Featured recipe

Chapati

Chapatis are the everyday Indian flatbread: thin rounds of soft wholemeal dough, cooked on a hot tava and then puffed over a wire mesh on the flame. Spread with ghee and serve with any curry or dal. Tip from the book: you can half-cook a stack of rotis ahead and do the final roasting just before serving.

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Rántott sajtFried breaded cheese

Rántott sajt is the Hungarian answer to a hungry evening: thick slabs of mild trappista or Edam, breaded twice and fried until the crumb is golden and the inside just begins to ooze. In Budapest it is sold at the büfé stands of the Nagyvásárcsarnok (the Great Market Hall), at the Lehel market and at lángos counters by Lake Balaton, almost always with chips and a dollop of tartar sauce. Traditional trappista and Edam are often made with animal rennet, so choose a cheese labelled vegetarian (made with microbial rennet) if that matters to you. Chef's tip: freeze the breaded slices for 10 minutes before frying, so the crust sets before the cheese melts.

25 min

Hungarian Vegetarian

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Chinese plum sauce

In Hong Kong and Guangzhou roast-meat shops, a small saucer of plum sauce comes with crisp roast goose and siu mei, and at home it is the dip for spring rolls at New Year and the glaze for vegetarian fried tofu or cha siu-style mushrooms. Cantonese suan mei jiang is fruitier and more sour than the gloopy bottled kind: ripe plums are simmered with sugar, rice vinegar, ginger and a little chilli until thick and glossy. Make it in late summer when dark plums are cheap. Common mistake: boiling it too thick; it sets further as it cools, so stop when it coats the back of a spoon and a drip on a cold plate wrinkles only slightly. Readiness cues: the plum skins have melted into the sauce, the colour is deep ruby and the taste balances sweet and sharp. This is a high-acid preserve: in the fridge it keeps 2 months, or water-bath process sealed jars for 20 minutes to keep them in a cupboard for a year (refrigerate once opened). Discard if you see mould, it fizzes, the lid bulges or leaks, or it smells fermented. Chef's tip: add 2 Chinese salted preserved plums, mashed, for the authentic salty-sour depth.

55 min

Chinese Chutneys & Dips

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VerhackertsSmoked bacon and garlic spread

In Styria, in the wine taverns (Buschenschanken) of the south and on farmhouse breakfast tables, verhackerts is spread thickly on dark rye bread with the morning coffee or at the mid-morning Jause: smoked pork bacon and back fat chopped so finely it becomes a paste, seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper. Traditionally it is made from raw cured, cold-smoked Styrian Speck and eaten without cooking; that raw version is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. This safer home version cooks the minced bacon gently until the meat is cooked through (71 °C) before it is chilled into a spread. Serve on rye bread, or gluten-free bread if needed. The common mistake is browning the bacon; it should only render and turn opaque, or the spread goes crumbly instead of smooth. Chef's tip: mince it while the bacon is fridge-cold, almost frozen, so the fat stays in clean little pieces rather than smearing.

22 min

Austrian Breakfast & Brunch

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Nutmeg jelly

Grenada, the Spice Isle, grows nutmeg all over the green hills of St Andrew and St John, and the pale yellow, apricot-sized fruit that wraps the seed and its red lace of mace was long thrown away at the processing stations. Grenadian cooks turned that tart, slightly astringent flesh into nutmeg jelly, a clear amber spread that is eaten on hops bread or coconut bake at breakfast, sold in small jars in the St George's market and carried home by visitors at Christmas. The fruit is loaded with pectin, so it sets easily, and it tastes sweet-sharp and fragrant, faintly of apple, with a soft warm hint of the spice itself. Outside the Caribbean the fresh fruit is hard to get; tart cooking apples or quinces with a little freshly grated nutmeg make a close copy (see the notes). The common slip is boiling on long after the set point, which turns the jelly dark, gummy and dull, so start testing early. It is ready when a drop wrinkles on a cold saucer or the thermometer reads 104–105 °C. Chef's tip: drop a strand of the red mace into each jar for colour and a little extra perfume.

90 minCaribbean Chutneys & Dips

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Vellarikka pachadiCucumber yogurt curry

Vellarikka pachadi is one of the cooling yogurt dishes on the Kerala sadya, the banana-leaf feast served at Onam and weddings, and it turns up at everyday lunches across Thrissur and Kottayam too. Diced cucumber is softened briefly, then folded into thick yogurt with a paste of coconut, green chilli and crushed mustard seed, and finished with mustard seeds and curry leaves crackled in coconut oil. Coconut and curd carry the flavour, so it needs only a pinch of salt: about 0.25 g salt per portion. The usual mistake is adding the yogurt to hot cucumber, which splits it; let the cucumber cool first. Serve with rice and a dry vegetable thoran. Chef's tip: grind the coconut paste with a few raw mustard seeds; their gentle pungency is what makes a pachadi taste of Kerala.

20 min

Indian Sides

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Wiri wiri pepper sauce

Every Guyanese household, from Georgetown to the villages of Berbice, has its own bottle of pepper sauce, and the most prized is made with wiri wiri: tiny, round peppers no bigger than a currant, red, orange or yellow, with a fruity, almost tomato-like heat that hits fast and fades clean. They are ground with plenty of garlic, a little onion, prepared mustard, salt and vinegar, and often a few slices of green mango or five-finger (carambola) for sourness. A dab goes on cook-up rice, dhal and rice, roti and curry, fried fish and bake, and on the pepperpot at Christmas. The sauce is coarse, bright orange-red and loose, sour first, then fiercely hot and garlicky. A common mistake is thinning it with water, which makes it spoil quickly; use vinegar alone for any loosening. It is ready after a day in the fridge, when the garlic has softened into the heat and the colour has deepened. Outside Guyana, wiri wiri is hard to find; Scotch bonnets or red bird's-eye chillies work, though the flavour is a little different. Chef's tip: grate in a few slices of green mango for the true sour, fruity Guyanese edge.

25 min

Guyanese Chutneys & Dips

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RäksmörgåsOpen prawn and egg sandwich

Räksmörgås is the Swedish open prawn sandwich served in every café from Gothenburg harbour to Stockholm's Central Station, and made at home for lunch on Fridays: buttered bread, lettuce, egg slices and a mayonnaise, under a heap of sweet, cold-water prawns with dill and lemon. Packed for lunch, it's built at work from separate boxes. The common mistake is buying ready-peeled prawns in brine, which are watery and bland; shell-on cooked prawns peeled yourself taste far sweeter. Keep them in the fridge or on an ice pack at all times. Chef's tip: stir a little of the lemon zest and chopped dill into the mayonnaise, so it seasons every layer.

25 minScandinavian Fish

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Kawal

Kawal is one of the most distinctive pantry foods of western Sudan, made in Darfur and Kordofan at the height of the rains in August and September, when wild senna (Senna obtusifolia, called kawal or fedo) springs up thickly around villages. Women strip the young leaves, pound them to a dark green pulp and pack it into a clay pot sealed with sorghum leaves, then leave it in a cool, shaded spot for about two weeks, remixing it every few days. The fermented paste is rolled into small balls and dried in the sun, and these keep through the dry months. Crumbled into mullah stews with okra, onions and dried meat and eaten with kisra or aseeda, kawal gives a deep, meaty, pungent savour much like West African dawadawa; the smell straight from the pot is strong and ammonia-like but mellows completely in cooking. The usual mistake is leaving the pot somewhere warm and forgetting to remix it, so the paste rots instead of fermenting. It is ready when the paste is dark, sticky and strongly savoury but not putrid. Chef's tip: if you cannot be certain of the plant, buy dried kawal from a Sudanese grocer.

90 min

Sudanese Basics

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AyampacoLeaf-steamed chicken and palm heart

From Macas and the Shuar communities of Morona Santiago comes ayampaco: chicken with palm heart, garlic, culantro and spring onion wrapped in bijao leaves and cooked over the fire, so everything steams together into a fragrant, juicy bundle. It is a celebration dish at festivals and family gatherings, served with boiled cassava and a sharp chilli sauce. Banana leaves stand in for bijao at home. The usual mistake is packing the parcels too full, so the middle stays undercooked; keep them flat and check the chicken reaches 74 °C. Chef's tip: let the chicken marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the garlic and herbs flavour it right through.

75 minAndean Chicken

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Ranawara teaTanner's cassia flower tea

Ranawara, tanner's cassia, is a scrubby shrub with bright golden flowers that grows wild along dry-zone roadsides and in gardens from Kurunegala to Jaffna. The flowers are picked, dried in the shade and sold in packets at every Sri Lankan supermarket and ayurvedic shop, and many households drink a cup each morning instead of plantain tea, traditionally believing it helps balance blood sugar and cool the body during the hot season. It brews into a pale golden-yellow tea with a mild, grassy, slightly beany taste and a gentle bitterness, which is why it is drunk with a piece of jaggery or a spoon of kithul treacle. The common mistake is brewing the flowers with too little water or for too long: the bitterness takes over. A good pinch per cup, a short simmer and a few minutes' steep is enough. It is ready when it is clear and bright yellow and smells like dried hay. Ranawara is a senna-family plant: do not drink it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not give it to young children, and check with a doctor if you take diabetes or other regular medication. Chef's tip: add a few dried flowers to the cup when serving; they float and turn the colour even more golden.

12 min

Sri Lankan Drinks

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Keema naan (Lahore style)

Along Lahore's Fort Road food street, in sight of the Badshahi Mosque, tandoors work late into the night baking naan with a thin layer of spiced mince pressed inside. The bread puffs and chars in the oven and comes out glossy with butter, with juicy, peppery meat in every bite. At home a very hot oven and a preheated tray stand in for the tandoor. Contains wheat and dairy. Chef's tip: cook the mince first and let it cool fully; warm filling softens the dough and it tears when you roll it.

90 min

Pakistani Breads & Parathas

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Ayote en mielSquash in spiced syrup

Nicaraguan grandmothers set a pot of ayote en miel on the stove on Holy Wednesday, so there is something sweet to share with neighbours right through Easter week, often alongside sweet green mango and coconut. Chunks of squash simmer in dark panela syrup with cinnamon, cloves and allspice until they are glossy and tender and the syrup tastes of caramel and spice. Stirring is the common mistake: a spoon breaks the soft squash into mush, so shake the pot instead. Chef's tip: leave the skin on the squash; it holds each piece together and turns soft enough to eat.

75 minCentral American Desserts

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Chuño

On the Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, in June and July when the nights drop to -10 °C and the days are bright and dry, Aymara and Quechua families spread small, bitter potatoes on the grass to make chuño, a technique far older than the Inca. The potatoes freeze at night and thaw in the sun for several days, then are trodden barefoot to squeeze out the water and rub off the skins, and dried for a couple of weeks more. The result is light, wrinkled, grey-black chuño negro that keeps for years; soaked in running stream water instead, the same potatoes become white tunta. Rehydrated and boiled, chuño is firm, slightly chewy and spongy, with an earthy, faintly mineral, almost fermented taste; it goes into chairo soup, into chuño phuti, or beside grilled meat with spicy llajwa. Skipping the long soak is the big mistake: it stays bitter and gritty, so soak it for at least 12 hours, changing the water. Dried chuño is ready when it is rock hard, very light and rattles in a bag. Chef's tip: without Andean frosts, a freezer and a low oven make a fair version; the method is below.

90 minAndean Basics

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Velpuri (Dhaka style)

Dhaka's velpuri is a cousin of Mumbai's bhel but a very different plate: crisp puris are crushed and topped with a hot, spiced mash of chickpeas and potato, finely grated boiled egg, raw onion and green chilli, then soaked in sour tamarind water at the last second. Vendors sell it from glass-topped carts around Dhanmondi Lake and outside the TSC at Dhaka University on long afternoons. Contains wheat and egg. Chef's tip: grate the egg over at the very end with the fine side of a grater, so it falls in a soft yellow snow over the top.

30 min

Bangladeshi Snacks & Starters

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Bhel puri

On Girgaum and Juhu Chowpatty the bhelwalas set up as the sun drops into the Arabian Sea, and bhel puri is what Mumbai eats while it walks along the sand. Puffed rice, crushed flat puris and boiled potato are tossed in a steel bowl with sweet tamarind and fiery green chutneys, then buried under fine sev and handed over in a folded paper cone with a puri for a spoon. It is crunchy, sweet, sour and hot all at once, and it has to be eaten within minutes. Chef's tip: lay out every component before you start, because the mixing takes thirty seconds and the crunch only lasts about five minutes.

20 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Nutmeg juice

Penang is one of the few places in the world where nutmeg trees grow in back gardens, and its hawkers turn the pale, tart flesh around the nutmeg seed into jus buah pala, a frosty pale drink served at Gurney Drive and the coffee shops of Chulia Street to cool you down after spicy noodles. It tastes sweet and sour with a soft, woody spice. Outside Malaysia, look for preserved or candied nutmeg fruit strips in Asian grocers. Chef's tip: use only the fruit flesh; the seed (the nutmeg spice) and its red lace of mace are far too strong to blend into a drink and can make you unwell.

10 min

Malaysian Drinks

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Andaman mud crab curry

The mangrove creeks around Port Blair give the Andaman Islands their famous mud crabs, and families of Bengali, Tamil and Malayali descent there cook them in a rich red curry of coconut, tamarind and roasted chilli for Sunday lunch and celebrations. It is messy, hands-on eating with plain rice, cracking the claws to reach the sweet meat. Buy live or very fresh crabs from a trusted fishmonger and have them dispatched and cleaned there. The common mistake is undercooking the crab: cook until every shell is bright orange-red and the meat inside is white and opaque. Chef's tip: crack the claws lightly with the back of a knife before they go in, so the gravy seasons the meat.

65 min

Indian Fish

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Taiwanese grilled corn

At Raohe and Shilin night markets the grilled-corn stalls are easy to find: look for the queue and the smoky, sweet smell. Cobs are par-cooked, then turned slowly over charcoal while the cook brushes them with a dark glaze of sacha sauce, thick soy paste, garlic and chilli, layer after layer, until the kernels are sticky, slightly charred and deeply savoury. It is eaten hot from a paper sleeve while walking the market. Sacha (shacha) sauce, a Taiwanese barbecue paste, usually contains dried fish and shrimp; vegetarian sacha is sold in Asian shops. Contains soy, wheat and fish. Chef's tip: brush thin coats and turn often; one thick coat burns before the corn chars.

35 min

Taiwanese Snacks & Starters

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Rasam sadam for babiesRasam rice for babies

Rasam sadam, hot rice with a thin, tangy tomato and lentil broth, is everyday lunch in Tamil homes from Chennai to Madurai. When a baby joins the meal at around nine months, many mothers ladle off a mild rasam for the little one before the pepper, chilli and salt go into the family pot. Mashed into soft rice with a spoon of ghee, it is tangy, warm and gently fragrant with cumin and coriander leaf. It contains milk (ghee). We leave out asafoetida, which is often cut with wheat flour, so it is gluten free, and it has no egg, nuts, soya or sesame. Chef's tip: use the ripest, reddest tomato you can find; its natural sweetness replaces the tamarind and jaggery of the grown-up rasam.

40 min

Indian Rice & Grains

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Cremolada (Lima passion fruit slush)

From January to March, when Lima's coast swelters, queues form at the cremolada counters of Barranco and along the Jirón de la Unión downtown for cups of this thick fruit ice. It sits between a granita and a sorbet: frozen fruit pulp scraped again and again until it is slushy and spoonable, with real bits of fruit through it. Passion fruit (maracuyá) gives a sharp, bright flavour; creamy lúcuma, with its maple and sweet potato taste, is the other favourite. Chef's tip: use a shallow metal tray; it freezes faster and evenly, so you get fine crystals rather than chunks.

180 min

Peruvian Desserts

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Soft idli for babies

Idli is breakfast across Tamil Nadu, from Chennai's Mylapore tiffin rooms to village kitchens, and a fluffy, plain idli is one of the first finger foods many South Indian babies hold. Since family batter is salted, parents make a separate salt-free batch for babies under one, or steam a few from it before the salt goes in. The cakes are pillowy, faintly sour and melt under the gums, torn into pieces or mashed with ghee or thin dal. They contain no gluten, egg, nuts, soya or sesame; they contain milk only if served with ghee. Chef's tip: grind the urad dal with ice-cold water until it is light and foamy; air in the batter, not salt, is what makes idli soft.

45 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Dragon's beard candy

Dragon's beard candy is one of the old street crafts of Hong Kong, still demonstrated by a few hawkers in Tsim Sha Tsui and at Kowloon City snack shops, where children watch a hard disc of sugar stretched and folded in starch until it becomes a skein of hair-fine threads. Each cocoon is wrapped around a crunchy filling of peanuts, sesame and coconut and must be eaten within minutes, before it melts in the humidity. It takes practice; your first batch may be thicker threads, and that is fine. Contains peanuts and sesame; not for children under five, who can choke on the filling. Chef's tip: toast the cornflour first, as raw starch tastes chalky and is not safe to eat uncooked.

60 min

Hong Kong Desserts

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Cart noodles

Cart noodles began in the 1950s, when hawkers pushed carts of simmering pots through Sham Shui Po and Wong Tai Sin and let customers pick their own noodles and toppings. The carts are long gone, but the noodle shops of Mong Kok and Kowloon City keep the custom: tick off your choices on a slip, perhaps curry fish balls, soft braised daikon, chewy pork skin, pig's blood or squid, and choose your broth, here a spicy curry-satay one. It is a cheap, filling late-night meal. This version uses pork skin and pork stock. Contains fish, wheat, egg and soy. Chef's tip: give the pork skin time in the curry pot; it should be soft and jelly-like, soaking up the sauce.

60 min

Hong Kong Pasta & Noodles

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Morcipán (blood sausage roll)

At any Buenos Aires asado, and at the street grills outside football grounds like La Bombonera in La Boca, the choripán has a twin: the morcipán, a soft, rich morcilla split and laid in crusty bread. Argentine morcilla is a pork blood sausage with pork fat, onion and spices, sometimes with nuts or raisins, and it grills to a crisp skin around a soft, spoonable centre that tastes deep and slightly sweet. A sharp chimichurri cuts through it. Chef's tip: grill it over a gentle heat and turn it carefully with tongs; on a fierce grill the casing splits and the filling runs out.

25 min

Argentinian Fast Food

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Parovye kotlety for toddlers (steamed cutlets)

Parovye kotlety, steamed cutlets, are the nursery and kindergarten classic of Russian homes from St Petersburg to Novosibirsk, served with mashed potato or buckwheat at lunch. Minced chicken or turkey is mixed with bread soaked in water and grated onion, shaped into small patties and steamed until soft and juicy, so there is no crust for small gums to struggle with. This version for toddlers from 12 months has no added salt and no egg. It contains wheat (gluten, in the bread); there is no milk, egg, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: beat the mince against the side of the bowl for a minute; it makes the cutlets hold together without egg.

35 min

Russian Chicken

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Vary sosoa for babiesSoft rice with greens for babies

Vary sosoa, rice cooked with lots of water until soft and soupy, is the classic Malagasy breakfast, eaten in Antananarivo and the highland villages before the day's work starts, and the food given to the sick and the very young. For babies from about nine months it is cooked with diced pumpkin and finished with a handful of mild greens, then mashed. It is gentle, sweet and creamy. Skip brède mafane (paracress), the tingling green used for grown-ups' romazava, as it numbs the mouth; spinach or sweet potato leaves are kinder. It is free of the major allergens: no milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: use a short, starchy rice such as vary gasy or any broken rice; it releases more starch and makes the creamiest sosoa.

40 min

Malagasy Rice & Grains

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Jing gao (Xi'an steamed sticky rice and date cake)

Before the shops of Xi'an's Muslim Quarter open, vendors on Beiyuanmen and Sajinqiao lift the lids of huge iron zeng pots and carve out jing gao, a dense breakfast of glutinous rice, red dates and kidney beans steamed so long that the dates melt into a jammy layer. It is scooped onto paper plates with a flat spade and eaten hot, often with a sprinkle of sugar, by workers on their way in. The home version steams in a heatproof bowl and needs time rather than skill. The rice turns glossy and chewy, the dates taste of toffee and the beans give a soft, earthy bite. Chef's tip: lay the dates as the bottom and top layers, because their sugar is what colours and flavours the rice as it steams.

240 min

Chinese Breakfast & Brunch

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Ratlami sevPeppery gram flour sev

Ratlam in western Madhya Pradesh is so proud of its sev that it carries a GI tag, and every Malwa household keeps a tin for poha, usal and chai-time munching. What makes it different is the spice: ground clove, black pepper and ajwain give a warm heat that builds slowly, and the sev is pressed thick and fried until deep gold. The common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot, which browns the outside while the centre stays soft and soon goes chewy. Chef's tip: cool completely before you store it in an airtight tin; it keeps crisp for three weeks.

40 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Rau sốngFresh herb and vegetable plate

Rau sống, literally 'raw vegetables', is the heaped plate of lettuce, herbs and cucumber that sits in the middle of the table at almost every Vietnamese meal, from Hanoi bún chả to a Saigon family dinner. Everyone tears leaves to wrap grilled food, drops herbs into soup or eats them alongside rice. Nothing is added: no salt, no dressing. About 0.1 g salt per portion, naturally present in the greens. Seasoning comes from whatever dipping sauce is on the table, so a light hand there keeps the whole meal low in salt. The usual mistake is leaving the herbs wet; water dilutes the flavour and makes them wilt fast. Use whatever mix you can find: Thai basil, perilla (tía tô), Vietnamese balm (kinh giới), mint and coriander are classics. Chef's tip: soak the herbs in very cold water for 10 minutes, then spin dry; they become crisp and glossy and last through the whole meal.

10 min

Vietnamese Salads

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Zeng gao (Xi'an steamed rice cakes with jujube)

Walk the lanes of Huimin Jie in Xi'an in the late afternoon and you will see small round cakes steaming in stacked cups, then flipped out and speared onto bamboo sticks for children heading home from school. They are made from glutinous rice flour rubbed to a damp crumb, layered with sweet jujube paste and steamed until the crumb fuses into a soft, springy cake with a dark red stripe through the middle. They are lightly sweet, chewy and best eaten warm. Chef's tip: rub the flour with water until it just clumps when squeezed, then sieve it, because a light, airy crumb is what makes the cake tender.

60 min

Chinese Desserts

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Huanggui shizi bing (Xi'an persimmon cakes)

Every autumn, when Lintong's soft persimmons ripen outside Xi'an, griddles across the Muslim Quarter fill with these orange cakes. The dough is little more than ripe persimmon pulp and flour, so it fries crisp and caramelised outside while staying chewy and sticky inside, and the filling of brown sugar, walnuts, sesame and dried osmanthus melts into a fragrant syrup. They are bought hot in a paper sleeve as an afternoon snack. They contain wheat and walnuts. Chef's tip: use persimmons so ripe they feel like a water balloon; firm ones make the dough taste furry and astringent.

60 min

Chinese Desserts

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Taiwan railway bentoPork chop rice box

Since the 1940s, the Taiwan Railway has sold a famous biandang on its trains and platforms: a box of rice topped with a soy-braised pork chop, a dark lu dan egg, a few strands of suan cai pickled mustard greens and slices of braised dried tofu. Taipei commuters still buy thousands a day, and families make it at home for packed lunches. The common mistake is frying the pork chop straight from thick; beat it thin first or it curls and toughens. Chef's tip: braise the eggs and tofu in the same pot after the pork, so they soak up its flavour.

65 min

Taiwanese Meat

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Jicaletas (jícama lollipops with chamoy)

At home time outside primary schools in Mexico City's Coyoacán and Narvarte, carts sell jicaletas, thick rounds of jícama pushed onto a stick like a giant lollipop and painted bright red with sweet-sour chamoy. They are crunchy, juicy and cold, with salty, sour and spicy layers on the outside, and make a light afternoon snack on a hot day. Chef's tip: cut the slices at least 1.5 cm thick, otherwise they snap off the stick at the first bite.

10 min

Mexican Snacks & Starters

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Tacos de guisado (picadillo and rajas con crema)

From about nine in the morning, guisado stalls set up on corners near offices and markets all over Mexico City, from the famous counters on Calle Ámsterdam in the Condesa to the stands outside the Mercado de Medellín. Clay pots line the counter, each with a different home-style stew: chicharrón in salsa verde, potato with chorizo, mole and many more. You point, and they spoon it into two warm tortillas. This home version makes two of the favourites, a tomatoey beef picadillo with potato and carrot, and smoky poblano strips with corn in cream. Chef's tip: always double the tortillas, as the stalls do; one tortilla tears under a juicy stew.

90 min

Mexican Meat

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Bolo de pote (cake in a jar)

On Sundays, when Avenida Paulista closes to cars, sellers line the pavement with cool boxes of bolo de pote, and the same jars turn up at São Paulo's weekly street fairs and outside metro stations: soft sponge cake layered with creamy fillings and eaten with a spoon. Brigadeiro cream (condensed milk cooked with cocoa) and a sweet, milky cream made with milk powder are the two everyone wants. They are rich and very sweet, so the jars are small. They contain egg, wheat and milk. Chef's tip: take both creams off the heat while they are still a little runny; they thicken as they cool and must stay soft enough to spread.

90 min

Brazilian Desserts

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Bachali kura pappuDal with Malabar spinach

Bachali, or Malabar spinach, climbs over back walls all across Telangana and Andhra, and its thick, glossy leaves go into this everyday pappu that turns up at lunch several times a month with rice, ghee and a pickle. The leaves give the dal a silky body and a faint lemony note. People often overcook it until the greens turn khaki; add them after the dal is soft and cook just long enough to wilt. Chef's tip: use the tender stems too, chopped small; they add a pleasant crunch.

35 min

Indian Curries

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Badam ka halwaAlmond halwa

In Jaipur, badam ka halwa came out of the royal kitchens and now appears at winter weddings and on cold nights when someone wants a real treat. Soaked, peeled almonds are ground to a coarse paste and cooked slowly in ghee with milk, sugar and saffron until the halwa turns golden, glossy and leaves the sides of the pan. It is very rich, so a small bowl is enough. The common mistake is grinding the almonds too fine, which gives a pasty halwa instead of a soft, grainy one. Chef's tip: stop grinding when the almonds look like wet semolina and add the milk only during grinding, never water.

55 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Vary amin'ananaRice with greens

Before the sun clears the hills of Antananarivo, steam is already rising from pots of vary amin'anana at the hotely, the little roadside cafés where office workers and taxi-brousse drivers stop for breakfast. Rice simmers with a heap of chopped greens, a little tomato and fresh ginger until the grains swell and soften into something between a pilaf and a loose porridge, green-flecked and gently savoury. Locals spoon sakay or a sharp lasary relish on top, and anyone with more appetite adds a few beans on the side. The greens matter most: brèdes mafana (paracress) give a faint tingle, but watercress, spinach or mustard greens from the shop all work well. Chef's tip: add the tender leaves only for the last 8 minutes; boiled from the start, they turn grey-brown and bitter, which is the commonest way this simple dish goes wrong.

40 min

Malagasy Breakfast & Brunch

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Esfiha de carne (São Paulo open beef pies)

The Syrian and Lebanese families who settled around Rua 25 de Março in central São Paulo brought sfiha with them, and the city made it its own: esfihas are now sold by the dozen from counters all over town, eaten standing up with a squeeze of lemon at lunchtime or as a cheap late snack. The dough is soft and lightly crisp at the base, and the topping of raw spiced beef, onion and tomato cooks on the pie in a hot oven. Chef's tip: squeeze the onion and tomato hard in a cloth before mixing; a wet topping makes the dough soggy.

90 min

Brazilian Snacks & Starters

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TahoWarm tofu with syrup and sago

Before eight in the morning in any Philippine barangay you hear the call "Tahooo!" as the magtataho walks past with two aluminium buckets balanced on a shoulder pole: one holds warm, wobbly silken tofu, the other dark arnibal syrup and sago. He scoops paper-thin layers of tofu into a plastic cup with a flat ladle, pours syrup over and adds the pearls, and children eat it standing at the gate with a spoon or slurp it through a wide straw. The taste is caramel and soy milk; the texture is custard-soft tofu against chewy pearls. Baguio has its own pink strawberry version. The common mistake is cooking the sago in too little water or not stirring at the start, so the pearls glue into a lump; use plenty of boiling water and stir for the first two minutes. The sago is ready when the pearls are translucent with only a tiny white dot left in the centre, and the arnibal is right when it coats a spoon like thin maple syrup. Chef's tip: steam the tofu in its box or bowl rather than boiling it, so it stays in one silky piece. Small sago pearls are a choking risk for babies and toddlers, so serve them only to older children.

45 min

Filipino Drinks

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Sanduíche de pernil (São Paulo roast pork roll)

This is pork in its most loved São Paulo form: a leg marinated in garlic, lime and paprika, roasted until it falls into slices, and stuffed into a crusty pão francês. It is what fans eat outside the Pacaembu and Morumbi stadiums before a match, and the all-night bar on the Viaduto Nove de Julho has fed it to taxi drivers and night owls for decades. The meat is juicy and tangy, cut with a fresh tomato and onion vinaigrette. Chef's tip: slice the pork thin and drop it back into the roasting juices before filling the rolls; it should drip a little.

240 min

Brazilian Meat

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Refresco de coconaCocona cooler

In Iquitos, Pucallpa and the river towns of Loreto, heat and humidity make a cold refresco part of every lunch, and cocona is one of the favourites sold from plastic jugs at the Belén market. The fruit looks like a fuzzy orange tomato and tastes between tomato, lemon and apricot: very sour, aromatic and juicy. Blended with water and sugar it makes a tangy, golden drink with a light pulp, served with juane or tacacho con cecina. The usual mistake is skipping the fuzz: cocona skin is covered in fine hairs that make the drink scratchy, so rub them off under running water before you start. Blend only briefly, too, so the many seeds do not crack. It is ready when the refresco is opaque orange, sour first and sweet after, with no grit. Outside the Amazon, look for frozen cocona pulp in Latin American shops; naranjilla (lulo) pulp is the closest substitute. Chef's tip: a pinch of salt makes the fruit taste sweeter and fruitier without more sugar.

10 min

Peruvian Drinks

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Refresco de linazaFlaxseed and pineapple drink

In La Paz, Cochabamba and Sucre the refresqueras at the market stalls ladle linaza from big glass jars alongside mocochinchi and somó, and at home it is a standard jug in the fridge for the midday almuerzo. Flaxseed is simmered with pineapple peel, cinnamon and cloves until the water turns faintly silky, then strained, sweetened and chilled. It is pale gold, smooth and almost slippery on the tongue, tasting of pineapple and spice, with lime to wake it up. It is traditionally drunk to cool down and to settle the stomach. The common mistake is simmering too long or leaving the seeds in as it cools: the liquid turns into a thick, slimy gel. Strain it while still hot, as soon as a spoon dipped in comes out lightly coated, like thin syrup. It is ready when it pours freely but feels smooth, and tastes sweet, spiced and fresh. Using the peel and core of a pineapple is the thrifty Bolivian way and gives more flavour than the flesh. Chef's tip: if it thickens too much in the fridge, whisk in cold water a little at a time until it pours easily again.

30 minAndean Drinks

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Po'eBaked banana pudding

Po'e is a Tahitian and wider Polynesian fruit pudding, made at home on Sundays across Tahiti and Mo'orea and sold at the Papeete market in thick slices wrapped in banana leaf. Ripe bananas (or papaya, pumpkin or taro) are puréed with sugar and a starch such as arrowroot, then baked until set into a glossy, jelly-like slab and served drenched in fresh coconut milk. A common mistake is pulling it from the oven too early; it should be firm and caramelised on top. Chef's tip: a vanilla pod from Taha'a-style vanilla is the island touch; split it and scrape the seeds in.

75 minPacific Islander Desserts

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Queijadinha (Bahian coconut and cheese cakes)

In Salvador's Pelourinho and on the steps of the Largo do Pelourinho, baianas in white lace sell queijadinhas from wooden trays alongside cocadas: little paper cases of coconut and cheese that bake into a chewy, golden top over a soft, custardy layer. They are sweet with a salty edge from the cheese, perfect with a strong coffee in the afternoon. They contain egg and milk. Traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so choose a hard cheese labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: bake them until the tops are properly golden; pale queijadinhas never get their crusty top layer.

45 min

Brazilian Desserts

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VarangaCrisp shredded beef

Varanga belongs to the big occasions of the Merina Highlands: family reunions, famadihana gatherings and long lunches outside Antananarivo, where a mound of it sits beside rice and a bowl of greens. Beef, traditionally zebu, is simmered with garlic, ginger and onion until it can be pulled apart with two forks, then the strands are fried in the fat and juices left in the pot until crisp and mahogany at the edges but still tender inside. The flavour is deeply beefy and salty-sweet, a little like the best bits stuck to a roasting tin. Cooks in a hurry shred the meat before it is truly tender, and the strands then fry up tough and stringy instead of crisp. Chef's tip: choose a cut with some fat and connective tissue, like chuck or brisket; lean steak gives dry, hard varanga.

150 min

Malagasy Meat

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Repe lojanoGreen banana and milk soup

Repe is the comfort soup of Loja in southern Ecuador, eaten at lunch on chilly Andean days and often as the first course of the main midday meal. Green bananas are cooked in a light onion and achiote broth until they break down, then milk and crumbled fresh cheese turn it creamy and gently savoury, with coriander on top and avocado on the side. Lojano quesillo is usually made with animal rennet; use a fresh cheese labelled vegetarian or paneer instead. The usual mistake is cutting the bananas with a knife: break them into rough pieces by hand, as the rough edges dissolve and thicken the soup. Chef's tip: once the milk is in, keep the soup just below a simmer so it doesn't catch or curdle.

50 minAndean Soups

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ResbaladeraBarley and rice milk drink

Resbaladera comes from Guanacaste, the dry, sunny cattle province of northwest Costa Rica, and is sold by the cup at the Fiestas de Santa Cruz in January, at the July celebrations of the Anexión in Liberia, and from carts at rodeos and turnos all through the hot months. Pearl barley and a little rice are cooked with cinnamon and cloves until bursting, then blended with milk and sweetened, giving a cold, slightly thick, creamy drink, smooth and milky like rice pudding in a glass, with warm spice and vanilla. The name hints at how easily it slips down. The common mistake is undercooking the barley: if the grains still have bite, the drink is gritty and thin however long you blend. Cook until they are swollen, split and very soft. It is ready when it is pale cream, completely smooth after straining and tastes of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Barley means it is not gluten free. Chef's tip: chill it properly before serving and stir in a splash of cold milk if it thickens in the fridge overnight; it should pour easily.

65 minCentral American Drinks

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Mela grattugiata (grated apple)

Ask any Italian nonna what a baby has for merenda, the mid-afternoon snack, and she will mime grating an apple: in homes from Turin to Bari, a sweet apple is grated very finely on the small holes of a grater and spooned up at once, before it turns brown. Paediatricians in Italy suggest it from six months, and for the first few times many parents steam the apple briefly so it is softer still. It tastes fresh and naturally sweet; the old habit of crumbling in a biscuit or a spoon of sugar is not for babies under one, and honey never. It is free of the major allergens. Chef's tip: a squeeze of lemon is often added to stop browning, but for babies simply grate it right before serving.

8 min

Italian Desserts

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Masato de arroz (Bogotá spiced rice drink)

In the old bakeries of La Candelaria and at the juice stands of the Paloquemao market in Bogotá, masato is poured from big jugs to go with warm almojábanas and pandebono at mid-morning or with the afternoon onces. It is cooked rice blended with spiced syrup and left to rest until it turns gently tangy, so it tastes like a cross between rice pudding and a cool, creamy lemonade. Any natural fermentation produces a trace of alcohol the longer it goes on; this version rests only overnight and is then chilled, and for a completely alcohol-free drink skip the rest and add lime juice for the tang. Chef's tip: keep the rest short and taste it; it should be lightly sour and sweet, never fizzy or boozy.

60 min

Colombian Drinks

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Firi firiCoconut doughnuts

Firi firi are the twisted figure-eight doughnuts of Tahiti, sold every morning at the Papeete market and roadside stands, and eaten with a coffee or dipped in hot chocolate on Sunday mornings. The dough is made with coconut milk instead of dairy, so they're lightly sweet and coconut-scented with a soft, chewy inside. A common mistake is twisting the dough too tightly, which makes it spring back; let it rest first. Chef's tip: give them a short second rise after shaping so they fry up light.

50 minPacific Islander Breakfast & Brunch

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Cháo cá hồi bí đỏ (salmon and pumpkin congee)

Cháo cá hồi bí đỏ, salmon and pumpkin congee, is one of the most-shared ăn dặm (weaning) recipes among young parents in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, a sunny orange bowl full of omega-3 fats. Rice simmers soft with diced pumpkin, then fresh salmon is poached in the pot at the end, so it stays moist. There is no fish sauce, salt or sugar, just the natural sweetness of the pumpkin. It contains fish and is free of milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya and sesame. Chef's tip: run your fingers along the salmon fillet before cooking and pull out the pin bones with tweezers; they are much easier to find raw.

40 min

Vietnamese Rice & Grains

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Agi bulgogi (toddler bulgogi)

Agi bulgogi, 'baby bulgogi', is the dish Korean parents in Seoul's apartment blocks make once the iyusik stage ends and children start yuaosik, eating soft versions of family food at around 12 months. Grated Korean pear and onion tenderise the beef and sweeten it, so it needs only a drop of soy sauce rather than the sugary grown-up marinade. It is soft, juicy and easy to chew, served with soft rice and courgette. It contains soya and wheat (in soy sauce), and sesame if you use the oil; there is no milk, egg or nuts. Chef's tip: grate the pear finely and squeeze nothing out; the juice is what keeps the meat tender.

30 min

Korean Meat

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Rolete de cana (sugarcane on a stick)

On the sand at Porto da Barra in Salvador, and in the crowds of the Festa de Iemanjá in Rio Vermelho every February, vendors walk with buckets of ice and bundles of skewers threaded with pale sugarcane discs. You chew each piece to squeeze out the cold, grassy-sweet juice, then spit out the fibre. It is the simplest snack there is and very refreshing in the heat. Not for small children, as the fibres are a choking risk. Chef's tip: cut between the knobbly joints, not through them; the nodes are hard as wood.

15 min

Brazilian Snacks & Starters

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Pão com linguiça (grilled sausage roll)

Outside every São Paulo football ground on match day, and above all on the streets around the Allianz Parque, carts with smoking griddles sell pão com linguiça: a coiled Tuscan-style pork sausage split open, crisped on the plate and tucked into a roll with vinaigrette and a splash of chilli sauce. It is fast, juicy and filling, eaten walking to the gate. The sausage is raw pork and must be cooked through. Chef's tip: once the sausage is nearly cooked, split it lengthwise and press it cut side down on the griddle; it browns all over and finishes cooking evenly.

25 min

Brazilian Fast Food

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ValdivianoDried beef and potato soup

Valdiviano is one of Chile's oldest soups, said to date from the colonial days of Pedro de Valdivia, when soldiers carried charqui (sun-dried beef) on long marches. It is still a winter dish in the south, around Temuco and Valdivia, and a classic hangover cure in Santiago: a pot of slowly softened onions, potatoes and shredded dried beef in broth, scented with cumin and oregano, finished with a poached egg in each bowl. The usual mistake is skipping the soak: charqui must soak for at least 2 hours, or it stays leathery and over-salty. If you can't find charqui, use 300 g shredded cooked beef. A runny yolk is traditional; for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system, cook the egg until the yolk is firm. Chef's tip: cook the onions slowly until they almost melt, as they are what turn a humble broth into valdiviano.

65 min

Chilean Soups

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Val valMixed vegetables in coconut gravy

Val val is a gentle Goan Saraswat stew of mixed vegetables in coconut milk, cooked for festive meals at Ganesh Chaturthi, weddings and temple feasts in Ponda and Margao, where it balances hot curries and fried fish-free starters on the plate. Drumsticks, pumpkin, green beans and potato cook in thin coconut milk with green chilli and cumin, then thick coconut milk is stirred in at the end for a creamy, pale, mildly sweet sauce. Eat it with rice, or with puris for a feast. The usual mistake is boiling it after the thick coconut milk goes in, which splits it into oily curds. Chef's tip: grind the cumin with the green chillies and a spoon of coconut milk; it gives a fresh warmth without colouring the white sauce.

40 min

Indian Curries

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Koova kurukku (arrowroot porridge)

Koova, the arrowroot that grows in Kerala's backyards, is dug, washed, grated and dried into a snow-white powder that many families in Thrissur and Kottayam still make themselves. Stirred with water over a low flame, it turns from chalky to clear and glossy in a few minutes, and this kurukku is a classic first spoonful at six months, often given in the hot months because it is thought to be cooling. It is very mild and smooth. No salt, sugar, jaggery or honey goes in for babies. It is free of the major allergens. Chef's tip: buy pure koova or arrowroot powder, not a cornflour blend, and stop cooking the moment the whole pan turns translucent.

10 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Vadukapuli naranga acharWild lime pickle

Vadukapuli naranga is a large, knobbly, thick-skinned wild lemon grown in Kerala backyards, and it is ripe just in time for Onam in August–September. Cut into small cubes with its spongy white pith and mixed with green chilli, ginger, chilli powder and a sesame-oil tempering, it becomes the pale yellow pickle dabbed on the end of every sadya banana leaf, next to inji puli and mango. It is sour, bitter and fresh at once, with juicy flesh and a soft, absorbent pith that soaks up the spices. It is just as welcome with curd rice or a simple moru curry. The common mistake is leaving the bitter seeds and the tough central core in; take them out or the whole jar turns harsh. It is ready to eat after a day, once the salt has drawn out the juice and the pieces look moist and slightly translucent. Because it has fresh ginger, green chilli and curry leaves, keep it in the fridge and eat within a month. Outside Kerala, use a citron or the biggest thick-skinned lemons you can find. Chef's tip: a spoon of vinegar sharpens the pickle and helps it keep; Kerala Christian homes often add one.

35 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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VadouvanDried shallot and spice balls

Vadagam, called vadouvan in Puducherry's French-Tamil kitchens, is a seasoning made in the hot months: shallots and garlic are pounded with mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, curry leaves and castor or gingelly oil, rolled into balls and dried in the sun for days. A piece crumbled into hot oil at the start of a sambar, a kuzhambu, a poriyal or even buttered vegetables gives a deep, sweet, smoky onion flavour. This version finishes the drying in a low oven, which is safer and quicker in cooler kitchens. The common mistake is storing the balls before they are bone dry; any softness inside can turn mouldy, so break one open to check. Chef's tip: crush a ball and warm it in ghee, then toss with roast carrots for a very Pondicherry side dish.

280 min

Indian Basics

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Bagoong alamangFried krill paste

Across Luzon, a jar of ginisang bagoong sits in nearly every kitchen. In the hot months from March to May, when green mangoes are sour and crisp, it becomes the classic merienda: thin slices of unripe mango dragged through sweet, salty, garlicky shrimp paste, often shared on a porch in the afternoon. It is also the essential partner to kare-kare and the base of binagoongang baboy. Raw salted alamang (tiny krill or shrimp) is sold pink and wet; frying it with garlic, onion and tomato, then sugar and cane vinegar, turns it deep reddish brown, thick, glossy and rounded, with the briny punch still there. The raw paste is a raw-cured seafood, so this recipe always cooks it right through; pregnant people, babies, older people and anyone with weak immunity should only eat bagoong that has been fully sautéed and kept cold. Common mistake: high heat after the sugar goes in, which scorches it and turns the bagoong bitter. Keep it at a medium-low simmer. It is ready when the oil separates and shines on top and it smells toasty rather than fishy. Chef's tip: a few slivers of crisp pork belly fried first make it richer.

40 min

Filipino Chutneys & Dips

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Pan-gayu (bread porridge)

Pan-gayu is a staple of the early rinyushoku (weaning) stage in Japan, the second grain after rice porridge, and it fills the 'first foods' pages of every baby magazine sold in Tokyo convenience stores. Crustless white bread is torn into a pan of water, breast milk or formula and simmered until it collapses, then mashed smooth for a soft, milky, faintly sweet porridge. Bread already contains a little salt, so this is an occasional porridge rather than an everyday one, and no extra salt, sugar or honey goes in. It contains wheat (gluten) and milk if made with milk. Chef's tip: choose the softest, plainest white sandwich loaf with the lowest salt on the label, and cut away every bit of crust.

8 min

Japanese Breakfast & Brunch

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Steamed Nendran banana mash

Nendran is the long, golden plantain of Kerala, sold in hands at every market from Palakkad to Thiruvananthapuram, and a steamed ripe Nendran is one of the first fruits a Malayali baby tastes. Raw, it is too firm and starchy for a six-month-old, so it is steamed in its skin until the flesh turns soft and orange-gold, the dark string of seeds in the centre is pulled out, and the rest is mashed smooth. It is naturally sweet, so nothing is added: no sugar, jaggery, honey or salt. It is free of the major allergens. Chef's tip: wait until the skin is fully yellow with black freckles; a green Nendran stays chalky however long you steam it.

15 min

Indian Desserts

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Lito (sarbottam pitho porridge)

Ask a mother in Kathmandu, Pokhara or a hill village what her baby eats after the pasni rice-feeding ceremony, and the answer is often lito: porridge made from sarbottam pitho, a 'super flour' that families roast and grind themselves from two parts soybean to one part each of maize and wheat. Cooked with water it becomes a smooth, nutty, toast-coloured porridge with more protein than plain rice. For babies there is no salt, sugar, jaggery, honey or ghee needed. It contains soya and wheat (gluten). Chef's tip: roast the grains separately, each until it smells nutty and cracks between your teeth, then grind and sieve; the beans need longest.

12 min

Nepali Breakfast & Brunch

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Zhū gān ní (pork liver purée)

Zhū gān ní, a smooth purée of pork liver, is the iron food Chinese grandmothers swear by, and wet markets from Chengdu to Shanghai sell small pieces of very fresh pork liver for exactly this. The liver is soaked to draw out the blood, steamed with a slice of ginger until cooked right through, then blended and stirred into rice porridge, where it gives a mild, savoury, slightly sweet taste. Liver is very rich in vitamin A, so babies should have it only in small amounts, no more than once a week. No salt, soy sauce, sugar or honey for babies. It is free of the major allergens. Chef's tip: buy the freshest liver you can find, glossy and deep red-brown, and freeze the purée in cubes so one portion is always ready.

40 min

Chinese Meat

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Shānyào ní (Chinese yam purée)

Chinese yam (shānyào, the long, hairy-skinned root sold in bundles in markets from Beijing to Guangzhou) is valued in Chinese homes as easy on the tummy, and steamed shānyào ní is one of the classic first purées offered at six months. Once steamed, the crisp, slippery flesh turns floury and pale, and pressed through a sieve it gives a smooth, slightly sweet, potato-like purée. Nothing else is added: no salt, sugar or honey for babies. It is free of the major allergens. Chef's tip: wear gloves or oil your hands before peeling; the raw sap makes skin itch, but cooking destroys it completely.

25 min

Chinese Sides

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BahoSteamed beef, plantain and cassava

Baho, also spelled vaho, is the dish Nicaraguan families plan a Sunday around, especially in Granada and Managua: beef marinated overnight in sour orange and garlic, then steamed for hours in a big pot lined with banana leaves on a bed of green plantain, ripe plantain and cassava. Everything comes out tender and fragrant with the leaves, and it is served with a crunchy, vinegary cabbage salad to cut through the richness. Marinate the beef in the fridge, never at room temperature. The mistake that ruins it is letting the pot boil dry, which scorches the leaves and the plantain at the bottom; top up the water every hour. Chef's tip: keep a few banana leaves back to tuck over the top, so the steam stays trapped inside the parcel.

250 minCentral American Meat

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Gohan oyaki (rice finger patties)

Oyaki means a little pan-cooked cake, and Japanese parents make gohan oyaki from leftover rice when babies around nine months start wanting to feed themselves. Mashed rice is mixed with steamed kabocha squash (or grated carrot) and a spoon of potato starch, shaped into finger-sized patties and cooked gently until lightly golden. They are soft and sweet inside, hold together in a small fist and squash easily against the gums. They are free of the major allergens: no milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: mash the rice while it is warm; cold rice will not stick together and the patties crumble.

25 min

Japanese Snacks & Starters

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Jīdàn gēng for babies (steamed egg custard)

Jīdàn gēng, egg steamed with water into a quivering custard, is the dish Chinese grandparents everywhere from Shanghai to Guangzhou make for small children, and it is often the way a baby first meets whole egg at around nine months. The family version is finished with soy sauce, sesame oil and spring onion; this one is plain, so it tastes clean and gently eggy. Steamed slowly, it is smooth as silk and fully set. It contains egg and is free of milk, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame and fish. Chef's tip: cover the bowl with a plate while it steams; dripping condensation is what pockmarks the surface.

15 min

Chinese Breakfast & Brunch

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Daegu-sal juk (cod and vegetable baby porridge)

In Korea, homemade baby food (iyusik) follows clear stages, and by the late stage around nine months, Seoul parents are making juk with roughly crushed rice and small pieces of fish and vegetables. Daegu-sal juk uses mild, flaky cod with sweet courgette (aehobak) and carrot, and no soy sauce, salt or sesame oil. It is creamy, delicate and soft enough to mash between the gums. It contains fish and is free of milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya and sesame. Chef's tip: crush the soaked rice lightly with a rolling pin or a couple of pulses in a blender; broken grains thicken the juk faster and give exactly the soft lumps this stage needs.

35 min

Korean Rice & Grains

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Gē da tāng (flour-knot soup with tomato and egg)

Gē da tāng is the soup of northern Chinese homes, from Beijing hutongs to the kitchens of Hebei and Shandong, made on cold evenings or when someone is under the weather. Water is dripped onto flour until it forms little knots, which are rained into a broth of soft tomatoes and finished with egg, so the bowl is part soup, part tiny dumpling. For toddlers from 12 months it is cooked without salt or soy sauce, and the egg is simmered until fully set. It contains wheat (gluten) and egg, and sesame if you add the oil; there is no milk, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: drip the water in a thin trickle while stirring with chopsticks, so you get rice-sized knots, not a paste.

20 min

Chinese Soups

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Detsadovsky omlet (kindergarten oven omelette)

Anyone who went to a detsky sad, a kindergarten, in Moscow, Kyiv or Minsk remembers this omelette: tall, pale and soft as a sponge, baked in big trays and served in squares with a slice of bread and butter. The secret is lots of milk and a deep dish, so the eggs steam-bake into a quivering, custardy block rather than a flat frittata. It makes a protein-rich breakfast or supper for toddlers from 12 months, made here without salt. It contains egg and milk; there is no gluten, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: stir the eggs and milk, don't whisk them into a foam, or the omelette rises and then collapses.

35 min

Russian Breakfast & Brunch

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Tsestalulu (sea-buckthorn juice)

Sea buckthorn grows wild along the river beds of Ladakh, and in Leh the bright orange berries are pressed into tsestalulu, a sharp, tropical-tasting juice sold in summer cafés and made at home after the autumn harvest. It is drunk chilled, sweetened with sugar or honey and thinned with cold water. The berries are very sour and slightly oily, so the juice is always diluted. The common mistake is boiling the pulp, which dulls both the colour and the fresh taste; just blend and strain. Chef's tip: frozen sea-buckthorn berries or plain unsweetened purée from health shops work very well; strain twice through a fine sieve for a silky drink.

15 min

Indian Drinks

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Chennai onion samosa

In Chennai's old tea shops, many started by Irani and Muslim families, a glass of strong tea comes with a plate of small onion samosas: thin, crackly pastry folded around a filling of nothing but slow-cooked onion, green chilli, curry leaves and a little poha to soak up the juices. They are sold by the dozen in the evenings and at bus stands across Tamil Nadu. The pastry is the thin, ready-rolled samosa-patti kind, so they are quick to fold. The common mistake is undercooking the onion, which leaks water and makes the samosas soggy; fry it until soft and sweet, then cool. Chef's tip: seal the folds with a thick paste of flour and water, not plain water, so they do not open in the oil.

65 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Candied salmon

Candied salmon, sometimes called salmon candy, comes from the First Nations smokehouses of British Columbia's coast, where strips of wild salmon are cured in salt and brown sugar, then slowly smoked and glazed until sticky, chewy and deep red. It is a snack for the trail, the fishing boat and the lunchbox. This home version cures the fish in the fridge and then cooks it low in the oven with a little smoked salt or liquid smoke, so it is fully cooked rather than cold-smoked. A common mistake is skipping the drying stage; the pellicle (a tacky skin) is what lets the glaze cling. Chef's tip: keep the oven low and steady; too hot and the fish weeps white albumen.

210 min

Canadian Fish

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Corn fritters

Corn fritters are a Sydney café staple, the brunch that sits on every menu from Surry Hills to Manly, stacked with smashed avocado, roast tomato or relish and a handful of herbs. The batter is mostly corn, with just enough flour and egg to bind, plus spring onion, coriander and a little chilli. They are quick enough for a weekday breakfast. A common mistake is crowding the pan, which steams them instead of crisping. Chef's tip: blitz a quarter of the corn so its milky juice binds the fritters and keeps them tender.

30 min

Australian Breakfast & Brunch

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Hot jam doughnuts

Hot jam doughnuts have been sold from a van at Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne since the 1950s, and the queue on a cold Saturday morning is part of the ritual. The small round yeast doughnuts are fried, injected with hot raspberry jam and rolled in sugar, then eaten straight from the paper bag; careful, the jam is scorching. A common mistake is frying at too high a heat, which browns the outside before the inside cooks. Chef's tip: let the shaped dough rise until it springs back slowly when poked, or the doughnuts will be heavy.

50 min

Australian Desserts

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Davidson plum jam

Davidson plums grow on slender trees in the subtropical rainforests of northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland, ripening dark purple in summer. They are far too sour to eat raw but make a stunning deep-crimson jam with a sharp, tangy flavour, sold at farmers' markets around Byron Bay and the Sunshine Coast. Spread it on scones or serve with cheese. A common mistake is boiling it past the set; the plums are high in pectin and set fast. Chef's tip: if you can't find Davidson plums, use dark sour plums and add a squeeze of lemon.

45 min

Australian Chutneys & Dips

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Mangai sadam (raw mango rice)

When hard green mangoes pile up at the markets of Tamil Nadu in April and May, school lunch boxes fill with mangai sadam, sour and fresh like lemon rice but with a fruitier bite. Grated raw mango is cooked only briefly in a mustard, chana dal and curry leaf tempering so it softens but keeps its tang. The mistake is overcooking the mango into mush, which makes the rice sticky; two or three minutes is enough. Chef's tip: taste the mango first. A very sour one needs a pinch of sugar, and a half-ripe one needs a squeeze of lemon at the end.

22 min

Indian Rice & Grains

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Pain maisonCrusty bread rolls

Every morning in Port Louis, Mahébourg and Rose-Hill, the boulangerie or a man on a bicycle delivers bags of pain maison: small, round white rolls with a thin, crackly crust and soft middle, split and filled with butter and cheese, with chilli-spiked gâteaux piments, or with leftover curry. They're a simple lean dough baked very hot. The common mistake is under-baking because they look golden early; give them the full time so the crust stays crisp after cooling. Chef's tip: spray the oven walls with water as the rolls go in; the burst of steam makes the shiny, cracked crust.

140 min

Mauritian Breads & Parathas

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Pathola currySnake gourd coconut curry

Pathola curry is a quick, gentle white curry from everyday Sri Lankan rice-and-curry lunches, especially loved in the south where snake gourd grows on trellises behind most houses. Thin half-moons of gourd simmer for a few minutes in coconut milk with turmeric, green chilli, curry leaves and a pinch of fenugreek, so they stay pale green, soft and juicy. Serve it with rice, dal and a fiery sambol. The usual mistake is overcooking, which turns the gourd watery and grey; pull it off as soon as it is translucent. Chef's tip: scrape the soft white pith and seeds out with a spoon; they water the curry down.

25 min

Sri Lankan Curries

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