Skip to content
Koldskål
Featured recipe

Koldskål

Cold buttermilk soup

On the first warm day of summer, Danes buy cartons of koldskål and packets of kammerjunker, small crunchy rusks, and the season has begun: koldskål is a cold, sweet, tangy buttermilk 'soup' with lemon and vanilla, eaten from bowls as a dessert or a light supper, sometimes with strawberries. Homemade, it is whisked with egg yolks for richness. Raw egg yolk is not suitable for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system, so this recipe uses pasteurised egg yolks. A common mistake is serving it at room temperature; it must be very cold. Chef's tip: whisk the yolks and sugar until thick and pale before the buttermilk goes in, which gives a silky, foamy soup.

Read more 0 views

What to eat today?

Around the world

Today's trip: Persian

A new country every day, from every cuisine on the site.

This week's collection

Kid-friendly dinners
541 recipes · a new collection every Monday

Latest recipes

Smoked salmon on brown wheaten bread

Irish smoked salmon, bradán deataithe, comes from smokehouses along the west coast in Connemara and Cork, and a plate of it on buttered brown wheaten bread is a classic starter at weddings and Christmas, and a light lunch in country hotels. The bread is a quick wholemeal soda bread made with buttermilk and no yeast, nutty and slightly sweet. Serve with lemon, capers and red onion. Cold-smoked salmon is not cooked, so pregnant people and anyone with low immunity should avoid it or use hot-smoked salmon instead. Chef's tip: cut the bread only when it has cooled completely; warm soda bread squashes and turns gummy.

60 minIrishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicken Kyiv

Chicken Kyiv, kotleta po-kyivsky, became the pride of the restaurants of Kyiv in the 20th century, and the city still serves it with a little paper frill on the bone and a fountain of herb butter when it is cut. A flattened chicken breast is rolled around a frozen stick of garlic, dill and parsley butter, double-crumbed to seal it, then fried and finished in the oven. Serve with mash or fried potatoes and a green salad. Chef's tip: freeze the butter until rock hard and seal every edge with two coats of egg and crumbs; that is what stops it from leaking.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Taiwanese beef noodle soup

Taiwan treats beef noodle soup as a national dish, and Taipei even holds an annual festival where noodle shops compete for the best bowl. The red-braised style is the classic: beef shank simmers for hours with chilli bean paste, soy, star anise, ginger and tomato until it is meltingly tender, then the rich broth is poured over thick wheat noodles with blanched greens and pickled mustard greens. The braise uses Shaoxing rice wine, which contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free version use extra stock with 1 tsp rice vinegar. Chef's tip: blanch the beef first and rinse it; this gives a clear, clean-tasting broth.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChakhokhbiliChicken with tomatoes and herbs

Chakhokhbili was first made with pheasant (khokhobi), but in Georgian homes from Tbilisi to Kutaisi today it is an everyday chicken stew, the kind cooked on a weeknight and served with bread to wipe the plate. Chicken pieces are browned without oil, then simmered with a lot of onion and ripe tomato, garlic, chilli and khmeli suneli spice, and finished with a big handful of fresh coriander, basil and dill. Chef's tip: brown the chicken skin side down in a dry pan; it releases enough fat to cook the onions.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Taiwanese popcorn chicken

Every night market in Taiwan, from Shilin in Taipei to Tainan's Garden Night Market, has a yan su ji stall with a queue, selling paper bags of bite-size fried chicken. Thigh pieces are marinated in soy, garlic and five-spice, coated in coarse sweet potato starch for a craggy, extra-crunchy shell, double-fried and tossed with fried Thai basil and a salt-and-white-pepper seasoning. The marinade traditionally includes rice wine, which contains alcohol; leave it out or use 1 tbsp water instead. Chef's tip: let the coated chicken rest for 5 minutes until the starch looks damp; it will then stay on in the oil.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Curry fish balls

Curry fish balls are the after-school snack of Hong Kong, sold on bamboo skewers from steaming pots at street stalls in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po for a few dollars. Springy fish balls simmer in a thick, mildly spicy yellow curry sauce made with curry powder, coconut milk and a little satay sauce, and are eaten straight from the stick while still hot. Chef's tip: simmer the fish balls in the sauce for at least 10 minutes; they need time to soak up the curry.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Baked pork chop rice

Baked pork chop rice is the signature dish of Hong Kong's cha chaan teng, the busy tea cafés that mix Cantonese and Western cooking, and it arrives at the table bubbling in an oval dish. It is a pork dish: tenderised, marinated pork chops are fried golden and laid on egg fried rice, then covered with a sweet-sour tomato sauce with onions and peppers and topped with melted cheese. The marinade traditionally uses Shaoxing wine, which contains alcohol; use 1 tbsp water instead if you like. Chef's tip: score the edge fat and pound the chops; they stay flat and tender.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Beef chow fun

Gon chow ngau ho is the test of a Cantonese wok cook, and Hong Kong diners judge a dai pai dong (open-air food stall) or late-night café by it. Wide fresh rice noodles are tossed over a fierce flame with tender, marinated beef, bean sprouts and spring onion in soy sauce until smoky and glossy but never greasy or broken. The beef marinade sometimes includes Shaoxing wine, which contains alcohol; this version uses none. Chef's tip: separate the noodles by hand before cooking and do not stir with a spatula; lift and toss them so they stay whole.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Typhoon shelter crab

Typhoon shelter crab comes from the boat people of Causeway Bay, who cooked for visitors on sampans moored in the harbour's storm shelters, and Hong Kong restaurants still serve it piled under a golden mountain of fried garlic. Crab pieces are dusted in starch and fried, then tossed in a wok with a huge amount of crisp garlic, dried chilli, fermented black beans and spring onion. Chef's tip: fry the garlic slowly over a medium heat; it should turn golden and crunchy, never dark, or it tastes bitter.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicken mandi

Mandi comes from the Hadramaut in Yemen, where meat was slow-cooked in a pit oven above the rice, and today mandi restaurants with long floor cushions are found all over Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, especially busy on Friday afternoons. Spiced chicken roasts until the skin is deep golden, the rice cooks in its stock with whole spices, and a final burst of smoke from a glowing piece of charcoal gives the dish its signature flavour. Serve with a fresh tomato and chilli salsa (sahawiq). Chef's tip: the charcoal step is optional but worth it; do it with the extractor on and a window open, and never leave the burning coal unattended.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicken shawarma

In Riyadh, Dubai and Kuwait City, chicken shawarma is the late-evening street food, carved from a turning spit and wrapped in thin bread with toum garlic sauce, pickles and chips tucked inside, Gulf style. At home, thighs marinated in yogurt, lemon and warm spices are roasted at a high heat until charred at the edges, then sliced thinly. Chef's tip: give the chicken a final blast under a hot grill after slicing; it recreates the crisp edges of the spit.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Uzbek lamb shashlik

Walk past any chaikhana (teahouse) in Samarkand or Bukhara in the evening and you will smell shashlik: chunks of lamb, threaded with little cubes of tail fat, grilled over charcoal and fanned with a piece of cardboard. They arrive on long flat skewers with a heap of raw onion soaked in vinegar, a round of non bread and green tea. The marinade is simple, just onion, cumin, black pepper and salt, so the flavour comes from good lamb and real fire. The usual slip is to pack the meat tightly on the skewer, which steams the middle instead of searing it; leave a little gap between pieces. Chef's tip: grate the onion for the marinade rather than slicing it; the juice tenderises the lamb in a few hours.

40 minUzbekMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pork khorovats

Khorovats is the centre of every Armenian summer weekend, whether at a family dacha near Yerevan or a picnic by Lake Sevan: big chunks of meat on long flat skewers, grilled over vine or apricot wood. This version uses pork (it contains pork) from the neck or shoulder, which stays juicy over fire; boneless lamb leg works the same way with 2–3 minutes less cooking. The marinade is just onion, black pepper, a little paprika and herbs, and the meat is served with raw onion, flat lavash and a plate of grilled vegetables. A frequent mistake is cutting the pieces small; at under 4 cm they dry out before the outside browns. Chef's tip: lay a sheet of lavash over the finished skewers for a minute so it soaks up the juices, then eat the bread too.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gravlax with mustard-dill sauce

Along the coasts of Norway and Sweden, gravlax is the centrepiece of Christmas and Easter buffets and a favourite on open sandwiches through the year. A side of salmon is pressed under salt, sugar, dill and white pepper for two days in the fridge, which firms the flesh and turns it silky, then it is sliced paper-thin and served with a sweet mustard-dill sauce, rye bread or boiled new potatoes. This is cured, not cooked, fish: use very fresh salmon that has been previously frozen (or freeze it yourself at -18 °C for at least 4 days, then thaw in the fridge) to kill any parasites, and it is not suitable for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. A frequent error is slicing it thick and straight down; cut long, thin slices at a low angle towards the tail. Chef's tip: turn the parcel every 12 hours and baste with the brine it releases so the cure is even on both sides.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Griot with pikliz

Griot is Haiti's party food: it is piled on platters at weddings, first communions and Saturday-night fritay stalls in Port-au-Prince, always with pikliz, a crunchy, very hot pickle of cabbage, carrot and Scotch bonnet. Chunks of pork shoulder soak up a green epis marinade of sour orange, herbs and garlic, simmer until tender and then fry until the outside turns dark and crisp. This is a pork dish. Serve it with fried plantain (bannann peze) and rice with beans. The mistake that ruins the crust is frying the pork straight from the pot while still wet; it spits and steams instead of browning, so drain and dry the pieces first. Chef's tip: make the pikliz at least a day ahead; after a night in the fridge the heat softens and spreads through the vinegar.

140 minHaitianMeatGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AlcapurriasGreen banana and taro fritters

Drive along the coast road at Piñones in Loíza on a weekend and the beach kiosks are frying alcapurrias by the tray, each one wrapped in paper with a dash of chilli vinegar. The shell is a masa of grated green banana and yautía (taro root), coloured with annatto oil, that fries to a crisp crust with a soft, almost creamy inside; the filling here is a well-seasoned beef picadillo. They are a Loíza tradition with roots in the town's Afro-Puerto Rican cooking. The common mistake is frying warm, wet masa, which spreads and falls apart in the oil; chill it until firm. Chef's tip: shape them on a piece of greaseproof paper or banana leaf brushed with annatto oil, then slide each one straight off into the pan.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Aussie meat pie

Half-time at the MCG, a country-town bakery at 7 am, a servo on a long drive: the meat pie is Australia's everyday hand-held meal, eaten straight from its paper bag with a squirt of tomato sauce. A sturdy shortcrust base holds minced beef in thick, peppery gravy, and a flaky puff pastry lid shatters on the first bite. Making them at home takes a little time, but the filling can be cooked a day ahead. The mistake behind a soggy base is filling the pastry with hot mince; let the filling cool completely in the fridge first. Chef's tip: cook the filling until it is thicker than you think it needs to be; a loose gravy boils over and leaks through the base.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Barramundi with lemon myrtle butter

Barramundi is the prize fish of Australia's tropical north, caught in the rivers and estuaries of the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland and served everywhere from Darwin's waterfront to Brisbane pubs. Its firm, sweet white flesh is best cooked simply, skin side down until crisp, then topped with a butter flavoured with lemon myrtle, a native rainforest leaf that tastes like lemon and lemongrass together. Eat it with a green salad, new potatoes or chips on a warm evening. The mistake to avoid is moving the fillets too soon: the skin tears and sticks; leave them until they release by themselves. Chef's tip: dry the skin very well with kitchen paper and salt it just before cooking, never earlier, or it draws out moisture and won't crisp.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mince on toast

Mince on toast is pure Kiwi comfort: a weeknight tea in homes from Invercargill to Auckland, and lately a proud fixture on café brunch menus, where it comes with a poached egg on top. Beef mince is browned hard, simmered with onion, grated carrot and a glug of Worcestershire sauce into a thick savoury gravy, then finished with peas and piled onto buttered toast. It's quick, cheap and kids love it. The usual mistake is stirring the mince constantly in a crowded pan, so it steams grey instead of browning; let it sit and catch colour. Chef's tip: grate the carrot instead of chopping it; it melts into the gravy and sweetens it without anyone noticing the vegetables.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tunisian fish couscous

On Tunisia's coast, especially in Sfax, Mahdia and the fishing towns of Cap Bon, couscous for Friday lunch is made with fish instead of meat: a red, peppery broth of tomato, harissa and caraway in which the vegetables cook first and the fish is poached at the end, while the couscous steams on top. The broth is ladled over the grains at the table until they glisten. The mistake is boiling the fish too long, so it breaks into the broth; poach it gently for the last 10 minutes only. Chef's tip: oil and rub the couscous between your palms before and after the first steaming so every grain stays separate.

105 minTunisianFishSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zanzibar fish curry

Mchuzi wa samaki is cooked in homes all along the Swahili coast, from Mombasa and Lamu to Stone Town in Zanzibar, where the spice trade left cumin, cardamom and turmeric in every kitchen. Firm fish simmers briefly in a sauce of tomato, onion and coconut milk soured with tamarind, and it is eaten with plain rice or chapati. The mistake is stirring once the fish is in, which breaks it up; shake the pan gently instead. Chef's tip: rub the fish with turmeric, lime and salt for 15 minutes first, which firms it and seasons it all the way through.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mozambique peri-peri prawns

Maputo's waterfront restaurants and the beach shacks of Inhambane and Vilanculos are famous for their prawns: big shell-on prawns split down the back, painted with a sauce of piri-piri chilli, garlic, lime and butter and grilled over coals until the shells blister. You eat them with your fingers, sucking the sauce off the shells, with bread or chips. The mistake is overcooking, which turns them rubbery; they need only 2–3 minutes a side. Chef's tip: split the prawns through the shell and remove the dark vein, so the sauce gets right into the flesh.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kisumu fried tilapia

On the shores of Lake Victoria at Kisumu's Dunga beach and in the fish kiosks of Kampala and Mwanza, tilapia comes straight from the boats, is scored, rubbed with salt, garlic and lemon and deep-fried whole until the skin is crackling. It is served with a block of ugali, sukuma wiki (braised kale) and kachumbari, and eaten with your hands, pulling the sweet flesh off the bone. The mistake is frying a wet fish in oil that isn't hot enough, which makes it greasy and stick; dry it well and wait for 180 °C. Chef's tip: dust the fish lightly with cornflour just before frying for an extra-crisp skin.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mauritian fish curry

Cari poisson is cooked in Mauritian homes from Port Louis to the fishing villages of Mahébourg, a curry where Indian spice meets Creole herbs: pieces of firm fish are first fried, then simmered in a sauce of tomato, onion, curry powder, curry leaves and thyme. It is eaten with rice, lentils (dholl) and a spoon of chilli pickle. The mistake is putting raw fish into the sauce, which makes it fall apart; frying it first keeps it firm. Chef's tip: toast the curry powder in oil until it smells nutty before the tomatoes go in.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ecuadorian shrimp ceviche

Unlike Peru's raw-fish ceviche, the ceviche of Ecuador's coast, from Manta to Esmeraldas, is usually made with prawns that are briefly cooked first, then soaked in a juicy, soupy mix of lime, orange, tomato, red onion and coriander. It is served in a glass bowl with its juice, alongside popcorn, plantain chips and sometimes a dash of ketchup and mustard, as people do at Guayaquil's cevicherías. Because the prawns are cooked, it is a safer choice than raw-fish ceviche, but keep it cold and eat it the same day. The mistake is overcooking the prawns so they turn rubbery: one minute in the boiling water is enough. Chef's tip: save the prawn cooking water and add a few spoonfuls to the juice; it gives the ceviche its sweetness.

30 minAndeanFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Guyanese chicken curry

In Guyana, Sunday is curry day in Indo-Guyanese homes from Berbice to the East Coast Demerara, and chicken curry with roti or rice is the classic. Its flavour comes from a green seasoning of herbs, garlic and wiri wiri pepper, and from geera (roasted cumin), with the curry powder fried until almost dry before the chicken goes in. The mistake is adding the chicken before the curry paste is properly cooked ("bunjayed"), which leaves a raw, dusty taste. Chef's tip: finish with a sprinkle of toasted geera and let the curry rest for 10 minutes before serving.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Loco moco

Loco moco was first served in 1949 at the Lincoln Grill in Hilo, on Hawai'i's Big Island, as a cheap, filling meal for teenagers, and it is still the plate-lunch classic across the islands: white rice topped with a beef burger patty, a fried egg and a generous ladle of brown gravy. People eat it for breakfast, lunch or late at night with a scoop of macaroni salad. The mistake is a thin, floury gravy; cook the flour in the beef fat until it browns before adding the stock. Chef's tip: press a dimple into the centre of each patty so it stays flat as it cooks.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kalua pork

Kalua pig is the heart of a Hawaiian lū'au: a whole pig wrapped in ti and banana leaves and cooked all day in an imu, an underground oven, until it falls apart, smoky and salty. This dish contains pork. Families across O'ahu and the other islands make this simpler version at home with pork shoulder, coarse sea salt and a little liquid smoke, wrapped and slow-roasted. It is served with rice, poi or cabbage, or in sliders. The mistake is using fine table salt in the same amount; it makes the pork far too salty, so use coarse sea salt. Chef's tip: stir a little of the cooking juice back into the shredded pork so it stays moist.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Maple-glazed salmon

On Canada's Pacific coast, from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii, wild salmon is the fish of summer and autumn, and a glaze of maple syrup from the east brings two Canadian staples together on one plate. The fillets are brushed with maple syrup, mustard, soy and garlic and roasted until just cooked, with a sticky, glossy top; serve them with rice, new potatoes or a green salad. Many British Columbians cook it on a soaked cedar plank on the barbecue for a smoky flavour. The mistake is overcooking salmon until it is dry and chalky; take it out when it just flakes. Chef's tip: line the tray with baking paper, as the maple glaze burns onto a bare tin.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Budaatai khuurgaFried rice with beef

Budaatai khuurga is the fried rice of Ulaanbaatar's guanz, the small canteens where office workers and students eat lunch: day-old rice tossed in a hot pan with strips of beef or mutton, carrot, onion, peppers and a splash of soy. It is quick, filling and often served with a fried egg and pickled cabbage salad. The mistake is using freshly cooked warm rice, which clumps; cold, cooked rice fries into separate grains. Chef's tip: cook rice the day before and keep it covered in the fridge, which is also the safe way to store it.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Armenian coffee

Armenian coffee, soorj, is boiled in a small long-handled pot called a jazzve and poured unfiltered into tiny cups. It is offered the moment a guest sits down in any Yerevan home and lingers after meals while the grounds settle; when the cup is empty, it is turned upside down on its saucer so someone can read the patterns left in the grounds. The coffee is powder-fine, often scented with a pinch of cardamom, with a velvety foam (kaymak) on top that is a point of pride for the host. Serve with a glass of water and a little gata or dried fruit. Chef's tip: start with cold water and a low flame; the slower the coffee heats, the thicker and longer-lasting the foam.

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Buñuelos colombianosCheese and cassava fritters

In December, Colombian families gather for the novena de aguinaldos, nine evenings of prayers and carols before Christmas, and the reward afterwards is a plate of hot buñuelos with a bowl of natilla. These little golden balls are made from crumbly cheese, cassava starch and cornflour, fried until they puff and roll themselves over in the oil. They are crisp outside, airy and cheesy inside. Chef's tip: start the oil only warm, around 150 °C; buñuelos fried too hot crack open and stay raw in the centre.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Medialunas de mantecaButter crescents

Medialunas, 'half moons', are what Argentines order with a café con leche at every confitería in Buenos Aires: smaller, sweeter and softer than a French croissant, with a sticky shine from a sugar syrup brushed on as they leave the oven. The dough is enriched with egg, sugar and a little honey and laminated with butter, so it's a weekend project. Chef's tip: keep the butter and dough at the same cool temperature; if the butter is too hard it breaks into pieces, too soft and it melts into the dough and the layers disappear.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ayam masak merahChicken in tomato chilli sauce

Red-cooked chicken turns up at almost every Malay kenduri (wedding feast) and Hari Raya open house across Malaysia, ladled out of huge pots beside nasi minyak or plain rice. The chicken pieces are fried first so the skin firms up, then simmered in a brick-red sauce of blended dried chillies, tomato and onion that tastes sweet first, then hot, then tangy. Cinnamon, star anise and cloves give it a warm, almost festive smell, and a splash of coconut milk at the end rounds off the edges. Serve it with steamed rice, cucumber slices and a spoon of acar (pickled vegetables). Chef's tip: fry the chilli paste until it darkens and the oil seeps out (pecah minyak) before any tomato goes in; raw paste makes the sauce taste harsh and bitter.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ayam pongtehChicken and potato braise

Melaka's Peranakan (Nyonya) kitchens cook ayam pongteh for family dinners and for the Chinese New Year reunion table: a dark, gentle braise of chicken and potatoes that has no chilli at all. Its savour comes from taucheo, salted fermented soybeans, fried with a lot of shallots and garlic, sweetened with palm sugar and coloured with dark soy. The gravy is thin, glossy and moreish, and the potatoes drink it up until they are soft enough to crush with a spoon. Spoon it over plain rice with sambal belacan on the side for anyone who wants heat. Chef's tip: pound the shallots rather than blending them to a purée; slightly coarse shallots melt into the gravy and give it body.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ayam rica-ricaChicken in fresh chilli paste

Rica means chilli in the Manado dialect, and North Sulawesi cooks are not shy with it. Ayam rica-rica turns up at Minahasa family parties and church gatherings, a heap of chicken pieces coated in a coarse, scarlet paste of fresh chillies, shallots and ginger, finished with tomato, spring onion and a fistful of lemon basil. It's hot, bright and fresh rather than deep and stewed, with a sticky sauce that clings to the meat. Serve it with lots of steamed rice and a cooling cucumber salad. Chef's tip: blend the paste coarse, with as little water as possible; a wet, smooth paste steams instead of frying and never gets that glossy, toasty edge.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

AyibFresh curd cheese

Ayib is the soft, crumbly fresh cheese that Ethiopians serve alongside spicy food to cool the mouth, especially with kitfo and gomen in the Gurage country south of Addis Ababa, where it is made from the buttermilk left after churning butter. It tastes very mild and slightly tangy, a little like ricotta or cottage cheese, and is often mixed with herbs or a pinch of mitmita. This home version uses milk and buttermilk, heated until they separate. Chef's tip: once the curds form, take it off the heat; boiling makes them tough and rubbery.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

AyranSalted yogurt drink

Ayran is what Turks drink with lunch: a chilled, foamy blend of yogurt, water and a pinch of salt, poured from copper jugs alongside cheese pide, börek, lentil soup and bean stews. In the Susurluk area of Balıkesir it is whisked so hard that it arrives under a thick head of foam, and roadside cafés all over Anatolia serve it in tin cups on hot summer days. It is tangy, refreshing and cooling with spicy food. Make it just before you sit down and drink it ice-cold. Chef's tip: whisk the yogurt alone with the salt until smooth before adding any water, and you'll get a silky drink with no lumps.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BabruBlack gram stuffed fried bread

Ask anyone who grew up in Shimla about babru and they will mention a paper plate of them in the Lower Bazaar, still puffing from the oil, with a ladle of dark tamarind chutney poured over. Unlike Uttar Pradesh's flaky urad kachori, babru is made from a soft, yeasted wheat dough, so it fries up light and bready, and it is pressed flat and wide rather than shaped into a ball. The filling is whole black gram, soaked and ground with ginger and green chilli. In Himachal homes it is a tea-time and festival snack, and it travels well in a tiffin. Chef's tip: grind the dal coarse and thick, like hummus; a runny paste leaks and makes the babru greasy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bacalao al pil pilSalt cod in garlic oil sauce

Bacalao al pil pil belongs to Bilbao and the rest of Bizkaia, where it fills restaurant menus in Lent and Holy Week and reappears on Christmas Eve tables. It is made from just four things: desalted salt cod, olive oil, garlic and a dried chilli. The trick is the sauce. The cod gives off gelatine as it cooks gently in warm oil, and swirling the clay dish round and round turns that oil into a thick, pale, mayonnaise-like emulsion; the name comes from the 'pil pil' sound of it bubbling. Plan ahead, because thick salt cod needs 24–48 hours of soaking in the fridge. Chef's tip: buy thick, skin-on loins (lomos); the gelatine that makes the sauce comes from the skin.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bacalhau à BrásSalt cod with egg and potatoes

Lisbon's Bairro Alto taverns claim this dish, said to be named after a tasca owner called Brás, and it is still a weeknight favourite in homes all over the city. Flaked salt cod is softened with slowly cooked onion, tossed with a heap of fine straw-cut fried potatoes, then bound at the last second with beaten egg so everything stays creamy and loose. Black olives and parsley go on top. A green salad is all it needs. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat the moment you add the eggs; they should finish cooking from the warmth of the potatoes, like a soft scramble.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Badrijani nigvzitAubergine rolls with walnut paste

Badrijani nigvzit, aubergine with walnuts, is the summer starter of Tbilisi and Kakheti: thin slices of aubergine fried until silky, spread with a garlicky, spiced walnut paste and rolled up, then scattered with pomegranate seeds. They sit on every supra table between the cheeses and pkhali, and on restaurant menus from June until the frosts. Served cold, they are rich and soft, with sour pops of pomegranate. The common mistake is undercooking the aubergine: if it is still firm it cracks when you roll it and tastes raw, so fry each slice until it is limp and golden. Chef's tip: dry the fried slices on kitchen paper and press them gently; you lose surplus oil, and the paste spreads and sticks better.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BafauriSteamed chana dal dumplings

Bafauri comes from the same Chhattisgarhi home kitchens that make fara and chila, and it is the region's answer to a fried pakora without the frying. Soaked chana dal is ground coarse with ginger, garlic and chilli, mixed with onion and herbs, then steamed into little dumplings that are firm, nubbly and high in protein. They are eaten hot at teatime with tomato chutney, and many families also toss them in a quick mustard-seed tadka. Chef's tip: grind the dal with only 2–3 tablespoons of water; a wet paste spreads flat in the steamer and loses the rough texture that makes bafauri good.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bagara bainganBaby aubergines in peanut sesame sauce

Bagara baingan is a Hyderabadi wedding dish of small aubergines cooked whole in a dark, tangy gravy of roasted peanuts, sesame, dried coconut and tamarind. Unlike a Gujarati stuffed brinjal, the aubergines here are only quartered at the base and fried until silky, then left to soak up a thin-but-rich sauce that is finished with a tempering, the 'baghar' that gives the dish its name. It's sour, nutty and gently spiced, and is served with biryani, bagara rice or plain rice. Chef's tip: choose small, glossy purple aubergines that feel heavy for their size; soft, light ones are full of seeds and turn mushy before the gravy has a chance to cling.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Baghali poloDill and broad bean rice

Baghali polo is the rice Iranians cook when fresh broad beans appear in the markets of Tehran and Shiraz in late spring, though frozen beans keep it on the table all year and it turns up at parties and weddings across the country. Bright green beans and plenty of dill are folded through steamed saffron rice, giving a soft, buttery, herb-heavy dish with sweet nuggets of bean in every mouthful. It is often served with lamb; at a vegetarian table pair it with a fried egg, mast-o khiar and a sharp salad. Chef's tip: peel the inner skins off the broad beans; the bright green centres are tender and sweet, the skins tough.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BaghrirThousand-hole semolina pancakes

Baghrir are the spongy, lacy pancakes that Moroccan families make for breakfast on weekends and at Ramadan, when they are piled high at the iftar table. A smooth semolina batter is blended until thin, rested so the yeast and baking powder can work, then cooked on one side only: as it heats, hundreds of tiny holes open across the surface. The holes soak up the warm butter and honey poured over before serving. Chef's tip: the batter must be as thin as single cream; too thick and the holes won't break through to the top.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bagna càudaWarm garlic and anchovy dip

When the grape harvest is over in the Langhe and Monferrato, Piedmontese friends gather round a terracotta pot of bagna càuda, the 'hot bath', kept warm over a little flame in the middle of the table. Everyone dips raw and cooked vegetables into it: peppers, cardoons, fennel, cabbage leaves, Jerusalem artichokes, boiled potatoes and beetroot. The sauce is mellow rather than fierce, because the garlic is poached in milk before it melts with anchovies into olive oil and a little butter, giving a rich, salty, nutty bath. Hunks of bread catch the drips, and a young red wine is the usual partner. Chef's tip: keep it hot but never bubbling, on a fondue burner or tea-light warmer; if it fries, the garlic turns bitter and the anchovies harsh.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BagnetCrispy fried pork belly

Up in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, in towns like Vigan and Batac, bagnet hangs in market stalls in golden slabs: pork belly that has been boiled, dried and deep-fried so the rind is puffed and crunchy all the way through. Ilocanos chop it into rice bowls, add it to pinakbet and dinengdeng, or eat it with sukang Iloco, the region's dark sugarcane vinegar. It is richer and crunchier than lechon kawali because it is fried twice. A tomato and onion salad with a little shrimp paste cuts the fat. Chef's tip: the second fry, in hotter oil after a rest, is what makes the rind bubble; skip it and you get chewy skin.

150 minFilipinoMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BakabanaFried plantain fritters

Bakabana are Suriname's favourite snack: long slices of ripe plantain dipped in a light batter and fried until crisp outside and custard-soft within. In Paramaribo they're sold from warung stalls (the Javanese-Surinamese snack bars), and in Dutch cities with Surinamese communities, always with a spicy peanut sauce on the side for dipping. The sweet fruit, crisp shell and salty-hot sauce make them hard to stop eating. Chef's tip: pick plantains that are yellow with lots of black spots but still firm; fully black and soft ones fall apart in the batter.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bai sach chroukGrilled pork over rice

Bai sach chrouk, 'rice with pork', is the classic Cambodian street breakfast, grilled over charcoal on pavements in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in the early morning and eaten before work and school. It is a pork dish: thin slices of pork are marinated overnight in coconut milk, garlic and palm sugar, then grilled until caramelised and smoky and served on broken rice with quick-pickled cucumber and carrot and a small bowl of clear broth. Chef's tip: slice the pork thinly, about 5 mm; it marinates faster and chars before it dries out.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bajan fish cakesSalt cod fritters

Fish cakes are on every Bajan party table and in every rum-shop snack box, and on Friday nights at Oistins Fish Fry they are tucked into a split salt bread roll as 'bread and two'. These are not potato patties but spoonfuls of light, herby batter full of flaked salt cod, spring onion, thyme and Scotch bonnet, fried until puffed and golden. Serve them hot with Bajan pepper sauce or a squeeze of lime. The mistake that gives flat, greasy fish cakes is a thin batter; it should drop from the spoon in a soft blob, not pour. Chef's tip: taste a flake of the cooked cod before mixing; if it is still salty, don't add any more salt to the batter.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bajan pepper sauceMustard scotch bonnet hot sauce

On every table in Barbados, from rum shops in Oistins to Sunday lunch at home, there's a bottle of yellow pepper sauce. Bajan pepper sauce is unlike the red sauces of other islands: scotch bonnets are blended with onion, yellow mustard, turmeric and vinegar, which give it its colour and a tangy, mellow edge under the fierce, fruity heat. A few drops lift fish cakes, cou-cou, macaroni pie and rice. Chef's tip: let it rest for a few days before using; the mustard and vinegar soften the raw onion and the heat becomes rounder.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bajan seasoningHerb and pepper seasoning

Every cook in Barbados keeps a jar of Bajan seasoning, and families in Bridgetown and St Philip guard their own blend. It's a wet, coarse paste of spring onion, onion, garlic, fresh thyme, marjoram and parsley, sharpened with lime and given a backbone of clove, paprika and scotch bonnet. Bajans press it into slits in fish and meat; here it goes into stews, onto roasted vegetables, tofu and halloumi, and into the stew for cou-cou. It smells strongly herby and peppery, and keeps for weeks. Chef's tip: marjoram is the herb that makes it Bajan; don't skip it, and use fresh if you can find it.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bajan sweet breadCoconut and raisin loaf

Sweet bread is what Barbadian families bake in December, wrapped in foil and handed over at Christmas visits around the island, and it's sold year round in bakeries from Bridgetown to Speightstown. It isn't a yeast bread but a dense, moist loaf packed with freshly grated coconut, sweet with brown sugar and scented with almond essence, with raisins, mixed peel and bright red glacé cherries in every slice. The top gets brushed with sugar syrup for a sticky shine. Chef's tip: use fresh or frozen grated coconut if you can; desiccated coconut makes a drier loaf unless you soak it first in the milk for 20 minutes.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kalguksu with clamsClam noodle soup

Kalguksu means 'knife noodles': a soft wheat dough is rolled thin and cut by hand. Korean noodle shops serve it all year, but it is the dish people crave on a rainy day, often with a crisp pajeon on the side. Along the west coast, near the mudflats where clams are dug, the broth is loaded with them. The flour clinging to the noodles thickens the soup slightly as they cook, giving it a gentle, silky body. Chef's tip: shake off most of the flour before the noodles go into the pot, so the broth turns silky rather than gluey.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bake and sharkFried shark in fried bread

After a swim at Maracas Bay on Trinidad's north coast, the queue at the beach huts is for bake and shark: a puffy fried bread split open around a piece of seasoned, crisp-fried fish, then loaded at a toppings bar with coleslaw, cucumber, pineapple, tamarind sauce, pepper sauce and the bright green chadon beni (culantro) sauce. Shark is the tradition, but many shark species are now overfished and some build up mercury, so this recipe uses a firm, sustainably caught white fish such as hake, pollock, catfish or mahi-mahi; use shark only from a source you trust. Chef's tip: let the bake dough rest for a full 30 minutes; relaxed dough puffs up like a pillow in the hot oil instead of frying flat and tough.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BaksoBeef meatball soup

Listen for a spoon tapped against a bowl in any Indonesian neighbourhood and you will find a bakso cart, its glass case stacked with meatballs and two kinds of noodles. The meatballs are springy, almost bouncy, sitting in a clear, garlicky beef broth with yellow noodles, glass noodles and a little green veg. Everyone then builds their own bowl at the counter with sambal, sweet soy sauce, vinegar and a scattering of fried shallots; it is the go-to comfort on a wet afternoon. Chef's tip: keep the beef and everything that touches it ice-cold while you blend, because warm meat gives dense, crumbly balls instead of that famous bounce.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bal mithaiChocolate-brown fudge with sugar balls

Bal mithai belongs to Almora in Kumaon, where sweet shops on the old Lala Bazaar have sold it for well over a century. Khoya is cooked slowly with sugar until it caramelises to the colour of dark chocolate, set into bars and rolled in little white sugar balls, which give a crunchy bite against the fudgy middle. Families carry boxes of it home from the hills as the town's best-known souvenir. The flavour is deep and toffee-like, with no added colour or cocoa. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and be patient; the deep brown comes from slow caramelising over half an hour, not from turning the flame up.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Baladi saladChopped tomato and cucumber salad

Salata baladi, the 'country salad', is on every Egyptian table, from Cairo koshari shops to Alexandria fish restaurants and home lunches, next to the rice and bread. It is finely diced tomato, cucumber, onion and green chilli, with a little parsley, a big squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cumin that makes it taste Egyptian rather than Levantine. It takes ten minutes and cuts through rich food like molokhia or mahshi. Chef's tip: dice everything small, about the size of a chickpea, so each spoonful carries a bit of everything.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BalaleetSweet vermicelli with omelette

Sweet noodles for breakfast surprise visitors, but in the UAE and Qatar balaleet is the dish of Eid mornings and lazy weekend brunches. Fine vermicelli is toasted in butter, then steamed with sugar, saffron, cardamom and rose water until soft and glossy, and finally capped with a thin, salty-edged omelette. The contrast of sweet, fragrant noodles and savoury egg is the whole point, so serve them together in one wedge. Chef's tip: toast the vermicelli until it is the colour of a biscuit; pale noodles taste flat and floury.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BaleadasFolded tortillas with beans and cheese

Baleadas are what Hondurans grab for breakfast on the way to work, from street stands in San Pedro Sula to the beaches of La Ceiba on the north coast. A thick, soft flour tortilla, warm from the comal, is spread with refried red beans, sprinkled with dry salty cheese and a spoon of mantequilla (sour cream), then folded in half. A 'baleada sencilla' stops there; add avocado, scrambled egg or fried plantain for a fuller one. Chef's tip: rest the dough balls a full 30 minutes; relaxed dough stretches thin by hand and puffs on the pan instead of shrinking back.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BambalouniSugared fried dough rings

Bambalouni are the big, flat, chewy doughnuts sold hot and wrapped in paper at the top of the blue-and-white village of Sidi Bou Said, outside Tunis, and on beaches all along the coast in summer. The dough is very soft and yeasty; it is stretched by hand into a ring and fried until puffed and blistered, then rolled in sugar. They are best eaten warm with a mint tea. Chef's tip: oil your hands, not the bench, to shape them; floured dough browns too fast and loses its blistered look.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bamia bil lahmaOkra and lamb stew

Bamia is on every Egyptian family table from Alexandria to Aswan, usually on a weekday with a plate of vermicelli rice. Chunks of lamb on the bone are simmered until tender, then baby okra is cooked in the rich tomato broth with garlic fried in ghee and fresh coriander, a finish called the ta'leya. The sauce is loose, sweet-sour and silky. The common mistake is cutting the okra pods open before cooking, which lets out the slime; trim only the very top of each cap. Chef's tip: fry the okra briefly in a hot pan before it goes into the stew so it holds its shape and stays bright green.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BamiehOkra stewed in olive oil

Late summer in the Damascus and Beirut markets means piles of tiny okra pods, and bamieh, okra stewed in tomato with coriander and garlic, follows on many family tables. This meat-free version is the one Lebanese Christians cook during Lent and serve with vermicelli rice or flatbread. Small, whole pods are the secret: kept intact and seared first, they stay tender without turning slimy, and a squeeze of lemon at the end sharpens the sauce. Chef's tip: trim only the very top of each cap without cutting into the pod; a pierced pod lets the sticky juice escape into the sauce.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banarasi kachori sabziUrad dal puris with potato curry

Walk the ghats of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh at dawn and you'll smell kachori sabzi frying in huge karahis. Banarasi kachori is small and puffed like a puri, with soaked urad dal ground with ginger and fennel worked straight into the wholewheat dough rather than stuffed inside. It comes with a thin, peppery potato and tomato rasa made without onion or garlic, scented with hing and fenugreek seeds, and is usually followed by a hot jalebi. Chef's tip: roll the puris evenly to 3 mm and slide them into really hot oil, pressing gently with a slotted spoon; even thickness and fierce heat are what make them balloon.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banarasi tamatar chaatMashed tomato and potato chaat

Walk through the lanes near Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi in the evening and you will see vendors mashing tomatoes and potatoes in large iron pans, cooking them with ghee and spices until thick, then spooning the mixture into small clay cups. Tamatar chaat is unique to Banaras: served hot, spicy, tangy, and finished with a thin sugar syrup and a pinch of chaat masala, then topped with crisp sev for crunch. Locals eat it standing up after the aarti, often followed by a glass of lassi. Many people forget the sugar syrup, but that's what balances the sourness and makes it Banarasi. Chef's tip: use very ripe, soft tomatoes and mash them right in the pan with the back of the ladle, leaving some texture.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bandeja paisaBeans, rice and pork platter

Bandeja paisa is the farmhouse feast of Antioquia and the coffee region around Medellín, served on an oval platter so big it barely fits on the table. This is a pork dish: crisp chicharrón (fried pork belly) and chorizo sit next to red beans, white rice, seasoned minced beef, a fried egg, ripe plantain, a small arepa and avocado. Paisas eat it for a long Sunday lunch, and restaurants in Medellín serve it every day. It looks like a lot of work, but most parts can be made ahead and finished together. The mistake most people make is frying the pork belly too hot from the start; it needs to simmer in its own fat first, or the outside burns before the inside turns tender. Chef's tip: cook the beans a day ahead; they thicken and taste better, and the day itself is then only frying.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bhorta platter (aloo, begun and dal bhorta)Mashed potato, aubergine and dal

No word says home cooking in Bangladesh like bhorta: anything boiled, roasted or fried, then mashed by hand with raw mustard oil, sliced onion, green or burnt chillies and coriander. A family lunch in Dhaka or Khulna might set out three or four bhortas in little heaps around a mound of rice, and this page makes the classic trio: aloo (potato), begun (fire-roasted aubergine) and dal (dry-fried red lentil). They share one method, so they live together here. Chef's tip: mash with your fingers, not a fork, rubbing the onion and chilli into the oil first; it bruises them and releases their sharpness into every bite.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

FirniGround rice milk pudding

Firni is the dessert that turns up in little clay bowls on Eid tables across Bangladesh, especially after the evening meal on Eid-ul-Fitr. It is smoother and thicker than payesh: instead of whole rice grains, coarsely ground rice is simmered in milk until it sets into a silky pudding, scented with cardamom and rose water and scattered with pistachios and almonds. It is served chilled, so it's made a day ahead. Chef's tip: grind the soaked rice to a coarse semolina-like grit, not a fine powder; that slight texture is what makes firni feel rich.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banh beoSteamed rice cakes with shrimp

Bánh bèo are named after the water fern that floats on Huế's ponds, which the little round cakes resemble. In the city they arrive at the table by the dozen, each still in its own small saucer, topped with pink shrimp floss and spring onion oil. You spoon sweet fish sauce over and scoop each one out in a single mouthful. They're a mid-afternoon snack or a light lunch alongside other Huế rice cakes. Small ramekins, egg poaching cups or a silicone mini-muffin tray all work as moulds. Chef's tip: heat the empty saucers in the steamer for a minute before adding the batter; the cakes then set with the little dimple in the middle that holds the toppings.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banh canMini rice flour cakes with egg

Bánh căn comes from Phan Rang on the south-central coast and is now a favourite of chilly evenings in Da Lat, where sellers crouch over charcoal and rows of small clay moulds, cracking a quail egg into each little cup of rice batter. The cakes come out crisp and browned underneath and soft and steamy on top, and are eaten in pairs, dunked in a sweet-sour dipping sauce with shredded green mango and herbs. Most stalls use a fish sauce dip and sometimes add squid or shrimp; this version keeps it vegetarian with a tamari sauce and spring onion oil. Chef's tip: let a little of the cooked rice in the batter go into the blender; it gives the cakes their soft, slightly chewy middle.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banh cuonSteamed rice rolls

In Hanoi, banh cuon shops open early, and the cook sits beside a pot of boiling water stretched over with cloth, spreading batter across it in one sweep and lifting off sheets thin enough to see through. Each sheet is rolled around a little minced pork and crunchy wood-ear mushroom, cut into pieces, showered with crispy shallots and dipped into warm fish sauce. Slices of Vietnamese pork roll and a sprig of herbs often come on the side. At home a lidded non-stick frying pan does the job of the cloth, and once you find the rhythm the sheets come quickly. Chef's tip: make a practice sheet first; the first one is almost always a little too thick, and it tells you how much batter to use.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banh khotMini coconut rice pancakes

Weekend visitors from Saigon who drive down to the beach town of Vũng Tàu make a point of eating bánh khọt at open-air stalls, where cooks tend rows of dimpled clay or cast-iron pans over charcoal. The batter of rice flour, coconut milk and turmeric fries into bite-sized cups with a shatteringly crisp base and a soft, custardy top, each finished with a small shrimp and spring onion oil. You wrap them in mustard greens or lettuce with herbs and dip them in sweet-sour fish sauce. At home, an aebleskiver or takoyaki pan works well. Chef's tip: cover the pan for the first minute so steam sets the tops, then uncover so the bottoms crisp in the oil.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banh tom Ho TaySweet potato and shrimp fritters

Lakeside cafés on the shore of West Lake (Hồ Tây) in Hanoi have sold these fritters for generations, and locals still ride out on cool autumn afternoons to eat them looking over the water. Each one is a nest of sweet-potato matchsticks held together by a thin, turmeric-tinted batter, with a whole small shrimp pressed on top so its shell fries crisp. They come piled on a plate with lettuce, herbs and a bowl of sweet-sour fish sauce dotted with slices of green papaya or kohlrabi. You wrap a piece of fritter in a lettuce leaf with a few herbs and dunk it. Chef's tip: soak the cut sweet potato in cold water for 10 minutes and then dry it really well; washing off the surface starch is what keeps the strands separate and crunchy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Banh trang nuongGrilled rice paper pizza

Bánh tráng nướng is the snack of Da Lat's night market, where vendors grill sheets of rice paper over small charcoal braziers, crack on an egg, spread it with a bamboo brush and fold the crackling disc in half to hand over in a paper napkin. Visitors call it Vietnamese pizza. The usual toppings include dried shrimp and sausage; this vegetarian version keeps the egg, spring onion, sweetcorn and crispy shallots, finished with chilli sauce and squiggles of mayonnaise. A dry frying pan does the job at home. Chef's tip: keep the heat low to medium; rice paper scorches in seconds, and it needs time for the egg to set on top while it crisps underneath.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BanitsaFilo pie with cheese and egg

Banitsa is the Bulgarian breakfast pie, bought warm in paper from corner bakeries in Sofia and Plovdiv with a bottle of ayran or boza, and baked at home on New Year's Eve with lucky charms (kasmeti) tucked inside. Crumpled sheets of filo are layered with crumbled sirene and a custard of yogurt and eggs, then baked until the top is shatteringly crisp and the inside soft and tangy. It is not boiled like Turkish su böreği: the yogurt custard is what makes it Bulgarian. Chef's tip: crumple the filo loosely rather than laying it flat; flat, tightly packed sheets are the usual mistake and give a dense, doughy pie.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BannockSkillet bread

Bannock is a quick bread of flour, baking powder, fat and water, cooked in a cast-iron pan, baked, fried or wrapped around a stick over a campfire. It's eaten in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities across Canada, at powwows, family meals and on the land, and every family has its own version. Its history is complicated: wheat flour and lard reached many communities through trade and government rations, and bannock became both a food of survival and a living symbol of community and resilience. Long before that, Indigenous breads were made from local plants and roots. This is a simple home pan version, not any one nation's recipe. Chef's tip: mix only until the dough just comes together; overworking makes bannock tough.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BanoshCornmeal with sour cream and cheese

Banosh is the shepherds' dish of the Hutsul highlands in the Ukrainian Carpathians, around Verkhovyna, Kosiv and Yaremche. Coarse cornmeal is stirred into simmering sour cream over a fire until the butterfat beads on the surface, then heaped on plates and crumbled with salty bryndza sheep's cheese and forest mushrooms; tourists queue for it in the mountain kolyba restaurants. Traditionally it is also topped with crisp pork crackling, which this vegetarian version leaves out in favour of extra buttery mushrooms. Bryndza is usually made with animal rennet, so look for a sheep's or feta cheese labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: stir in one direction only with a wooden spoon, as the Hutsuls insist; it keeps the porridge smooth and helps the fat separate out, which tells you it is ready.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bariis iskukarisSpiced rice with vegetables and raisins

Bariis iskukaris ('rice cooked together') is the centre of the table at Somali family lunches, Friday gatherings and Eid, from Mogadishu to Hargeisa and Somali neighbourhoods in Nairobi, Minneapolis and London. Long-grain rice is cooked in one pot with onion, tomato and the house spice mix xawaash, and topped with fried onions and raisins; it is usually crowned with goat, but this version cooks carrots, peas and potatoes into the rice. In true Somali style, serve it with a banana on the side and a spoon of green basbaas. Chef's tip: rinse and soak the basmati so the grains stay long and separate.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChechebsaTorn flatbread in spiced butter

Chechebsa (also called kita firfir) is a breakfast from the Oromia and Wollo regions now loved all over Addis Ababa: a thick wheat flatbread is cooked on a griddle, torn into pieces and tossed in niter kibbeh and berbere, then eaten with honey and a dollop of ayib or yoghurt. It is rich, warming and quick. For a fasting (vegan) version, toss the bread in spiced oil instead of niter kibbeh and skip the yoghurt and honey or use date syrup. Chef's tip: tear the bread while hot with two forks; cold flatbread goes tough and won't soak up the butter.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Barszcz czerwony (Christmas Eve beetroot broth)Clear beetroot soup

Barszcz czerwony wigilijny is the clear, ruby-coloured beetroot broth that opens the Christmas Eve supper in most Polish homes, from Warsaw to Wrocław. It is not the thick vegetable soup of Ukraine but a sipping broth, sweet, sour and earthy, sharpened with beetroot kvass or lemon and deepened with dried forest mushrooms; on 24 December it is served with tiny mushroom dumplings called uszka, and through winter people drink it from mugs alongside a croquette. It is fully plant-based, as the Wigilia table traditionally is. Chef's tip: once the beetroot is in, never let the soup boil hard; a bare simmer keeps the colour bright, and boiling turns it a dull brown.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 81 of 7,888 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 634 of 877