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Sayur lodeh

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

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Kokis

Kokis are the lacy, wheel-shaped crisps that every Sri Lankan family fries in the days before Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, piled onto the Avurudu table beside kavum, kiri bath and banana. A thin batter of rice flour, thick coconut milk, egg and a little turmeric is picked up on a hot brass kokis mould, dipped into the oil, and shaken free as it sets, so each one is light, salty-sweet and shatteringly crunchy. They're a cousin of the rosette cookie but savoury rather than sugary. The usual mistake is dipping the mould right under the batter, so the kokis sticks and won't release; dip it only three-quarters of the way up its sides. Chef's tip: heat the mould in the oil for a full minute before the first dip, and return it to the oil between every kokis; a cold mould won't pick up batter.

45 min

Sri Lankan Snacks & Starters

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Chocolat chaud

Paris's grand tearooms have served chocolat chaud since the 1800s, and it is nothing like a powdered cocoa drink: dark chocolate is melted into hot milk and cream until it is thick, glossy and rich enough to coat the cup. Parisians drink it in small cups on cold afternoons, often with a pot of whipped cream on the side and a pastry. It is also a winter treat at home after a walk. Use chocolate you'd enjoy eating. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and whisk; letting it boil is the common mistake and the chocolate can turn grainy and catch on the bottom.

10 min

French Drinks

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Taiwanese popcorn chicken

Every night market in Taiwan, from Shilin in Taipei to Tainan's Garden Night Market, has a yan su ji stall with a queue, selling paper bags of bite-size fried chicken. Thigh pieces are marinated in soy, garlic and five-spice, coated in coarse sweet potato starch for a craggy, extra-crunchy shell, double-fried and tossed with fried Thai basil and a salt-and-white-pepper seasoning. The marinade traditionally includes rice wine, which contains alcohol; leave it out or use 1 tbsp water instead. Chef's tip: let the coated chicken rest for 5 minutes until the starch looks damp; it will then stay on in the oil.

40 min

Taiwanese Chicken

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Mushroom and cheese galette

In Brittany, a galette is a large, lacy pancake made from buckwheat flour, water and salt: nutty, a little earthy and crisp at the edges. Crêperies all over the region fold them around savoury fillings and serve them with a bowl of dry cider. This one is filled with garlicky mushrooms, melted cheese and chives, folded into a square so the centre shows. Pure buckwheat is naturally gluten free, but check the packet, as some is milled alongside wheat. Emmental and Gruyère are usually made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian alternative. Rest the batter if you have time: it can be made the night before. Chef's tip: the first galette is always a test; a pan that isn't hot enough is the common mistake that makes them pale and floppy instead of lacy and crisp.

25 min

French Breakfast & Brunch

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French onion soup

Soupe à l'oignon gratinée was the late-night meal of Les Halles, the old Paris food market, where porters and party-goers ate it at dawn; in Lyon, the city of onions, it's a winter bistro classic. Onions are cooked very slowly in butter until they turn a deep mahogany brown, then simmered in stock with a splash of wine and topped with toasted bread and melted cheese under the grill. The traditional soup uses beef stock; this version uses a rich vegetable stock and lets the deeply browned onions carry the flavour. Gruyère and Comté are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian alternative. Chef's tip: give the onions a full hour on a low heat; rushing them over a high heat is the common mistake and they burn before they sweeten.

90 min

French Soups

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Gratin dauphinois

Gratin dauphinois comes from the Dauphiné, the mountain region around Grenoble, where it has been made since at least the 1700s. Thinly sliced potatoes are simmered in milk and cream with garlic and nutmeg, then baked slowly until the top is golden and blistered and the inside is soft and creamy enough to cut with a spoon. Purists in the Dauphiné insist there is no cheese; the crust comes from the cream itself. It is a side for Sunday lunch and festive meals, especially good with a green salad or roasted mushrooms. Chef's tip: don't rinse the potato slices; washing off the starch is the common mistake that leaves the cream thin and watery.

95 min

French Sides

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Mushroom bourguignon

Burgundy's famous stew is traditionally made with beef, but the flavours that make it special are all in the sauce: red wine from the region's vineyards, small whole onions, carrots, thyme and mushrooms. This meat-free version gives the mushrooms the starring role, browned hard so they turn meaty and dark, then simmered in a glossy wine sauce. It is a winter dinner in French homes, served over creamy mashed potatoes, buttered noodles or with a crusty baguette. Pick a vegan-friendly wine if that matters to you. Chef's tip: brown the mushrooms in a hot pan in batches until the liquid they release has evaporated; adding them all at once is the common mistake and they boil instead of browning.

60 min

French Vegetarian

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Akoho sy voanio

Akoho sy voanio, chicken with coconut, is a dish of Madagascar's east coast around Toamasina, where coconuts are everywhere, and it has become a favourite all over the island. Chicken is browned with onion, garlic, ginger and tomato, then simmered gently in coconut milk with a pinch of curry until the sauce is creamy and mild. It is eaten with plenty of white rice and a little achard (vegetable pickle). The mistake is boiling the coconut milk hard so it splits; keep it at a gentle bubble. Chef's tip: brown the chicken well first; the coconut sauce needs that savoury depth.

65 min

Malagasy Chicken

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Lumpiang sariwa

Lumpiang sariwa ('fresh lumpia') is the unfried cousin of the crisp Filipino spring roll, served at fiestas, family gatherings and as a substantial afternoon merienda around Manila and the Tagalog provinces. A thin, soft egg crepe is wrapped around a lettuce leaf and a warm sauté of sweet potato, jicama, carrot, green beans, cabbage and tofu, then covered in a glossy brown garlic sauce and a shower of crushed peanuts. In Negros the filling is heart of palm (ubod) instead. It is eaten with a knife and fork, or carefully by hand. Chef's tip: make the crepes thin enough that you can almost see light through them; thick ones turn rubbery and hide the filling.

50 min

Filipino Snacks & Starters

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Tian provençal

A tian is named after the shallow earthenware dish Provençal cooks use to bake vegetables, and the most famous version lines up thin slices of courgette, aubergine, tomato and onion in tight rows like roof tiles. In Provence it's a Sunday side for the whole family and a light supper with a green salad in summer. The vegetables roast in their own juices with olive oil, garlic and thyme until soft, sweet and lightly browned on top. Unlike ratatouille, nothing is fried first, so it is lighter and more delicate. Chef's tip: choose vegetables of the same width and slice them all 3–4 mm thick; uneven slices are the common mistake and cook unevenly, some raw, some collapsed.

70 min

French Vegetarian

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Soupe au pistou

Soupe au pistou is Provence's summer minestrone, eaten from July to September when basil grows thick in the gardens around Marseille and Avignon. Beans, courgettes, green beans, carrots, potato and small pasta simmer in a light broth, then each bowl gets a spoonful of pistou, a pounded paste of basil, garlic, olive oil and hard cheese with no pine nuts. Stirred in at the table, it turns the broth fragrant and green. It is a whole meal with bread. The traditional cheese is Parmesan or aged Gouda, so use a vegetarian hard cheese. Chef's tip: never boil the pistou; adding it to the pot is the common mistake that turns the basil dark and kills its smell.

60 min

French Soups

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Ratatouille

Ratatouille comes from Nice, where it was a peasant stew of whatever the late-summer garden gave: aubergines, courgettes, peppers, onions and very ripe tomatoes, simmered in olive oil with garlic and thyme. Cooks in Nice argue about method, but the most respected version fries each vegetable on its own first, so each keeps its colour and shape before they are brought together in one pot. It's eaten warm with rice, cold the next day with bread, or as a side to an omelette. Chef's tip: brown the aubergine in batches and don't crowd the pan; piling it in is the common mistake that makes it steam into a grey mush.

75 min

French Vegetarian

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Kak'ik

Kak'ik is a red, aromatic turkey soup from the Q'eqchi' Maya of Alta Verapaz, around Cobán, and is cooked for weddings, saints' days and Christmas; it is now recognised as part of Guatemala's cultural heritage. Turkey legs simmer in a broth flavoured with toasted tomatoes, guajillo and pasa chillies, achiote, coriander and mint, and it is served with tamalitos or rice. The mistake is not toasting the chillies and tomatoes; the slight char gives the soup its smoky depth. Chef's tip: toast the dried chillies only for seconds, until they puff and smell fruity, or they turn bitter.

115 minCentral American Soups

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Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts

This is the dessert Greek tavernas bring out on the house at the end of a meal, and a common breakfast in homes and hotels from Crete to Corfu. Thick strained yogurt, ideally the sheep's-milk kind with a skin on top, is drizzled with dark thyme honey and scattered with walnuts. Simple as it is, the details matter: rich yogurt, good honey and nuts toasted just before serving. Add fresh figs or a spoon of quince preserve if you have them. Chef's tip: warm the honey for a few seconds so it runs in ribbons; cold honey is the common mistake and just sits in a blob.

8 min

Greek Desserts

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Portokalopita

Portokalopita is a Greek orange cake with an unusual trick: instead of flour, it uses dried, torn fillo pastry, which soaks up an orange yogurt batter and then a hot orange syrup. It became a favourite in Greek homes in the 1990s and is now baked for coffee mornings, Sunday visits and village festivals across the country. The texture is like a moist sponge with crisp edges, very orangey and not too sweet. It keeps beautifully, so it is perfect for making the day before. Chef's tip: dry the fillo properly until crisp; using it soft is the usual mistake and gives a heavy, gummy cake.

75 min

Greek Baking

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Galaktoboureko

Galaktoboureko is the grand dessert of Greek pastry shops: a thick layer of silky semolina custard baked between sheets of buttered fillo, then soaked with cold lemon and cinnamon syrup the moment it leaves the oven. It's bought by the tray for Sunday lunches, name days and Easter, and eaten slightly warm or at room temperature with coffee. The top shatters, the syrup pools at the edges and the custard stays creamy. It takes patience but no special skill. Chef's tip: pour cold syrup over the hot pie (or hot over cold), never hot on hot; that common mistake leaves the pastry soggy instead of crisp.

90 min

Greek Desserts

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Halloumi with watermelon

In Cyprus, halloumi and watermelon is the taste of an August afternoon: icy wedges of watermelon eaten alongside salty halloumi, either fresh and squeaky or grilled until golden. Cypriots have eaten the two together for generations, on beaches, village verandas and after a long lunch. Here the halloumi is seared, then tossed with chunks of cold watermelon, mint, red onion and lime. It is a starter, a light lunch or a side for any barbecue. Some halloumi is made with animal rennet, so look for one labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: don't cook the halloumi until everyone is ready to eat; it turns rubbery as it cools, which is the most common halloumi mistake.

10 min

Greek Salads

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Saganaki

Saganaki takes its name from the small two-handled pan it's cooked in. A thick slice of hard sheep's-milk cheese, usually kefalograviera or kefalotyri, is dusted with flour and fried until it has a crisp, golden crust and a soft, stretchy middle, then splashed with lemon. In Greek tavernas it arrives sizzling at the start of the meal, to share with bread, salad and a cold drink. Traditional Greek hard cheeses are often made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian alternative such as a vegetarian graviera or halloumi. We dust it with rice flour so it is gluten free. Chef's tip: chill the cheese and get the pan properly hot before it goes in; a lukewarm pan is the common mistake and the cheese melts into a puddle before it crisps.

10 min

Greek Snacks & Starters

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Dakos

Dakos is Crete's favourite summer meze: a round, hard barley rusk softened with a sprinkle of water, piled with grated ripe tomato and crumbled cheese, then drenched in olive oil and dusted with oregano. On the island it's made with soft, tangy mizithra and eaten in the afternoon with a glass of raki, but feta works well. The rusk drinks up the tomato juice and oil while keeping a little crunch. Look for barley rusks (paximadia) in Greek or Middle Eastern shops. Chef's tip: wet the rusk lightly, just enough to take the edge off; soaking it is the common mistake and it falls apart before you can eat it.

10 min

Greek Salads

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Chicken Kyiv

Chicken Kyiv, kotleta po-kyivsky, became the pride of the restaurants of Kyiv in the 20th century, and the city still serves it with a little paper frill on the bone and a fountain of herb butter when it is cut. A flattened chicken breast is rolled around a frozen stick of garlic, dill and parsley butter, double-crumbed to seal it, then fried and finished in the oven. Serve with mash or fried potatoes and a green salad. Chef's tip: freeze the butter until rock hard and seal every edge with two coats of egg and crumbs; that is what stops it from leaking.

80 min

Ukrainian Chicken

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Tirokafteri

Tirokafteri means 'hot cheese', and in Thessaloniki and across northern Greece it's the dip you order with ouzo or tsipouro: feta whipped with chilli, a roasted red pepper and olive oil into something creamy, salty and properly fiery. Every ouzeri makes it slightly differently; some keep it chunky, some silky, some add yogurt to soften the heat. Scoop it up with toasted bread, or spoon it beside grilled vegetables and fritters. Use feta labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: add the fresh chilli a little at a time and taste; chillies vary a lot, and adding the whole lot at once is the usual mistake that makes it too hot to eat.

10 min

Greek Chutneys & Dips

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Fava (Santorini split pea purée)

On Santorini, fava is made from a tiny yellow split pea that has grown in the island's volcanic soil for thousands of years. Cooked slowly with onion until it collapses, it is whipped with olive oil and lemon into a purée as smooth as hummus but lighter and sweeter. In island tavernas it comes warm, with raw red onion, capers and a puddle of green olive oil, and you scoop it up with bread. Ordinary yellow split peas work well at home. Serve it as a meze or a light meal with salad. Chef's tip: skim off the white foam that rises in the first 10 minutes; leaving it is the common mistake that gives the purée a bitter, grey edge.

60 min

Greek Chutneys & Dips

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Tzatziki

Tzatziki is on every Greek table in summer: scooped up with bread at the start of a taverna meal, spooned over fried courgettes and chips, and tucked into pitta wraps. It is cool, thick and sharp with raw garlic, made with strained yogurt so it holds its shape on a spoon. Grated cucumber gives it crunch, a little vinegar lifts it, and olive oil makes it rich. It also goes well with gemista, fritters and grilled halloumi. Chef's tip: salt the grated cucumber and squeeze it dry; leaving the water in is the common mistake that turns tzatziki runny within an hour.

15 min

Greek Chutneys & Dips

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Fakes

Fakes (say 'fah-KES') is the weekday soup of Greek homes, often made on a Wednesday or Friday, the traditional fasting days. Small brown lentils are simmered with onion, garlic, carrot, tomato and bay until thick and soft, then brightened at the table with red wine vinegar. It is cheap, filling and ready in well under an hour. Greeks eat it with olives, a wedge of feta for those who eat dairy, raw onion and bread. Chef's tip: add the vinegar off the heat just before eating, not while it cooks; boiling it is the usual mistake and flattens the sharp lift it is meant to give.

45 min

Greek Soups

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Fasolada

Fasolada is sometimes called the national dish of Greece, and it is the soup that fed families through winters and long Lenten fasts. It is humble and filling: small white beans simmered slowly with carrot, celery, onion and tomato until the broth turns thick and creamy, then finished with a generous pour of raw olive oil. On a cold weekday it is dinner on its own, eaten with olives, pickled peppers, raw onion and bread. Soak the beans the night before. Chef's tip: let it simmer gently with the lid ajar and stir now and then so some beans break and thicken the broth; boiling it hard is the common mistake that splits the beans and leaves the soup thin.

105 min

Greek Soups

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Briam

Briam is what Greek home cooks put in the oven on a hot afternoon when the garden is full of courgettes: potatoes, courgettes, aubergine, peppers and onions tumbled with grated tomato, garlic and oregano, then roasted slowly until soft and caramelised at the edges. It is one of the ladera, dishes cooked in olive oil and eaten as a main course, usually at room temperature with feta and bread. It tastes better the next day, when the flavours have settled. Chef's tip: cut the potatoes thinner than everything else so they cook in the same time; same-size chunks are the common mistake that leaves you with hard potatoes and mushy courgettes.

80 min

Greek Vegetarian

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Gemista

Gemista is the dish of a Greek August, when tomatoes are cheap, sweet and bursting. Home cooks hollow out the tomatoes and peppers, stir the scooped-out pulp into rice with onions, mint and parsley, and bake everything in one big tray with wedges of potato tucked in between. The vegetables slump and blister, the rice soaks up the tomato juice and olive oil, and the potatoes go sticky at the edges. This vegetarian version is the one most families make in summer and during fasting periods. Serve warm or at room temperature with feta for those who eat dairy and plenty of bread to wipe the tray. Chef's tip: fill the vegetables only three-quarters full; the rice swells as it bakes, and overfilling is the common mistake that splits the tomatoes and leaves the rice hard.

105 min

Greek Vegetarian

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