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Saluf
Featured recipe

Saluf

Puffy flatbread

Saluf is the everyday bread of Yemenite Israelis, slapped onto a hot pan or taboon in Rosh HaAyin and Sha'arayim in Rehovot and eaten with marak temani, hilbe and zhug. It is soft and blistered, thicker than pita and with no pocket, made to tear and dunk. Home cooks often roll it too thin, which gives a cracker; it should be about 1 cm thick so it stays pillowy. Chef's tip: cook it under a lid on a very hot dry pan for the first minute, which traps steam and puffs it the way a taboon does.

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FrüchtewäheFruit custard tart

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60 minSwissBaking
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FyddzhynBeef and onion pie

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GaboutStuffed dumplings in tomato stew

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120 minGulf ArabianMeat
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Cocktail bunCoconut-filled sweet buns

Bakeries across Hong Kong pull trays of cocktail buns from the oven before the morning rush, and schoolchildren and commuters buy them warm in paper bags to eat on the bus or with milk tea at a cha chaan teng. The story goes that 1950s bakers invented them to use up day-old bread mixed with sugar and coconut, so the name is a playful nod to a cocktail of leftovers. Today the soft, milky roll holds a sweet, buttery coconut filling that's slightly sandy and chewy, under two piped stripes and a scatter of sesame seeds. A soft, warm filling tends to ooze out during proving and baking, so chill it until firm before you roll the buns. Chef's tip: roll each bun up tightly from the long side and pinch the seam well, then place it seam-down; loose rolls split open in the oven.

150 minHong KongBaking
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GajakSesame jaggery brittle

Winter in Punjab has a sound, and it is the snap of gajak: thin, glossy sheets of toasted sesame bound in jaggery, sold from piled trays outside the sweet shops of Multan, Gujranwala and Lahore from the first cold week of December. It is nutty, crunchy and toffee-sweet, with the earthy depth of gur, and families keep a tin of it beside the heater to nibble after dinner with green tea or to share with visitors. The commercial kind is hammered and pulled into flaky layers, but the home version poured thin and rolled flat is what most households make. The pitfall is pulling the jaggery off the heat too early, which gives a brittle that turns chewy and sticky after a day. Chef's tip: test the syrup by dropping a little into cold water; it must snap cleanly at once, and that hard-crack stage is reached quickly, so have the sesame warm and ready. Take care: the syrup is far hotter than boiling water.

40 minPakistaniIndian SweetsGluten free
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Gammeldags æblekageLayered apple compote dessert

'Old-fashioned apple cake' is not a cake at all but a Danish trifle, made on autumn weekends when the apple trees are heavy: tart apple compote layered in a glass bowl with breadcrumbs or crushed macaroons toasted in butter and sugar, topped with whipped cream and a few dots of redcurrant jelly. The crumbs stay crunchy against the soft fruit. A common mistake is assembling it hours ahead, which turns the crumbs soggy. Chef's tip: toast the crumbs until deep golden and crisp, and assemble within an hour of serving.

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GanfanRice with stir-fried beef and peppers

Ganfan is a dish of the Dungan people, Chinese Muslim communities who settled in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in the 1870s, and it is ordered in every Dungan café in Bishkek and Karakol: a plate of plain rice with a ladle of stew on top, made by stir-frying thin strips of beef or lamb with peppers, aubergine, celery, tomato and garlic, seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar. A common mistake is crowding the wok, which makes the meat grey and watery. Chef's tip: cut the beef into thin strips against the grain and stir-fry it first in small batches over a fierce heat, then return it at the end. No pork is used in Dungan cooking. Beef strips are done when no pink remains.

60 minKyrgyzRice & Grains
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GánicaPotato and flour crumble

Up in the hills of northern Hungary, in Nógrád and Borsod, potatoes and flour were often all a farmhouse kitchen had in late winter, and gánica made a meal of them. The potatoes are mashed with flour into a heavy dough, then torn apart with two forks into small, uneven crumbs, which are tossed in a pan of onion-scented oil until golden in places. The result is soft and fluffy with crunchy edges, more like a savoury crumble than a dumpling. Eat it as a side with a mushroom stew, or sweet, spooned over with plum jam. The usual slip is under-cooking the flour, which leaves the crumbs pasty; give it the full time over the heat while you beat it. Chef's tip: tear the dough while it is still hot; once it cools it sets into a lump and will not crumble.

40 minHungarianSidesVegan
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Gari fotoGari with tomato and egg

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25 minGhanaianVegetarianGluten free
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GarnaalkrokettenGrey shrimp croquettes

Along the Flemish coast, from De Panne to Knokke, the North Sea grey shrimp is king, and garnaalkroketten are the dish every seaside restaurant is judged by: a molten, creamy shrimp-flavoured béchamel packed with little brown shrimps, set firm, crumbed and fried until golden, served with fried parsley and lemon. In Oostduinkerke, shrimp fishers on horseback still drag their nets through the shallows. A common mistake is a béchamel that isn't thick enough, so the croquettes burst in the oil. Chef's tip: make a strong shrimp stock from the shells, if you have them, for the béchamel, and chill the mix overnight so it is firm to shape. The shrimp are already cooked; fry until golden and hot through.

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GazozFruit syrup soda

Before bottled soft drinks, the kiosks along Rothschild Boulevard and in Florentin sold gazoz: a squirt of fruit syrup topped up with fizzy water from a tap. Tel Aviv cafés have revived it as a glass crammed with fresh and lightly fermented fruit, flowers and herbs, so it is pretty, tart and only gently sweet. Make it on hot afternoons, for children's birthdays or as an alcohol-free welcome drink. The mistake is pouring the soda too early, so it goes flat before you drink it. Chef's tip: macerate the fruit in syrup for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight in the fridge, so it bleeds colour into the glass.

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GebzhaliaCheese rolls in mint yogurt sauce

Gebzhalia is one of the dishes Mingrelian hosts in Zugdidi and Martvili bring out when guests arrive: soft, freshly made cheese is warmed in hot milk until pliable, flattened into sheets, scattered with mint and rolled up, then served in a cool, minty yogurt sauce. It is mild, salty and refreshing, served as a starter at a supra. Fresh imeruli cheese is the traditional choice; fresh mozzarella curd works well too. A common mistake is overheating the cheese, which makes it squeaky and tough instead of silky. Chef's tip: keep the milk just below a simmer and work the cheese with a spoon until it is soft enough to stretch, then roll while it is still warm. Fresh cheeses are often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one.

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Gefilte fishPoached fish dumplings

Poached fish dumplings start the Shabbat and Passover meal in many Ashkenazi homes across Israel, and families still argue about whether they should be sweet, Polish-style, or peppery like the Lithuanian version. Minced carp, pike or whiting is beaten with onion, egg and matzo meal, shaped into ovals and simmered in a broth made from the fish bones and vegetables, which sets into a light jelly when chilled. Each piece is served cold with a coin of carrot on top and a spoonful of sharp beetroot horseradish. The commonest mistake is boiling the broth hard, which makes the dumplings tough and breaks them up; it should barely tremble. Chef's tip: wet your hands with cold water before shaping each dumpling so the soft mixture does not stick.

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Gers ogailySaffron cardamom sponge cake

Gers ogaily is the plain, golden sponge cake that sits on every coffee tray in Kuwait and the UAE: served to visitors, at Eid gatherings and after Friday lunch with small cups of cardamom coffee. It is light and springy but not fluffy like a Western sponge, more like a fragrant, slightly firm tea cake, yellow with saffron and with sesame seeds toasted on top. A slice needs nothing else beside it but coffee or tea. The mistake to avoid is whisking the eggs and sugar too briefly; the whole rise depends on that foam, as there is little baking powder. Chef's tip: soak the saffron in warm rosewater before you begin, so its colour spreads evenly through the batter.

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GesztenyepüréChestnut purée with cream

No Budapest cukrászda menu in autumn is complete without a glass of gesztenyepüré: sweet chestnut purée pushed through a potato ricer so it falls in loose brown strands, crowned with a cloud of whipped cream and often a glacé cherry. It is soft, nutty and creamy rather than sugary, and it came to Hungary from Viennese kitchens in the days of the empire. Classic café versions add a splash of rum to the chestnuts; this one leaves it out and uses vanilla and a little cocoa, so it is alcohol-free. A common mistake is pressing the purée into the glass with a spoon, which turns it into a dense paste; let the strands fall loosely straight from the ricer. Chef's tip: chill the purée well before ricing, because cold purée holds its strands and the cream stays on top.

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BankuFermented corn and cassava dough

Chop bars from Jamestown to Teshie serve banku all day, usually beside grilled tilapia, okro stew and a fierce raw pepper sauce. Fermented corn dough and cassava dough are cooked together and turned hard with a wooden spatula until they become a smooth, stretchy, faintly sour ball that you pinch off with your fingers and dip into soup or stew. At home it is good with any Ghanaian soup, and a meat-free okro stew or pepper sauce keeps the whole meal vegan. Ready-made doughs are sold in African grocers. A lumpy banku comes from adding dough to hot water; always mix it with cold water first, then heat. The commonest mistake is stopping the stirring; banku needs constant turning with a wooden spoon or it goes lumpy and raw in patches. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of water next to the pot and wet the spatula and your hands as you shape the balls, so the banku comes out glossy and nothing sticks.

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Ghanaian fufuPounded cassava and plantain

The rhythmic thud of a pestle in a wooden mortar is the sound of lunchtime in Kumasi, where fufuo is pounded by two people, one lifting the pestle and one turning the dough between strokes. Boiled cassava and unripe plantain are beaten together until they become a soft, stretchy, slightly springy ball, served in a bowl of light soup, palm nut soup or groundnut soup and eaten with the right hand. Those soups are usually made with meat or fish; serve it with a vegetable soup for a meat-free meal. Cassava must always be fully cooked, never eaten raw. A food processor makes a good version at home. Chef's tip: pound the plantain first, then add the cassava; adding too much water is the common mistake and leaves the fufu sticky instead of smooth and elastic.

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Gari soakingsSoaked gari with milk and groundnuts

Every Ghanaian who went to boarding school has a story about gari soakings, the cheap, quick fill-up that keeps students going between meals, and on hot Accra afternoons it is still the snack people make without thinking. Toasted cassava grains are soaked in cold water until they swell, then sweetened with sugar and evaporated milk and topped with roasted groundnuts, so it is cool, slightly sour, creamy and crunchy at once. Some add ice cubes or a little coconut. For a vegan bowl, swap the milk for coconut milk. A common slip is adding the groundnuts too early, so they go soft; scatter them on just before eating. Chef's tip: rinse the gari first and pour away the cloudy water with any floating husks, which makes the bowl cleaner and less sandy; eat it within a few minutes, before the grains go mushy.

5 minGhanaianSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Ghiya chana daalChickpea dal with bottle gourd

Bottle gourd is the vegetable Punjabi mothers reach for when someone in the house needs something gentle, and pairing it with chana daal turns that mildness into a proper meal. The split chickpeas cook until creamy but still slightly nubbly, the ghiya melts into soft, translucent pieces and lends the pot a quiet sweetness, and a last-minute tarka of cumin, garlic and dried red chilli wakes the whole thing up. You will find it on everyday tables from Gujranwala to Sahiwal, eaten with chapati or plain boiled rice and a little sliced onion on the side. A common slip is adding the gourd at the start with the dal, so it disappears completely by the time the lentils are soft. Chef's tip: give the soaked dal a 20-minute head start and add the ghiya only then, so both are done together.

55 minPakistaniCurriesVeganGluten free
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GhomiWhite corn porridge

Across Samegrelo and Guria, ghomi plays the role bread plays elsewhere: a soft, smooth porridge of white corn and cornmeal, set on the table unseasoned so that slices of sulguni can be pushed into it to melt, and so that bazhe, ajika or bean stew can be scooped up with it. In Zugdidi homes it is cooked in a heavy pot and stirred with a flat wooden paddle. A common mistake is stirring too little; ghomi catches easily and lumps form at the bottom. Chef's tip: cook it until it comes away from the sides in one smooth mass, then wet a spoon and smooth the top; ghomi should feel like soft polenta that can be scooped, not runny porridge.

40 minGeorgianSidesVeganGluten free
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GhonghiSnail curry

When the monsoon fills the rice paddies of the western and central Terai, Tharu families gather ghonghi, the little freshwater snails, and cook them in a dark, fiery curry thickened with ground roasted linseed; the tip of each shell is snipped so the meat can be sucked out at the table, and the dish is loved as both a treat and a monsoon tonic, eaten with rice or dhikri. Wild freshwater snails can carry parasites such as rat lungworm and liver flukes, so never use snails you have collected from ponds, ditches or paddies yourself. At home use only cleaned, purged farmed snails in their shells from a specialist supplier, or cooked, frozen farmed escargots, or live periwinkles from a good fishmonger as a stand-in, and boil them hard before they go into the curry. The usual error is skimping on the boiling, which is both unsafe and leaves the snails rubbery; they need a rolling boil and then a long simmer. Chef's tip: roast the linseed until it pops before grinding, for the nutty, dark Tharu flavour.

80 minNepaliMeatGluten freeSpicy
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GiyalingBuckwheat pancakes

Buckwheat, known locally as bro, grows in the cold upper villages of Hunza and Nagar where wheat struggles, and giyaling are the thin, lacy pancakes made from its flour for breakfast. The batter is no more than buckwheat flour, water and a little milk, poured thin onto a hot griddle so the pancakes cook in a minute or two, with crisp edges and an earthy, nutty flavour. They are stacked and eaten warm, smeared with butter and a few drops of apricot-kernel oil, sometimes with a drizzle of honey and always with tea, especially on cold mornings. A thick, gloopy batter is the frequent mistake, because it makes heavy, raw-tasting pancakes. Chef's tip: rest the batter for 15 minutes, then thin it to the consistency of single cream, and buy flour labelled gluten-free if that matters to you, as buckwheat is often milled alongside wheat.

35 minPakistaniBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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GogalFlaky fennel and turmeric pastry

Gogal is baked for Novruz, the spring new year on 20 March, in kitchens all over Baku and the Absheron villages, beside shekerbura and pakhlava on the festive tray. A soft dough is rolled thin, brushed with butter mixed with ground fennel, turmeric and salt, then rolled, coiled and flattened again so it bakes into crisp, savoury, golden layers. A common mistake is using cold, hard butter for the spread; it tears the dough. Chef's tip: let the coiled pastries rest before flattening so the layers relax and stay distinct in the oven.

90 minAzerbaijaniBaking
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GogoșiFried yeast doughnuts

Fairground stalls, seaside promenades in Constanța and every grandmother with a big frying pan produce gogoși, fat, golden rounds of yeast dough fried and rolled in sugar while still too hot to hold. They are an everyday treat rather than a feast-day one, eaten with a mug of milk or filled with plum jam, sour cherry jam or sweet cheese. The dough is soft and enriched with eggs, milk and butter, so the inside should be fluffy and the outside thin and crisp, never greasy. Where most people go wrong is the oil temperature: too cool and the doughnuts soak up fat, too hot and they brown before the centre cooks. Keep a thermometer in the pan and never leave hot oil unattended. Chef's tip: fry one test doughnut first and break it open, so you can adjust the heat before the whole batch.

120 minRomanianDesserts
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Gokul pithaCoconut milk patties in syrup

Gokul pitha is named after the pastoral home of the young Krishna, and it is a favourite of Hindu households across Bangladesh at Poush Sankranti, though by now everyone makes it for winter tea. Grated coconut is cooked slowly with milk and sugar until it dries into a fudgy filling, shaped into small flat patties, coated in a thin flour batter and fried, then dropped into hot syrup. Biting in you get a soft, crisp-edged shell, a milky coconut centre and a rush of syrup, all at once. Patties that are warm and soft when they go into the batter fall apart in the oil, which is the error most people make, so chill them first. Chef's tip: use khejur gur instead of sugar in the syrup for a darker, smokier version, as many families do when the new jaggery comes in.

60 minBangladeshiIndian Sweets
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Gola gandaShaved ice with syrups

Nothing says summer evening at Clifton beach or Burns Road quite like the clatter of a gola ganda cart, where a block of ice is shaved on a hand plane, packed round a stick into a fist-sized ball and doused in rose-pink, mango-orange and purple kala khatta syrups. It melts fast in the Karachi heat, so children lick it from the bottom as it drips, and the fancier stalls serve it in a plate with condensed milk, desiccated coconut and a pinch of chaat-style salt on the sour syrup. At home a hand ice shaver or a powerful blender makes snow fine enough to press into balls. The most common disappointment is ice crushed too coarsely, which will not hold together and lets the syrup run straight through. Chef's tip: freeze the ice from boiled and cooled drinking water in a shallow tray, and put the glasses or plates in the freezer too, so the gola keeps its shape for longer.

10 minPakistaniDessertsGluten free
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Gola kebabCharcoal-smoked beef mince kebabs

Gola kebabs are so soft that Karachi grill men have to pat the mince onto the skewer with a practised, quick hand, and they still slump as they cook; at Boat Basin and Burns Road at midnight you will see tray after tray of the plump, dark tubes waiting for customers. The softness comes from raw papaya, beef with plenty of fat, roasted gram flour and a very fine grind, and the flavour from browned onion, green chilli and a final smoking with a hot coal. They are eaten with paratha or puri, a pile of raw onion and green chutney. The mix will not stay on skewers if it is too wet, which is the usual frustration; chill it for at least an hour and use wet hands. Chef's tip: at home, shape the kebabs as fat fingers on a lined tray and cook them under a very hot grill; you lose nothing in taste.

40 minPakistaniMeatGluten free
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Seared gored goredSeared beef cubes in spiced butter

Gored gored is a celebration dish in Addis Ababa, ordered at butcher-restaurants and served at weddings and holiday gatherings, where cubes of the best beef are dressed with melted niter kibbeh, awaze and mitmita and eaten with injera. Traditionally the meat is served raw. Raw beef is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system, so this version sears the cubes over a fierce heat until well browned on every side and cooked to at least 63 °C in the centre, then rests them; take them to 71 °C if you prefer them fully cooked. The result is tender and juicy, rich with spiced butter and fiery from the awaze. Chef's tip: dry the cubes thoroughly with kitchen paper and sear them in two batches; a crowded pan steams the meat grey instead of browning it.

22 minEthiopianMeatGluten freeSpicy
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GowurmaSlow-fried preserved lamb

Gowurma is how Turkmen herders kept meat through the winter: lamb or mutton cut into pieces, salted and cooked slowly in its own rendered fat until tender and golden, then packed into clay pots under a layer of fat. Spoonfuls are reheated through the winter to fry with eggs, stir into rice or eat with bread and tea. Today it is kept in the fridge. A common mistake is cooking over high heat, which fries the outside hard before the inside softens. Chef's tip: make sure every piece is fully covered by fat in the jar; that seal is what keeps it. Store in the fridge and use within 2 weeks; always reheat until piping hot.

140 minTurkmenMeatGluten free
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GozinakiWalnut and honey diamonds

Gozinaki is the sweet every Georgian family makes for New Year's Eve, from Tbilisi flats to Kakhetian farmhouses: toasted walnuts stirred into honey boiled until thick, spread on a wet board and cut into diamonds that set glossy and crunchy. Children help shell the walnuts in December, and a plate of gozinaki sits on the table for the midnight toasts. A common mistake is taking the honey off too early; it stays sticky and the pieces never set. Chef's tip: cook the honey until a drop in cold water forms a firm, pliable ball, then work fast, because the mixture sets as it cools.

30 minGeorgianDessertsGluten free
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Grandfathers in maple syrupDumplings in maple syrup

Grands-pères are the dessert of the Quebec sugar shack in March and April, when sap is running and the cabane à sucre serves long breakfasts. Soft scone-like dumplings are dropped into simmering maple syrup and cooked under a lid until they puff up and soak in the syrup from below. In Beauce and the Eastern Townships families make them at home with the first syrup of the year. Serve warm in bowls with cold cream poured over. A common mistake is letting the syrup boil hard, which scorches it and makes it bitter. Chef's tip: keep the lid on for the full cooking time; lifting it lets the steam out and the dumplings sink and turn heavy.

30 minCanadianDesserts
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Grechka po-kupecheskiMerchant-style buckwheat

Russian merchants of the nineteenth century liked their buckwheat with meat in it, and "merchant-style" grechka became a hearty one-pan supper that students, soldiers and busy parents still cook today. Cubes of pork shoulder are browned with onion and carrot, enriched with tomato, then roasted buckwheat simmers in the same pan until every grain is separate and steeped in the juices. It is earthy, savoury and filling, best with a salted cucumber or a spoon of tsakhdon-style garlic sour cream. The usual slip is stirring the buckwheat while it cooks, which breaks the grains into mush; cover the pan and leave it alone. Pork pieces should be fully cooked to 71 °C. Chef's tip: toast the buckwheat in the pan for a minute before adding water to deepen its nutty taste.

45 minRussianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Groninger mosterdsoepMustard and leek soup

Groningen in the far north of the Netherlands has been making mustard since the Middle Ages, and its creamy mustard soup is served in every café in the city: a velvety roux soup with leek, stock and cream, sharpened with a generous amount of coarse Groninger mustard. Most cafés top it with crisp bacon bits; this vegetarian version uses toasted croutons and chives. A common mistake is boiling the soup after the mustard goes in, which makes it bitter and grainy. Chef's tip: whisk the mustard in off the heat at the end, so it keeps its tang.

30 minDutchSoups
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Grzybki marynowanePickled forest mushrooms

After an autumn morning of mushroom picking in the forests of Podlasie or the Bieszczady, the smallest, firmest boletes and slippery jacks are set aside for jars of grzybki marynowane. They come out at Christmas and on name days as a zakąska, sharp and sweet with allspice and mustard seed, sliced onion and firm, slightly slippery mushrooms. Only use wild mushrooms you bought from a trusted seller or had checked by an expert; cultivated chestnut or button mushrooms work well too. A common mistake is skipping the first boil in salted water, which leaves the pickle cloudy and the mushrooms soft. Chef's tip: cook the mushrooms until they sink, then pack them while hot under boiling marinade.

40 minPolishBasicsVeganGluten free
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GuarapoSugarcane juice

Guarapo stands, or guaraperas, pop up across Cuba wherever cane grows, crushing fresh stalks through a press and pouring the pale green juice straight over ice. It tastes grassy and gently sweet, never sugary, and it is drunk the moment it is pressed. You need a sugarcane press or juicer, or fresh peeled cane and a strong blender; bottled cane juice is a poor substitute. The common mistake is pressing the cane long before serving, because the juice darkens and starts to ferment within an hour. Chef's tip: chill the cane before pressing and add the lime as you press, which keeps the colour bright.

10 minCubanDrinksVeganGluten free
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GubadiaLayered rice and curd pie

Weddings, Eid and the arrival of honoured guests in Tatarstan call for gubadia, a high round pie that is cut at the table like a cake and served with tea. Inside sit neat layers of buttery rice, kort – Tatar curd cooked down until rosy and fudge-sweet – raisins and chopped hard-boiled egg, under a domed lid of soft yeast dough. Many families add a layer of minced meat with onion; this is the meat-free version, as many sweet tea-table gubadias are. Kort is hard to buy outside the region, so you make it here from tvorog (check the label if you need it rennet-free). Where most people go wrong is a dry pie: every layer needs its share of melted butter. Chef's tip: let the baked pie stand for twenty minutes before cutting so the layers settle and come away in clean wedges.

180 minRussianBaking
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GuilinggaoBittersweet herbal jelly

Herbal tea shops along Hong Kong's busy streets sell black, glossy bowls of guilinggao as a cooling tonic in the humid months, and families keep a few cups in the fridge to eat as an afternoon snack. The jelly is firm yet smooth, deep and woody, and properly bitter, so it's eaten with a generous pour of syrup, or honey for those who aren't vegan, and sometimes a splash of coconut milk. The original is made by boiling turtle plastron with herbs for hours; the commercially sold herbal jelly powder used here is plant-based, so this is the vegetarian version. Lumps are the usual setback, which happen when the powder is added straight to hot water. Chef's tip: whisk the powder into cold water first, then pour it into the boiling water and keep stirring until it turns glossy.

20 minHong KongDessertsVeganGluten free
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Guineítos en escabechePickled green bananas

Every Puerto Rican Christmas table and roadside lechonera on the Ruta del Lechón in Guavate seems to have a bowl of these: green bananas boiled, sliced into thick coins and left to steep in a garlicky olive-oil and vinegar marinade with soft onions, bay and green olives. They are sharp, silky and filling, and taste even better on the second day, so they are made in big batches for parties. The common mistake is boiling the bananas until mushy; they should be tender but still hold their coin shape. Peel them with oiled hands or gloves, because the sap stains. Chef's tip: pour the marinade over the bananas while both are still warm, so the starch soaks up the flavour.

40 minPuerto RicanSaladsVeganGluten free
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GulpiSpiced cauliflower

Gulpi is what an Afghan family cooks on an ordinary weeknight in Kabul or Jalalabad when cauliflower is cheap in the bazaar, and it is set on the dastarkhan, the cloth spread on the floor for meals, alongside rice or naan and a bowl of yogurt. The florets are fried until they catch a little colour, then simmered in a thick, turmeric-yellow sauce of onion, tomato, ginger and garlic until soft enough to break with the side of a spoon, with just a gentle heat from chilli. Many cooks stir in a few potatoes or peas, and some add a small piece of meat, but it is often fully vegetarian. Adding too much water is what spoils it: the cauliflower should steam in the tomato, not boil, so the sauce clings to every floret. Chef's tip: let the florets brown properly in the oil before anything else goes in, which gives the dish its nutty, slightly sweet depth.

40 minAfghanVegetarianVeganGluten free
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GummaFried pies with lamb liver

Gumma are the hot, puffy fried pies sold from big pans on Tashkent street corners and in bazaars like Chorsu, wrapped in paper and eaten in the morning with tea. The classic filling is cheap and hearty: lamb or beef offal, usually liver, heart and lung, minced with plenty of onion and black pepper; potato gumma is the vegetarian sister. This version uses lamb's liver and heart. A common mistake is frying in oil that is not hot enough, which makes the dough greasy and heavy. Chef's tip: cook the filling fully before shaping, then fry the pies at 175 °C until puffed and golden; the dough cooks in minutes while the filling only needs warming. Offal should be cooked until no pink remains, 71 °C.

80 minUzbekFast Food
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Gur wale chawalJaggery rice

Every winter, when the sugarcane presses in the villages around Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan boil the new season's jaggery, families celebrate with a pot of gur wale chawal. Basmati grains turn a warm amber in a syrup of melted gur and ghee, with fennel seeds and cardamom for fragrance and raisins, almonds and coconut tucked through, and the result is sweet but not sticky, each grain separate. It is cooked for weddings, for distribution on religious days and simply for guests on a cold evening, and eaten warm, sometimes with a spoonful of extra ghee on top. Adding the jaggery to raw rice is the commonest error, because sugar stops the grains from softening and they stay hard. Chef's tip: boil the rice until it is three-quarters cooked first, then fold it into the jaggery syrup and let it steam.

40 minPakistaniDessertsGluten free
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Gur wali rotiJaggery flatbread

In the cane-growing districts of Punjab, from Jhang to Mandi Bahauddin, the season when fresh gur comes out of the village kolhu is also the season for this roti, its dough kneaded with jaggery water instead of plain water so it turns a deep caramel brown on the tawa. It is crisp-edged and chewy in the middle with a toffee-like sweetness and the anise note of fennel, and mothers wrap it in a cloth for children to take to school or to the fields with a flask of tea. Some families add sesame, others a little ghee in the dough; both are good. The usual mistake is cooking it on a high flame, which burns the sugar in the jaggery black before the inside has cooked. Chef's tip: dissolve the gur in warm water and let it cool before kneading, otherwise the dough turns sticky and impossible to roll.

30 minPakistaniBreads & Parathas
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Guryev kashaBaked semolina pudding with nuts

Named after Count Guryev, a nineteenth-century Russian finance minister, this pudding was the showpiece of Moscow merchant tables and grand restaurant menus, and it still appears at name-day lunches and during Maslenitsa week. Behind the humble word kasha sits a rich dessert: soft vanilla semolina layered with crackly sugared walnuts, thin golden skins lifted from baked milk and cream, and spoonfuls of apricot jam, then baked until bubbling. Serve it warm in small portions with strong black tea. Where most people go wrong is hurrying the skins; the milk needs a hot oven and patience so each skin turns golden before you lift it off. Chef's tip: use the widest shallow ovenproof dish you own for the milk, because more surface gives you more skins in the same time.

90 minRussianDesserts
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GushtabaMutton balls in yogurt gravy

No Kashmiri wedding feast ends without gushtaba. After hours of wazwan courses, the waza (master cook) brings out these large, pale balls of mutton pounded with fat until silky, swimming in a creamy yogurt gravy scented with fennel, dry ginger and cardamom, and its arrival tells guests the meal is over. Families of Kashmiri descent in Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Rawalpindi still serve it at weddings and on special Fridays, with plain steamed rice. Good gushtaba is so smooth that it barely holds together on the spoon. Using lean meat is what lets people down: without about a quarter fat the balls turn grainy and hard. Chef's tip: traditionally the meat is pounded on a stone for an hour; at home, process it in short bursts with chilled fat and ice-cold water, stopping to scrape down, until it looks like a sticky, shiny paste.

120 minPakistaniMeatGluten free
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HasipLamb and rice sausage

Hasip is the sausage of Bukhara, made after Kurban Hayit, the feast of the sacrifice: lamb casings stuffed with rice mixed with chopped lamb, liver and heart, onion and cumin, boiled until firm and then sliced and fried until crisp. Bukharan families serve it hot as a first course for guests. A common mistake is overfilling the casings; the rice swells and bursts them in the pot. Chef's tip: fill them only two-thirds full and prick well before simmering, then fry the slices in a dry pan so they crisp in their own fat. The filling must reach 71 °C.

180 minUzbekMeatGluten free
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GwaramariFried breakfast puffs

Early on a cold morning in the old lanes of Asan, Patan or Bhaktapur, small tea shops fry gwaramari in big iron pans, and office workers and schoolchildren stop for a paper twist of them with a glass of sweet milky chiya. They are round, golden puffs of wheat dough, about the size of a ping-pong ball, with a thin shattering crust and a soft, slightly chewy, airy centre lightly seasoned with turmeric, black pepper and a pinch of sugar. Newars also make them for bhoj feasts and to send to relatives after a festival. They fail most often when the dough is too stiff or not rested, which gives dense, oily lumps instead of light puffs. Chef's tip: the batter-like dough should be sticky enough to need wet fingers; pinch off pieces with oiled hands and drop them straight into oil that is hot but not smoking.

60 minNepaliBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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Haash bhunaSlow-cooked duck curry

As the cold season settles in and the vast wetlands of the Sylhet and Kishoreganj haor begin to drain, the ducks that have fattened on them all monsoon end up in the bhuna pot. Haash bhuna is deep, dark and rich, the meat cooked slowly with heaps of onion and garlic until it is tender and the duck's own fat glazes the masala, and it is traditionally eaten with chitoi pitha, soft rice-flour pancakes made on a clay mould, or with plain rice. Black pepper, cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg balance the gaminess. The biggest misstep is not rendering the fat, which leaves the sauce greasy and the skin flabby; let the duck fry in its own fat first. Chef's tip: grind a small piece of fresh coconut into the masala at the end if your duck is lean, a trick from Kishoreganj cooks.

135 minBangladeshiMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Habshi halwaSprouted wheat and milk halwa

Few sweets demand as much patience as habshi halwa, the near-black, glossy, chewy slab that the old halwais of Lahore's Anarkali and Ichhra stir for most of a day in wide brass karahis. Full-cream milk is reduced with sprouted wheat flour (samnak) until the sugars caramelise and the mixture darkens from cream to coffee to deep mahogany, then ghee is worked in until it leaks out shining at the edges. The taste is of toffee, malt and toasted nuts, rich enough that a small square with tea is plenty, and it is a winter gift sent to relatives and given at weddings. Sprouting wheat takes two or three days, so plan ahead, or use the flour sold as samnak in South Asian shops. The mistake that spoils most batches is turning up the heat to save time, which scorches the milk on the base and makes the halwa bitter instead of deeply caramelised. Chef's tip: caramelise a third of the sugar separately to a dark amber before adding it, which gives the colour without hours of extra stirring.

240 minPakistaniIndian Sweets
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Hadžijski ćevapBeef and onion stew with vinegar

Named for the hadžije, pilgrims returning from Mecca who were welcomed home with a feast, this Bosnian stew is nothing like grilled ćevapi: cubes of beef are slowly braised with an almost equal weight of onions, garlic, paprika, black pepper and a good splash of vinegar until the onions melt into a sweet-sour gravy. In Sarajevo it is served in a clay pot with mashed potato or rice, and it tastes even better the next day. The usual slip is skimping on onions; they are the sauce. Chef's tip: add the vinegar in two stages, half at the start to tenderise and half at the end for brightness.

120 minBalkanMeatGluten free
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Haft mewaSeven dried fruit compote

Haft mewa is the first thing many Afghan families offer visitors on Nowruz, the spring new year on 21 March, and in Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul it sits in a big glass bowl on every table set for the holiday. Seven kinds of dried fruit and nuts, typically green and red raisins, apricots, walnuts, almonds, pistachios and senjed (dried oleaster berries), are steeped in water for two days until the fruit swells and releases its sugar into a pale amber syrup, while the nuts soften to a fresh, milky crunch. It is ladled into small bowls with plenty of liquid and eaten with a spoon. Skipping the peeling of the almonds is the most common shortcut, and it leaves bitter, papery skins floating in the syrup. Chef's tip: use cooled boiled water for the soak and keep the bowl in the fridge, which keeps the syrup clear and sweet.

20 minAfghanDessertsVeganGluten free
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Haitian bouyonBeef soup with roots and dumplings

Saturday in Haiti means bouyon: a big, thick soup of beef, root vegetables, greens and little flour dumplings, simmered all morning and ladled up at midday as a meal in a bowl. Every family has its own mix of yam, malanga, potato, carrot, plantain and watercress or spinach, with a whole hot pepper for perfume. The common mistake is adding the roots all at once at the start, so the softer ones disintegrate; the dense ones go first. It feeds a crowd and tastes better reheated. Chef's tip: squeeze a little lime into the soup bowl just before eating, as many Haitians do, to brighten the rich broth.

150 minHaitianSoups
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Haitian kasavCrisp cassava flatbread

In Cap-Haïtien and the hill towns of the north, kasav is made from nothing but grated, pressed cassava, toasted on a wide griddle into a flat, pale round that is crisp outside and chewy within. People break it over soup, spread it with peanut butter for breakfast, or buy the sweet version studded with grated coconut and sugar from roadside sellers. At home the key is getting the cassava truly dry: wet pulp steams into a gummy pancake, the most common failure. This recipe uses frozen grated sweet cassava, which is sold ready to use. Chef's tip: rub the dry pulp through a coarse sieve before cooking; the fine, even crumbs bind into a lacier, crisper bread.

90 minHaitianBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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Haitian lalo with beefJute leaf and beef stew

In the rice-growing Artibonite valley, lalo means jute leaves, and the stew made from them is the region's pride: chopped leaves cooked down with beef (and often crab) until they turn dark, silky and slightly slippery, like a richer spinach stew, served over white rice. Fresh jute is hard to find abroad, but frozen chopped jute leaves (sold as molokhia in Middle Eastern shops) work very well. The common mistake is adding the leaves too early; they turn bitter and grey if they boil for an hour, so the beef is cooked first. Marinate the beef in the fridge. Chef's tip: a squeeze of sour orange at the table cuts the richness beautifully.

130 minHaitianCurriesGluten free
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Omek houriaMashed carrot salad with harissa

Nobody quite agrees why this salad is called mother of Houria, but every Tunis household knows it as one of the small dishes that open a meal, set out with bread, olives and brik during Ramadan or at a Sunday lunch. Carrots are boiled soft, crushed with a fork rather than puréed, and seasoned boldly with garlic, ground caraway, harissa, vinegar and good olive oil, so the sweetness of the carrot sits under a garlicky, warm heat. It is finished with black olives and wedges of hard-boiled egg and eaten at room temperature, scooped up with crusty bread. This version is vegetarian; some cooks add tuna on top. Chef's tip: dress the carrots while still warm; they soak up the oil and vinegar far better than cold ones.

30 minTunisianSaladsGluten freeSpicy
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Pine nut tea

Order tea in a Tunis café, especially in the cafés of Sidi Bou Said overlooking the bay, and it often arrives with a spoonful of pale pine nuts bobbing on top. The tea itself is brewed strong and very sweet, green with mint or dark black tea boiled until syrupy, and poured from a height into small glasses so it froths. The nuts soften slightly in the heat and you eat them at the bottom of the glass, buttery against the bitter-sweet tea. It is drunk after meals and through the evening. Chef's tip: toast the pine nuts lightly in a dry pan; just a hint of colour brings out their butteriness without making them sink.

12 minTunisianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Kaak warkaAlmond-filled pastry rings

The hill town of Zaghouan, south of Tunis, is famous for two things: its Roman water temple and kaak warka, delicate rings of very thin, crumbly pastry wrapped around almond paste perfumed with rose geranium or rose water. They are a celebration sweet, bought in boxes for weddings, circumcisions and Eid, and should stay white when baked, with a fine sugary crumb and a soft, fragrant centre. Making them takes patience: the dough is rolled thin, wrapped around ropes of almond paste and shaped into rings. Chef's tip: bake low and short; the moment the bases colour, they are done, as any browning on top ruins their famous pale look.

105 minTunisianBaking
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ZrirSesame, nut and honey paste

When a baby arrives in a Tunis family, visitors who come to see mother and child are offered zrir, a dense, glossy paste of toasted sesame, hazelnuts and almonds bound with butter and honey, believed to give strength to the new mother. It is served in tiny bowls or shaped into a mound and studded with nuts, and a spoonful is plenty. The taste is like a very rich halva with honey and toasted nuts. It keeps for a couple of weeks in a jar. Chef's tip: grind the sesame while it is still slightly warm; the oils release more easily and the paste turns smooth rather than sandy.

45 minTunisianDessertsGluten free
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CitronnadeWhole lemon cooler

Café terraces in Tunis serve citronnade in tall glasses on hot afternoons and through Ramadan evenings, and it is nothing like clear lemonade: whole lemons, peel and all, are blended with sugar and water, then strained, giving a cloudy, pale-yellow drink that tastes of the zest as much as the juice. A drop of orange-flower water rounds it off. It should be sharp, sweet and very cold. Use unwaxed lemons with thin skins. Chef's tip: let the cut lemons sit with the sugar for 10 minutes before blending; the sugar draws out the fragrant oils from the peel.

15 minTunisianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Tunisian samsaAlmond pastry triangles

Tunisian pastry shops in the old medina stack samsa in neat pyramids at Eid and weddings, and families make trays of them at home before the feast. The triangles are folded from malsouka, a paper-thin pastry also used for brik, around a filling of ground almonds and toasted sesame scented with orange zest and orange-flower water, then baked or fried and dropped into a lemony syrup. They are shatteringly crisp at the corners, sticky and nutty in the middle, and go with a glass of mint or pine-nut tea. Spring roll pastry, brick pastry or filo can stand in for malsouka. Chef's tip: dip hot pastries into cool syrup, never hot into hot; that contrast keeps them crisp instead of soggy.

75 minTunisianDesserts
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BsissaRoasted barley flour with olive oil

A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.

25 minTunisianBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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BouzaSorghum and hazelnut cream

On the morning of Mawlid, the Prophet's birthday, Tunis families make large bowls of creamy pudding and send small ones to neighbours, and bouza made from sorghum flour with roasted hazelnut paste is one of the best loved. The sorghum gives a fine, slightly earthy cream; the hazelnuts make it taste almost like praline. It is poured into glasses, left to set and decorated with a thick layer of chopped nuts, pistachios and sometimes sugared almonds. Make it the day before so it chills firm. Chef's tip: whisk the sorghum flour into cold liquid before it goes near the heat, or it seizes into lumps you cannot whisk out.

60 minTunisianDesserts
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DafinaSlow-cooked Shabbat beef and chickpea stew

Dafina, meaning buried or covered, is what Moroccan Jewish families from Casablanca to Meknes set to cook before sundown on Friday, so a hot lunch is waiting after synagogue on Saturday without lighting a fire on the Sabbath. Beef, a marrow bone, chickpeas, potatoes, sweet potatoes and dates go into one big pot with whole eggs in their shells and a cloth bag of wheat berries, all seasoned with paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and a little honey. Overnight the eggs turn creamy and brown, the wheat becomes sticky, and the broth is sweet-savoury and deep. There is no pork in it, and kosher cooks use kosher beef. Chef's tip: wrap the wheat berries loosely in a cloth bag or a roasting bag with holes; packed too tight, the grain cannot swell and stays hard.

760 minMoroccanMeat
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HergmaLamb trotters with chickpeas

Sticky with gelatine and warmed by cumin and ginger, hergma is the winter comfort food of Rabat's working kitchens and the dish families make from the trotters after Eid al-Adha. The feet cook for hours with chickpeas, whole wheat berries, garlic and a warm mix of paprika, cumin and ginger, until the gelatine melts into a sauce so sticky it glues your fingers together. Some cooks add raisins for a sweet edge. Eat it hot with bread, picking the tender meat and soft cartilage from the bones. A butcher who sells halal or Mediterranean cuts will clean, singe and split the trotters for you; ask for that. Chef's tip: blanch the trotters and throw away the first water; it carries off the scum and gives a clean-tasting sauce.

260 minMoroccanMeat
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Tanjia marrakchiaSlow-cooked beef with preserved lemon

Marrakech men's dish par excellence, tanjia is packed into a tall clay urn on a Friday morning, sealed with paper and string, and carried to the furnace man of the local hammam, who buries it in the warm ashes all day. Nothing is browned and almost no water goes in: the beef shin collapses in its own juices with preserved lemon, a whole head of garlic, cumin, saffron and smen into soft, sticky strands with a sharp, salty, lemony sauce. It comes to the table in the evening with bread and nothing else. At home, a lidded casserole in a low oven gives the same result. Chef's tip: wrap the lid of the pot in foil before closing it; a tight seal keeps in the steam that braises the meat without adding water.

375 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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ChraimeFish in spicy garlic paprika sauce

Friday night in Moroccan and Libyan Jewish homes, from Casablanca to Tripoli and now Paris and Tel Aviv, often begins with a plate of chraime before the main course. Thick fish steaks simmer in a brick-red sauce built from a frightening amount of garlic, sweet and hot paprika, chilli, caraway and cumin, loosened with oil and a squeeze of lemon. It is spicy, garlicky and very savoury, and the oily sauce begs to be mopped up with challah or other good bread. It is also eaten cold the next day. Chef's tip: cook the spices in the oil over a low heat until they smell toasty but not dark; burnt paprika tastes acrid and you cannot rescue it.

40 minMoroccanFishGluten freeSpicy
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QodbanGrilled lamb skewers

Smoke rising off long braziers marks the qodban sellers of Marrakech, who thread lamb cubes with little pieces of fat so the meat bastes itself over the coals. Cumin, paprika, grated onion and parsley go on before grilling; more cumin and salt go on after. The result is charred and juicy, fragrant rather than fiery, and eaten straight off the skewer, wrapped in khobz with a little harissa and tomato. Leg or shoulder of lamb both work. Chef's tip: alternate every two pieces of lean meat with one small piece of fat; it melts as the skewer turns and keeps the lean pieces moist.

28 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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BoulfafGrilled lamb liver skewers

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, while the rest of the sheep hangs to rest, Moroccan families light the brazier on the roof or in the courtyard and make boulfaf from the fresh liver. The liver is seared whole, cut into cubes, rolled in cumin, paprika and salt, wrapped in lacy caul fat and grilled until the fat crisps and melts into it. Each bite is rich, smoky and soft, and the skewers go round with mint tea. Liver from your butcher works just as well on any day, and caul fat can be ordered. Chef's tip: wrap each cube snugly, not in a loose sheet; tight wrapping melts into a thin crisp shell instead of flaring up.

40 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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MechouiSlow-roast lamb shoulder

Under the arcades by the Marrakech spice square, mechoui sellers lift whole lambs out of clay pits sunk in the ground, where they have roasted since dawn, and sell it by weight with a twist of paper holding cumin and salt. A home oven cannot quite reproduce the pit, but a bone-in shoulder rubbed with garlic, paprika and cumin and roasted low and slow gets you close: crackling-crisp outside, tender enough to pull apart with fingers inside. It is festival and wedding food, and also a Sunday treat, eaten with bread and nothing more than the salt-cumin dip. Many cooks baste with butter; olive oil keeps this version dairy free. Chef's tip: leave the lamb uncovered for the last 30 minutes at a higher heat; that short blast is what gives the bark-like crust.

290 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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BabboucheSpiced snail broth

After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.

90 minMoroccanSoupsGluten free
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TridSaffron chicken on pastry sheets

Before pastilla became the showpiece, Fez and Marrakech made trid, a dish so old it is sometimes called the grandmother of rfissa. Sheets of dough are stretched until you can read through them, cooked briefly on an upturned pot, then layered on a platter and soaked with the cooking juices of chicken simmered with onions, lentils, saffron and a whisper of fenugreek. The pastry softens into silky, almost noodle-like folds, the sauce is golden and peppery, and the chicken sits on top in big pieces to be shared by hand. It is served at family lunches, for guests, and to women after childbirth. Chef's tip: oil your hands and the work surface generously when stretching the dough; it is the oil, not flour, that lets it go paper-thin without tearing.

150 minMoroccanChicken
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