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Masikita
Featured recipe

Masikita

Grilled beef skewers

As the light fades in Mahajanga, Toliara and Antananarivo, the smoke from masikita grills drifts along the pavements, with vendors fanning glowing charcoal under rows of tiny skewers. In Madagascar they are made with zebu, the humped cattle that are central to life on the island; good beef rump or sirloin is the closest match at home. Small cubes are marinated with garlic, ginger, pepper and a little oil, threaded tightly and grilled fast, so the outside chars and the inside stays juicy. Eat them straight off the stick with sakay, a squeeze of lime and a cold drink, or with rice for dinner. Cutting the cubes too big is the common mistake: masikita should be bite-sized so they cook through in minutes. Chef's tip: soak wooden skewers for 30 minutes first so they don't burn before the beef is done.

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Doi chiraFlattened rice with curd

Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.

10 minBangladeshiBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Karawila sambolaFried bitter gourd salad

Even people who claim to hate bitter gourd tend to come round to karawila sambola, the crunchy, tangy salad that turns up on rice and curry plates from the coast to the eastern towns. Paper-thin slices of the knobbly green gourd are salted to draw out some of the bitterness, fried until they are crisp like crisps, and then tossed at the last minute with raw red onion, green chilli, tomato and plenty of lime. The result is salty, sour and gently bitter, a bright contrast to rich coconut curries. Many cooks also scatter in Maldive fish flakes; this vegan version leaves them out. The mistake to avoid is mixing the salad too early, since the lime and tomato juice soften the fried slices within minutes. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted slices really hard in a clean cloth before frying; the drier they are, the crisper and less oily they come out.

30 minSri LankanSaladsVeganGluten free
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MatevžCrushed beans and potatoes

The karst country of Notranjska, south-west of Ljubljana, with its vanishing lakes and stone villages, has a soft spot for matevž: borlotti beans and potatoes crushed together into a coarse, speckled mash, slicked with oil and crowned with fried onion. It is the classic partner for sauerkraut or sour turnip and, on the farm, for a smoked pork sausage; here it stays vegan with olive oil and comes with a caraway sauerkraut. Expect something creamy, earthy and sweet from the onions, cut by the sharp cabbage. Tinned beans keep it to an hour; for dried, soak 250 g overnight and simmer for an hour first. Blitzing it smooth is the usual slip; matevž should be roughly crushed with a masher, bean skins and all. Chef's tip: save a mugful of the cooking water, because matevž firms up as it stands and a splash brings it back.

60 minBalkanSidesVeganGluten free
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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 minCanadianDessertsVeganGluten free
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GaboutStuffed dumplings in tomato stew

Gabout is old Kuwaiti home cooking, the kind grandmothers in Kuwait City still make for family lunches in winter, and a close relative of the Iraqi dumplings brought along the trading routes of the Gulf. Soft flour dough is wrapped around spiced lamb or beef mince with chickpeas, and the dumplings are simmered in a sour tomato and dried-lime stew until they are tender and plump. It is filling and comforting, eaten with bread or on its own. The mistake people make is rolling the dough too thick, which makes the dumplings heavy and doughy. Chef's tip: wet your fingers when sealing, the dough must close tightly or the filling leaks into the stew.

120 minGulf ArabianMeat
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FyddzhynBeef and onion pie

In North Ossetia, pies come in threes, for the sun, earth and sky, and the meat pie in that stack is fyddzhyn: a thin, soft yeast crust wrapped around juicy minced beef, onion, garlic and a little chilli, with a small hole in the middle to let out steam. The Ossetian people serve it at every family gathering and feast, hot and dripping with butter brushed on as it leaves the oven, cut into wedges and eaten with the hands. A common mistake is rolling the crust thick; good fyddzhyn is all filling and the dough should be barely 4 mm. Chef's tip: add a few spoons of cold stock to the mince; it turns to steam in the oven and keeps the filling juicy.

105 minRussianMeat
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Fuži s tartufimaHand-rolled pasta with truffle

Autumn in the Mirna valley of inland Istria, around Motovun and Buzet, means truffle hunters and dogs in the oak woods and plates of fuži in every village konoba. Fuži are small squares of egg pasta wrapped round a stick into quills, and here they are tossed with butter, a splash of their cooking water and grated truffle, so each one carries a glossy, earthy coat. Fresh black or white truffle is best; a little truffle paste works too, but read the label and avoid products that rely on artificial truffle aroma. The aged hard cheese is often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian hard cheese if you need to. Where most people go wrong is cooking the truffle: heat kills its scent, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: store the fresh truffle overnight in a closed jar in the fridge with the eggs for the dough; they soak up its perfume through the shell.

60 minBalkanPasta & Noodles
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Karela piazBitter gourd with onions

Bitter gourd divides every family in Punjab, but karela piaz is the version that wins over the doubters: the gourd is salted, squeezed and fried until its edges crisp, then tossed with almost as much browned onion as karela, so the sweetness of the onions softens the bitterness. In Lahore it is a summer dish, a staple of tiffin carriers and home lunches with chapati and a cooling bowl of raita, and some households pack it for long train journeys because it keeps well. The thing most people get wrong is skimping on the onions or rushing them; pale, half-cooked onions leave the dish harsh rather than mellow. Chef's tip: rub the slices with salt and a little turmeric, leave them for 30 minutes, then squeeze hard by the handful, which draws out much of the bitterness before cooking.

70 minPakistaniVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Karađorđeva šniclaBreaded stuffed pork roll

Belgrade restaurants have served this since a local chef created it in the mid-20th century, naming it after Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising; diners fondly call it the maiden's dream. A thin pork escalope (veal is the other classic) is spread with kajmak, Serbia's rich, slightly tangy clotted cream, rolled tight, double-breaded and fried into a golden log that oozes when cut. It comes with chips or roast potatoes, a lemon wedge and tartar sauce. If you can't find kajmak, beat cream cheese with a little soft butter and a pinch of salt. Rolling it loosely is the mistake that ruins it, because the cream escapes into the oil; roll tightly and chill before breading. Chef's tip: fry only until golden, then finish in the oven, so the crumb stays crisp while the pork cooks through to the centre.

60 minBalkanMeat
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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 minGhanaianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Karachi halwaCornflour halwa

Glassy, jewel-bright and chewy like a Turkish delight with more bite, Karachi halwa is the sweet that the city's mithai shops on Saddar and Tariq Road stack in orange, green and red slabs studded with cashews and melon seeds, and it travels well as a gift to family abroad. It is made from cornflour cooked with sugar syrup and lemon until it turns clear, then fed with ghee spoon by spoon until it shines and pulls away from the pan in one elastic mass. Across the border it is called Bombay halwa, and in Pakistan it is a staple for weddings, Eid and Diwali sweet boxes from the Hindu shops of Sindh. Lots of cooks lose their nerve and stop before the halwa has absorbed all the ghee and turned translucent, and it sets cloudy and sticky. Chef's tip: work the halwa with a flat wooden spatula and add the ghee only when the previous spoonful has disappeared; when the ghee starts to leak back out, it is done.

60 minPakistaniIndian SweetsGluten free
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Karawala thel dalaStir-fried dried fish

Every Sri Lankan market from Negombo to Trincomalee has a stall stacked with karawala, sun-dried salted fish, and when the larder is low or the rain keeps the boats in, a quick thel dala turns a small piece of it into something to wake up a plate of rice. Strips or small whole fish are fried until crisp, then tossed with plenty of onion, tomato, green chilli and chilli flakes until they are glossy, salty, smoky and hot. It is eaten in small amounts beside dhal, rice and a mild vegetable curry, or with kiribath and pol roti for breakfast, and it keeps for a day or two. Watch out for the classic fault of skipping the soak, which leaves the dish far too salty to eat. Chef's tip: fry the soaked fish until really crunchy before the onions go in; that crisp edge is what makes it addictive.

25 minSri LankanFishGluten freeSpicy
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KarjalanpaistiBeef and pork hotpot

Karjalanpaisti, the Karelian hotpot, is one of Finland's national dishes, cooked for Independence Day, family celebrations and Christmas: chunks of beef and pork, sometimes lamb, layered with onion, whole allspice and bay, covered with water and baked slowly for hours in a clay pot until the meats are falling apart in a rich, peppery broth. This dish contains pork. It is served with mashed potato and lingonberries. A common mistake is a hot oven, which toughens the meat. Chef's tip: do not stir or brown the meat; Karelian cooks let it bake low and slow, and the long cooking alone gives the deep flavour.

260 minScandinavianCurriesGluten free
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KapamaPork, chicken and sauerkraut feast pot

In the stone houses of Bansko, beneath the Pirin mountains, kapama is the dish of the winter holidays, carried to the table in its clay pot at Christmas, New Year and the masked Kukeri carnival. Pork shoulder, chicken on the bone and fresh pork sausage are layered with sauerkraut, rice and paprika, then sealed and baked for hours until the meat falls apart and the rice has soaked up the tangy, smoky juices. Old cooks seal the lid with a rope of dough; this version uses foil under a tight lid, which keeps it gluten free. Serve with extra sauerkraut and pickled peppers. The usual slip is lifting the lid too often, which lets out the steam and dries the top layer. Chef's tip: taste a strand of the sauerkraut first and rinse it only if it is very salty; its sourness is the backbone of the dish.

295 minBulgarianMeatGluten free
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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 minSingaporeanDessertsVeganGluten free
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Bhee patataLotus stem and potato curry

Sindhis have a particular love of bhee, the lotus stems that come up from the lakes and canals around Manchhar and Keenjhar, and bhee patata is the most loved way of cooking them at home in Karachi and Hyderabad. Cut on the slant, the stems show their lacy, many-holed cross-section and keep a pleasing crunch even after a long simmer, while the potato pieces go soft and soak up a thick masala of browned onion, tomato and coriander. It is a Sunday lunch dish served with phulka or with plain rice and a bowl of yogurt. Mud trapped in the hollow channels is the usual problem and it makes the curry gritty. Chef's tip: slice the stems first and then wash every piece under running water, poking out any dark patches with a skewer, before you par-boil them.

60 minPakistaniVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Diram fittiSprouted wheat bread with butter

High in the Hunza valley, diram is flour ground from wheat that has been soaked, sprouted and sun-dried, and it gives this thick, round bread a gentle natural sweetness and a faintly malty smell. Diram fitti is cooked slowly in a covered pan, then broken into rough pieces while still hot and drowned in melted butter and a little apricot-kernel oil, so it turns rich, soft and fragrant; in Karimabad and Altit it is made for guests, for festivals such as Ginani at harvest time and to feed someone through a hard winter. It is eaten with the hands, often with salty Hunza tea. Pale, raw centres are the common fault, so cook it slowly with the lid on. Chef's tip: sprouted wheat flour is sold in health-food shops; use only food-grade culinary apricot-kernel oil, or swap in walnut oil or more butter.

60 minPakistaniBreads & Parathas
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DirkoshDried crisp injera

No Ethiopian kitchen throws injera away. Pieces that are past their best are torn up and dried in the sun, on the roof or on a tray by the fire until they snap like crackers, then kept in a sack or tin for weeks. This dirkosh is the backbone of quick meals on Wednesdays, Fridays and during the long Lent fast: a handful softened in a red onion and berbere sauce becomes fasting firfir in ten minutes, and travellers once carried it as food for the road. A low oven does the job at home in a few hours. Chef's tip: tear the injera into pieces no larger than a playing card; big sheets curl and stay leathery in the middle.

190 minEthiopianBasicsVegan
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Dimer chopEgg-in-potato croquettes

Glass cabinets at Dhaka's sweet shops and snack counters, from New Market to Mirpur, always hold a row of dimer chop, oval golden-crumbed parcels that, when cut, reveal half a boiled egg nested inside a layer of spiced potato. They are bought for afternoon tea, birthday parties and school tiffin and eaten with kasundi mustard sauce, tomato ketchup and a little sliced onion and cucumber. Some versions mix minced meat into the potato; this one keeps it vegetarian, with garam masala, ginger and fried onion for depth. Soft-boiled eggs are a mistake here: they must be fully hard-boiled so the yolk is firm and the chop is safe and easy to wrap. Chef's tip: chill the crumbed chops for 15 minutes before frying so the coating stays put.

50 minBangladeshiSnacks & Starters
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DibyazaApricot and date compote

No Eid table in Jeddah or Mecca is complete without a bowl of dibyaza, a thick, glossy compote that old Hejazi families make the night before the festival and serve at breakfast alongside cheese, olives and fresh bread. Sheets of dried apricot paste melt into a tangy orange syrup that wraps around soft dates, figs, prunes and crunchy nuts, so every spoonful is sweet, sour and jammy at once. Some households stir in fried onion for a savoury edge; this version keeps it to fruit and nuts. People often boil it hard and scorch the bottom, because apricot paste catches very easily. Keep the heat low and stir from the base. It keeps for a week in the fridge. Chef's tip: soak the apricot paste in hot water until completely soft before it goes near the heat; it then dissolves smooth instead of leaving rubbery shreds.

60 minGulf ArabianDessertsVeganGluten free
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KanchembaFried buckwheat fingers

In the Thakali villages of Thak Khola, kanchemba is what is fried when visitors arrive in the afternoon or when the family gathers on a winter evening, and it has since become a favourite snack in Thakali restaurants in Pokhara and Kathmandu. The buckwheat dough is seasoned with turmeric, chilli and a little onion, rolled into thick fingers, then deep-fried until crunchy outside and soft and nutty in the centre. A punchy dipping achar of tomato, chilli, garlic and roasted timur comes alongside, and the pair is eaten with a bowl of salty butter tea or a glass of hot water. The trouble usually starts when the fingers are too thick, so the middle stays pasty while the outside darkens. Chef's tip: keep the fingers no thicker than your own, and fry at a moderate heat so they cook through before they brown.

40 minNepaliSnacks & StartersVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Bela biscuitTwice-baked tea biscuit

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

220 minBangladeshiBaking
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Ajiaco cubanoRoot vegetable and meat stew

Ajiaco is often called Cuba's national stew, and in Camagüey it is still cooked in huge pots for festivals and family gatherings: dried or fresh beef, pork and chicken simmered with malanga, yuca, boniato, green and ripe plantain, corn and calabaza until the roots break down and thicken the broth. It is a whole meal in a bowl, finished with lime and a fried sofrito. This version uses beef shin, pork shoulder and chicken thighs. The mistake most people make is adding every vegetable at once; firm roots go in first and soft pumpkin and ripe plantain last. Chef's tip: mash a few chunks of pumpkin and malanga against the side of the pot at the end, which gives the broth its body.

190 minCubanSoupsGluten free
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Kandahari tikkaGrilled lamb chunks

Kandahar's tikka houses pride themselves on doing very little to the meat: chunks of lamb, threaded on wide iron skewers with small pieces of tail fat between them, are rubbed with grated onion, salt and black pepper and grilled over fierce charcoal until the fat drips and flares. The result is smoky, juicy and peppery, with crisp edges and a clean lamb flavour, and it is served on hot naan with raw onion, tomato and a sharp green chutney. Over-marinating in onion is a common misstep, as the juice softens the surface into mush after a day; two to four hours is plenty. Chef's tip: let the skewers rest for 2 minutes on the naan before eating, so the bread soaks up the juices.

27 minAfghanMeatGluten free
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DhodhaMilk, wheat and ghee fudge

Every bus that stops in Khushab, on the road between Sargodha and the Salt Range, is met by boys carrying boxes of dhodha, the town's famous sweet and a standard gift for anyone visiting family in Punjab. It is lighter in colour and softer than habshi halwa, a moist, crumbly fudge of slowly reduced milk, a little wheat flour, ghee and sugar, packed with almonds, pistachios and walnuts and pressed into slabs about two fingers thick. The flavour is milky and nutty with a gentle caramel note, and it is sliced and eaten with tea, especially in the cold months. Where people slip up is under-reducing the milk, so the dhodha never firms and stays soft like a halwa. Chef's tip: keep stirring after you add the sugar until the mass leaves the sides of the pan cleanly and holds a ridge when you draw the spoon through it, then press it into the tin while still warm.

180 minPakistaniIndian Sweets
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