Featured recipe

Lasary voatabia

Tomato and spring onion relish

Lasary voatabia is the fresh tomato relish served beside the rice at almost every Malagasy meal, from Antananarivo's highland homes to the coast. Tomatoes and spring onion are chopped very small, sharpened with lime or vinegar and a little sakay (chilli), and spooned onto the rice to wake up broths like romazava. It is juicier and finer than a salad. Chef's tip: chop the tomatoes very small, almost to a pulp at the edges; the juice is meant to soak into the rice.

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Kogel-mogel

Ask anyone who grew up in a Warsaw block of flats about kogel-mogel and they will remember standing in the kitchen beating yolks and sugar in a mug with a teaspoon, waiting for it to turn pale. It is the simplest Polish treat: thick, mousse-like and very sweet, sometimes with cocoa, eaten from a glass with a spoon or dolloped on fruit. Because the yolks are raw, use pasteurised eggs, which most supermarkets sell as cartons of yolks or as pasteurised whole eggs. Even so, raw eggs are not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The common mistake is stopping too soon; it needs a good 5 minutes of whisking until it doubles and almost all the sugar has dissolved. Chef's tip: use caster sugar, which disappears faster and gives a silkier result.

10 min

Polish Desserts

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Napoleon cake

Legend links this cake to 1912, the centenary of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, when St Petersburg confectioners cut triangular pastries shaped like his hat. By Soviet times it had grown into the tall round cake every family baked for birthdays and New Year's Eve. Eight wafer-thin rounds of quick flaky pastry are stacked with vanilla custard enriched with butter, then left overnight so the layers soften into something between a mille-feuille and a tender sponge; crushed trimmings give the snowy finish. Where most people go wrong is serving it the same day; without the long rest in the fridge it is crisp and dry instead of melting. Chef's tip: roll each piece of pastry straight onto baking paper and trim it around a 24 cm plate before baking, so you never have to lift thin raw dough.

240 min

Russian Desserts

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Grilled bolti (Nile tilapia)

From the Nubian villages near Aswan to the fishing camps on Lake Nasser, bolti caught that morning is gutted, slashed and grilled over charcoal for lunch, and fish grills all over Egypt cook it the same way. The rub is simple: crushed garlic, plenty of cumin, lemon, chilli and oil, which toasts on the skin and seasons the sweet, mild flesh. A stuffing of onion and parsley in the belly keeps it moist. Eat it with your hands, picking the flesh from the bones, alongside tahini, green salad and rice or bread. Chef's tip: oil the grill bars as well as the fish and leave it alone for the first 6 minutes; fish moved too early tears and sticks, which is the usual grilling mistake.

40 min

Egyptian Fish

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Rokak bel lahma (Eid meat pie)

When Eid comes round, Egyptian shops stack up rounds of rokak, a very thin, brittle unleavened pastry baked on a hot dome, and cooks turn them into this layered pie for the family lunch. Each sheet is moistened with hot meat broth and a little ghee, layered with beef mince fried with onion, then baked until the top crackles and the inside turns tender and savoury, somewhere between a pie and a lasagne. It is cut into squares and served with rice, salad and pickles. If you cannot find rokak, sheets of filo baked dry for a few minutes are the nearest substitute. Chef's tip: soak each layer just enough to soften it; too much broth makes a heavy, soggy pie, and too little leaves dry shards, the mistake most people make the first time.

90 min

Egyptian Baking

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Spris (layered fruit juice)

Juice houses all over Addis Ababa, with their towers of fruit stacked in the window, are famous for spris: a tall glass of thick purées poured in stripes, usually green avocado, golden mango and orange papaya, with a wedge of lime on the rim. It is closer to a spoonable smoothie than a juice, and people often eat the layers one by one before stirring the rest together. It makes a filling breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up, and children love the colours. Chef's tip: blend each fruit separately and keep every purée thick enough to hold a spoon; runny purées bleed into each other and the stripes vanish.

15 min

Ethiopian Drinks

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Chapman (Nigerian fruit punch)

Order a chapman in a Lagos club house or at an owambe party and it arrives in a tall glass full of ice, glowing red and crowded with slices of cucumber, orange and lemon. Lemon-lime and orange sodas are mixed with blackcurrant cordial and grenadine for a sweet, fruity, fizzy drink with a fresh edge from the cucumber. The classic recipe adds a few dashes of aromatic bitters, and those bitters contain alcohol; leave them out (or use an alcohol-free bitters) and it is fully alcohol-free and fine for children. Adding the soda too early is the usual mistake, as it goes flat, so mix the syrups and fruit first and top up just before serving. Chef's tip: chill every bottle well beforehand, so less ice melts into the drink.

10 min

Nigerian Drinks

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Ila asepo (Yoruba okra soup)

Ibadan and Abeokuta buka ladle ila asepo over amala at lunchtime: a bright, chunky okra soup cooked in a palm-oil pepper base, rather than the plain boiled okra of other regions. Iru and crayfish give depth, assorted meat and smoked fish give body, and prawns go in at the end, so every spoonful is drawy, savoury and loaded. It is just as good with eba or pounded yam. Cooking the okra too long is the usual mistake; it loses its stretch and its green colour, so add it last and give it only 4–5 minutes. Chef's tip: chop the okra by hand into small dice instead of blending it, and the soup keeps its pleasant crunch.

85 min

Nigerian Meat

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Egyptian stuffed pickled aubergines

Pickle shops in old Cairo stack jars of these small dark aubergines next to the turnips and lemons, and at home they are sliced beside ful, falafel or a plate of koshari. Each one is boiled until just tender, split down one side and packed with a sharp, hot stuffing of garlic, chilli and green pepper, then left in vinegar for several days until it turns silky and tangy. Only about 40 minutes of the work is active; the jar then needs 5 days in the fridge. Keep the pickle refrigerated and eat it within 3 weeks. The usual mistake is undercooking the aubergines before stuffing, so they stay spongy and never absorb the brine. Chef's tip: press the boiled aubergines under a weighted plate before stuffing, so they hold the vinegar rather than their own bitter water.

40 min

Egyptian Chutneys & Dips

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Egyptian mixed pickles

Every koshari shop, ful cart and shawarma stall in Cairo puts a little dish of mekhalel on the counter, and Egyptians at home keep a jar going all year. Turnip batons are the star, dyed bright pink by a single slice of beetroot, with carrot, cucumber, chilli and lemon packed in alongside for crunch, heat and a bitter citrus edge. This quick fridge version is ready to eat in about 5 days and keeps for a month, cold. A common mistake is using iodised table salt, which clouds the brine and can soften the vegetables, so buy plain non-iodised salt. Chef's tip: cut the lemon into quarters but leave them joined at the base, so they flavour the brine without turning the whole jar bitter.

30 min

Egyptian Chutneys & Dips

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Qolqas (taro with chard and coriander)

Coptic Christians across Egypt eat qolqas for the Feast of the Epiphany (Eid el-Ghitas) in January, together with sugarcane and oranges, and it is a winter favourite in Muslim homes too. Peeled taro is cut into cubes and simmered in chicken or beef stock until soft and almost creamy, then a green paste of chard, fresh coriander and garlic fried in oil is stirred through, turning the broth a deep, herby green. The texture is soft and slightly velvety from the taro's natural starch, and the flavour fresh and garlicky. It is served with white rice and often with the meat from the stock. Raw taro irritates the skin and mouth, so wear gloves to peel it and always cook it until completely tender. The usual mistake is touching peeled taro with bare hands or eating it undercooked; both bring an itchy, scratchy feel. Chef's tip: rub the cut cubes with lemon juice before cooking to keep them pale and reduce their sliminess.

75 min

Egyptian Curries

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Jamaican green banana porridge

Green banana porridge is the breakfast many Jamaicans remember from their grandmothers' kitchens in St Mary and St Ann, where bananas are cheap and plentiful and the porridge was said to "build you up" for the day. Unripe bananas grated or blended with water cook into a smooth, silky porridge with a gentle, earthy flavour, sweetened with condensed milk and scented with nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. The common mistake is not whisking as it heats; the starch thickens suddenly and goes lumpy within a minute. Peel the green bananas with oiled hands or gloves, because the sap stains. Chef's tip: blend the bananas with the water until completely smooth before they go into the pot, which makes it far easier to keep lump-free.

30 min

Jamaican Breakfast & Brunch

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Bajan coconut turnovers

Glass cases in Bridgetown bakeries hold rows of turnovers, soft golden half-moons of sweet yeasted dough with a sticky filling of grated coconut, brown sugar, almond essence and spice peeking out at the edges, often tinted red. Bajans eat them mid-morning with a mug of cocoa or a cold sweet drink. The mistake is overfilling, which bursts the seams in the oven; leave a clear border to seal. Chef's tip: cook the coconut filling until almost dry and cool it fully before using, as warm wet filling makes the dough soggy.

60 min

Bajan Baking

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Amala (yam flour swallow)

Amala gets its dusky brown colour from elubo, yam that has been peeled, sliced, sun-dried and milled, which gives it a faintly smoky, earthy taste. Ibadan's amala joints serve it from morning to night, soft and steaming, wrapped in leaves or cling film, with ewedu, gbegiri and stew; it is pinched off with the fingers and dipped, never chewed for long. Making it takes five minutes and a strong arm: the flour goes into boiling water and is stirred and turned against the side of the pot until it is perfectly smooth and stretchy. Lumps are the usual mistake, so add the flour off the heat and stir hard from the first second. Chef's tip: use a sturdy wooden spatula (omorogun) and press the dough against the pot rather than just stirring it round; that is what makes it silky.

15 min

Nigerian Basics

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Sugarcane juice

Juice shops all over Cairo and the towns of Upper Egypt crush sugarcane through clattering steel rollers and serve the pale green juice ice-cold for a few pounds a glass, a favourite in the summer heat and after Ramadan fasting. It is sweet, grassy and refreshing, with a faint lemony edge, and it tastes best within minutes of pressing. Without a press, peeled cane chopped small and blended with a little water gives a very close result at home. Chef's tip: peel the cane completely, because the hard green rind makes the juice bitter and dark.

10 min

Egyptian Drinks

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Doum drink

Spice and herb sellers in the Aswan souk pile up the hard, glossy brown fruit of the doum palm, and Nubian households soak it into a cold, sweet drink for the hot months and for Ramadan iftar. The dried flesh gives a cloudy amber drink that tastes surprisingly like gingerbread or caramel, with a faint woody bitterness. Buy it crushed or as coarse powder at Egyptian and African grocers; whole fruit is extremely hard to break. Leaving it to steep too long is the mistake to avoid, because it turns bitter. Chef's tip: strain twice, once through a sieve and again through muslin, to remove the gritty fibre.

15 min

Egyptian Drinks

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Bedouin sage tea

Visitors to a Bedouin camp in the Sinai mountains are handed small glasses of this tea almost before they sit down, brewed in a blackened kettle over the fire and sweetened generously. Wild maramiya, the local sage, is dropped in at the end, giving the strong black tea a soft, herbal, slightly camphor scent that is soothing after a long walk or a heavy meal. Garden sage works well, and dried sage is fine in a pinch. Boiling the sage is the mistake to avoid, because it turns the tea bitter. Sage is best taken in moderation and avoided in large amounts during pregnancy. Chef's tip: pour from a height into the glasses; the froth that forms is how Bedouin hosts like it served.

10 min

Egyptian Drinks

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Gandofli (Alexandrian garlic clams)

Along the Alexandria Corniche and in the old Anfushi fish quarter, gandofli are a summer seaside snack, often sold by the plateful with lemon and sometimes eaten raw. Raw shellfish carries a real risk of food poisoning, so this home version cooks them: the little clams go into a hot pan with olive oil, garlic, a pinch of cumin and chilli, and steam open in a minute or two, releasing sweet, salty juices that mix with lemon into a sauce for mopping up with bread. Buy them live from a reputable fishmonger and cook them the same day. Chef's tip: soak the clams in salted water in the fridge for 30 minutes before cooking so they spit out their sand; nothing spoils them faster than grit.

25 min

Egyptian Fish

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Hamam mahshi (stuffed pigeon)

Pigeon towers still rise above villages in the Nile Delta, and stuffed pigeon is a celebration dish there and in Cairo's famous pigeon restaurants; it is traditionally served to newlyweds and at feasts. Each small bird is filled with freekeh (smoky green wheat) cooked with onion, giblets and warm spices, then simmered in a cardamom broth until tender and finished in a hot oven or fried so the skin turns deep brown and crackling. The meat is dark and rich, closer to duck than chicken, and the freekeh soaks up all the juices. Serve one bird each with a salad, pickles and the broth as soup. Use farmed squab from a poultry supplier. Chef's tip: stuff the birds loosely and sew or skewer them shut; freekeh swells as it cooks and an overfilled pigeon bursts.

125 min

Egyptian Chicken

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Asaro (yam pottage)

Lagos home cooks make asaro on busy weekdays because it needs one pot and very little fuss, and children usually love its soft, sweet-savoury comfort. Chunks of white puna yam simmer in a blended sauce of red bell pepper, tomato and scotch bonnet with palm oil, and as they cook some pieces collapse into a thick, orange porridge while others stay whole. It is often made with crayfish or smoked fish; this meat-free version gets its depth from locust beans and a vegetable stock cube. A handful of greens stirred in at the end turns it into a full meal, and it needs nothing alongside. For children, use half a scotch bonnet or leave it out. Chef's tip: don't stir in the first 15 minutes; mash only a third of the yam at the end, so there is both creamy sauce and tender chunks.

50 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

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Ikokore (Ijebu water yam pottage)

Ikokore is the Ijebu people's own pottage, made in Ijebu-Ode and towns across Ogun State from water yam, the purple-tinged yam that grates into a sticky paste. Spoonfuls of that paste go into a pepper and palm-oil sauce and set into soft, dumpling-like lumps, so it is part soup and part porridge, rich and spicy. Smoked fish and crayfish are traditional; this meat-free version uses mushrooms for their savoury bite. It is eaten as a complete meal, often on its own or with a cold drink. Water yam makes the skin itch, so wear gloves to peel and grate it. If water yam is hard to find, white yam works but sets softer. Chef's tip: drop the paste in and leave it for 10 minutes before you stir; stirring too soon is the mistake that turns the lumps into a smooth paste.

60 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

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Jamaican roast yam

Roast yam stands beside roast fish at the beach shacks of Treasure Beach and at the roadside stalls along the Ocho Rios road, long pieces pulled out of the coals with blackened, smoky skins. Yellow yam roasted this way turns dense, dry and nutty, quite different from boiled, and it is eaten hot with a little coconut oil or butter and a sprinkle of salt. The usual mistake is cutting the yam too short or thin, so it dries out; roast it in thick 20 cm lengths with the skin on. Here it is done in a hot oven, with a flame option for a smoky edge. Chef's tip: wrap the pieces in foil for the first 30 minutes so they steam inside, then unwrap them to char the outside.

60 min

Jamaican Sides

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Shorbet lesan asfour (orzo soup)

Bowls of this golden broth start the meal on winter nights all over Cairo, and it is one of the first things set on the table at iftar, when a gentle, warm soup comes before anything heavier. Lesan asfour means "bird's tongue", the Egyptian name for the small rice-shaped pasta the rest of the world calls orzo. Fried in butter until nutty and then simmered in a well-seasoned chicken stock, the grains turn plump and silky, and a squeeze of lemon at the table lifts the whole bowl. Children love it, and it is what many Egyptian households cook for anyone feeling under the weather. Chef's tip: toast the pasta until it is the colour of roasted hazelnuts, not just pale gold; that browning is where all the flavour comes from.

25 min

Egyptian Soups

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Sogo' (Alexandrian spicy sausage)

Sogo' sandwiches are as much a part of an Alexandrian night out as liver: the same street stalls fry coins of hot beef sausage with onion, green pepper, tomato and chilli until the juices turn red and sticky, then pack it into crusty rolls. The flavour is bold, garlicky and cumin-heavy, with fresh crunch from the peppers. Egyptian butchers sell the sausage ready-made; outside Egypt, use any spicy, coarse beef sausage such as beef merguez. Serve it in bread with tahini and pickles, or as a main dish with rice and salad. A frequent slip is crowding the pan, so the sausage stews grey instead of browning with the peppers. Chef's tip: fry the sausage first on its own until browned, then add the vegetables to its fat; you get far more flavour than cooking it all together.

25 min

Egyptian Meat

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Agbeli kakloCassava fritters

Roadside fryers in the Volta Region sell agbeli kaklo by the bagful, golden fingers of grated cassava seasoned with onion and chilli and fried until crunchy outside and chewy within. The classic way to eat them is with chunks of fresh coconut, whose cool sweetness balances the salty, peppery fritters, and they are an afternoon snack or a travel snack on the road from Ho to Accra. Cassava must be cooked through, so fry until deep golden. Chef's tip: squeeze the grated cassava very dry and fry at 170 °C; wet dough spits dangerously, and oil that is too cool, the common mistake, gives greasy, soggy fritters.

45 min

Ghanaian Snacks & Starters

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Amba maluwaSweet spicy mango curry

Maluwa usually means a fish curry, yet in Matara and the southern villages the name also goes to this mango dish, perhaps because it is cooked with the same bold spices and was once a stand-in for fish on fasting days. Half-ripe mangoes are cut into chunks with their skin on, then simmered with dark roasted curry powder, chilli, cinnamon and a sharp paste of ground mustard seed and vinegar, sweetened with sugar and finished with coconut milk. The result is hot, sweet and tangy at once, and it is a favourite on wedding and almsgiving spreads, eaten in small amounts with yellow or white rice. Fully ripe mangoes are the wrong choice, because they collapse into jam; pick fruit that is just turning yellow and still firm to the touch. Chef's tip: keep the skin on the mango pieces, as it holds them together during cooking and adds a pleasant, slightly chewy texture.

40 min

Sri Lankan Curries

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Polish-style cauliflower

‘Po polsku’ on a Polish menu means one thing: a vegetable topped with crumbs fried in plenty of butter. In Warsaw canteens and on Sunday tables, a whole cauliflower arrives this way next to potatoes and a salad, and children who claim to hate cauliflower eat it happily. The florets are tender and sweet, the crumbs nutty and crisp. A common mistake is boiling the cauliflower until it falls apart; it should keep a slight bite in the stalk. Chef's tip: a pinch of sugar and a splash of milk in the boiling water keep the cauliflower white and sweet.

20 min

Polish Sides

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Norwegian heart waffles

In Norway, waffles are not a breakfast but an everyday treat: thin, soft heart-shaped vafler made with sour cream and cardamom, sold at school fairs and football matches and made at home on Sunday afternoons, eaten folded with strawberry jam and sour cream or brown cheese. Their texture is soft rather than crisp. A common mistake is opening the iron too early, which tears them. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 30 minutes and brush the iron with butter before each waffle; they lift out whole and golden.

30 minScandinavian Baking

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Muri ghonto

For a Bengali family, the head of a big rohu is the part saved for the guest of honour or the new son-in-law at Jamai Shashthi, and the finest thing to do with it is muri ghonto. The head is fried in mustard oil, broken into pieces and cooked with a handful of fragrant short-grain rice, diced potato and warm spices until it becomes a thick, almost dry mash, finished with ghee and garam masala. In Dhaka homes it is eaten in the middle of a meal, after the shak and dal and before the main fish curry, with plain rice. Many cooks leave the head in big lumps, but it should be broken up after frying so the rich flavour from the head spreads through the rice. Chef's tip: buy the head from a large fish of at least 2 kg and ask the fishmonger to remove the gills and split it for you.

65 min

Bangladeshi Fish

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Bangladeshi dal puriLentil-filled puri

Wherever there is a tea stall in Dhaka, from the Nilkhet book market to the gates of the university, there is a wok of oil and a man rolling dal puri at speed, three or four at a time. These are thin and flat, not puffed, with a seam of dry, cumin-scented red lentil filling that you can see through the blistered skin; they are eaten straight from the wok with a cup of sweet tea, a spoon of tamarind chutney or just a pinch of raw onion and green chilli. Students treat them as lunch and office workers as an afternoon snack. Where people usually go wrong is a filling that is too wet, which bursts through the dough and spits in the oil. Chef's tip: cook the lentils just until they crush, then dry the mash in the pan with the onions until it holds together like crumbly dough.

60 min

Bangladeshi Breads & Parathas

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Asopao de polloSoupy chicken and rice

Somewhere between a soup and a risotto, asopao is the pot Puerto Rican mothers put on for a rainy Sunday, a cold, or a hangover after a long party night, and it is spooned straight from deep bowls with tostones on the side. Bone-in chicken is seasoned with garlic, oregano and lime, simmered in a sofrito broth, then rice goes in until the whole pot turns thick and brothy, finished with olives, capers, peas and strips of roasted pepper. The common mistake is making it ahead: the rice keeps drinking the broth and turns stodgy, so cook it just before eating, or keep extra stock to loosen leftovers. Chef's tip: take the pot off the heat while the rice is still a touch firm; it carries on cooking in the bowl.

75 min

Puerto Rican Soups

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Chakma bamboo shoot curry

When the monsoon reaches the Chittagong Hill Tracts, young bamboo shoots push up through the forest floor around Rangamati and Bandarban, and Chakma and Marma families cut them for a quick, clean-tasting curry. Hill cooking uses very little oil and few dry spices; the flavour comes from fistfuls of green chilli, garlic and herbs such as culantro (sawtooth coriander), and a spoon of ground rice thickens the broth. At home it is very often cooked with shidol, a fermented dried fish paste, or nappi; this version is fully vegetarian. The shoots are crunchy and faintly sweet, and the curry is eaten with plenty of plain rice. Raw fresh bamboo shoots contain natural toxins, so they must always be boiled first and the water thrown away; skipping that step is the one mistake you cannot make here. Chef's tip: if you use canned or vacuum-packed shoots, rinse and boil them for 5 minutes anyway to freshen their taste.

50 min

Bangladeshi Vegetarian

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HangikjötSmoked lamb with white sauce

Hangikjöt, 'hung meat', is the Icelandic Christmas Day dinner: lamb or mutton smoked over birch or dried sheep dung, then simmered slowly and served hot or cold with potatoes in white sauce (uppstúfur), green peas, red cabbage and laufabrauð or flatkökur. Icelanders buy it ready-smoked in December; it is cooked at home. A common mistake is boiling it hard, which toughens the meat and makes it too salty. Chef's tip: let it cool in its cooking water; the meat stays juicy and absorbs back some of the flavour.

130 minScandinavian Meat

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Mahi (Kabul fried fish)Fried battered fish

When the snow comes, Kabul's fish sellers set up their huge woks of oil, and the smell of mahi frying drifts across the city's bridges and bazaars, with stalls next door piling up bright orange jalebi to eat alongside it; mahi wa jalebi, fish and sweets, is a winter outing for the whole family. Chunks of firm fish are coated in a thin, spiced batter of flour, garlic, coriander seed, cumin and chilli and fried until crisp and reddish-gold, then eaten hot with naan, green chutney and a squeeze of lemon. Carp or other river fish is traditional, but any firm white fish works. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and gives soggy, greasy pieces, so fry only a few at a time. Chef's tip: salt the fish and leave it for 10 minutes, then pat it completely dry so the batter grips.

40 min

Afghan Fish

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Afghan green chutney

No Afghan table of kebab or palaw feels complete without a little bowl of green chutni, the sharp, fiery relish spooned beside the rice, onto bolani and over grilled meat from Kabul to Kandahar. Unlike many South Asian green chutneys, the Afghan one leans on vinegar rather than lime and is thickened with walnuts, so it is slightly creamy, bright green and properly hot, with a pungent hit of raw garlic. Households make a jar at a time and keep it in the fridge through the week. People often blitz it into a thin juice; pulse it instead so you can still see flecks of leaf and nut. Chef's tip: keep the coriander stalks in, as they have more flavour than the leaves and help the chutney stay green for days.

10 min

Afghan Chutneys & Dips

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KhajurFried dough cookies

Khajur take their name from dates, which their plump oval shape resembles, but there is no fruit in them: they are little cardamom-scented dough cookies, pressed onto a sieve or the back of a grater for a ridged pattern and fried until deep gold. Afghan families fry great batches before Eid and Nowruz and pack them into tins to offer guests with tea, and Kabul bakeries sell them by the kilo. They are crunchy on the outside with a soft, cakey middle and only gently sweet. Oil that is too hot is the classic error, browning them in a minute while the centres stay raw and doughy; keep it moderate and patient. Chef's tip: fry one test khajur first and break it open, then adjust the heat before frying the rest.

55 min

Afghan Desserts

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Afghan dopiazaLamb with onions and split peas

Afghan dopiaza has little in common with the Indian curry of the same name: in Kabul and Mazar it is a dish of chaikhanas and lunch restaurants, where a slab of naan is laid on the plate, covered with chunks of lamb braised with onion until soft, then topped with boiled yellow split peas and a tangle of red onions that have been sitting in vinegar until they turn pink. The juices soak into the bread, the onions are sharp and crunchy, the split peas earthy, and the whole thing is eaten with the fingers. Split peas cooked to mush ruin the contrast, so boil them only until just tender and drain at once. Chef's tip: soak the sliced onions in vinegar at least 30 minutes ahead; they lose their harshness and turn a beautiful bright pink.

120 min

Afghan Meat

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Kata-kat

You hear kata-kat before you see it: on Karachi's Burns Road and around Lahore's Gawalmandi, the cook stands over a tawa a metre wide, chopping kidneys, hearts and meat with two heavy steel blades in a clattering rhythm that gives the dish its name. Butter, tomatoes, green chillies and spice go in by the handful, and the mix is cooked down until rich and sticky, then scooped up with naan late at night. Traditional versions include brains, cooked in at the end; here they are optional. The danger is undercooking the offal while the meat is still chewy, so start the meat first and add kidney and heart later, cooking until there is no pink at all. Chef's tip: soak the kidneys in salted water for 20 minutes after removing the white core, which takes away any strong smell.

50 min

Pakistani Meat

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AfararWild herb and cottage cheese pie

In the mountain villages around Quba and Qusar, where many Lezgin families live, spring brings armfuls of nettles, sorrel, wild garlic and orache, and the first thing made with them is afarar: two very thin sheets of dough enclosing a filling of chopped herbs mixed with cottage cheese, cooked on a hot griddle or saj and brushed with butter. A common mistake is using wet herbs, which steam the dough and make it tear. Chef's tip: wilt the herbs in a dry pan for a minute and squeeze them, then mix with the cheese only just before filling. Check that your cottage cheese uses no animal rennet.

65 min

Azerbaijani Breads & Parathas

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Afang soupWaterleaf and afang leaf soup

Ask anyone from Calabar or Uyo what to serve a guest and afang will come up first. Finely shredded afang leaves, chewy and a little nutty, are cooked down with a mountain of waterleaf, palm oil, beef, cow skin, stockfish and periwinkles, and the waterleaf gives off all the liquid the soup needs. It is thick, dark green and deeply savoury, and it goes with pounded yam, fufu or eba. Outside Nigeria, frozen ground afang (also sold as okazi) and spinach stand in well. Periwinkles must be bought cleaned from a reputable seller; discard any with cracked shells or an off smell. Chef's tip: never add water to afang; if it looks dry, cover the pot for a minute and the waterleaf will release more.

90 min

Nigerian Meat

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Usi (Urhobo starch swallow)

Bright yellow-orange and wobbly, usi, often just called starch, is the pride of Urhobo cooking in Delta State, and in Warri and Ughelli it is the only proper partner for banga (palm-nut) soup or owo soup. It is made from cassava starch cooked with water and a little palm oil, stirred hard over a low heat until it turns from a chalky white paste into a translucent, glossy, elastic mass. It tastes very mild; it is a vehicle for rich soups, and its smooth stretch is the point. Look for cassava starch (wet or dried) in African shops. Banga and owo soup are usually made with fish, so serve usi with a meat-free banga for a vegan meal. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and never stop stirring; a high flame is the mistake that scorches the bottom and leaves raw, white lumps.

20 min

Nigerian Basics

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Kuli-kuli (crisp groundnut rings)

Kano's markets sell kuli-kuli by the bagful: hard, crunchy rings and sticks of roasted groundnut paste that has had its oil pressed out before frying. They taste deeply nutty, with a warm kick of ginger and chilli, and keep for weeks in a tin. People crunch them with soaked gari, with kunun drinks or crumble them over salads like zogale. If the oil isn't squeezed out properly the paste collapses in the pan, so keep working it until it feels firm and dry. The usual mistake is not pressing out enough oil from the groundnut paste, so the rings fall apart in the fryer. Chef's tip: they only crisp fully as they cool, so judge doneness by their deep brown colour, not by how hard they feel in the pan.

80 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

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Burabisko (Borno millet couscous)

Kanuri cooks in Maiduguri and across Borno make burabisko by rubbing millet flour with water into tiny grains and steaming them twice, much like the couscous of the Sahara, to which it is related. The grains turn fluffy and slightly nutty, and they are heaped beside a tomato and pepper sauce for Sallah, weddings and Friday lunch. The sauce usually holds lamb or beef; this meat-free version uses carrots, green beans and potato, as is common on ordinary days. Too much water at the rubbing stage turns the flour into a paste instead of grains, so sprinkle and rub, never pour. Chef's tip: short of time, steam 300 g wheat couscous over the sauce instead (it will no longer be gluten free).

80 min

Nigerian Rice & Grains

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Gwote (grain-ball porridge with leaves)

Cold harmattan mornings in the villages around Kano and Bauchi are when gwote comes into its own: a pot of small, chewy maize or millet balls simmered in a tomato and pepper broth with whatever leaves are to hand. The balls swell and cloud the liquid until it becomes a thick, savoury porridge, warming and filling on a modest budget. It is eaten from a bowl with a spoon, with nothing else needed. Watch out for balls that are too big; they stay raw and floury in the middle, so keep them marble-sized. Chef's tip: knead the dough while it is still hot, so it turns smooth and the balls keep their shape in the pot.

60 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

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Miyan taushe (pumpkin and groundnut soup)

Golden pumpkin, sour sorrel leaves and freshly ground roasted groundnuts meet in this thick, gently sweet soup from Kano and the Hausa north. It is cooked for family meals and special visits alike, and served with tuwon shinkafa or with masa, the little fermented rice cakes. Meat or dried fish usually simmers in it; this version is meat-free, so it leans on dawadawa and a good vegetable stock for savouriness. The groundnut catches on the pot easily, and scorching it is the most common mistake: once it goes in, keep the heat low and stir from the bottom. Chef's tip: leave some pumpkin cubes whole while mashing the rest, so the soup is thick but still has soft pieces to bite.

60 min

Nigerian Soups

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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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Miyan kuka (baobab leaf soup)

Dried baobab leaves, pounded to a fine green-grey powder, give miyan kuka its earthy, faintly tea-like taste and its slippery body, a little like okra. Northern households from Kano to Sokoto cook it as everyday food and pair it almost always with tuwon shinkafa or tuwon masara. Dried fish or a handful of meat often goes into the pot; this meat-free version, as many homes cook it when the budget is tight, gets its depth from dawadawa, onion and a peppery tomato base instead. A common mistake is tipping the kuka in all at once, which leaves stubborn green lumps; sift it in slowly while whisking. Chef's tip: once the kuka is in, simmer only 2–3 minutes, because long boiling dulls its colour and its fresh, grassy edge.

35 min

Nigerian Soups

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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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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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Eritrean frittata

Asmara's cafés kept the Italian word but changed the flavour: an Eritrean frittata is eggs beaten with softened onion, tomato and green chilli, warmed with berbere and cooked flat in a small pan until just set. It comes to the table in its pan with fresh bread and a coffee or sweet tea, and some places fold in a little extra chilli for those who ask. The texture is soft and moist in the middle, with sweet tomato and a gentle heat running through it. A common mistake is cooking the eggs over a high flame, which makes the base tough and brown before the top sets; keep the heat low and cover the pan. Chef's tip: cook the tomato until its juice has evaporated before the eggs go in, or the frittata turns watery.

20 min

Eritrean Breakfast & Brunch

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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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KletskoppenLacy almond biscuits

Kletskoppen are the lacy, crackly biscuits of Bruges, sold in the old city's bakeries and served with coffee in the cafés around the Markt: brown sugar, butter and chopped almonds with very little flour (this version uses none), baked until they spread into thin, see-through, toffee-flavoured lace. A common mistake is putting them too close on the tray; they spread enormously and join up. Chef's tip: let them cool for a minute on the tray before lifting, and drape them over a rolling pin while still warm if you want curved tuiles.

30 min

Belgian Baking

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Akidi (Igbo black beans with plantain)

Akidi, a small, glossy black bean, is a quiet staple of Igbo home cooking around Enugu, Anambra and Imo, cooked like beans porridge and usually with ripe plantain for sweetness. After a long simmer the beans turn creamy inside while holding their shape, and they are finished with palm oil, onion, scotch bonnet and a handful of fragrant leaves, so the pot tastes earthy, sweet and peppery. It is a filling meal on its own, often eaten with a cold drink or a side of fried plantain. If you cannot find akidi, black turtle beans are a good substitute. Chef's tip: add the plantain only for the last 15 minutes; put in at the start, it dissolves into the beans, which is the usual mistake.

120 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

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Ofada rice with green pepper sauce

Ofada rice takes its name from a town in Ogun State and is grown on small farms across the Southwest; the grains are short, unpolished and sometimes speckled, with a nutty, earthy aroma that some love and others find strong. It is served wrapped in uma (thaumatococcus) leaves at parties and in Lagos restaurants, with ayamase, a fiery green pepper sauce cooked in bleached palm oil. Ayamase is usually loaded with assorted meats and boiled eggs; this vegan version keeps the green peppers, scotch bonnets and locust beans and adds mushrooms if you like. Banana leaves or a plain plate stand in for uma leaves. The mistake to avoid is skipping the picking and washing: local rice often holds small stones and husk. Chef's tip: bleach the palm oil with the lid nearby, the window open and the extractor on full, and never leave the pan.

75 min

Nigerian Rice & Grains

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Kaware' (cow's trotter soup with fatta)

Old Cairo eateries that specialise in it open early, and kaware' has a loyal following on cold winter mornings and as a restorative after Ramadan nights; at home it is usually made after Eid al-Adha. Cow's feet are cleaned, blanched and then simmered for hours with onion, garlic and whole spices until the meat and skin turn soft and sticky and the broth sets like jelly when cold. It is served over fatta: layers of toasted flatbread and rice drenched with broth and a sharp garlic-and-vinegar sauce, with the tender trotter pieces on top. Ask the butcher to clean the feet and saw them into pieces. Chef's tip: a pressure cooker cuts the simmering to about 1 hour 30 minutes with no loss of flavour.

260 min

Egyptian Meat

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