey in the middle. Use frozen grated cassava, squeezed dry. Chef's tip: make the filling the day before; cold meat is easier to layer and the stock gels into a juicy middle.

195 minCaribbeanMeatGluten free
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FaworkiCrisp fried dough ribbons

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

60 minPolishDesserts
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Berner PlatteSmoked meats and sauerkraut platter

The Berner Platte is Bern's great feast platter, said to celebrate the victory over the French at Neuenegg in 1798, and it is still served in the old taverns under the arcades of Bern's old town, especially in autumn and winter: a heap of smoked pork belly, smoked pork shoulder, tongue, beef, Bernese sausages and marrow bones, laid over sauerkraut, dried green beans and boiled potatoes. This dish contains pork. A common mistake is boiling everything together for the same time; the sausages split and the beef is still tough. Chef's tip: cook each meat for its own time in the same pot, adding the sausages only for the last 20 minutes at a gentle simmer. Whole pork cuts must reach 63 °C and sausages 71 °C.

180 minSwissMeatGluten free
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Fasolka po bretońskuWhite beans in tomato with sausage

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

90 minPolishMeatGluten free
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FendishaSweet or salted popcorn

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

8 minEthiopianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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BereketeFenugreek and cumin Shabbat bread

Among Ethiopian Israelis in Kiryat Malakhi, Netanya and Ashkelon, the Friday meal begins when the eldest at the table blesses a round loaf of berekete and breaks it for everyone. The bread is plain, dense and wheaty, with a soft crumb and the warm, faintly bitter scent of fenugreek, cumin and coriander baked in. It is eaten with spiced lentils, cabbage and potatoes or with a little honey on Shabbat morning. The usual mistake is baking it in a hot oven like a white loaf, which burns the bottom before the thick centre cooks. Chef's tip: bake it in a covered heavy pan at a moderate heat, as it would be on a mitad, so it steams through before browning.

70 minIsraeliBreads & ParathasVegan
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Bhatmas sadekoRoasted soybean salad

Sadeko means marinated, and in Kathmandu it is the word for the punchy little salads served in khaja ghar snack houses and at family gatherings during Dashain and Tihar card games. The soybean version is the cheapest and one of the best: dried soybeans roasted in a dry pan until they crack and turn nutty, then tossed while warm with red onion, green chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander, lemon and a spoonful of pungent raw mustard oil. It is crunchy, sharp and hot, eaten by the handful with beaten rice (chiura) or as a side to a dal bhat plate. The pitfall here is under-roasting the beans, which leaves them hard and grassy rather than crisp. Chef's tip: roast the beans until they split their skins and smell like popcorn, then rub off and blow away the loose skins before dressing them.

20 minNepaliSaladsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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FarfelEgg pasta pilaf with onions

Farfel, little barley-sized pellets of egg pasta, are what many Ashkenazi grandmothers in Israel cook instead of rice, especially on Friday nights alongside soup and roast vegetables. Toasted in oil until golden, then simmered in stock with soft onion, they turn out fluffy and separate with a gentle nutty taste, a bit like a tiny pasta pilaf. This version uses vegetable stock, so it is vegetarian and dairy free. Serve it as a side or stir through mushrooms for a light supper. A common mistake is adding too much stock, which makes the pellets swell into a sticky mass. Chef's tip: toast the farfel until it smells like toast and is evenly amber before any liquid goes in.

30 minIsraeliPasta & Noodles
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Fever grass teaLemongrass and ginger tea

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

15 minJamaicanDrinksVeganGluten free
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Flamiche dinantaiseStrong cheese tart

The flamiche of Dinant is eaten only one way: straight from the oven, so hot it burns the fingers, as the townspeople say. It is a rich, wobbly tart of strong fresh boulette or Herve-style cheese beaten with eggs and plenty of butter on a thin yeasted base, and Dinant's 'Confrérie de la Flamiche' still holds an annual tasting. Boulette and Herve cheeses are usually made with animal rennet; a strong vegetarian soft cheese mixed with fromage frais works. A common mistake is letting it cool; it sets and loses its creaminess. Chef's tip: serve it the moment the top puffs and turns golden.

60 minBelgianVegetarian
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Grandfathers in maple syrupDumplings in maple syrup

Grands-pères are the dessert of the Quebec sugar shack in March and April, when sap is running and the cabane à sucre serves long breakfasts. Soft scone-like dumplings are dropped into simmering maple syrup and cooked under a lid until they puff up and soak in the syrup from below. In Beauce and the Eastern Townships families make them at home with the first syrup of the year. Serve warm in bowls with cold cream poured over. A common mistake is letting the syrup boil hard, which scorches it and makes it bitter. Chef's tip: keep the lid on for the full cooking time; lifting it lets the steam out and the dumplings sink and turn heavy.

30 minCanadianDesserts
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Hoilo garmaGreens with dough pieces

In early spring the first wild greens appear on the terraces of Hunza before anything else is ready, and families gather them for hoilo garma, a thick, warming pot of chopped greens cooked with small pieces of wholewheat dough pinched off by hand. The dough pieces turn soft and slightly chewy, almost like dumplings, and the greens melt into a glossy, savoury mass enriched at the end with butter and a little apricot-kernel oil. It is a one-pot lunch eaten from a shared dish with the fingers or a spoon, often with salty tea. Rolling the dough pieces too thick is the common error; they stay doughy in the middle. Chef's tip: spinach is the easiest choice, but a handful of dill, spring onion or chard makes it closer to the mix of wild greens used in the valley.

45 minPakistaniVegetarian
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Bela biscuitTwice-baked tea biscuit

Old Chittagong bakeries, some of them in the Chandanpura area for well over a century, still fire their wood ovens for bela biscuit, a pale oval rusk so hard it cracks rather than snaps. It starts as a lightly sweet, enriched yeast dough that is baked once like a bun and then dried for a long time in a cooling oven until crisp right through. In Chittagong homes it comes out at teatime and when guests arrive, and the whole point is the dunk: a few seconds in hot milky tea and it softens into something like buttery bread. The classic slip is pulling the biscuits from the second bake too soon; they feel firm while warm but go chewy overnight if the centre is still damp. Chef's tip: break one open after drying; if the middle is pale and soft, give the tray another 20 minutes.

220 minBangladeshiBaking
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Beef smooreSpiced coconut milk beef roast

Smoore takes its name from the Dutch smoren, to braise, and in Burgher homes from Colombo to Galle it is the centrepiece for Christmas lunch or a big family Sunday: a whole joint of beef pierced, marinated in vinegar and spice, then simmered for hours in coconut milk with lemongrass, pandan and a spoonful of lime pickle. The pickle is the signature, adding a salty, bitter-sour sparkle that keeps the rich gravy lively. The joint is sliced at the table and served with yellow rice, a cucumber salad and plenty of the sauce. The biggest risk is letting the coconut milk boil fiercely for hours, which makes it split and greasy. Chef's tip: once the joint is browned, keep the pot at the barest shiver of a simmer, and turn the meat every half-hour so it cooks evenly.

210 minSri LankanMeatGluten free
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Begova čorbaChicken and okra soup

Fit for an Ottoman bey, this velvety soup is the opening course of special dinners in Sarajevo and across Bosnia and Herzegovina, ladled out at weddings, Bajram tables and in the old aščinice, the canteens of the Baščaršija bazaar. Chicken simmers with carrot, celeriac and parsley root, and small okra pods go in to give a gentle, silky body; at the end, egg yolks and sour cream turn it creamy and pale gold, with a sharp lift from lemon. A common mistake is pouring the yolks straight into boiling soup, where they scramble: warm them with a little broth first. Chef's tip: dried okra, if you can find it in a Turkish shop, is traditional and less slimy; soak it in water with a splash of vinegar.

90 minBalkanSoupsGluten free
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EtoMashed yam with palm oil

Eto is a dish for marking occasions among the Akan, made on birthdays and celebration mornings, when boiled yam (or plantain) is mashed in an earthenware asanka bowl with red palm oil, raw onion and a little pepper until it turns golden and fragrant. It is served in a mound with halved boiled eggs, slices of ripe avocado and a handful of roasted groundnuts, so every mouthful is soft, buttery and crunchy at once. It is filling, simple and very good. Avoid mashing the yam to a smooth purée; eto should keep a rough, crushed texture. Chef's tip: mash the yam while it is steaming hot and add the oil at the same time, because cold yam goes gluey and will not absorb the oil evenly.

40 minGhanaianVegetarianGluten free
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BazheWalnut sauce

Bazhe is the creamy walnut sauce of Guria, Samegrelo and Imereti, served cold with fried fish, roast chicken, boiled vegetables or a bowl of ghomi; families in Ozurgeti make it in large bowls for New Year. Walnuts are ground until they give up their oil, then let down with water and seasoned with garlic, blue fenugreek, coriander and a sour note until the sauce is pale, smooth and pourable. A common mistake is adding all the water at once; the sauce separates and turns thin and grey. Chef's tip: squeeze out a little walnut oil by kneading the paste with your hand, then drizzle it back over the finished sauce for a glossy, golden finish.

20 minGeorgianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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EscavècheCold fried fish in vinegar jelly

Escavèche is a speciality of the Chimay and Couvin area in southern Wallonia, a legacy of Spanish rule in the 16th century: fish fillets, traditionally eel or pike, fried and then covered with a hot marinade of vinegar, onion, thyme and bay that sets into a clear, tangy jelly as it cools. It is eaten cold, sliced, with crisp fries, in the brasseries of the Botte du Hainaut. A common mistake is not cooking the fish through before it goes into the marinade; cold marinade does not cook it. Chef's tip: let it set for at least 12 hours in the fridge; the vinegar mellows and the jelly firms. The fish should be opaque and flaking before marinating.

55 minBelgianFishGluten free
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Erdélyi fatányérosMixed grill platter

The name means 'wooden plate', and that is how this Transylvanian-Hungarian feast is brought to the table in Cluj and Târgu Mureș restaurants: a big board heaped with fried potatoes and topped with grilled pork chops, veal escalopes and crisp smoked bacon, surrounded by pickled cucumbers, peppers and red cabbage. It is meant for sharing, two or four people picking from one board, and it smells of garlic, marjoram and smoke. The pork and bacon make this very much a pork dish, balanced by the sharp pickles. Where people most often go wrong is grilling everything at once; cook the bacon first and use its fat for the meat, so nothing dries out while waiting. Chef's tip: score the edge of each pork chop through the fat every 2 cm; it stops the chops curling up in the pan and cooking unevenly.

60 minRomanianMeatGluten free
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BataSoft sticky rice

Long-grain palaw gets the glory at weddings, but on ordinary days in Herat and Kabul it is often bata that comes to the table: short-grain rice cooked until the grains burst and cling together in a glossy, gently salted mass. Its job is to sit beside something saucy, typically a qorma or sabzi, the dark, garlicky spinach, and to soak up every bit of it; children often eat it with just a spoonful of yogurt. It needs no spices at all. Rice that is drained or rinsed until the water runs clear will never go properly sticky, so rinse it once and cook it in a measured amount of water. Chef's tip: finish it under a lid wrapped in a tea towel on the lowest heat, which catches the drips of steam and keeps the top soft instead of wet.

40 minAfghanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Espageti ayisyenSpaghetti with hot dogs

In Haiti, spaghetti is a breakfast food, and Saturday mornings in many homes start with a big pan of espageti: thin pasta tossed with sliced hot dogs fried in epis, tomato paste and a little hot pepper, often eaten with a boiled egg or a slice of avocado. It is quick, salty, savoury and loved by children. The mistake to avoid is boiling the pasta fully, then frying; it turns mushy, so cook it just short of done. Fry the hot dogs until piping hot all through (71 °C), as with any sausage. Chef's tip: save a cup of the pasta water; a splash of it turns the tomato and epis into a glossy coating.

30 minHaitianBreakfast & Brunch
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ErgoSoured milk

Cattle-keeping families across rural Ethiopia leave fresh milk to thicken in smoked clay pots or gourds, and the result, ergo, is tangier and looser than yoghurt, somewhere between set buttermilk and a soft curd. It is spooned beside a spicy kitfo or wat to calm the heat, eaten for breakfast with bread, or drunk as it is on hot afternoons. The traditional way relies on raw milk souring by itself, which is not safe to copy at home; this version uses pasteurised whole milk with a spoon of live buttermilk or yoghurt as the starter, so the right bacteria do the work. Allow about 24 hours at room temperature for it to set. Chef's tip: keep it somewhere steady at 22–26 °C; too cool and it barely thickens, too warm and it separates into whey and lumps.

15 minEthiopianBasicsGluten free
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AthirasaFried rice flour jaggery cakes

Athirasa, a dark, flat disc with a shiny, slightly crinkled surface, is one of the keeping sweets of the Avurudu season: families fry stacks of them in early April, store them in tins and offer them to every visitor for weeks. The dough is simply rice flour stirred into jaggery syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage, flavoured with cardamom and left to rest, then patted into rounds and fried until deep brown. The cook presses each one firmly between two flat spoons or saucers to squeeze out excess oil, which gives athirasa its chewy, toffee-like centre and lacy, crisp edges. The typical slip is undercooking the syrup, which makes the dough too soft to shape and causes the rounds to fall apart in the oil. Chef's tip: shape the discs on a piece of oiled banana leaf or baking paper and slide them straight into the oil from it, so they keep a neat round shape.

60 minSri LankanDessertsVeganGluten free
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ČobanacShepherd's meat stew with paprika

Slavonia, the flat farmland of eastern Croatia, cooks čobanac outdoors in a black cauldron at village fairs and hunting parties, and the smell of paprika drifts across the whole field. Three meats go in, typically beef, pork and venison or wild boar, with mountains of onion, sweet and hot paprika and a few peppers, simmering for hours until the sauce is thick, brick-red and spicy. This dish contains pork. Eat it with crusty bread or polenta. The usual slip is burning the paprika: it turns bitter in seconds, so always take the pot off the heat before stirring it in. Chef's tip: cook it a day ahead; like most stews it tastes deeper the next day.

180 minBalkanMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Tunisian octopus salad

Fishermen of the Kerkennah islands, off Sfax, still catch octopus in clay pots laid on the shallow seabed, and in winter the season's catch turns up in harbour cafés and home kitchens as this simple salad. The octopus is simmered slowly until tender, cooled in its broth, then sliced and tossed with red onion, plenty of parsley, lemon juice and good olive oil, with a little harissa if you like. It is light, clean and briny, eaten as a starter with bread or on a summer table of salads and grilled fish. Buy octopus from a reputable fishmonger; frozen and thawed octopus is often more tender than fresh. A common mistake is boiling the octopus at a rolling boil, which makes it rubbery; keep it at a gentle simmer until a knife slides in easily. Chef's tip: let the cooked octopus cool in its cooking liquid for 20 minutes before slicing; it stays juicy rather than tightening up.

80 minTunisianFishGluten free
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Ago glainCrab in tomato pepper sauce

Cotonou sits between the sea and the Nokoué lagoon, and its crabs, ago in Fon, are cooked whole in a thick tomato, onion and pepper sauce for weekend lunches and family gatherings. Ago glain is gloriously messy: you crack the shells with your fingers and teeth, suck out the sweet meat and mop up the sauce with amiwo, akassa or white rice. The sauce is bright, gingery and hot, and the shells give it a deep seafood flavour. Live crabs need careful handling, so buy them from a fishmonger you trust, cook them the same day and keep them chilled until then; ready-cleaned or ready-cooked crab is fine too. The usual mistake is overcooking the crab once it is in the sauce, which makes the meat dry and stringy. Chef's tip: crack the claws before they go into the pot so the sauce seeps in and they cook evenly.

65 minAfricanFishGluten freeSpicy
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AkpanFermented corn drink

Street sellers in Cotonou and Porto-Novo keep akpan in cool boxes, ladled into cups or tied plastic bags as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. The base is fermented maize starch cooked into a thick pap, then left to sour further until it tastes like a mild, slightly yeasty yoghurt; cold milk and sugar loosen it into a creamy drink you can sip or eat with a spoon. It is refreshing, tangy and filling, and many people treat it as a light meal on hot days. Budget a day for the second souring, though the hands-on time is under half an hour, and always use pasteurised milk and keep the finished drink in the fridge. Don't let the fermented base sit at room temperature for longer than stated; past that it sours too far. Chef's tip: sieve the slurry before cooking; any maize husk left in makes the drink gritty.

30 minAfricanDrinksGluten free
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Enchilado de camaronesShrimp in Creole tomato sauce

Despite the name, Cuban enchilado isn't fiery: it is shrimp cooked in a red Creole sauce of tomato, sweet pepper, onion, garlic and a splash of dry white wine, the way it is served in seaside restaurants from Havana's Malecón to Varadero. It goes over white rice with a side of tostones. The wine is simmered for several minutes, but for an alcohol-free sauce use fish stock with a squeeze of lime instead. The common mistake is adding the shrimp too early so they turn rubbery; they need only 3 or 4 minutes at the end. Chef's tip: simmer the shrimp shells in the wine for 10 minutes and strain it into the sauce; it doubles the seafood flavour.

40 minCubanFishGluten free
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FafernuchyHoney and carrot Christmas cookies

Old Masurian and Warmian households baked fafernuchy weeks before Christmas and kept them in tins, where they slowly mellowed; children found them in their stockings and on the Christmas plate. They are small, hard, pebble-like biscuits, sweetened with honey and given a gentle colour and moisture from finely grated carrot, with a little spice in some homes. Expect a proper crunch, made for dunking in tea. A common mistake is expecting them to be soft straight from the oven; they are meant to be firm and soften only a little in the tin. Chef's tip: grate the carrot on the finest side of the grater so the dough stays smooth and holds its shape.

60 minPolishBaking
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ElarjiCornmeal and cheese porridge

Elarji is the pride of Zugdidi and the rest of Samegrelo, where cornmeal is the everyday staple; the porridge is cooked until thick, then beaten with so much grated sulguni that it pulls up in long, glossy strings as you serve it. It goes to the table hot, with a bowl of bazhe walnut sauce or spicy ajika, and Mingrelians judge a cook by how long the cheese stretches. A common mistake is adding the cheese while the porridge is still loose; it sinks and goes rubbery instead of weaving through. Chef's tip: use a strong wooden spoon and beat hard in one direction as the cheese melts, which is what builds the stretch. Most sulguni is made with animal rennet, so look for a vegetarian one or use low-moisture mozzarella.

45 minGeorgianVegetarianGluten free
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Babath curryBeef tripe curry

Babath curry belongs to the Muslim and Malay kitchens of Colombo and Slave Island, a frugal, rich dish of beef tripe that turns up at family lunches and in small rice-and-curry cafés where regulars ask for it by name. The tripe is cleaned, boiled with turmeric and vinegar until soft, then sliced into ribbons and simmered in a dark roasted curry with black pepper, cinnamon and a little coconut milk until it soaks up all the spice. The texture is pleasantly chewy and the gravy deep, hot and slightly sour, and it is eaten with rice, roti or bread to mop up the sauce. Many first attempts fail because the tripe is not boiled long enough first, so it stays rubbery however long it spends in the curry. Chef's tip: buy cleaned, bleached honeycomb tripe from a halal butcher, and boil it until a knife slides through with no resistance before you start the curry.

150 minSri LankanMeatGluten freeSpicy
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EleshChicken and potato pies

At Tatar weddings in the villages east of Kazan, elesh come to the table early, little pleated pies about the size of a fist, each filled with chopped chicken and potato and baked until the tops glow. The meat goes in raw with onion and butter, so it cooks in its own juices inside the sealed pastry and stays moist; a spoon of broth is added through a tiny vent halfway through. The pastry is rich with butter and sour cream and goes soft under a cloth after baking. A common mistake is leaving the chicken in big chunks; cut it small or the potato is done long before the meat. Chef's tip: use thigh rather than breast, it stays juicy through the long bake.

115 minRussianChicken
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EkalaSpring greens in walnut paste

For a few weeks each April, Imeretian market women in Kutaisi sell tight bundles of ekala, the young shoots of wild smilax that climb through hedges and forest edges. They are blanched, chopped and pounded with walnuts, garlic and spices into a pkhali-style salad for the Lenten and Easter table, with a nutty, slightly bitter, asparagus-like taste. Outside Georgia, the tender tips of asparagus or green beans make a good stand-in. A common mistake is over-boiling the shoots; they lose their snap and turn khaki. Chef's tip: let the walnut paste sit on the greens for an hour before serving, so the garlic mellows and the flavours knit together.

40 minGeorgianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Ekpang nkukwoGrated cocoyam and plantain parcels

Patience is the main ingredient of ekpang nkukwo, a festive dish of the Efik and Ibibio of Calabar and Akwa Ibom. Grated cocoyam and unripe plantain are rolled into little leaf parcels, stacked in a pot and cooked slowly in a broth of palm oil, periwinkles, prawns, smoked fish and pepper until the parcels set into soft, sliceable rolls in a thick, orange sauce. It is a meal in itself, often made for Christmas and family gatherings. Cocoyam leaves are traditional; large spinach or chard leaves work if you blanch them first. Raw cocoyam can itch the skin, so wear gloves to grate it, and cook the dish fully. Chef's tip: do not stir until the parcels have cooked for at least 25 minutes, or they will unroll and dissolve into the broth.

120 minNigerianFishGluten free
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BathithToasted flour and date bites

Bathith is an old Bedouin travel sweet from the United Arab Emirates, made from things that keep in the desert: flour toasted dark, dates and ghee, kneaded together into crumbly bites. Today it is served in Emirati homes with gahwa in the afternoon or put out at Ramadan, and it tastes of caramel, toasted nuts and warm cardamom, with a texture somewhere between shortbread crumble and fudge. It keeps well for a week in a tin. Under-toasting the flour is the mistake most often made: it must go a deep golden brown, or the bites taste pasty. Chef's tip: use the softest dates you can find and warm them with the ghee; they melt into a paste and bind the flour without extra fat.

25 minGulf ArabianDesserts
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Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles

Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.

30 minRussianDesserts
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TermesBrined lupin beans

Termes sellers push their carts along the Nile corniche and outside schools and mosques, scooping the plump yellow beans into paper cones, especially around Sham el-Nessim in spring. You nip the skin with your teeth and pop out the firm, salty, nutty bean, with lemon, cumin and chilli on top. Dried lupins are naturally very bitter and must be soaked, cooked and then soaked again for about a week before they are safe to eat, so the hands-on time is short but the process is long. Never skip the debittering: badly prepared lupins can cause poisoning, so taste one before serving and keep soaking if any bitterness remains. Lupin is also a common allergen, especially for people allergic to peanuts. Chef's tip: once debittered, store them in salted water in the fridge, where they keep for two weeks.

105 minEgyptianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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ChebabSaffron yeast pancakes

Chebab are the thick, spongy pancakes that Emirati families make for breakfast in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain, especially on Fridays and through Ramadan for suhoor. The batter is yeasted, so the pancakes rise in the pan and come out holey and soft like a crumpet, tinted yellow with saffron and scented with cardamom. They are served stacked with date syrup poured over and a spoonful of fresh chami or cream cheese on the side. Flipping too early is the classic error: wait until the top is covered in bubbles and looks dry at the edges, or the pancake tears. Chef's tip: leave the batter to rise until it is properly bubbly; a lazy batter gives flat, heavy chebab.

65 minGulf ArabianBreakfast & Brunch
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Sawabe' ZeinabFried semolina fingers in syrup

Named 'Zeinab's fingers', these little fried sweets turn up on Egyptian Ramadan tables next to balah el sham, and they are easy to make in a home kitchen with a cheese grater for the ridges. A soft semolina and ghee dough is rolled into fingers, fried crisp and soaked in syrup, giving them a crunchy shell and a dense, slightly grainy, buttery middle. Serve them cool with tea or coffee after iftar. The key to a crisp finish is temperature contrast: hot fingers into cold syrup. If both are hot, they go soggy. Avoid dipping hot fingers into hot syrup; one of the two must be cool, or the fingers turn soggy instead of crisp. Chef's tip: rolling each piece over the back of a fine grater makes deep grooves that hold more syrup.

60 minEgyptianDesserts
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Babi pangangCrispy pork in sweet-sour sauce

Babi pangang is one of the most ordered dishes in the 'Chinees-Indisch' restaurants found in every Dutch town: crisp-skinned roast pork belly, sliced and smothered in a bright red, sweet-sour sauce with tomato, ginger and pickled vegetables, served with rice or nasi goreng. This is a pork dish. A common mistake is pouring the sauce over too early, which turns the crackling soft. Chef's tip: dry the skin overnight in the fridge and roast it hot at the end, then pour the sauce around, not over, the pork at the table. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C plus a rest; belly is best cooked longer, until tender.

105 minDutchMeat
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Egyptian shattaFresh red chilli sauce

Squeeze bottles of shatta stand on the tables of every koshari shop in downtown Cairo, and diners shake in as much as they dare along with the garlic vinegar. The Egyptian version is a fresh, bright, loose sauce of red chillies blended with garlic, vinegar, cumin and a little oil, quite unlike the dried-chilli shata of Sudan. It goes with ful, falafel, lentil soup, roast potatoes and almost any sandwich. Wear gloves when handling the chillies and keep your hands away from your eyes; capsaicin on the fingers is the classic mistake, and it lasts for hours. Chef's tip: a brief simmer after blending takes the raw edge off the garlic and lets the sauce keep for two weeks in the fridge.

15 minEgyptianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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SulguniStretched cheese

Sulguni is the famous cheese of Samegrelo, made in Zugdidi homes by taking fresh, slightly soured curd, cutting it up and working it in hot water until it can be pulled into a glossy, layered, salty ball. It is eaten in thick slices, melted into elarji and khachapuri, and smoked over embers for a darker version. The curd has to be acidic enough to stretch, so you make the cheese one day and stretch it the next, or buy fresh Imeretian cheese and start from there. Traditionally animal rennet is used; vegetarian rennet works too. A common mistake is trying to stretch fresh, sweet curd; it melts into a puddle instead of pulling. Chef's tip: test a small piece in hot water first; if it stretches 30 cm without breaking, the curd is ready.

70 minGeorgianBasicsGluten free
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BrunsliChocolate almond biscuits

Brunsli are the dark, chewy Christmas biscuits of Basel, one of the 'Basler Weihnachtsguetzli' along with Läckerli and Zimtsterne: ground almonds, sugar, dark chocolate, cinnamon and cloves bound with egg white, rolled out on sugar and cut into hearts, stars and clovers, then dried overnight and baked briefly so they stay soft inside. They are flourless. A common mistake is baking them too long, which turns them hard. Chef's tip: leave the cut shapes to dry overnight at room temperature; they form a thin crust and keep their sharp shape in the oven. Use a dairy-free chocolate to keep them dairy-free.

40 minSwissBakingGluten free
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MishAged chilli cheese

Traditionally made in clay jars that are kept going for years, mish is the strong, salty aged cheese that farmers in Upper Egypt and the Delta eat with bread, onions and tomatoes in the fields. It is sharp, creamy and very pungent, with chilli heat and a bitter-sweet note from fenugreek, and a little goes a long way beside bettaw, roz me'ammar or ful. This safer home version starts from pasteurised white cheese and ages in the fridge for 4 to 8 weeks instead of months on a shelf. White cheeses are often set with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian. As a home-fermented food it is best skipped by pregnant women, young children and anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: always use a clean, dry spoon; one wet spoon is the mistake that lets mould in.

25 minEgyptianBasicsGluten free
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SobiaRice and coconut milk drink

Before the sunset call to prayer in Ramadan, juice shops in Cairo's old quarters fill plastic bags and jugs with sobia for families to carry home, and it is one of the classic drinks for breaking the fast. It is milky white, sweet and smooth, with a gentle coconut flavour and a light body from the rice that makes it filling after a long day without food. This version simmers the rice-coconut milk briefly so it is safe to keep for a day or two in the fridge. Allow an hour for soaking the rice. The common mistake is not straining well, which leaves the drink gritty; push it through muslin. Chef's tip: chill it for at least 3 hours, because sobia tastes flat unless it is ice-cold.

25 minEgyptianDrinksGluten free
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KhabeesaSaffron toasted flour sweet

Khabeesa is made in Emirati and Qatari kitchens for Eid mornings, new babies and Ramadan nights: flour toasted until golden, then cooked with saffron syrup and ghee until it turns into fragrant, crumbly clusters, a bit like a soft, buttery halwa that breaks apart. It is served in a small bowl on the coffee tray, eaten with a spoon or the fingers, and its aroma of saffron, cardamom and rosewater fills the house. The mistake to avoid is pouring in the syrup all at once, which makes lumps that never break up. Chef's tip: keep pressing and turning the mixture against the pan once the ghee goes in; that is what forms the little golden crumbs.

30 minGulf ArabianDesserts
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Bannu pulaoBeef pulao in bone marrow stock

Bannu, a town in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has given its name to one of Pakistan's richest rice dishes, now sold by pulao houses across Peshawar, Islamabad and Karachi with the town's name painted proudly over the door. Its secret is the stock: beef and marrow bones simmered for hours until the liquid turns cloudy and gelatinous, then used to cook long-grain rice so every grain is glossy with beef fat. The rice is served piled up with fist-sized pieces of boiled beef on top, alongside raita and a fresh chilli-tomato salad, at weddings and Friday lunches. Watery rice is the common failure, because the stock is not reduced enough; it must be concentrated, almost like gravy. Chef's tip: let the stock cool and lift off some of the fat, then fry the onions in that fat, so nothing is wasted and the rice tastes of beef throughout.

190 minPakistaniRice & GrainsGluten free
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AwazeBerbere chilli dipping paste

Wherever tibs are fried or meat is grilled in Ethiopia, from roadside butcher-restaurants on the edge of Addis Ababa to wedding feasts, a small dish of brick-red awaze sits beside it. It is berbere turned into a thick, glossy paste: hot, garlicky, a little sharp from lemon, with a rounded warmth from the spices. Strips of meat are dabbed into it, it is stirred into a pan of tibs at the last moment, and a spoon of it livens up plain lentils too. Some cooks loosen it with tej (honey wine) or red wine, both of which contain alcohol; this version uses water and lemon juice and is entirely alcohol-free. Chef's tip: let it rest for an hour before using; the raw edge of the chilli softens and the garlic mellows into the paste.

12 minEthiopianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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