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Paneer biryani
Featured recipe

Paneer biryani

Rice and moong dal in coconut milk

A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.

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Barbadine punchGranadilla milk drink

Barbadine, the giant granadilla, grows on vines over backyard fences across Trinidad and turns up at Sunday lunch blended into a pale, creamy punch. The fruit's soft white flesh and the perfumed seed pulp inside are both used, giving a gentle passion-fruit flavour that milk, nutmeg and a little sugar round out. It is alcohol-free and made for the whole family. A frequent mistake is blending the seeds hard, which cracks them and turns the drink gritty and bitter: pulse the pulp briefly and strain it. Chef's tip: if you can't find barbadine, use the pulp of 6 passion fruit plus 200 g peeled honeydew melon for a similar taste.

15 minTrinidadianDrinksGluten free
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BrunsliChocolate almond biscuits

Brunsli are the dark, chewy Christmas biscuits of Basel, one of the 'Basler Weihnachtsguetzli' along with Läckerli and Zimtsterne: ground almonds, sugar, dark chocolate, cinnamon and cloves bound with egg white, rolled out on sugar and cut into hearts, stars and clovers, then dried overnight and baked briefly so they stay soft inside. They are flourless. A common mistake is baking them too long, which turns them hard. Chef's tip: leave the cut shapes to dry overnight at room temperature; they form a thin crust and keep their sharp shape in the oven. Use a dairy-free chocolate to keep them dairy-free.

40 minSwissBakingGluten free
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BataSoft sticky rice

Long-grain palaw gets the glory at weddings, but on ordinary days in Herat and Kabul it is often bata that comes to the table: short-grain rice cooked until the grains burst and cling together in a glossy, gently salted mass. Its job is to sit beside something saucy, typically a qorma or sabzi, the dark, garlicky spinach, and to soak up every bit of it; children often eat it with just a spoonful of yogurt. It needs no spices at all. Rice that is drained or rinsed until the water runs clear will never go properly sticky, so rinse it once and cook it in a measured amount of water. Chef's tip: finish it under a lid wrapped in a tea towel on the lowest heat, which catches the drips of steam and keeps the top soft instead of wet.

40 minAfghanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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BazheWalnut sauce

Bazhe is the creamy walnut sauce of Guria, Samegrelo and Imereti, served cold with fried fish, roast chicken, boiled vegetables or a bowl of ghomi; families in Ozurgeti make it in large bowls for New Year. Walnuts are ground until they give up their oil, then let down with water and seasoned with garlic, blue fenugreek, coriander and a sour note until the sauce is pale, smooth and pourable. A common mistake is adding all the water at once; the sauce separates and turns thin and grey. Chef's tip: squeeze out a little walnut oil by kneading the paste with your hand, then drizzle it back over the finished sauce for a glossy, golden finish.

20 minGeorgianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Beef smooreSpiced coconut milk beef roast

Smoore takes its name from the Dutch smoren, to braise, and in Burgher homes from Colombo to Galle it is the centrepiece for Christmas lunch or a big family Sunday: a whole joint of beef pierced, marinated in vinegar and spice, then simmered for hours in coconut milk with lemongrass, pandan and a spoonful of lime pickle. The pickle is the signature, adding a salty, bitter-sour sparkle that keeps the rich gravy lively. The joint is sliced at the table and served with yellow rice, a cucumber salad and plenty of the sauce. The biggest risk is letting the coconut milk boil fiercely for hours, which makes it split and greasy. Chef's tip: once the joint is browned, keep the pot at the barest shiver of a simmer, and turn the meat every half-hour so it cooks evenly.

210 minSri LankanMeatGluten free
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Begova čorbaChicken and okra soup

Fit for an Ottoman bey, this velvety soup is the opening course of special dinners in Sarajevo and across Bosnia and Herzegovina, ladled out at weddings, Bajram tables and in the old aščinice, the canteens of the Baščaršija bazaar. Chicken simmers with carrot, celeriac and parsley root, and small okra pods go in to give a gentle, silky body; at the end, egg yolks and sour cream turn it creamy and pale gold, with a sharp lift from lemon. A common mistake is pouring the yolks straight into boiling soup, where they scramble: warm them with a little broth first. Chef's tip: dried okra, if you can find it in a Turkish shop, is traditional and less slimy; soak it in water with a splash of vinegar.

90 minBalkanSoupsGluten free
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Bela biscuitTwice-baked tea biscuit

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

220 minBangladeshiBaking
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Ago glainCrab in tomato pepper sauce

Cotonou sits between the sea and the Nokoué lagoon, and its crabs, ago in Fon, are cooked whole in a thick tomato, onion and pepper sauce for weekend lunches and family gatherings. Ago glain is gloriously messy: you crack the shells with your fingers and teeth, suck out the sweet meat and mop up the sauce with amiwo, akassa or white rice. The sauce is bright, gingery and hot, and the shells give it a deep seafood flavour. Live crabs need careful handling, so buy them from a fishmonger you trust, cook them the same day and keep them chilled until then; ready-cleaned or ready-cooked crab is fine too. The usual mistake is overcooking the crab once it is in the sauce, which makes the meat dry and stringy. Chef's tip: crack the claws before they go into the pot so the sauce seeps in and they cook evenly.

65 minAfricanFishGluten freeSpicy
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AkpanFermented corn drink

Street sellers in Cotonou and Porto-Novo keep akpan in cool boxes, ladled into cups or tied plastic bags as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. The base is fermented maize starch cooked into a thick pap, then left to sour further until it tastes like a mild, slightly yeasty yoghurt; cold milk and sugar loosen it into a creamy drink you can sip or eat with a spoon. It is refreshing, tangy and filling, and many people treat it as a light meal on hot days. Budget a day for the second souring, though the hands-on time is under half an hour, and always use pasteurised milk and keep the finished drink in the fridge. Don't let the fermented base sit at room temperature for longer than stated; past that it sours too far. Chef's tip: sieve the slurry before cooking; any maize husk left in makes the drink gritty.

30 minAfricanDrinksGluten free
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AmiwoRed tomato cornmeal

Fon cooks in southern Benin make amiwo for weddings, christenings and big Sunday tables, and you will find it at celebrations across the border in Lomé too. Maize meal is cooked straight into a well-fried tomato, onion and pepper base until it becomes a thick, brick-red paste that is savoury, slightly sweet and full of tomato. Most often it arrives with fried chicken; this meat-free version uses vegetable stock and comes with fried ripe plantain and an extra spoonful of tomato sauce. Chef's tip: hold back a ladle of the tomato base before adding the cornmeal and spoon it over each portion to serve.

55 minAfricanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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PinonGari in tomato and onion sauce

On a busy weeknight in Cotonou or Porto-Novo, pinon (also spelled piron) is the answer: gari, the toasted cassava granules every Beninese kitchen keeps on hand, stirred into a hot tomato and onion sauce until it swells into a soft, fluffy, orange mound. Ready in about twenty minutes, it is savoury and tangy from the fermented cassava, with a kick of pepper. People eat it with fried fish or grilled chicken; this meat-free plate pairs it with a pot of beans in red oil or fried plantain. Chef's tip: lower the heat before adding the gari and sprinkle it in gradually, stirring all the time, so every grain absorbs the sauce evenly.

20 minAfricanVegetarianVeganGluten free
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BereketeFenugreek and cumin Shabbat bread

Among Ethiopian Israelis in Kiryat Malakhi, Netanya and Ashkelon, the Friday meal begins when the eldest at the table blesses a round loaf of berekete and breaks it for everyone. The bread is plain, dense and wheaty, with a soft crumb and the warm, faintly bitter scent of fenugreek, cumin and coriander baked in. It is eaten with spiced lentils, cabbage and potatoes or with a little honey on Shabbat morning. The usual mistake is baking it in a hot oven like a white loaf, which burns the bottom before the thick centre cooks. Chef's tip: bake it in a covered heavy pan at a moderate heat, as it would be on a mitad, so it steams through before browning.

70 minIsraeliBreads & ParathasVegan
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Bermuda cassava pieCassava pie with chicken and pork

No Bermudian Christmas table is complete without cassava pie, a dense, golden, faintly sweet bake of grated cassava, eggs, butter, sugar and nutmeg layered around a filling of stewed chicken and pork. Families compare recipes and argue over sweetness; it is served in slices with the turkey on Christmas Day and eaten cold for days after. The pork here is boneless pork shoulder, stewed with the chicken until tender. The common mistake is underbaking: the cassava must set firm and brown deeply, or it is gluey in the middle. Use frozen grated cassava, squeezed dry. Chef's tip: make the filling the day before; cold meat is easier to layer and the stock gels into a juicy middle.

195 minCaribbeanMeatGluten free
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Berner PlatteSmoked meats and sauerkraut platter

The Berner Platte is Bern's great feast platter, said to celebrate the victory over the French at Neuenegg in 1798, and it is still served in the old taverns under the arcades of Bern's old town, especially in autumn and winter: a heap of smoked pork belly, smoked pork shoulder, tongue, beef, Bernese sausages and marrow bones, laid over sauerkraut, dried green beans and boiled potatoes. This dish contains pork. A common mistake is boiling everything together for the same time; the sausages split and the beef is still tough. Chef's tip: cook each meat for its own time in the same pot, adding the sausages only for the last 20 minutes at a gentle simmer. Whole pork cuts must reach 63 °C and sausages 71 °C.

180 minSwissMeatGluten free
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BezarSpice blend

Every Emirati kitchen keeps a jar of bezar, and many families in Dubai and Al Ain still roast and grind their own each winter to last the year. It is the warm, earthy backbone of machboos, saloona, harees and grilled fish, built mainly on coriander and cumin with fennel, a little chilli heat, cinnamon and plenty of turmeric for colour. Toasting the whole spices first gives it a deeper, nuttier taste than any ready-mixed powder. The common slip is toasting everything together on a high heat, so the small seeds burn while the coriander is still raw. Chef's tip: stir the turmeric and ground ginger in after grinding, never into the hot pan, or they turn bitter.

15 minGulf ArabianBasicsVeganGluten free
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BhakkaSteamed rice cakes

On foggy December mornings in Biratnagar, Itahari and the bazaars of Jhapa and Morang, street sellers sit behind a smoking clay pot turning out bhakka one at a time, little round cakes of damp, freshly ground rice flour steamed in a cloth-covered bowl over boiling water. Each one is light and crumbly, almost like a soft rice sponge, and slightly sweet, and it is eaten straight away, broken up and dipped into a hot, garlicky tomato achar. It is a Tharu and Madhesi winter favourite that has become everyone's breakfast in the eastern Terai. Many first attempts fail because the flour is too fine and dry, so it packs into a hard puck. Chef's tip: grind soaked rice coarsely at home and keep it just damp enough to clump when squeezed, then sprinkle it loosely into the bowl without pressing.

40 minNepaliBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Bhatmas sadekoRoasted soybean salad

Sadeko means marinated, and in Kathmandu it is the word for the punchy little salads served in khaja ghar snack houses and at family gatherings during Dashain and Tihar card games. The soybean version is the cheapest and one of the best: dried soybeans roasted in a dry pan until they crack and turn nutty, then tossed while warm with red onion, green chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander, lemon and a spoonful of pungent raw mustard oil. It is crunchy, sharp and hot, eaten by the handful with beaten rice (chiura) or as a side to a dal bhat plate. The pitfall here is under-roasting the beans, which leaves them hard and grassy rather than crisp. Chef's tip: roast the beans until they split their skins and smell like popcorn, then rub off and blow away the loose skins before dressing them.

20 minNepaliSaladsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Bhee patataLotus stem and potato curry

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

60 minPakistaniVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Bhindi goshtMutton and okra curry

Summer in Punjab means okra in every bazaar, and the moment small, tender pods appear, households start making bhindi gosht for lunch: a dry-ish mutton curry with whole fried okra folded through at the end, tasting of tomato, green chilli and a little dried mango. It is eaten with chapati and a bowl of plain yogurt or raita on the side, and leftovers are even better packed in a tiffin the next day. The okra should be tender and bright, not slimy. That stringy texture comes from washing the okra and cutting it while wet, so wash and dry it completely before you trim it. Chef's tip: fry the okra separately until its edges blister, then add it to the meat only in the last ten minutes; it keeps its shape and the gravy stays clean.

90 minPakistaniMeatGluten free
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Bhuga chawalBrown onion rice

Bhuga means fried, and in this everyday Sindhi rice it is the onions that are fried, slowly and patiently, until they are a deep mahogany brown, so the cooking water and then every grain turn a warm tan colour with a sweet, almost smoky flavour. In Karachi and Sukkur homes it is the rice that goes with Sindhi kadhi on a Friday, or with sai bhaji, the green dal and spinach stew, and a crisp aloo tuk or papad on the side. It is simple enough for a weeknight and good enough for guests. Burnt onions are the trap: there is only a short moment between dark brown and bitter black. Chef's tip: once the onions start to colour, lower the heat and stir constantly, and add the water the moment they reach the shade of strong tea.

45 minPakistaniRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Bibikhana pithaBaked rice flour and coconut cake

The name means something like a lady's dish, and bibikhana pitha has long been the grand, special-occasion pitha of well-off households in Dhaka, Comilla and Noakhali, made in winter when a son-in-law or important guest is expected. It is closer to a cake than most pithas: rice flour, eggs, milk, grated coconut and date-palm jaggery are beaten together and baked slowly, traditionally in a heavy pan over charcoal with more coals heaped on the lid, until it sets into a dense, moist, caramel-brown cake. It is cut into wedges and served with tea in the afternoon. Baking too hot is the typical slip, so the jaggery burns before the middle sets; a moderate oven and patience give an even colour. Chef's tip: let it cool completely before cutting, as it firms up and slices cleanly only once cold.

60 minBangladeshiBakingGluten free
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BibikkanCoconut jaggery cake

Bibikkan is the darkest, stickiest cake in the Sri Lankan repertoire, baked by Burgher families for Christmas and by Sinhala households for the New Year table, and nobody quite agrees whether its roots lie in Portuguese or local kitchens. Freshly grated coconut is first cooked in melted kithul jaggery, then mixed with roasted semolina, flour, eggs, cashews, raisins, chopped ginger preserve and a mix of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves, and baked until almost black on the outside. The crumb is moist, heavy and chewy with coconut, with a deep treacle sweetness and a warm, spiced finish, and slices are served with tea. Baking it too hot is where it often goes wrong, as the jaggery burns before the middle sets, so keep the oven moderate and cover it if the top darkens early. Chef's tip: cook the coconut in the jaggery until it looks thick and sticky before mixing; that is what gives bibikkan its fudgy texture.

90 minSri LankanBaking
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BichakPumpkin-filled half-moon pastries

Across northern Afghanistan, around Mazar, Kunduz and Shibirghan, the autumn pumpkin harvest is turned into bichak, plump half-moon pastries that show the region's Uzbek and Turkmen neighbours in their name and shape. A soft, thin wheat dough wraps a filling of grated pumpkin and onion seasoned only with salt, black pepper and a little chilli, which bakes into something sweet, savoury and juicy, best eaten warm with a glass of tea or alongside a bowl of yogurt. Some families bake them, others fry them in a wok of oil; this version bakes them. The filling must not be wet, or the bottoms go soggy and the seams burst, so squeeze the grated pumpkin hard before mixing. Chef's tip: grate the onion finely too, so it melts into the pumpkin instead of staying in crunchy pieces.

55 minAfghanSnacks & StartersVegan
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BidosReindeer stew

Bidos is the festive stew of the Sámi, the reindeer-herding people of the far north of Norway, Sweden and Finland: reindeer meat simmered slowly in a clear broth with potatoes and carrots, seasoned only with salt and pepper so the gamey meat shines. It is served at Sámi weddings and confirmations, and at Easter festivals in Kautokeino and Karasjok. Reindeer is sold frozen in Nordic shops; beef chuck or venison works too. A common mistake is adding the potatoes at the start, so they fall apart before the meat is tender. Chef's tip: thicken the broth only lightly with a spoon of flour if you like; traditionally it is clear and thin.

150 minScandinavianCurriesGluten free
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Bihari kebabPapaya-marinated beef strips

Migrants from Bihar who settled in Karachi after 1947 brought this kebab with them, and it has become one of the city's signature grills, served from the smoky stalls of Burns Road, Hussainabad and Boat Basin. Thin ribbons of beef are beaten flat, marinated with raw papaya paste to tenderise them, mustard oil, browned onion and a heady spice mix, then threaded onto skewers and grilled fast over coals, finished with a puff of charcoal smoke. They are soft enough to pull apart with your fingers and are eaten with paratha, sliced onion and mint chutney. Leaving the papaya on too long is the risk, because it keeps working and turns the meat mushy; four to six hours in the fridge is plenty. Chef's tip: slice the beef while it is half-frozen, across the grain, and you will get even, paper-thin strips with ease.

40 minPakistaniMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Bingka ubiBaked cassava cake

Golden-brown slabs of bingka ubi are cut from big trays at Malay and Peranakan kueh stalls in Singapore and taken home for tea, or baked at home for Hari Raya when there is a crowd to feed. Freshly grated cassava, coconut milk, eggs and sugar bake into a dense, chewy, slightly sticky cake with a custardy centre and a caramelised, almost leathery top, scented with pandan. It needs nothing with it but a cup of strong tea or kopi. Cassava must always be fully cooked and never eaten raw; buy it fresh from a trusted greengrocer, peel off every bit of the thick skin and pink layer, or use frozen grated cassava, which is already prepared. The usual mistake is pressing out all the cassava's liquid and adding too little coconut milk, which bakes it dry and rubbery. Chef's tip: finish under the grill for the last few minutes for the dark, blistered top, then cool fully before cutting so the slices hold.

80 minSingaporeanDessertsGluten free
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Bint al sahnLayered honey bread

Bint al sahn, 'daughter of the plate', is the grand bread of Sana'a, set in the centre of the table for guests, weddings and Eid and pulled apart with the fingers while it is still warm. Many paper-thin sheets of egg-rich dough are stacked with melted ghee, baked until the top is deep gold and the inside is flaky and soft, then soaked with warm honey and sprinkled with nigella seeds. It is eaten with Yemeni coffee or tea, often as the sweet that opens a big meal. The mistake that ruins it is skimping on the ghee between the layers; without it the sheets fuse into a dense loaf. Chef's tip: roll the first sheets slightly bigger than the rest, so the bottom layers wrap up around the sides and hold the stack together.

105 minGulf ArabianBaking
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BirzFresh honey water

In Gojjam and Gondar, where honey is plentiful, birz is poured for children, for guests who do not drink, and at church feasts and weddings beside the tej. It starts the same way as honey wine, with honey stirred into water, but it is drunk fresh within hours, so it stays sweet, mild and completely alcohol-free. Good, flowery honey is everything here; it should taste like a cool, floral lemonade without the lemon. Because birz is honey and water, it will start to ferment by itself if left warm, so drink it the same day and keep it in the fridge until you pour it. Honey is not suitable for babies under 12 months. Chef's tip: dissolve the honey in a little warm water first; stirred straight into cold water, it sinks to the bottom in a sticky lump.

10 minEthiopianDrinksGluten free
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Bistec de palomillaThin steak with lime onion

Palomilla is the everyday steak of Havana lunch counters and Miami's Cuban cafés alike: top sirloin pounded very thin, marinated briefly in lime and garlic, seared in seconds and buried under a pile of raw chopped onion and parsley. It comes with white rice, black beans and fried plantain. The most common mistake is leaving the steak in the lime for hours, which turns the surface grey and mushy; 20 minutes to an hour in the fridge is enough. Beef steak can be cooked to your liking, but it is so thin it is usually cooked through. Chef's tip: get the pan smoking hot and cook one or two steaks at a time, or they stew instead of browning.

25 minCubanMeatGluten free
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Bistec encebolladoSteak with vinegar onions

Order bistec encebollado at a lunch counter in Santurce or a comedor in Santiago de los Caballeros and it comes the same way: thin steaks swimming in a heap of soft, sharp onions and a garlicky, vinegar-bright gravy, with white rice, beans and tostones alongside. Thin cuts are marinated in vinegar, garlic and oregano, seared, then braised gently with the onions until tender. The common mistake is boiling the meat hard, which makes thin steak tough; a gentle simmer under a lid keeps it soft. Chef's tip: give the steaks a few gentle pounds with a mallet before marinating so the vinegar can work into them.

45 minPuerto RicanMeatGluten free
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Biye barir roastSweet wedding-style chicken roast

Ask anyone who grew up in Bangladesh what they look forward to at a biye bari, a wedding house, and the chicken roast is near the top, a single fried leg or breast lounging in a thick, sweet-spiced, ghee-glossed gravy beside a mound of polao. The word roast is a bit of a misnomer: the chicken is fried until golden and then simmered in a gravy of onion paste, yoghurt, milk and a little sugar, perfumed with cardamom, mace and kewra, so it tastes rich rather than charred. Children love it because it is mild and gently sweet, with only whole green chillies for warmth. A common error is skipping the frying, which leaves the chicken pale and lets it fall apart in the sauce. Chef's tip: use bone-in thighs and drumsticks with deep slashes, so the gravy gets into the meat during the short simmer.

75 minBangladeshiChickenGluten free
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Bizcocho dominicanoOrange sponge with pineapple filling

Every Dominican birthday in Santo Domingo or Santiago has one: a tall, buttery, orange-scented sponge split and filled with sticky pineapple, then swirled all over with glossy white meringue frosting called suspiro. Traditional suspiro whips hot syrup into raw whites; this version uses a Swiss meringue, heating the whites with sugar to 70 °C so it is safe for everyone, including pregnant women and small children. The common mistake is overbeating the batter after the flour goes in, which makes the famously moist crumb tough. Chef's tip: beat the butter and sugar for a full 8 minutes until almost white; that air is what gives bizcocho its tender, springy texture.

100 minPuerto RicanBaking
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BlitvaSwiss chard and potatoes

Order grilled fish in any konoba along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, from Zadar down to Dubrovnik, and a heap of blitva usually comes with it. Swiss chard and potatoes are boiled together until soft, then crushed roughly with lots of good olive oil and a little garlic, so the potatoes turn creamy and the chard stays silky and green. It is humble, quick and very good, also with grilled vegetables, eggs or a simple bean dish. The usual slip is not draining well enough, which leaves a watery, grey mush; let everything steam dry in the colander for a minute. Chef's tip: use the best olive oil you have and add a final drizzle at the table, as Dalmatians do, so its peppery taste stays bright.

30 minBalkanSidesVeganGluten free
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BolicheChorizo-stuffed beef pot roast

Boliche is a Sunday and holiday centrepiece in Havana: an eye-of-round beef joint with a tunnel cut through the middle, stuffed with pork chorizo, then browned and braised slowly in tomato, onion, pepper, sour orange and dry white or red wine until it slices like butter. Potatoes go into the pot for the last hour to soak up the sauce. The wine is simmered for hours, though a little alcohol may remain; use extra stock with a spoon of vinegar for an alcohol-free version. The common mistake is rushing the braise, which leaves this lean cut tough, so keep the pot at a bare simmer. Chef's tip: chill the cooked roast in its sauce, then slice it cold and reheat the slices in the sauce; you get neat rounds with the chorizo in the centre.

210 minCubanMeatGluten free
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Bolo fiadoLayered pastry and cashew cake

The name comes from Portuguese and means something like spun cake, and among the Burgher families of Colombo and Batticaloa it is the showpiece of the Christmas sweet table, harder work than love cake and saved for special years. Paper-thin sheets of egg-rich dough are stacked in a tin, each brushed with melted butter and scattered with a sweet mixture of cashews, pumpkin preserve, sugar, cardamom and rosewater, then baked until the layers puff and turn crisp and golden. Cut into squares, it flakes at the top and stays tender and sticky inside. Where it usually goes wrong is the dough: sheets rolled too thick bake up bready instead of flaky, so roll until you can almost see the board through them. Pumpkin preserve (puhul dosi) is sold in Sri Lankan grocers; candied winter melon works too. Chef's tip: rest the dough properly, a full 30 minutes, because relaxed gluten lets you roll it far thinner without tearing.

135 minSri LankanBaking
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BombolinoSugared doughnuts

A legacy of the Italian years, bombolino is still part of the morning ritual in Asmara: a warm doughnut rolled in sugar, eaten at a café counter on Harnet Avenue with a small, strong macchiato. Eritrean bombolini are unfilled, either round or ring-shaped, with a pale band around the middle, a feather-light crumb and a hint of lemon in the dough. Bakeries fry them in the early morning and they sell out quickly. At home they make a lovely weekend treat; allow about 1½ hours for the dough to rise and prove. The most common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot, so the outside goes dark while the centre stays doughy; keep it at 170 °C and test the first one. Chef's tip: roll them in sugar while they are still warm, not hot, so the sugar clings without melting.

125 minEritreanDesserts
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Bonbon siwoMolasses gingerbread cake

Bonbon siwo, "syrup cake", is the moist, dark gingerbread that Haitian families bake for birthdays, church sales and an ordinary Sunday, sliced into squares and eaten with a cup of sweet coffee. The siwo is molasses or cane syrup, which gives it a slightly bitter, smoky sweetness alongside ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. The common mistake is overbaking: take it out as soon as a skewer comes out clean, or the edges dry and turn crusty. It contains egg, wheat and dairy. Chef's tip: mix the bicarbonate of soda into the hot water before adding it to the batter so it fizzes and lifts the cake evenly.

60 minHaitianBaking
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BoniatilloSweet potato pudding

Boniatillo comes from the sweet tooth of old Havana, where white-fleshed boniato is boiled, puréed and cooked in a cinnamon and lime-peel syrup until it turns into a thick, glossy pudding. It is served at room temperature in small bowls, often dusted with cinnamon, at birthdays or simply after Sunday lunch. The mistake to avoid is using orange sweet potato alone, which makes it wet and very sweet; Cuban boniato or a white sweet potato gives the right dry, chestnutty texture. Chef's tip: beat in the egg yolks off the heat with a little of the hot purée first, so they thicken the pudding without scrambling.

55 minCubanDessertsGluten free
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BoranoMelted cheese in hot butter

In the hill villages behind Batumi, where cows graze the Adjarian mountains in summer, borano is what a shepherd's family makes when someone drops in: a pan of golden butter, a heap of young cheese melted into it until it turns stretchy and oily, and squares of hot mchadi cornbread to drag through it. It is rich, salty and meant to be shared straight from the pan at the table. A common mistake is using a very hard, dry cheese, which turns grainy and oily instead of stretching. Chef's tip: use clarified butter or ghee so the butter can get really hot without burning, and add the cheese in one layer so it melts evenly. Sulguni and imeruli are often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian cheese.

15 minGeorgianSnacks & StartersGluten free
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BorșFermented wheat bran sour liquid

Before lemons were common in Moldavian and Wallachian villages, every household kept a crock of borș, the cloudy, tangy liquid that turns a plain soup into a ciorbă. Wheat bran and a little cornmeal are steeped in hot water, seeded with a starter and left to ferment for 3–4 days in total, so although the hands-on work is short, plan a long weekend: the timings shown cover only the first two days of waiting. It is naturally vegan and a staple of the fasting (post) kitchen, where it sours nettle, bean and vegetable ciorbe. Where people go wrong is using a jar that is not properly clean, which lets the wrong microbes win and turns the borș slimy or mouldy. Chef's tip: keep a few spoonfuls of the drained bran, dried, as the starter (huște) for your next batch.

2880 minRomanianBasicsVegan
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RabarbugrauturRhubarb pudding

Rhubarb is one of the few fruits that thrive in the windswept Faroe Islands, and rabarbugrautur, 'rhubarb porridge', is the summer pudding of Tórshavn and village kitchens alike: rhubarb stewed with sugar and thickened with potato starch into a glossy, tart, ruby-coloured pudding, served warm or chilled with cold cream or milk. A common mistake is boiling it after the starch goes in, which makes it thin and stringy. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat before stirring in the starch slurry, then return it just until the first bubble, and stop.

30 minScandinavianDessertsGluten free
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Rabo encendidoSpicy braised oxtail

Rabo encendido, "oxtail on fire", is the slow Saturday braise of central Cuba, cooked until the meat slips off the bones into a dark, glossy sauce of tomato, sweet pepper, red wine and a kick of hot chilli. It is eaten with white rice and fried ripe plantain to cool the heat. The wine cooks for hours, but if you want no alcohol at all, use extra beef stock with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. The common mistake is serving it straight away with a layer of fat on top; skim it well, or chill overnight and lift the fat off. Chef's tip: dust the oxtail lightly in cornflour and brown it hard; the coating gives a better crust and thickens the sauce while keeping it gluten free.

235 minCubanMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Rác pontyCarp baked with potatoes and peppers

Rác is the old Hungarian name for the Serbs who settled along the Danube in southern Transdanubia, and in towns like Mohács and Baja their style of baked carp became a Friday and holiday favourite. Scored carp fillets are laid over sliced potatoes, pale green peppers, onion and tomato, sprinkled with paprika and baked, then finished with sour cream so the vegetables underneath soak up the juices. Traditionally thin strips of smoked pork bacon are tucked into the cuts of the fish; they are optional here, so leave them out for a pork-free dish. It is a whole meal in one dish, best with fresh bread. A common mistake is putting raw potato under the fish, which is still hard when the carp is done; parboil it first. Chef's tip: score the carp finely every 4 mm so the oven heat softens its small bones.

75 minHungarianFishGluten free
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Racuchy z jabłkamiApple fritters

Autumn in the orchard villages around Łącko and Nowy Sącz means apples everywhere, and racuchy are how grandmothers use the windfalls on a Sunday afternoon. A thick yeast batter is folded with thin apple slices and spooned into hot oil, where it puffs into golden, airy fritters with soft, tart fruit inside. Shower them with icing sugar and eat them warm, perhaps with a glass of cold milk or kefir. Where most people go wrong is frying too hot: the outside darkens before the thick middle cooks, leaving a raw, gummy centre. Chef's tip: keep the oil at a steady medium, about 170 °C, and flatten each spoonful slightly so it cooks through evenly.

75 minPolishDesserts
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Zuger KirschtorteKirsch meringue sponge cake

The Zuger Kirschtorte was created in 1915 by the confectioner Heinrich Höhn in Zug, a lakeside town at the heart of Swiss cherry country, and it is still sold in the town's cake shops: two crisp almond meringue discs sandwiching a light sponge soaked in kirsch syrup, all held together with pink-tinted buttercream and coated in toasted almonds and icing sugar. This cake contains alcohol (kirsch, a cherry brandy); for an alcohol-free version, use the cherry juice swap in the ingredient note. A common mistake is soaking the sponge until soggy; it should be moist but hold its shape. Chef's tip: bake the meringue discs until dry and crisp, so they stay crunchy against the soft buttercream.

100 minSwissBaking
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Ræstur fiskurFermented dried fish

Ræstur fiskur is cod or other white fish that Faroese families hang in the wind-swept hjallur for weeks until it ferments and develops a strong, cheesy taste; it is then boiled and eaten with boiled potatoes and melted tallow or butter, a Sunday and winter dish across the islands. It needs the Faroese wind and is bought ready-hung, never made at home. A common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes it tough and stringy. Chef's tip: soak the fish in cold water for an hour before cooking to tame its saltiness, then simmer gently until it flakes. It is cooked when opaque right through.

40 minScandinavianFishGluten free
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Tel koiFried climbing perch in gravy

Koi, the climbing perch, is a small, tough-scaled fish of ponds and rice fields with a sweet flesh that Bengalis prize above much bigger fish, and tel koi, koi in oil, is how Khulna households celebrate a good catch, especially when a son-in-law visits. The fish are fried whole until crisp and then slipped into a glossy gravy of onion, cumin, turmeric and whole green chillies that is meant to have a visible layer of mustard oil on top. They are eaten with plain rice, picking the soft flesh away from the many fine bones. You will find koi fresh or frozen in Bangladeshi grocers. The usual pitfall is a timid frying, which leaves the skin soft and the bones chewy; fry until the fins crisp. Chef's tip: score each fish twice on both sides so the spices get in and the thick back cooks as quickly as the belly.

40 minBangladeshiFishGluten free
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TejbegrízMilk semolina pudding

Ask Hungarians what they ate in the nursery or at the school canteen and tejbegríz comes up again and again: semolina cooked slowly in sweet milk until it is thick, smooth and comforting, then dusted with cocoa sugar or cinnamon sugar while it is still steaming. It is a supper for small children, a quick breakfast on a cold morning and the thing grown-ups make when they feel unwell. Some families add a spoon of jam or a knob of butter on top. Where most people go wrong is tipping the semolina in all at once, which makes lumps; rain it in slowly while you whisk. Chef's tip: take it off the heat when it is still slightly looser than you want, because it keeps thickening as it cools in the bowl.

15 minHungarianDesserts
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RahashTahini and sugar slab sweet

In the souks of Kuwait City and Manama, slabs of rahash appear on the sweet stalls as Ramadan approaches, cut into squares to nibble with tea after iftar or handed round at Eid. It is close to halva: tahini beaten with hot sugar syrup until it sets into a firm, crumbly, fudgy block that melts on the tongue, with a gentle cardamom perfume and pistachios on top. The trick is the syrup temperature. Undercooked syrup leaves a soft, oily paste that never sets; cook it to the soft-ball stage. Stir the tahini well in its jar first, as the oil separates. Chef's tip: stop stirring as soon as the mixture loses its gloss and starts to pull away from the bowl; keep going and it turns sandy.

30 minGulf ArabianDessertsVeganGluten free
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TeiglachHoney-boiled dough knots

Teiglach were a Lithuanian-Jewish festive sweet that travelled to Israel, and a few bakeries in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak still pile them into glistening pyramids before Rosh Hashanah. Small knots of egg dough are dropped into boiling honey with ginger and cooked until they swell, harden and turn deep golden, then tossed with walnuts and sometimes candied cherries. The result is crunchy-chewy and very sweet, eaten in small pieces with tea. The usual mistake is lifting the lid during the first 10 minutes, which lets the honey cool so the knots stay doughy. Chef's tip: shake the covered pot instead of stirring, so the knots move without collapsing.

75 minIsraeliDesserts
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WodzionkaGarlic and rye bread soup

Miners' families in Upper Silesia made this from almost nothing: a few slices of yesterday's rye bread, a garlic clove, a knob of butter and boiling water poured straight into the bowl. Called brotzupa by some older Silesians, it still turns up in Zabrze and Ruda Śląska homes as a cheap, soothing supper, and newer versions use vegetable stock and add caraway or a fried onion. The bread softens into a rich, garlicky porridge with crisp-edged croutons on top. The usual slip is using fresh bread, which turns to slime; it has to be properly dry. Chef's tip: toast the cubes in butter first for a nuttier flavour and a little crunch.

15 minPolishSoups
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Rajská omáčkaSweet-sour tomato sauce with beef

Every Czech school canteen has served rajská at some point, and many adults still crave this glossy, sweet and tangy tomato sauce poured over slices of tender boiled beef with bread dumplings. Bohemian cooks make it from the broth of the beef itself, thickened with a light roux and perfumed with clove, allspice, bay and a hint of cinnamon, so it tastes warmly spiced rather than like a pasta sauce. The usual slip is under-seasoning the sweet-sour balance: keep tasting and adjust sugar and vinegar until it is clearly both. Simmer the beef until a fork slides in easily. Pasta or rice work too if you are not making dumplings. Chef's tip: strain the sauce through a sieve at the end for the velvety restaurant texture.

120 minCzechMeat
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RakfiskFermented trout

Rakfisk is the autumn feast of Valdres in the Norwegian mountains, where trout and char from the lakes are salted and left to ferment for two to three months, until the fish is soft, pungent and buttery. Every November the town of Fagernes holds a rakfisk festival, and families serve it in slices on lefse or flatbread with red onion, sour cream and boiled potatoes. Home fermentation of fish carries a risk of botulism, so buy rakfisk only from licensed producers, never make it yourself. It is eaten raw, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. A common mistake is serving it too warm, which makes the smell overpowering. Chef's tip: serve it well chilled and sliced thin.

40 minScandinavianFish
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