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Khobz mella
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Khobz mella

Ember-baked bread

Around Douz, on the edge of the Tunisian Sahara, nomadic herders bake khobz mella by digging a hollow in sand heated under a fire, laying in a thick round of dough and burying it under more hot sand and embers. Brushed off and broken up, the crusty, smoky bread is crumbled into a tomato, pepper and onion stew to make mella, or eaten with olive oil and dates. Visitors to desert camps watch it being made by firelight. At home, a pizza stone or an upturned heavy tray in a very hot oven gives a similar chewy loaf with a thick crust; a charcoal barbecue gets you close to the smoky flavour. Chef's tip: dock the dough well with a fork; without it the round puffs up into a hollow ball and the crust cracks.

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Biber dolmasıRice-stuffed green peppers

Biber dolması turns up in every corner of Turkey, from Istanbul meyhanes to village kitchens in central Anatolia, and the olive-oil version without meat is the one eaten cold at summer lunches or packed for picnics. Thin-walled green dolma peppers are filled with rice cooked with onion, tomato, pine nuts, currants and warm spices, capped with a slice of tomato and simmered until the peppers slump and wrinkle. A frequent mistake is packing the filling to the top: leave a finger of space so the rice can swell. Chef's tip: let the peppers cool completely in their pot; the filling firms up and the flavours of mint and allspice come through much more clearly than when hot.

75 minTurkishVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Bubur cha chaWarm coconut sweet potato pudding

Bubur cha cha is a Nyonya (Peranakan) dessert from Penang and Melaka, cooked in big pots for Chap Goh Meh, the fifteenth night of Chinese New Year, and eaten all year as a sweet soup after dinner or a mid-afternoon snack. Cubes of orange and purple sweet potato and taro float in pandan-scented coconut milk with tiny, glassy sago pearls; the colours are part of the charm. It's soothing, gently sweet and comforting, warm on a rainy evening or cold from the fridge in the heat. Chef's tip: a small pinch of salt in the coconut milk lifts the sweetness and stops it tasting flat.

40 minMalaysianDessertsVeganGluten free
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Mughlai parathaEgg-stuffed paratha

Mughlai paratha is a Kolkata cabin-restaurant classic, the sort of thing eaten at Anadi Cabin or a para stall on a winter evening with a sweet-sour potato curry and sliced cucumber and onion. Paper-thin dough is stretched out on the tawa, a beaten egg with onion, chilli and coriander is poured into the middle, and the sides are folded over into a sealed square parcel that is shallow-fried until it blisters. Many shops add minced meat; this vegetarian version is egg only, the way plenty of Bengali homes make it. Chef's tip: stretch the dough with oiled hands rather than a rolling pin for the thinnest sheet.

60 minIndianBreads & Parathas
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Mushroom-gravy poutine

Poutine was born in rural Québec in the 1950s, at snack bars (casse-croûtes) in towns like Warwick and Drummondville, and is now eaten across Canada at 2 a.m. after a night out and at hockey arenas. The rules are simple: crisp fries, fresh cheese curds that squeak against your teeth, and a hot, savoury gravy poured over so the curds soften but don't fully melt. This gravy is made with browned mushrooms and vegetable stock instead of the usual chicken-beef stock. Chef's tip: keep the curds at room temperature and the gravy very hot; cold curds stay rubbery and lukewarm gravy makes the fries soggy without softening the cheese.

75 minCanadianFast Food
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Vegetarian banh tet

In the Mekong Delta, families gather in the days before Tết (Lunar New Year) to wrap bánh tét: long, round logs of coconut-scented sticky rice around a core of mung bean, tied in banana leaves and boiled overnight over a wood fire. The everyday version hides a strip of pork belly in the middle; the chay version here, with peppery shallot-seasoned mung bean, is the one made in Buddhist pagodas and vegetarian households, and some cooks make a sweet bánh tét chuối with ripe banana instead. Slices are cut with a loop of string, eaten with pickled vegetables, or fried until crisp in the days after Tết. Chef's tip: roll and tie the log tightly; a firm parcel is what keeps the water out and gives clean, dense slices.

540 minVietnameseRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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BibingkaCoconut rice cake

During the nine dawn masses of Simbang Gabi, from 16 to 24 December, vendors set up outside churches across the Philippines baking bibingka in clay pots with hot coals both underneath and on top. Churchgoers buy them on the way out at 5 am, still steaming in their banana-leaf liners, with a hot drink. The cake is made from rice flour and coconut milk, springy and slightly chewy, with a browned, buttery top covered in salty white cheese, slices of salted duck egg, sugar and grated coconut. This version bakes it in an ordinary oven and finishes it under the grill for that charred top. Chef's tip: warm the banana leaves over a flame for a few seconds until they turn glossy and supple; cold leaves crack and the batter leaks under them.

50 minFilipinoBakingGluten free
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Lotus seed and longan sweet soup

Hue, the old imperial capital on the Perfume River, is famous for its chè: sweet soups and puddings sold from tiny shops where the menu runs to dozens of kinds. The most elegant is chè hạt sen long nhãn, once a palace dessert. Lotus seeds from the city's lakes are simmered until soft and creamy, then tucked inside juicy longan fruit and served in a light, clear syrup. It is eaten warm on cool rainy afternoons or over crushed ice in the hot months. Chef's tip: split each dried lotus seed and pick out any green germ inside before cooking; one missed germ makes the whole bowl bitter.

65 minVietnameseDessertsVeganGluten free
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MuhammaraRed pepper and walnut spread

Gaziantep, a city on Turkey's southern border famous for pistachios and pepper paste, claims muhammara as its own, and you will find it on breakfast spreads and meze tables throughout the southeast. Roasted red peppers, walnuts and breadcrumbs are pounded with pepper paste, cumin and pomegranate molasses into a thick, brick-red spread that is smoky, nutty and gently hot. Spread it on bread, serve it with crudités or alongside a bowl of lentil soup. A common mistake is blending until completely smooth; it should keep a little bite from the walnuts. Chef's tip: toast the walnuts in a dry pan first until they smell like brown butter, which deepens the flavour far more than raw nuts.

20 minTurkishChutneys & DipsVegan
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Bicol expressPork in coconut milk and chilli

Bicol, the peninsula at the southern tip of Luzon, cooks almost everything in coconut milk with plenty of chilli, and Bicol express is the pork dish that carries the region's name all over the country (locals often call it sinilihan, 'with chillies'). Pork shoulder is cooked down in coconut milk until the liquid turns to oil and the meat is tender, then finished with coconut cream, long green chillies and a spoon of shrimp paste. It is rich, salty and properly hot. Serve it with lots of plain rice. Chef's tip: let the coconut milk reduce until it 'breaks' and you see the oil; that is when the sauce gets its toasty, deep flavour.

65 minFilipinoMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Paneer kathi roll with egg

The kathi roll was born on Park Street in Kolkata, where kebabs once came on bamboo sticks (kathi) and were later wrapped in a paratha so office workers could eat them walking. This is the egg-and-paneer roll the stalls on Park Street and Gariahat sell to vegetarians: a flaky, ghee-fried paratha with an egg cooked right onto one side, then rolled round charred paneer, raw onion, green chilli, lime and a squirt of chilli sauce. Chef's tip: wrap the bottom half in paper as soon as it is rolled; the steam softens the paratha just enough to hold together.

65 minIndianFast Food
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BienenstichHoney almond cake

Bienenstich, the 'bee sting', is a sheet cake found in every German bakery: a soft, buttery yeast dough baked under a crackling layer of almonds caramelised with butter, honey and sugar, then split and filled with vanilla cream. The story goes that a bee, drawn to the honey topping, stung the baker. It's a Sunday afternoon cake, at its best on the day it's made. This version sets the filling with cornflour custard folded with whipped cream, no gelatine. Chef's tip: cut the topping layer into portions before you put it back on the cream; the hard almond crust otherwise squeezes all the filling out when you slice it.

90 minGermanBaking
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BifanaMarinated pork roll

Lisbon's standing-room snack bars, from the Baixa to the stalls outside football grounds, sell bifanas all day: thin pork steaks simmered in a garlicky, bay-scented sauce and pushed into a soft papo-seco roll with a smear of mustard. It's a pork sandwich, and the pork is traditionally marinated in white wine; for an alcohol-free version use chicken stock with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. It makes a quick lunch or a late snack. Chef's tip: dip the cut side of the roll into the pan juices before filling it; that's how the bars make them so juicy.

25 minPortugueseFast Food
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MujaddaraLentils and rice with crisp onions

Across the Levant, from Tripoli in northern Lebanon to the villages of the Galilee, mujaddara is the thrifty Friday or Lenten supper that nobody tires of: brown lentils and rice cooked together until soft and earthy, then heaped with a tangle of onions fried until mahogany and crisp. It costs very little, keeps well, and is eaten warm or at room temperature with a cucumber-yogurt salad, plain yogurt for non-vegans, or a sharp cabbage salad. The onions do all the seasoning, so be generous. Chef's tip: fry the onions in batches with room to spare in the pan; crowded onions steam and go soft instead of turning crisp.

60 minLebaneseRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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BigosHunter's stew with sauerkraut and pork

Bigos, the hunter's stew, is cooked in huge pots across Poland for Christmas, New Year and the long winter, and every family insists theirs is best on the third reheating. Sauerkraut and fresh cabbage stew for hours with pork shoulder, smoked kiełbasa and bacon, dried wild mushrooms, prunes, juniper and a splash of red wine; it is a pork dish through and through. The wine contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free version use 100 ml apple juice with 1 tbsp cider vinegar. Serve with rye bread or boiled potatoes. Chef's tip: taste the sauerkraut first; if it is very sharp, rinse it once in cold water and squeeze it dry.

240 minPolishMeatGluten free
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Filter coffee

In Tamil Nadu the day starts with filter coffee: a strong decoction dripped slowly through a two-tier steel filter, mixed with plenty of hot, boiled milk and sugar, and frothed by pouring it from a height between a steel tumbler and its little bowl, the davara. It's served at every Chennai and Kumbakonam 'hotel' and in nearly every home, and it's thick, sweet and slightly bitter from the chicory in the coffee powder. Chef's tip: press the coffee only lightly in the filter and pour the water in slowly; packed too tight, it drips for an hour, and too loose, the decoction is thin.

25 minIndianDrinksGluten free
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Guyanese vegetable chow mein

Chow mein arrived in Guyana with Chinese immigrants in the 1850s and became a party staple: at birthdays and weddings in Georgetown it sits in a huge tray beside fried rice and cook-up. Guyanese chow mein is a little sweeter and darker than Chinese versions, coloured with soy sauce and a touch of browning (burnt sugar), with long bora beans, cabbage and plenty of garlic, plus a hit of wiri wiri pepper. Chef's tip: cook the noodles until just tender, rinse them cold and toss with a little oil; dry, separate noodles fry without clumping.

30 minGuyanesePasta & Noodles
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Bika ambonHoneycomb coconut cake

Despite its name, bika ambon belongs to Medan in North Sumatra, where shops on Jalan Majapahit sell it boxed for travellers to take home. A yeasted batter of tapioca, eggs and coconut milk bakes into a cake with a sticky, golden base and long vertical tunnels running through its yellow crumb, perfumed with lemongrass, pandan and lime leaf. It is chewy rather than spongy. Chef's tip: bake it with heat from the bottom first; that is what drives the bubbles upward into the honeycomb.

90 minIndonesianBakingGluten free
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Bikaneri bhujiaSpicy moth bean noodle snack

Bikaner in the Thar desert has made bhujia for well over a century, and the city's version stands apart for its use of moth-bean flour mixed with gram flour. Moth beans, hardy little desert pulses, give the sev an earthy flavour and a brittle, short crunch, while black pepper, black cardamom and a touch of clove add a peppery warmth. Families keep a tin of bhujia for tea time, sprinkle it over poha and chaat, and take boxes home after Diwali visits. A common mistake is making the dough too stiff; it is hard to press and the strands snap. Chef's tip: the dough should feel softer than chapati dough—so soft that a fingertip leaves a smooth dent. Use a sev press with the finest plate.

45 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Guyanese cheese rolls

In Georgetown bakeries, cheese rolls sit in the glass cabinet next to pine tarts and patties, and no Guyanese birthday party is complete without a tray. Short, buttery pastry is rolled around a sharp cheddar filling seasoned with mustard and hot pepper, then baked until the cheese bubbles out of the ends and crisps. They're eaten warm or at room temperature with a cold drink. Chef's tip: keep the butter and water ice-cold and handle the dough briefly; that's what gives flaky layers rather than a hard biscuit.

65 minGuyaneseBaking
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Kerala banana chips

Upperi, the yellow raw-banana chips of Kerala, are fried in huge cauldrons in the snack shops of Kozhikode and Thrissur and handed round in bags at every Onam sadya, where they are one of the first things laid on the leaf. Green nendran bananas are sliced straight into hot coconut oil, and a splash of salted water goes in at the end, so the salt clings to every chip. The result is crisp, golden and faintly sweet, with that unmistakable coconut-oil smell. Chef's tip: rub a little oil on your hands before peeling the bananas; the sap stains skin and is very hard to wash off.

45 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Awadhi vegetable dum biryani

Lucknow's cooks built their reputation on restraint: the Awadhi biryani is perfumed rather than fiery, with no tomato, very little chilli and whole spices that whisper instead of shout. Vegetables are cooked in spiced yogurt, layered with long-grain rice that is only three-quarters done, then sealed under a dough lid so everything finishes in its own steam, a technique the city calls dum pukht. It is the dish for Eid gatherings, wedding buffets and long Sunday lunches across Uttar Pradesh, served with a cooling raita and a sliced onion salad. The common mistake is boiling the rice fully before layering; it then turns soft and sticky under the lid instead of separating into long, distinct grains. Chef's tip: lift a grain and press it between your fingers before draining; it should break into two or three firm pieces with a white core.

115 minIndianRice & Grains
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BingtteokBuckwheat crepe rolls with radish

Bingtteok (빙떡) comes from Jeju island, where volcanic soil grew buckwheat and radish better than rice. Thin, almost translucent buckwheat crêpes are rolled around a filling of blanched radish seasoned only with salt, sesame and spring onion. The flavour is gentle and nutty, and it was traditionally brought to funerals, weddings and village gatherings, sometimes with a cup of makgeolli. Today you find it at Jeju's Dongmun and Seogwipo markets beside more fiery snacks. Chef's tip: pour a little batter and swirl the pan fast, or spread it with the back of a ladle; bingtteok crêpes should be so thin you can almost see through them.

40 minKoreanSnacks & StartersVegan
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Jushi (Okinawan mixed rice)

Jushi is Okinawa's seasoned rice, cooked with pork, vegetables and bonito stock. The firm kind, kufa-jushi, is what you find in rice balls at Okinawan supermarkets and alongside soba at lunch counters; a soupy, porridge-like version is cooked as well. On the winter solstice many families make a special jushi with taro root. Pork fat is part of its flavour, so the rice is cooked with a little lard and the belly pork itself. Chef's tip: measure the liquid carefully; the soy and stock replace part of the water, and firm, separate grains are what you want.

50 minJapaneseRice & Grains
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Rafute (Okinawan braised pork belly)

Rafute comes from the cooking of the old Ryukyu court in Okinawa, where pork has long been the most important meat. Thick blocks of skin-on belly are boiled to remove fat, then braised slowly in awamori, the local rice spirit, with soy, bonito stock and the islands' dark brown sugar. Today it is a dish for family celebrations and the Okinawan New Year, a staple of izakayas in Naha, and a topping for Okinawa soba. Expect deep amber pieces that hold their shape but cut with chopsticks. Chef's tip: cook it the day before; chilling lets you lift off the set fat, and the flavour soaks deeper into the meat overnight.

180 minJapaneseMeat
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Georgian salad with walnut dressing

On a Georgian table in July and August the tomato and cucumber salad is not dressed with oil and lemon but with ground walnuts loosened with water and vinegar, so the dressing turns creamy and nutty. You find it in Tbilisi kitchens, in Kakhetian village gardens where the tomatoes come off the vine warm, and next to every khachapuri. It takes fifteen minutes and is best eaten as soon as it is made. A common mistake is salting the tomatoes too early, which floods the bowl with juice and thins the dressing; dress and salt just before it goes to the table. Chef's tip: use purple (opal) basil if you can find it; its clove-like scent is what makes this salad taste Georgian.

15 minGeorgianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Bisi bele bathSpiced rice and lentil one-pot

Bisi bele bath means 'hot lentil rice' in Kannada, and it's Karnataka's great comfort dish, served in temples, weddings and Bengaluru tiffin rooms. Rice and toor dal are cooked soft with vegetables, then simmered with tamarind, jaggery and a freshly roasted spice powder of lentils, coriander seed, chilli, cinnamon and coconut until it's thick, glossy and spoonable. A generous ghee tempering with cashews and curry leaves goes over the top. Eat it piping hot with crisp potato chips or boondi raita. Chef's tip: make it looser than you think; it thickens fast as it stands, and the right texture is soft and flowing, like a thick porridge.

70 minIndianRice & Grains
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BissaraSplit fava bean soup

Bissara is the cold-morning soup of northern Morocco: in Tangier, Tétouan and Chefchaouen you see it ladled out from big pots at street stalls before work, and it is a favourite to break the fast in winter Ramadans. Dried split broad beans are simmered with garlic until they fall apart and blended into a thick, pale purée, then finished at the table with olive oil, cumin and paprika. Eat it piping hot with crusty bread; leftover bissara thickens into a dip you can spread on toast. Chef's tip: be generous with the final olive oil, it is not a garnish but part of the dish.

50 minMoroccanSoupsVeganGluten free
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Harissa

Harissa is Tunisia's essential condiment, made in every household from the dried red chillies of Nabeul and Cap Bon, which are hung in strings on house walls in late summer to dry. It goes into lablabi, brik, kafteji, couscous and soups, and is spread on bread with olive oil as a snack. Homemade harissa is brighter and less salty than the tubes. Chef's tip: toast the caraway and coriander seeds only until they smell warm; burnt seeds make the paste bitter.

43 minTunisianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Ukrainian borscht

Borshch is the soup Ukrainians measure every kitchen by: a deep ruby pot of beetroot, cabbage, potato and beans, soured just enough and finished with garlic and dill. Every region argues for its own version, from Poltava's with beans to Kyiv's with apples, and in 2022 the cooking of Ukrainian borshch was added to UNESCO's list of culture in need of urgent safeguarding. Traditionally it is simmered on a pork or beef bone stock; this version uses a well-seasoned vegetable stock and white beans, which is how many families cook it during Lent anyway. Serve it hot with a spoon of sour cream and garlic pampushky, and know that it tastes even better the next day. Chef's tip: fry the grated beetroot with a splash of vinegar before it goes into the pot; the acid fixes the red colour, so the soup stays bright instead of fading to brown.

90 minUkrainianSoupsGluten free
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Bistecca alla fiorentinaGrilled T-bone steak

A proper fiorentina is a T-bone cut three fingers thick, traditionally from Tuscany's white Chianina cattle, and Florentine steakhouses sell it by weight and serve it one way only: charred outside, deep red within. It is a sharing steak for three or four, sliced off the bone at the table and finished with nothing more than good olive oil and coarse salt. On one side of the bone sits the tender fillet, on the other the beefier sirloin, and the bone itself gives the meat flavour as it cooks. Cannellini beans with olive oil and sage and a simple green salad are the usual companions. Chef's tip: after searing both flat sides, stand the steak upright on its bone for several minutes; the heat travels up through the bone and cooks the middle evenly without overdoing the outside.

40 minItalianMeatGluten free
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Mul naengmyeonCold buckwheat noodles

Mul naengmyeon comes from Pyongyang, where it was once a winter dish eaten in heated rooms; after the war, northern cooks opened naengmyeon houses in Seoul, and now it is the first thing people crave on a sticky summer afternoon. The beef broth is served almost frozen, slightly sweet and sharp with vinegar, over long, springy buckwheat noodles. Bottles of vinegar and hot mustard sit on every table so you can adjust each bowl. Plan ahead: the broth needs at least 4 hours in the fridge, or make it the day before. Chef's tip: put the strained broth in the freezer for the last hour, so it turns slushy just as you serve.

120 minKoreanPasta & Noodles
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BitterballenCrisp beef ragout balls

Order a round of drinks in an Amsterdam brown café and a plate of bitterballen will follow: small crumbed balls with a crackling shell and a molten centre of beef ragout, eaten with a dab of sharp mustard. They are the classic borrel snack across the Netherlands, served at parties and receptions as well as in bars. The filling is a thick roux sauce with slow-cooked shredded beef that has to set firm in the fridge before it can be rolled. The usual failure is a filling that is too soft, so the balls split open in the oil; cook the ragout until it is very thick and chill it for at least four hours. Chef's tip: crumb them twice (egg, crumbs, egg, crumbs) and freeze them for 20 minutes before frying for a shell that never bursts.

180 minDutchSnacks & Starters
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Flat white

Sydney and Wellington both claim the flat white, first poured in their cafés in the mid-1980s, and today it's the everyday coffee across Australia and New Zealand, from Melbourne's laneway cafés to a beach kiosk in Raglan. It's smaller and stronger than a latte: a double shot of espresso topped with milk steamed to a smooth, glossy microfoam with only a thin layer of froth on top, so the coffee stays at the front. It's velvety, rich and sweet-tasting without sugar. For a vegan version, use a barista-style oat milk. Chef's tip: stretch the milk only for the first few seconds, then sink the wand and let it spin; you want paint-like milk, not a hat of stiff foam.

5 minAustralianDrinksGluten free
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Hong Kong pineapple bun

Despite the name, there is no pineapple in a bolo bao; the crackled, golden sugar crust on top just looks like the fruit's skin. It is the best-selling bun in Hong Kong bakeries and cha chaan teng cafés, eaten warm at breakfast or tea time with milk tea, and many people order it as bo lo yau, split open with a thick, cold slice of butter melting into it. Chef's tip: roll the topping between two sheets of baking paper rather than on a floured board; the soft dough is fragile and paper lets you lift it on in one piece.

150 minHong KongBaking
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Taiwanese pineapple cakes

Feng li su are the gift-box sweet of Taiwan: little golden squares of crumbly, milky shortbread wrapped round a chewy pineapple jam. Bakeries in Taichung and Taipei pack them in tins for Lunar New Year, weddings and visiting relatives, and the name sounds like 'prosperity arriving' in Taiwanese Hokkien. Older bakeries bulk the filling with winter melon for a softer, sweeter jam; this home version uses fresh pineapple only, cooked down until thick and tangy. Chef's tip: chill the dough and the jam balls before wrapping; cold, firm pieces are far easier to seal without the jam breaking through.

90 minTaiwaneseBaking
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Gua bao with braised tofu and mushroom

Gua bao are the folded, clam-shaped buns sold at night markets from Tainan to Keelung, traditionally stuffed with a slab of soy-braised pork belly and eaten as a 'tiger bites pig' snack at year-end company dinners. Here the filling is thick slices of tofu and king oyster mushroom simmered in the same sweet soy braise, then layered with sour mustard greens, a spoon of ground peanut and sugar, and fresh coriander. The soft bun, salty filling and sweet peanut crumble are what make it. Chef's tip: brush the half-moons with oil before folding and lay a strip of baking paper inside, so the buns open cleanly after steaming.

120 minTaiwaneseFast FoodVegan
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