Featured recipe

Chilre

Buckwheat pancakes

In the upper hills around Shimla and through Kinnaur, buckwheat (kuttu or ogla) grows where wheat struggles, and chilre are its everyday form: thin, lacy pancakes poured on a hot griddle for breakfast or a late-afternoon snack. They are eaten with a sharp mint-and-walnut chutney, or sweet with honey, and are naturally gluten free when made with pure buckwheat. The common mistake is making the batter too thick, so the chilre come out stodgy; it should pour like single cream. Chef's tip: let the batter rest 15 minutes so the buckwheat swells, and wipe the pan with an oiled cloth rather than pouring oil, for even, lacy pancakes.

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Latest recipes

Ambarella curryJune plum curry

Ambarella trees, heavy with green, plum-sized fruit, shade countless gardens around Galle, and when the crop comes in, cooks turn the sour, crunchy fruit into this sweet-sour curry for Sunday lunch and family gatherings. The fruits are scored and cooked whole with roasted curry powder, garlic, cinnamon and cloves, then sweetened with sugar and finished in coconut milk, until the flesh softens and drinks in the dark, glossy gravy. Its tangy, fruity flavour cuts through richer dishes, and it is served in small portions with rice alongside a dhal and a meat or fish curry. Each fruit hides a spiky, fibrous stone, so warn guests to nibble around it. Leaving the skins whole and unscored is where many go wrong, because the spices never get in; make several deep cuts in each fruit. Frozen ambarella is sold in Sri Lankan shops; firm green mango is the nearest stand-in. Chef's tip: let the curry rest for an hour before serving, as the fruit keeps soaking up flavour.

50 min

Sri Lankan Curries

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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 min

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Jamaican bullaMolasses ginger spice cakes

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

40 min

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Jamaican Easter bunSpiced Easter loaf

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

90 min

Jamaican Baking

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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 min

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Aloo tukTwice-fried pressed potatoes

Aloo tuk is the crunch on a Sindhi plate, the thing children steal first: small potatoes boiled, fried, squashed flat and fried again until they are craggy and crisp at the edges and fluffy within, then showered with red chilli, tangy amchur and salt. In Sindhi homes from Karachi to Shikarpur they sit beside Sindhi kadhi and rice or dal and bhuga chawal, and they are also served on their own as a teatime snack with green chutney. The most common error is pressing the potatoes while they are still raw-centred or too hot and wet, which makes them tear instead of flatten neatly. Chef's tip: after the first fry let them cool for five minutes, then press each one under a flat-bottomed bowl so it cracks at the edges, since those cracks become the crispest bits. For children, go easy on the chilli and use more amchur.

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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 min

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Bubur pulut hitamBlack glutinous rice porridge

Deep purple-black and gently sweet, bubur pulut hitam is ladled warm from big pots at dessert stalls in Singapore's hawker centres, from Old Airport Road to Tekka, and Malay families cook it for breaking the fast during Ramadan or for a rainy-afternoon treat. Black glutinous rice is simmered slowly with pandan until the grains burst and thicken the liquid, then sweetened with gula melaka, so the porridge is creamy, nutty and a little chewy. A swirl of salted coconut cream goes on top just before serving, and the salt is what makes it taste complete. The usual mistake is skipping the soak; unsoaked black rice stays hard at the centre however long you cook it, so soak it for at least 4 hours or overnight before you start. Chef's tip: add the palm sugar only once the grains are fully soft, because sugar firms the rice and stops it breaking down.

75 min

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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 min

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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 min

Sri Lankan Basics

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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 min

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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.

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BreudherBurgher Christmas loaf

On Christmas morning in Dutch Burgher homes from Colombo to Galle, the breakfast table holds a tall, fluted breudher, the island's take on the Dutch Christmas loaf, sliced thick, spread with butter and topped with a slice of Edam. The dough is enriched with plenty of butter, eggs and sugar and studded with raisins, and the crumb is soft, golden and slightly sweet, closer to brioche than to bread. Old recipes leavened it with fermented palm toddy; this version uses ordinary yeast, so there is no alcohol. Edam is normally made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Edam or Gouda if that matters to you. The most frequent failure is an impatient rise, which gives a heavy, close loaf, because butter-rich dough moves slowly; wait until it has truly doubled. Chef's tip: work the butter in a little at a time only after the dough has been kneaded smooth, and it will turn silky and elastic instead of greasy.

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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 min

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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 min

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Aloo goshtMutton and potato curry

If one curry stands for a weekday dinner in a Pakistani house, from Rawalpindi flats to Karachi's Nazimabad, it is aloo gosht: mutton on the bone and halved potatoes in a loose, peppery shorba meant to be soaked up with chapati or poured over plain rice. Nothing about it is fancy; its comfort comes from a long bhuna of onion, tomato and spice before any water goes in, so the thin gravy still tastes deep. The potatoes go in once the meat is half done and come out soft at the edges, having drunk the gravy. Adding them at the start leaves them falling apart while the meat is still chewy, so wait. Chef's tip: when the masala is fully fried, add the water boiling hot, not cold, so the meat keeps cooking and the shorba stays clear rather than greasy.

90 min

Pakistani Meat

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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 min

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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 min

Ivorian Basics

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Aloo andayPotato and egg curry

Ask almost anyone who grew up in a Punjabi household in Pakistan what was cooked at the end of the month, when the meat money had run out, and aloo anday will come up with real affection. Halved hard-boiled eggs and chunks of potato sit in a loose, brick-red shorba of browned onion and tomato, thin enough to soak into a chapati and rice alike, with a cut green chilli on top. It is a weeknight and Sunday-brunch dish rather than a guest dish, and children tend to love it. Where it goes wrong is in the masala: if the onions and tomatoes are not fried until the oil separates, the gravy tastes raw and watery however long it simmers. Chef's tip: score the peeled eggs lightly with a knife and fry them in the masala for a minute before the water goes in, so they take on colour and flavour.

40 min

Pakistani Curries

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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 min

Kazakh Basics

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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 min

Turkmen Meat

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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 min

Israeli Meat

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Asa watFish in berbere stew

Around Lake Tana in Bahir Dar and on the shores of Lake Hawassa, fresh tilapia, Nile perch and catfish are cheap and plentiful, so fish goes into the same deep red berbere sauce that elsewhere would hold beef or chicken. Asa wat has the familiar long-cooked onion base and warming spice, but it is lighter than a meat wat, with tender, sweet chunks of fish soaking up the sauce. It is eaten with injera, often alongside a lentil or greens dish, and is a popular choice on fasting days for those who eat fish. Stirring once the fish is in is the classic mistake; it breaks into shreds, so shake the pan instead. Chef's tip: add the fish only once the sauce is fully cooked and thick, then give it no more than 10 minutes.

55 min

Ethiopian Fish

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BorșFermented wheat bran sour liquid

Before lemons were common in Moldavian and Wallachian villages, every household kept a crock of borș, the cloudy, tangy liquid that turns a plain soup into a ciorbă. Wheat bran and a little cornmeal are steeped in hot water, seeded with a starter and left to ferment for 3–4 days in total, so although the hands-on work is short, plan a long weekend: the timings shown cover only the first two days of waiting. It is naturally vegan and a staple of the fasting (post) kitchen, where it sours nettle, bean and vegetable ciorbe. Where people go wrong is using a jar that is not properly clean, which lets the wrong microbes win and turns the borș slimy or mouldy. Chef's tip: keep a few spoonfuls of the drained bran, dried, as the starter (huște) for your next batch.

2880 min

Romanian Basics

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Čočka na kyseloSour lentils with fried egg

Brown lentils, a good splash of vinegar and a crisp-edged fried egg on top: čočka na kyselo is the Czech school-canteen and workers' lunch that people grow nostalgic about. Bohemian families also eat lentils around New Year, when the small round seeds stand for coins. The lentils are cooked soft, bound in a light roux with fried onion and finished sour and a touch sweet, then served with a sliced pickled gherkin and fresh bread. The texture should be spoonable, not soupy and not stiff. Where most cooks slip up is adding the vinegar too early: acid keeps lentils firm, so they stay hard however long you cook them. Season at the end instead. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of mustard stirred in with the vinegar rounds out the sourness without making it taste of mustard.

50 min

Czech Curries

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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 minBalkan Soups

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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 minScandinavian Fish

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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 min

Tunisian Fish

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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 min

Pakistani Drinks

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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 min

Romanian Baking

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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 min

Ivorian Basics

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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 min

Jamaican Breakfast & Brunch

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Amala ko acharGooseberry pickle

Amala trees grow wild across the Chure hills and the lower valleys of Nepal, and in winter the hard, translucent green gooseberries are piled high in vegetable markets in Kathmandu, Hetauda and Butwal, prized as a source of vitamin C during the cold months. Steamed until they split into neat segments, then mixed with chilli, turmeric, fenugreek and hot mustard oil, they make a pickle that is crunchy, astringent, sour and spicy all at once, with a lingering sweetness that comes up after each bite. A spoonful goes alongside dal bhat or with a plain bowl of rice porridge when someone is unwell. The trap to avoid is steaming the berries too long, which turns them mushy and dull. Chef's tip: stop as soon as the first cracks appear on the skins; the segments should pull off the stone easily but still have a firm bite.

30 min

Nepali Chutneys & Dips

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AmandineChocolate sponge cakes

Every Bucharest cofetărie keeps a tray of amandine in the glass case, neat dark oblongs that generations of schoolchildren have bought with their pocket money. Despite the almond-sounding name there are no almonds in them: a cocoa sponge is split, soaked with a cocoa syrup, sandwiched with a rich chocolate custard buttercream and coated in a shiny ganache. Bakeries traditionally add rum to the syrup; this version is alcohol-free and uses vanilla and orange zest instead, though you can add 2 tablespoons of rum if you like. A common mistake is soaking the sponge while the syrup is still hot, which turns it to mush; both should be cool. Chef's tip: chill the filled cake until really firm before glazing and cutting, and wipe the knife hot between each cut for clean edges.

155 min

Romanian Baking

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JidášeEaster honey buns

Maundy Thursday, "Green Thursday" in Czech, is the day for jidáše, sweet yeasted buns rolled into ropes and coiled into spirals or loose knots to recall the rope of Judas, which gives them their name. Families in Bohemia and Moravia bake them for breakfast that morning and brush them, still hot, with honey; eating one was once said to bring health for the year. They are soft and fluffy, lightly scented with lemon, with a sticky, shiny top. A common mistake is brushing the honey on cold buns, where it just sits; warm the honey and glaze them straight from the oven so it soaks in. Honey is not suitable for babies under one year old. Chef's tip: roll the ropes thinner than you think, about finger thickness; they double as they prove.

145 min

Czech Baking

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Ciorbă rădăuțeanăSour chicken soup with garlic

Rădăuți, a small town in Bukovina, gave its name to this soup in the 1970s, when a local restaurant cook began treating chicken the way Romanians treat tripe: a clear broth, soured with vinegar and thickened at the end with egg yolks, sour cream and plenty of garlic. The result is pale gold, velvety and tangy, with tender shreds of chicken; many prefer it to the tripe original, and it is a firm favourite at Suceava wedding lunches and the morning after. Serve it with a fresh hot pepper, extra garlic paste and warm bread. The mistake almost everyone makes once is letting the soup boil after the yolks go in, so they scramble; temper them, then keep the pot hot but below a simmer. Chef's tip: add the vinegar a spoon at a time at the very end; it should taste clearly sour but never vinegary.

90 min

Romanian Soups

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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 min

Ukrainian Drinks

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Jiz-bizFried lamb offal and potatoes

Jiz-biz gets its name from the sound of the pan: lamb heart, liver, kidneys and sweetbreads cut small and fried with potatoes and onions until crisp at the edges. It is a dish of Baku's working cafés and village feast days, made from the parts of the lamb cooked first while the rest is roasting, and finished with sumac and herbs. A common mistake is putting everything in at once; the liver turns grainy before the heart is tender. Chef's tip: fry the potatoes separately until crisp and fold them in at the end, so they keep their crunch. Offal should be cooked until no pink remains, 71 °C.

60 min

Azerbaijani Meat

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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 min

Bangladeshi Fish

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Brunede kartoflerCaramelised small potatoes

No Danish Christmas Eve dinner is complete without brunede kartofler beside the roast pork or duck: small boiled potatoes rolled in golden caramel and butter until they are glossy, sweet and salty. Families boil the potatoes the day before so they are firm and dry. A common mistake is adding wet potatoes to the caramel; it seizes and splatters. Chef's tip: melt the sugar alone until amber, then add the butter, and roll cold, dry potatoes in it over a medium heat until coated.

40 minScandinavian Sides

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AlivenciCornmeal and cheese cake

Across the Prut, in villages from Vaslui to the Republic of Moldova, alivenci is what happens when a farmhouse has fresh cheese, sour cream and a sack of cornmeal: a soft, custardy cake baked in a tray and cut into squares while warm. It is lighter than mămăligă and richer than bread, with a tender, slightly crumbly crumb studded with curd, and is eaten for Sunday breakfast or as a side with stews and a dollop of sour cream. Traditional brânză de vaci (cottage-style cheese) is usually made without rennet, but some brands use it, so check the label. Where most people go wrong is using coarse polenta, which stays gritty; fine cornmeal gives the silky texture. Chef's tip: let the batter sit for 15 minutes before baking so the cornmeal hydrates and the cake sets evenly.

65 min

Romanian Baking

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Ciorbă de urziciNettle soup

Around Iași and in the Moldavian hills, the first young nettles of March and April arrive just as the long Easter fast begins, and a green, sour ciorbă de urzici is often the first fresh vegetable dish of the year. It is a vegan post dish: nettle tops, spring onions and a little rice simmered together, then soured with borș until the broth is bright and tangy, with a grassy, spinach-like depth. Wear gloves to pick and wash the nettles and use only the young tops, the first four to six leaves; older, flowering plants turn tough and gritty. The classic error is boiling the nettles for too long, which makes them grey and stringy. Chef's tip: add a handful of chopped lovage with the borș, as it gives the soup its unmistakably Moldavian flavour.

40 min

Romanian Soups

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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 minBalkan Pasta & Noodles

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Ciorbă de pește lipoveneascăDelta fish soup

The Lipovans, Russian Old Believers who settled the Danube Delta villages of Jurilovca, Periprava and Mila 23 three centuries ago, cook their fish soup in a cauldron over a fire by the water. A broth is first made from the fish frames and tails with onion and pepper, strained, then the vegetables and thick pieces of several fish go in, usually carp, pike, zander and catfish, so each brings its own texture. The fish is lifted onto a platter and eaten with garlic sauce and mămăligă, while the clear, peppery, tomato-sharp broth is drunk from bowls. Where most cooks go wrong is stirring once the fish is in: it breaks into flakes. Shake the pot instead. Chef's tip: a splash of the cold sauerkraut juice or borș at the end, instead of lemon, gives the sourness Delta cooks prefer.

75 min

Romanian Soups

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Amra chutneyHog plum chutney

Barisal is famous for its amra, the green, tart hog plums that pile up on market stalls from August to October, and every household there turns some of the harvest into a glossy, jammy chutney. The fruit is scored so the jaggery syrup can soak in, then simmered with panch phoron, dried chilli and a little turmeric until the flesh is soft around the hard, spiny stone. Sweet, sour and gently hot, it is served at the end of a wedding feast or a festive lunch, a spoonful eaten with the last of the rice, and children suck the stones clean. Cooking it too hard reduces the syrup to toffee once it cools, so stop while it still runs off the spoon. Chef's tip: if you can't find hog plums, sour green plums or a firm green mango cut into chunks make a good stand-in.

40 min

Bangladeshi Chutneys & Dips

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Fish buglamaSteamed fish with onion and tomato

In Baku and the fishing villages of the Absheron peninsula, buglama is the gentlest way to cook Caspian fish such as sturgeon, kutum or mullet: thick steaks laid on a bed of onions, tomatoes and herbs in a covered pan and left to steam in their own juices, with no water added. The result is soft, moist fish in a light, fragrant broth, served with bread and a spoon of narsharab. Any firm white fish works. A common mistake is lifting the lid too often, which lets the steam out and leaves the fish half-cooked. Chef's tip: lay the onion thickly enough that the fish never touches the pan; it should cook in steam, not fry. It is done when the flesh is opaque and flakes when pressed.

45 min

Azerbaijani Fish

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Ciorbă de hribiPorcini soup

Late summer in the beech and spruce forests of Maramureș sends whole families out with baskets, and the first pot of the season is usually this sour porcini soup. Fresh hribi give it a meaty bite, a handful of dried ones deepen the broth, and a spoon of vinegar plus sour cream turns it into a proper ciorbă: tangy, creamy and smelling of the woods. It is eaten as a first course with a slice of rye bread and a fresh hot pepper on the side, often during the Orthodox fasting weeks in its cream-free form. The usual slip is stirring cold sour cream straight into the pot, where it splits into white flecks; warm it with a ladle of broth first. Chef's tip: keep the soaking water from the dried porcini and pour it in slowly, leaving the last spoonful and its grit behind in the bowl.

45 min

Romanian Soups

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Huevos haminadosOvernight slow-cooked eggs

Sephardic families of Turkish and Greek origin in Jerusalem's Nachlaot and in Bat Yam tuck eggs into the Shabbat hamin or simmer them alone overnight, and by morning the shells are mahogany and the whites a pale coffee colour. The long, gentle heat turns the yolks creamy and the whites soft and faintly savoury, with none of the sulphur smell of a fast boiled egg. Serve them with bourekas, cucumber salad and grated tomato on Shabbat morning or at a Passover seder. The mistake is letting the pot boil hard, which cracks the shells and makes the whites rubbery. Chef's tip: a tight lid and the lowest oven setting are all you need; top up the water at bedtime so the eggs never go dry.

610 min

Israeli Breakfast & Brunch

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MounaOrange-flower brioche

Oran's mouna came over with Spanish settlers as the Easter mona, and it is still baked for spring outings, recalling the Easter Monday picnics once held at the Santa Cruz chapel above the city. It is a tall, light, golden brioche with a crackly sugar crust, softly flavoured with orange-flower water and lemon zest rather than butter-heavy, and it tears into long, feathery strands. Eat it with coffee or hot chocolate, plain or with jam. The dough is slow and sticky, so give it time. Chef's tip: let the dough rise slowly overnight in the fridge after the first knead; it becomes easier to shape and the flavour deepens.

75 min

Algerian Baking

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Jamaican Irish moss drinkSea moss drink

Sold chilled in bottles by roadside vendors and in Kingston juice bars, Jamaican Irish moss is a thick, creamy drink made from dried sea moss boiled down until it releases its natural jelly. Blended with milk, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, it tastes like a cool, spiced milkshake and is often drunk as a pick-me-up. The usual mistake is skipping the soak and rinse, which leaves a sandy, fishy taste. Chef's tip: the gel thickens a lot in the fridge, so blend it a little thinner than you want and chill it before judging.

60 min

Jamaican Drinks

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MatlouhSemolina flatbread

In Algiers and all over Algeria, homemade matlouh is the bread of choice for Ramadan iftar and for dipping into chorba or chakchouka. The dough is made with fine semolina and yeast, almost as wet as a batter, left to rise until airy, then shaped into thick rounds and cooked on a clay tajine or a heavy frying pan rather than in an oven. The result is soft and springy inside, with a thin, freckled, golden crust and the sweet, nutty taste of semolina. Eat it warm, torn by hand. Chef's tip: keep your hands wet with water, not floured, when shaping the sticky dough; flour makes the crust dry and floury.

55 min

Algerian Breads & Parathas

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Ciorbă de fasole verdeGreen bean soup

High summer in Transylvania means green beans by the basketful, and both Romanian and Hungarian households around Cluj and Târgu Mureș turn them into this pale, creamy, sour soup, which Hungarian cooks call tejfölös zöldbableves. Beans, potato and a little pepper simmer in a light tomato broth that is soured with vinegar, then finished off the heat with sour cream and a fistful of dill, so every spoonful is tangy, silky and fresh. Serve it hot for lunch with good bread, or with mămăligă for a thicker meal. The classic mistake is tipping cold sour cream straight into the boiling pot, where it curdles into flecks; temper it with hot broth first. Chef's tip: add the vinegar gradually and taste, as the soup should be bright but not sharp.

40 min

Romanian Soups

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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 min

Jamaican Fish

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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 min

Jamaican Fish

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Hulbat marakLamb broth with whipped fenugreek

Inside the old walled city of Harar, cooking carries the flavours of centuries of trade with Arabia, and hulbat marak shows it clearly. A light, golden lamb broth, scented with cumin, turmeric and cardamom, is ladled into bowls and topped with a spoonful of hulbat: fenugreek soaked, then whipped with lemon and green chilli into a pale, frothy cream. Torn flatbread goes in to soak up the broth, and the slightly bitter, tangy foam slowly melts into the soup as you eat. It is warming, delicate and not spicy at all. Chef's tip: soak the fenugreek for at least 2 hours and pour off the water; that is what keeps the topping mellow rather than harshly bitter.

120 min

Ethiopian Soups

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Anda parathaEgg-stuffed paratha

At the dhabas along the GT Road and the breakfast stalls of Rawalpindi's Saddar, the paratha-wala cracks an egg straight into a bowl with onion and chilli, half-cooks a paratha, pours the egg over and flips the whole thing onto the tawa so the egg fries into the bread. The result is one golden, layered disc that is crisp at the edges, soft where the egg meets the dough, and peppery with green chilli. Truck drivers, students and office workers eat it folded in half with chai, ketchup or green chutney, and it is a common packed lunch for school because it needs no curry. The problem most people run into is pouring the egg onto a raw paratha, which tears, or onto a fully cooked one, which will not let the egg stick. Chef's tip: cook the first side only until brown spots appear, then add the egg to the cooked side and flip so the egg sets against the hot iron.

30 min

Pakistani Breakfast & Brunch

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Anday ka halwaEgg halwa

Sweet, golden and grainy like a rich crumble, egg halwa is the quick showpiece of Hyderabadi and Karachi home kitchens, made when unexpected guests arrive or for a winter Sunday, and it fills the house with the smell of ghee and cardamom. Eggs are beaten with milk, sugar and milk powder, then stirred in ghee until the custard sets, breaks and finally fries into soft, sandy granules that cling together like khoya; there is no eggy taste once it is properly cooked. It is served warm in small bowls, topped with almonds and pistachios, sometimes with a few saffron threads. The commonest failure is stopping too soon, when the halwa is still wet and scrambled-egg-like, rather than cooking on until it turns granular and golden and the ghee separates. Chef's tip: strain the beaten egg mixture through a sieve before cooking, which removes the stringy whites and gives a smooth, even grain.

50 min

Pakistani Indian Sweets

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AndijviestamppotEndive and Gouda mash

Stamppot, mashed potato stirred with vegetables, is the Dutch winter dinner, and the endive version is a little lighter: raw, finely shredded curly endive is stirred into piping-hot mash, so it wilts slightly but keeps a fresh, bitter crunch, then cubes of aged Gouda are folded in and start to melt. Dutch families eat it with gravy and a smoked sausage; this vegetarian version uses a pool of brown butter. Aged Gouda is usually made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian aged Gouda-style cheese. A common mistake is cooking the endive, which turns it soggy and grey. Chef's tip: stir the endive in off the heat at the very last moment.

30 min

Dutch Vegetarian

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KarantikaBaked chickpea flour flan

Schoolchildren in Oran spend their pocket money on karantika, a savoury chickpea-flour flan baked in huge trays and cut into squares by street vendors, who sprinkle it with cumin and harissa and often stuff it into a piece of baguette. Its roots go back to the Spanish calentica of Oran's past, and it has spread across western Algeria. Made with only chickpea flour, water, oil and egg, it bakes into a soft, custardy, slightly wobbly middle under a crisp, burnished top. Serve it warm, cut into squares, with harissa; to keep the dish gluten free, skip the bread. Chef's tip: rest the batter for at least 30 minutes before baking; the flour hydrates and the flan sets smooth instead of grainy.

45 min

Algerian Snacks & Starters

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DoubaraSpicy chickpea stew

In Biskra, the oasis town at the gateway to the Algerian Sahara, doubara is street food, ladled from big pots into bowls from late afternoon and through Ramadan nights. Soft chickpeas or broad beans are simmered with cumin and garlic, then dressed with a fiery garlic-harissa sauce, olive oil, lemon and a heap of chopped tomato, onion, parsley and fresh chilli on top. It is hot, sour and very garlicky, filling yet fresh, and eaten with bread. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the chickpeas into the broth at the end; it thickens the stew so the sauce clings.

45 min

Algerian Curries

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BrunsvigerBrown sugar butter cake

Brunsviger is the cake of Funen, the island between Jutland and Zealand: a soft, light yeast dough baked in a tray and covered with brown sugar and butter that melts into sticky, bubbling pools in dimples you press into the top. It is the classic birthday cake at Danish schools and offices, cut into squares and eaten warm with coffee. A common mistake is spreading the topping on cold dough; it slides off. Chef's tip: press deep holes into the risen dough with your finger so the topping collects in pools of caramel.

55 minScandinavian Baking

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BerkoukesLarge couscous pearls in vegetable broth

Berkoukes, the big chewy couscous pearls rolled by hand in Tlemcen and the west of Algeria, is cold-weather food and a classic dish for the end of winter or a family supper. Cooked directly in a thick, tomato-red broth with courgette, carrot, potato, turnip, peas and chickpeas, it becomes a spoonable, comforting stew, fragrant with garlic, paprika, dried mint and fresh coriander. Many families make it with meat or khlii; this is the vegetable version cooked at home on ordinary days. Bought berkoukes, maftoul or giant couscous are fine. Chef's tip: steam or toast the berkoukes before simmering it; the pearls hold their shape and don't turn to porridge.

60 min

Algerian Pasta & Noodles

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Ciorbă de pui cu tarhonChicken soup with tarragon

Tarragon grows in almost every garden in Transylvania, from Saxon villages near Sibiu to the Hungarian towns of Harghita, and it is what makes this chicken soup taste of the region. Pieces of chicken simmer with root vegetables and potato, the pot is soured with a splash of vinegar, and at the end sour cream and a big handful of chopped tarragon go in, giving a pale, creamy broth with a gentle aniseed lift. Unlike the egg-thickened soups of Moldavia, this one stays light and brothy. It is eaten as the first course of a Sunday lunch, with fresh bread and a hot pepper. A common mistake is adding the tarragon too early; long cooking turns it bitter and grey, so stir it in just before serving. Chef's tip: a spoon of tarragon pickled in vinegar, as Transylvanian cooks keep it, does the souring and flavouring in one.

75 min

Romanian Soups

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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 min

Dutch Salads

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Jāņu siersCaraway curd cheese

Jāņu siers is the round, golden caraway cheese that Latvians make for Jāņi, the midsummer festival on 23–24 June, when it is eaten with rye bread and honey, and songs, around bonfires. Unlike most cheeses it needs no rennet: fresh curd cheese is cooked with hot milk, eggs, butter and caraway into a smooth mass, then pressed in a cloth and left to set. Its round shape and golden colour stand for the sun. A common mistake is cooking it over a high heat, which makes it grainy and rubbery. Chef's tip: stir constantly over a low heat until it pulls away from the pan in one shiny ball, then press it straight away.

90 minBaltic Snacks & Starters

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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 min

Bangladeshi Curries

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CicvaraKajmak and cornmeal porridge

Shepherds' huts on the Durmitor and Sinjajevina plateaus in northern Montenegro gave the Balkans cicvara, a dish of kajmak and young cheese melted slowly with cornmeal until it turns rich, golden and stretchy and butter seeps out at the edges. It is stirred and eaten hot, often at breakfast after early milking, with a cup of cold sour milk or plain yogurt to cut the richness. Young cheese for this is fresh and mild; most is made with rennet, so look for one with vegetarian rennet if you need to, and use clotted cream if you can't get kajmak. A common mistake is turning up the heat to hurry it, which burns the bottom and makes the cheese seize into rubbery lumps. Chef's tip: stir with a wooden spoon in figure-of-eight strokes and keep going until a thread of cheese stretches as you lift it.

30 minBalkan Rice & Grains

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Houbový kubaBarley and mushroom bake

On Štědrý den, the Czech Christmas Eve, many families kept a meat-free fast until the evening carp, and houbový kuba was what filled the gap at lunch. Village cooks in Bohemia baked pearl barley with mushrooms picked and dried in autumn, plenty of garlic and marjoram, until the top went crunchy. The inside stays moist and chewy, almost like a mushroom risotto, while the edges crisp. It used to be made with lard; this version uses oil and is fully plant-based. Serve it on its own with sauerkraut or a sharp pickled salad, or as a side to roast vegetables. A common mistake is boiling the barley until soft right through, which turns the bake to paste; it should still have a little bite before it goes in the oven. Chef's tip: save the mushroom soaking water and cook the barley in it, for flavour all the way through.

75 min

Czech Rice & Grains

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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 min

Burmese Rice & Grains

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ChvishtariCornmeal and cheese cakes

Chvishtari belongs to the high villages of Svaneti, around Mestia and Ushguli, where cornmeal and cheese are the winter larder: a stiff cornmeal dough is worked with lots of grated sulguni, shaped into flat cakes and fried or baked so the cheese bubbles out and crisps at the edges. Svan families eat them hot with tea or with a bowl of lobio. A common mistake is using too little cheese; it is the cheese that binds the cornmeal, and a lean dough falls apart in the pan. Chef's tip: wet your hands when shaping, so the dough doesn't stick and the cakes stay smooth. Sulguni is usually made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian cheese.

35 min

Georgian Breads & Parathas

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Chwee kuehSteamed rice cakes with preserved radish

Breakfast queues at Tiong Bahru Market and Ghim Moh hawker centre move fast because chwee kueh is sold by the plateful: four or six flat white rice cakes, each with a shallow dimple holding a spoonful of glossy chye poh, fried preserved radish that is sweet, salty and a little crunchy. The cakes are just set, soft and slightly wobbly, and they are scooped from the moulds with a flat blade and eaten with a dab of sharp red chilli and a cup of kopi. Hawker chye poh is normally simply radish, garlic, oil and sugar, and this version keeps it that way, with no dried shrimp and no shrimp paste in the chilli. The usual mistake is trying to unmould the cakes while they are still warm; hot batter tears and sticks, so let them cool fully in their cups. Chef's tip: heat the empty, oiled moulds in the steamer for 3 minutes before you pour; the hot metal sets the bottom at once and gives you the classic dip in the middle.

60 min

Singaporean Breakfast & Brunch

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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 min

Lao Chutneys & Dips

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Antiguan chop upMashed aubergine, okra and spinach

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

45 minCaribbean Vegetarian

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Croûte au fromageWine-soaked bread with Gruyère

Croûte au fromage is the après-ski supper of Valais and Vaud, served in mountain restaurants from Verbier to Zermatt in sizzling dishes: thick slices of stale bread sprinkled with white wine, rubbed with garlic, heaped with grated Gruyère and baked until bubbling, often with a fried egg on top. This recipe uses white wine, as it traditionally does; for an alcohol-free version, use the swap in the ingredient note. Gruyère is made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Swiss-style cheese. A common mistake is soaking the bread with too much wine, which makes it soggy. Chef's tip: toast the bread first, then sprinkle, so it stays crisp underneath and soft on top.

25 min

Swiss Vegetarian

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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 min

Cuban Breakfast & Brunch

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AlaniWalnut-stuffed dried peaches

Every autumn in the Ararat Valley, the orchards below Mount Ararat produce more peaches than can be eaten fresh, so families split them, dry them in the sun and then stuff them with a mixture of crushed walnuts and sugar, pressing them closed again. The finished alani are sold on strings at Yerevan's covered market and given as gifts at New Year, chewy, sweet and nutty. At home, start with good soft dried peaches. A common mistake is using very dry, leathery fruit, which cracks when you open it. Chef's tip: steam the peaches for 2 minutes first, so they turn soft and pliable and close neatly around the filling.

30 min

Armenian Desserts

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Al yakhniBottle gourd in yogurt gravy

Yakhni in Kashmir means a gravy built on yogurt rather than tomato, and al yakhni, made with bottle gourd, is the version cooked in Muzaffarabad and the Neelum valley when the vines are heavy in late summer. The pale, delicately sour sauce is flavoured with ground fennel, dry ginger, cloves and cardamom, never chilli powder, and finished with a crumble of dried mint, so it tastes cool and aromatic rather than hot. It is eaten with a mound of plain rice, often alongside a red, chilli-hot dish so the two balance each other. Yogurt that splits into grainy curds is the trap: it happens when cold yogurt meets hot oil or when the pot is left alone before it boils. Chef's tip: whisk the yogurt with the spices and keep stirring in one direction over a medium heat until it comes to a full boil; after that it will not curdle.

40 min

Pakistani Vegetarian

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Aruban pan batiSweet cornmeal pancakes

Aruban families put a stack of pan bati on the table with almost every bowl of soup or stew, from sopi di pisca to kabritu stoba: thick, slightly sweet pancakes of cornmeal and flour, cooked on a dry griddle and torn to mop up the broth. They are soft, a little grainy and golden at the edges. The mistake is cooking them too fast, so they burn outside and stay raw in the middle. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the cornmeal softens and the pancakes come out tender.

30 minCaribbean Breads & Parathas

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Asa tibsFried tilapia pieces

Down by the fish market on the shore of Lake Hawassa, cooks fry tilapia straight from the boats and serve it with injera, bread and a fiery dip, and asa tibs is the version you can easily make at home. Bite-sized pieces of fillet are dusted, fried until crisp and golden, then tossed briefly with soft onion, green chilli and a spoon of awaze, so the fish is crunchy outside, flaky and sweet inside, and coated in a spicy glaze. It is a favourite on fasting days for people who eat fish, and quick enough for a weeknight. Chef's tip: leave each piece undisturbed until it releases from the pan by itself; moving fish too early is the common mistake, and it tears the coating and breaks the flesh.

27 min

Ethiopian Fish

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AkutaqWhipped berry dessert

Akutaq, sometimes called Eskimo ice cream, is a festive Inuvialuit and Yup'ik dish of the Western Arctic, served at feasts, potlatches and Christmas gatherings. Traditionally animal fat was whipped by hand with snow and wild berries; today many families in the Mackenzie Delta and Alaska use white vegetable shortening, which is the version here, so it is vegan. Fat and sugar are beaten until white and fluffy, then fresh or frozen berries are folded through. It is eaten cold, by the spoonful, in small portions. A common mistake is using warm shortening, which won't whip. Chef's tip: beat in the cold water a spoonful at a time; that is what makes it light.

30 min

Canadian Desserts

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ĆimburEggs cooked on sweet onion

Bosnian home cooks make ćimbur when there are eggs, onions and not much else, and it is a favourite weekend breakfast, or a quick sehur before dawn during Ramadan. Lots of sliced onion is cooked gently in butter until meltingly soft and sweet, then eggs are cracked into little hollows and covered until the whites set, so you scoop up runny yolk, silky onion and a dusting of paprika with warm bread or somun. A bowl of plain yogurt on the side is common. A common mistake is rushing the onions over a high heat, so they scorch on the edges while staying crunchy inside; patience over a medium-low flame is what makes the dish. Chef's tip: if the onions start to catch before they are soft, add a splash of water and keep going.

20 minBalkan Breakfast & Brunch

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AkpleCorn and cassava swallow

Ewe homes in Ho, Keta and across the Volta Region eat akple at the main meal of the day, almost always with fetri detsi, the slippery okra soup that slides it down. It is firmer and less sour than banku, made by stirring fine maize meal into a hot base of fermented corn and cassava dough, and the finished balls are smooth, dense and mild. A vegetable okra soup makes it a meat-free meal. Chef's tip: add the dry maize meal in small handfuls and press every addition into the dough before the next; pouring it in all at once is the common mistake that leaves dry, floury pockets.

30 min

Ghanaian Basics

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Chunga pithaBamboo-roasted sticky rice

On cold winter nights in Sylhet and Moulvibazar, especially among the Manipuri and Khasi villages near the hills, sticky binni rice is packed into green sections of dolu bamboo with milk, sugar and coconut, plugged with straw and pushed into the embers of a fire. As the bamboo blackens the rice steams inside, and when the tube is split open it slides out as a smooth, glossy log, sweet, milky and faintly smoky. Families eat it hot, sliced into rounds, sometimes with a curl of date-palm jaggery or with fish curry for a savoury contrast. Fresh bamboo is hard to find outside Bangladesh, so this recipe also gives a banana-leaf and foil method that works under a hot grill. Underfilled tubes are the classic misstep: the rice needs room to swell but should be packed to about three-quarters full. Chef's tip: soak the rice for at least 4 hours so it cooks evenly before the outside scorches.

60 min

Bangladeshi Rice & Grains

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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 minBalkan Meat

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Aseedat bobarPumpkin pudding with ghee

In Doha and Kuwait City, aseedat bobar arrives on winter evenings and at Ramadan iftar in a shallow dish, smooth and orange, with a little pool of melted ghee in the centre. Bobar is the Gulf word for red pumpkin, cooked down and thickened with toasted flour, sugar and cardamom into a soft, spoonable sweet that tastes a bit like a spiced pumpkin pie filling. Scoop it warm with a spoon or with pieces of bread, alongside Arabic coffee. Stopping the stirring too soon is the usual mistake: the pudding must cook until it pulls away from the sides, or it tastes of raw flour. Chef's tip: toast the flour in a dry pan until it smells like biscuits before it goes in; that nutty note is what makes it.

45 minGulf Arabian Desserts

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ArishtaButtered egg noodles

In Gyumri and the villages of Shirak, grandmothers still roll arishta by hand, cut it into thin strips and dry it in the sun to store for winter. To serve, the noodles are first toasted in butter until they turn golden and nutty, then boiled until tender and topped with garlicky matsun yogurt. It is simple, filling food for cold days on the Shirak plateau. A common mistake is skipping the toasting step, which gives soft, plain noodles without the characteristic roasted flavour. Chef's tip: dry the cut noodles for at least an hour before toasting, so they brown evenly instead of clumping.

60 min

Armenian Pasta & Noodles

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CuchauleSaffron brioche

Cuchaule is the golden saffron brioche of the canton of Fribourg, baked for the Bénichon, the autumn feast that marks the herds coming down from the mountains and the end of the harvest. Thick slices are spread with moutarde de Bénichon, a sweet, spicy mustard made with vin cuit (cooked pear syrup), and eaten at the start of a long Bénichon meal. A common mistake is adding saffron threads whole, which leaves the brioche streaky. Chef's tip: steep the saffron in warm milk for 15 minutes before making the dough, so the colour is even and golden all through.

75 min

Swiss Baking

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Jókai bablevesSmoky bean soup with pork

Mór Jókai, the nineteenth-century novelist, is said to have ordered this bean soup so often in his favourite Balatonfüred restaurant that it was named after him, and it is now a fixture of Budapest lunch menus and workers' canteens. This is a pork soup through and through: a smoked pork knuckle simmers with dried beans and roots until the meat falls apart, and slices of smoked pork sausage go in at the end. A paprika roux gives colour, a swirl of sour cream and a dash of vinegar add tang, and tiny pinched csipetke noodles make it a full meal with a slice of bread. Soak the beans overnight first. A common mistake is salting early; the smoked knuckle is salty, so taste only at the end. Chef's tip: simmer the knuckle for 30 minutes on its own first and taste the water; if it is very salty, throw it away and start again with fresh water.

150 min

Hungarian Soups

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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 min

Bangladeshi Fish

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ChrainHorseradish and beetroot relish

On the seder table and beside Shabbat gefilte fish, Ashkenazi families in Israel set out a bowl of chrain, a magenta relish of freshly grated horseradish and cooked beetroot. Its heat goes straight up the nose and clears the head, softened by the earthy sweetness of beet, a pinch of sugar and sharp vinegar. It keeps for weeks in the fridge and also livens up roast vegetables, boiled potatoes and egg salad. The common mistake is grating horseradish in a closed room with your face over the bowl: its fumes sting the eyes badly. Chef's tip: add the vinegar straight after grating, it fixes the heat at its peak; the longer grated horseradish sits without acid, the milder and more bitter it becomes.

20 min

Israeli Chutneys & Dips

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