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Arroz de lisa
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Arroz de lisa

Rice with salted mullet

Carnival in Barranquilla isn't complete without a plate of arroz de lisa, and the market at Barranquillita and the old neighbourhoods around it sell it every day: salted, dried mullet from the Ciénaga Grande, soaked, shredded and cooked into rice with sweet peppers, onion, tomato and achiote. The rice comes out loose, orange and deeply savoury, with flakes of fish all the way through. It is served with bollo de yuca, fried ripe plantain or a simple tomato and onion salad. Plan ahead: the salted fish needs a day's soaking in the fridge. Skipping enough soaking is the usual downfall; the rice ends up far too salty, so taste a flake of the fish before you cook and keep soaking if it is still sharp. Chef's tip: if you can't find salted mullet, salt cod from any fishmonger works well, and use the poaching water for the rice only after tasting it.

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Beef stifado

Stifado is the Sunday stew of Greek home cooks, especially in winter, and on islands like Corfu and Crete it fills village tavernas long before lunch. Chunks of beef braise slowly with a mountain of whole small onions, tomato, cinnamon, cloves and bay until the onions turn sweet and jammy. Traditionally red wine and red wine vinegar go in; this recipe uses wine, but you can swap it for the same amount of beef stock plus an extra tablespoon of vinegar and lose nothing important. Serve with crusty bread, rice or orzo. Chef's tip: use as many onions by weight as meat; the onions are the point of the dish, not a garnish.

175 minGreekMeatGluten free
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Aloo tikki chaatPotato patties with chutneys

In Delhi, aloo tikki is fried on a giant iron tawa at the edge of a busy market, flattened with a spatula until the outside is shatteringly crisp, then smothered in spiced chickpeas, cool yogurt and green and tamarind chutneys. Places like Chandni Chowk and Lajpat Nagar have queues for it on winter evenings. Delhi tikkis are often stuffed with a little spiced chana dal, which adds bite inside the soft potato. Unlike Mumbai's ragda pattice, it's served with chole and a lot of yogurt. Chef's tip: let the tikkis sit undisturbed on the hot pan for the first 5 minutes; a crust forms that stops them breaking when you turn them.

65 minIndianSnacks & StartersSpicy
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Aloo tamaPotato and bamboo shoot curry

Aloo tama is the curry that tells you you are in Nepal: potatoes (aloo) and black-eyed beans (bodi) simmered with tama, slivers of bamboo shoot that have been fermented until they are pleasantly sour and funky. It is a Newar dish at heart, cooked all over the Kathmandu Valley for weddings, feasts and cold winter evenings, and every Nepali restaurant abroad keeps a pot of it. The sourness comes from the bamboo, sharpened with tomato, and the warmth from fenugreek seeds burnt nearly black in mustard oil and a dusting of timur, the Nepali Sichuan pepper that numbs the lips. Eat it with rice or beaten rice (chiura). Don't skip rinsing the bamboo: straight from the jar it can be so sharp that it takes over the whole pot. Chef's tip: let the fenugreek seeds turn a deep reddish brown before anything else goes in; that bitter-sweet, almost maple smell is the backbone of the curry.

50 minNepaliCurriesVeganGluten free
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Mojo criolloSour orange and garlic sauce

Mojo criollo is the raw sauce Cuban cooks keep in a jar by the stove: sour orange juice from the naranja agria tree, pounded garlic, cumin, oregano and olive oil. On the island it marinates whatever goes on the grill and is spooned over tostones, boiled malanga and roast vegetables; vegetarians use it to marinate tofu, mushrooms or thick slices of squash. It is sharp, garlicky and bright. Chef's tip: pound the garlic to a paste with the salt rather than chopping it; the salt helps it break down so the sauce tastes round, not harsh.

10 minCubanChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Lamb kleftiko

Kleftiko takes its name from the klephts, mountain fighters of the Peloponnese who were said to cook stolen lamb in sealed pits so no smoke gave them away. Today it is a celebration dish across mainland Greece and Cyprus, baked for Easter week and name days. Lamb on the bone is sealed in parchment with potatoes, garlic, lemon and herbs and baked low for hours, so it steams in its own juices until it falls from the bone. Serve with a village salad and bread. Chef's tip: seal the parcel tightly; if steam escapes, the meat dries and the potatoes never soak up the juices.

235 minGreekMeatGluten free
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Pork gyros at home

This is a pork recipe; chicken thigh works the same way. In Thessaloniki and Athens gyros is cut from a tall turning spit, so thin that the edges crackle, and wrapped with chips, tomato, onion and tzatziki for a late-night bite after a football match or a night out. Home kitchens have no spit, so here thinly sliced pork shoulder is marinated in paprika, cumin, garlic and oregano, roasted in a tight stack, then sliced and crisped in a hot pan to get those charred edges. Chef's tip: slice the cooked meat as thinly as you can, then fry it in a dry hot pan; the crisp edges are what make it taste like the street version.

75 minGreekFast Food
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Mok paHerb fish steamed in banana leaf

Mok pa is cooked all over Laos, from Vientiane's riverside markets to village kitchens near the Mekong, where freshwater fish is the everyday protein. Chunks of white fish are mixed with a paste of lemongrass, shallot, garlic and chilli, a handful of dill and lime leaves and a spoon of sticky rice flour, then wrapped in banana leaf parcels and steamed until set and fragrant. Eat it with sticky rice and raw vegetables. Chef's tip: soften the banana leaves by passing them briefly over a flame or into hot water; they fold without cracking.

55 minLaoFishGluten free
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Moksi alesiMixed rice with salted meat

Moksi alesi, "mixed rice" in Sranan Tongo, is a weekday one-pot from Paramaribo's Creole kitchens: rice cooked with salted meat or salt fish, black-eyed beans, coconut milk, onion, celery and hot pepper, until the grains are soft and full of flavour. It is cooked when there's little time but a full pot is needed. This version uses salted pork; it contains pork. The mistake is not soaking the salted meat, which makes the rice far too salty; soak it, then boil it first. Chef's tip: smoked turkey or salt beef works in place of pork.

80 minGuyaneseRice & GrainsGluten free
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PasemburVegetable and fritter salad

Pasembur is sold from Indian-Muslim (mamak) stalls along Penang's Gurney Drive and Esplanade: shredded cucumber, jicama and bean sprouts piled with sliced fried tofu, boiled egg and crisp fritters, all buried under a thick, sweet, gently spicy sauce made from sweet potato, chilli and peanuts. You pick your fritters at the stall; prawn fritters are common, but here they are crunchy cabbage and onion ones. Chef's tip: dress it at the very last moment and eat at once, so the fritters stay crisp under the sauce.

60 minMalaysianSalads
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Mole poblano with chickenChicken in chocolate chilli sauce

In the city of Puebla, mole poblano is the dish for weddings, baptisms and saints' days, and families often make it together over a whole afternoon. Three dried chillies (mulato, ancho and pasilla) are fried and ground with almonds, peanuts, sesame, raisins, spices, toasted tortilla and a little chocolate into a sauce that is deep, glossy and only gently sweet. It is spooned over poached chicken and scattered with sesame, with Mexican rice and warm tortillas to mop it up. Making it a day ahead lets the flavours settle. Chef's tip: fry the blended sauce in hot fat before adding stock; that sizzling stage is what turns it from a purée into mole.

180 minMexicanChickenGluten free
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Mole verde with vegetablesGreen mole with vegetables

Mole verde is the brightest of Oaxaca's seven moles: instead of dried chillies and chocolate it is built from tomatillos, fresh green chillies and a fistful of herbs (hoja santa, epazote, parsley) and thickened with masa or pumpkin seeds. In Oaxaca it is often cooked with white beans and vegetables, which is how we make it here, with potatoes, courgette, green beans and chayote. The sauce is tangy, herbal and silky, and goes with white rice or warm corn tortillas. It is vegan as long as you use vegetable stock. Chef's tip: blend the raw herbs in at the very end, off the heat; cooked any longer they turn grey and lose their fresh perfume.

50 minMexicanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Aloo potala rasaPointed gourd and potato curry

Aloo potala rasa is Odisha's favourite party curry: you will find it on the menu of every Odia wedding and thread ceremony, ladled over rice or eaten with puri. Pointed gourds (potala, parwal) are scraped, fried until blistered, and simmered with potatoes in a thick onion, tomato and ginger-garlic gravy perfumed with whole garam masala. Unlike the light everyday dishes of the state, this one is rich and slow-cooked. Chef's tip: scrape the potala lightly rather than peeling; the green streaks look pretty and hold the shape.

55 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Aloo postoPotatoes in poppy seed paste

Aloo posto is one of West Bengal's best-loved everyday dishes: cubes of potato cooked gently in a thick paste of ground white poppy seeds, green chilli and mustard oil. The poppy seeds give a nutty, creamy coating without any dairy, and the nigella seeds and raw mustard oil add a sharp, fragrant edge. It's simple, mild and comforting, eaten with plain rice and dal in Kolkata homes. Chef's tip: grind the soaked poppy seeds with the green chillies and a splash of water until truly smooth; a gritty paste never turns creamy.

30 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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