Skip to content
Ngalakh (millet in baobab-peanut cream)
Featured recipe

Ngalakh (millet in baobab-peanut cream)

Every Easter, Christian families in Dakar, Thiès and Ziguinchor make big pots of ngalakh and carry bowls of it to Muslim neighbours and friends, a gesture of sharing that many Senegalese treasure. Steamed millet pellets are folded into a thick, tangy cream of baobab pulp and peanut butter, scented with vanilla, orange flower water and nutmeg, and sometimes studded with raisins. It is served chilled, sweet and nutty with a citrus-like sourness from the baobab, and it keeps well for a couple of days. No dairy is used, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: use plain peanut butter with no added sugar or palm oil, and let the dessert rest in the fridge for a few hours, because the flavours only come together once the millet has drunk up some of the cream.

Read more 0 views

What to eat today?

Around the world

Today's trip: Paraguayan

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

Paraguayan

Pira caldo

Creamy fish soup with cheese 60 minMore from Paraguayan (27) →

This week's collection

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

Latest recipes

Sepu vadiLentil dumplings in spinach yogurt gravy

No dham in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh is complete without sepu vadi. Light urad-dal dumplings are fried, softened in warm water and then simmered in a smooth spinach gravy tangy with yogurt, until they swell up and turn spongy. The botis who cook the feast make huge copper pots of it, served on leaf plates with rice and eaten with the fingers. At home it makes a rich weekend curry with rice or chapati. Chef's tip: beat the ground dal by hand for a few minutes before frying; the air you whip in is what makes the vadi light.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable momosSteamed vegetable dumplings

Momos came to Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills with Tibetan settlers and are now the snack of the whole Himalayan Northeast, steamed in tall stacked steamers at every street corner. Thin, soft wrappers hold a juicy filling of cabbage, carrot, onion and tofu with plenty of ginger, garlic and spring onion. They are dipped in a hot, garlicky tomato and red chilli achar. Serve straight from the steamer, with a bowl of clear soup if you like. Chef's tip: salt the chopped cabbage and squeeze out its water before mixing the filling; it keeps the wrappers from turning soggy and tearing.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SerabiCoconut rice pancakes

Serabi are small, thick pancakes cooked one at a time in clay pans over charcoal, sold at dawn in Solo and Bandung. The rice-flour batter, rich with coconut milk, sets with a spongy, bubbly top and a crisp, lacy base. In Bandung they come with a pour of kinca, a warm palm-sugar syrup scented with pandan; Solo's version is rolled in a banana leaf with a dot of thick coconut cream. Chef's tip: don't flip them; covering the pan lets steam cook the top while the bottom crisps.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SernikBaked cheesecake

Sernik is the baked cheesecake Polish grandmothers make for Easter and Christmas, and in Kraków it often comes as sernik krakowski, with raisins in the filling and a lattice of pastry on top. Unlike the American kind it is made with twaróg, a dry, tangy curd cheese, so the filling is light and fine-grained rather than dense, set with eggs and a little potato starch, never gelatine. This version keeps a buttery shortcrust base and a smooth vanilla-lemon top. Chef's tip: the twaróg must be put through a mincer or sieve twice, or bought as ready-ground twaróg sernikowy in a tub; lumpy cheese gives a grainy cake.

110 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BaraBlack lentil patties

Bara, or wo in the Newar language, is a thick, savoury pancake of ground black lentils that the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley have made for centuries. It is cooked on a flat griddle until spotted brown and lacy at the edges but soft and airy inside. It is festival food above all: it appears at Sithi Nakha in early summer, on the plates of Newar feasts and at roadside stalls in Kirtipur and Patan, where it is often topped with a cracked egg. This plant-based version keeps it plain, with ginger, garlic and cumin in the batter. Eat it hot with golbheda ko achar. The usual mistake is to add too much water when grinding: the batter must be thick enough to hold a peak, or the bara spread thin and go flat. Chef's tip: beat the ground batter by hand for 3–4 minutes until it turns pale and fluffy; the air you whip in is what makes the bara light.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Neer dosaThin rice crepes

Neer means water in Tulu and Kannada, and that is the whole idea: a batter as thin as milk, poured onto a hot pan where it sets into a soft, lacy crêpe full of tiny holes. In Mangaluru and Udupi homes it is made fresh for breakfast or a Sunday lunch, folded into quarters and eaten warm with coconut chutney, a vegetable sagu, or simply with grated coconut and jaggery for children. Unlike most dosas, the batter is not fermented, so you can soak rice in the morning and eat by lunchtime. The crêpes are pale white, never browned, and should be tender enough to fold without cracking. Chef's tip: stir the batter from the bottom before every single dosa; the rice settles within a minute, and a batter poured from the top runs too thin and tears.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SeswaaPounded boiled beef

Seswaa is Botswana's national dish, made by the men at weddings, funerals and Independence Day in great three-legged pots over fires: beef on the bone is boiled with only onion, bay and salt for hours until it falls apart, then pounded with a wooden spoon into soft shreds in its own fat. It is served with pap (stiff maize porridge) or samp and a side of greens. The mistake is adding too much water at the end; the meat should be moist, not soupy, so let the liquid cook away before pounding. Chef's tip: use a mix of brisket and shin on the bone for flavour and richness.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sweet potato cakeFried sweet potato cakes

Soft, lightly sweet fried cakes of grated boiled sweet potato, flour and milk, shaped by hand into small flat rounds. They're golden outside and tender inside; the book's Handy Hints say sweet potato is good for the eyes and lifts the mood. Serve as a tea-time snack, or with tomato and chilli sauce.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Neenish tartsJam and cream tarts

Neenish tarts have sat in the windows of Australian country bakeries for more than a century, and they're also found across the Tasman in New Zealand. Where the name comes from is still argued over, with one story placing it in the small town of Grong Grong in New South Wales. A crisp sweet pastry case holds a thin layer of raspberry jam and a fluffy mock cream, a beaten mixture of butter, sugar and milk, and the top is iced in two halves: one white, one chocolate. Many bakery mock creams use gelatine; this one doesn't. Chef's tip: beat the mock cream for a long time, a full 8–10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and it is white and fluffy, not gritty.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sev usalWhite pea curry with sev

Ask anyone from Vadodara where to eat sev usal and you'll get a strong opinion and a street-corner name. Early in the morning the handcarts near Mandvi and Raopura have a huge pot of dried white peas simmering in a thin, fiery gravy, with a separate tin of brick-red chilli oil (the tari) on the side. A ladle of usal goes into a steel plate, a spoonful of tari is poured over, and then it disappears under fine sev, raw onion and coriander, with lemon and soft pav to mop it up. The gravy should be loose and soupy, not thick like a curry, so the sev stays crisp for the first few bites and then soaks in. Chef's tip: cook the tari separately and let each person add their own; the usal alone is only medium-hot, and the tari is where the fire comes from.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Seven-vegetable couscous (bidaoui)Couscous with seven vegetables

In Casablanca, Friday lunch after midday prayers means couscous bidaoui, the city's own version piled with seven vegetables, from pumpkin and turnip to cabbage and carrot. Families eat it from one great dish, each person working on their own corner of the mound, with extra broth ladled on as they go. The grains are steamed twice over the simmering broth so they swell into separate, fluffy beads that soak up the flavour without turning soggy. This vegetarian version builds the broth from onion, tomato, saffron and chickpeas, so it is rich enough without meat. Chef's tip: rub the couscous between your palms after each steaming to break up every clump; that is what makes it light.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ndolé with peanuts and greensBitter leaf and peanut stew

Ndolé comes from the Douala coast and is Cameroon's national dish, cooked for Sunday lunches, weddings and funerals: bitter leaves washed until only a gentle bitterness remains, simmered in a thick sauce of boiled, ground peanuts. Traditionally it is finished with beef, smoked fish and prawns; this version keeps the greens and peanuts at the centre and tops it with crisp fried onions, the way Douala cooks always do. Serve with boiled plantain, miondo or rice. As a variation, add prawns or beef the traditional way. Chef's tip: use raw peanuts, boiled and ground, not peanut butter; ndolé should be nubbly and pale, not like a smooth satay sauce.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SfeehaSmall open lamb pies

Sfeeha are the little open meat pies of Baalbek in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where bakers pinch them into neat squares and bake them by the hundred for weddings, Eid and Sunday mornings. The lamb filling is chopped with tomato and onion and sharpened with pomegranate molasses and a spoon of yogurt, so it stays juicy as it bakes on thin, crisp dough. Eat them warm with a bowl of yogurt or labneh and some cucumber. Chef's tip: pinch the four corners really firmly; the square shape is what traps the juices so the base stays crisp.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SfogliatelleFlaky shell-shaped pastries

Sfogliatella riccia is the most famous pastry of Naples, sold warm from bakeries on Via Toledo and eaten for breakfast with an espresso: dozens of paper-thin layers fanned into a shell that shatters when you bite, around a filling of semolina, ricotta, candied orange and cinnamon. It is a project for a weekend, as the dough needs to be rolled very thin, wound into a tight log and chilled overnight. Neapolitan bakers use lard; this version uses a mix of butter and vegetable shortening. Chef's tip: a pasta machine is your best friend; roll the dough to the thinnest or second-thinnest setting so the layers separate into crisp leaves.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SfoufTurmeric semolina cake

Sfouf is the bright yellow cake you find in every Lebanese bakery window and in plastic tubs at village coffee mornings, cut into diamonds and eaten with tea or a small cup of coffee. Turmeric gives the colour, aniseed and a little mahlab the perfume, and semolina a soft, slightly sandy crumb. Many families make it without eggs or dairy for Lent, and this version is fully plant-based, so it is not the site's eggless coconut-yogurt semolina cake. The tin is greased with tahini, a Beirut habit that gives the base a nutty crust. Chef's tip: use only the turmeric listed; more turns the cake bitter and slightly medicinal.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sha phaley with cabbage and cheeseFried cabbage and cheese pockets

Sha phaley comes from Sikkim's Bhutia and Tibetan communities: rounds of dough are filled, sealed into half-moons and fried until golden and blistered, like a fat, crisp pie. In Gangtok's MG Marg cafés and home kitchens the classic filling is minced meat, but a vegetarian version with cabbage, spring onion, ginger and cheese (paneer or soft churpi) is common and very good. Eat them hot with dalle chutney and a bowl of thukpa or tea. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted cabbage hard before filling; any loose water steams inside and makes the dough soggy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

NdambéBlack-eyed bean stew

Ndambé is what Dakar eats for breakfast on the way to work: a thick, peppery stew of black-eyed beans with onion and tomato, sold from pots on street corners and spooned into a split baguette (tapalapa or pain de mie) with a smear of chilli sauce. At home it is just as good with rice or bread for supper. The beans are cooked until some break down and thicken the sauce, so it holds together in the bread. Chef's tip: soak the beans and cook them separately in plain water first; adding the tomato too early keeps the skins tough.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shah plovPilaf in a lavash crust

Shah plov, the "king's pilaf", is the showpiece of Azerbaijani weddings and Novruz feasts, especially in Baku, Shaki and Ganja. Saffron rice layered with butter-glazed apricots, raisins, prunes and chestnuts is packed into a pot lined with overlapping sheets of thin lavash, then baked until the bread forms a crisp golden dome. It is carried whole to the table, the top is cut like a crown, and everyone gets a crisp shard with their rice. The classic version also has lamb; this one keeps the fruit and nuts that already make it festive. Chef's tip: brush every lavash sheet generously with butter and overlap them by at least a third; thin spots tear when the plov is turned out.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shahi tukdaFried bread in saffron syrup

Shahi tukda, the 'royal piece', comes from the Mughal kitchens of Old Delhi, and you'll still find trays of it around Jama Masjid during Ramzan, eaten after the evening meal, and at Eid feasts. Thick slices of bread are fried in ghee until crisp and golden, dipped briefly in cardamom and saffron syrup, then covered with rabri, milk slowly reduced until thick and full of creamy flakes. The bread stays crisp at the edges and soft in the middle. It's rich, so small pieces go a long way. Chef's tip: start the rabri first and let it simmer while you fry the bread; it takes the longest and needs only an occasional stir.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable romazavaMixed greens and ginger broth

Romazava is often called the national dish of Madagascar: a light, gingery broth of several kinds of leafy greens (brèdes) and tomato, ladled over a big plate of rice. In Antananarivo it usually includes zebu beef; this vegetable version keeps the essential leaves, especially brèdes mafana (paracress), whose flowers and leaves make the mouth tingle. Spinach, watercress and mustard greens work well outside Madagascar. Chef's tip: add the greens in order of toughness and stop as soon as they are tender; romazava should taste fresh and green, not stewed.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ShaiyahPan-seared lamb with onion and chilli

Shaiyah means "seared" and is what Khartoum families cook when guests drop in or for Eid breakfast after the sacrifice: small pieces of lamb thrown into a very hot pan with onion, garlic and green chilli and cooked fast until browned and sizzling. It is eaten with kisra flatbread or bread, a salad of tomato and onion, and a squeeze of lime. The mistake is crowding the pan, which stews the lamb grey instead of searing it; cook in two batches if needed. Chef's tip: use lamb with a little fat on it, such as shoulder or leg steaks, so it stays juicy over the high heat.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

NazookSour cream pastry rolls

Nazook is the slice-shaped pastry stacked in the windows of Yerevan bakeries and sold by the box at every Armenian church fair from Glendale to Marseille. A yeasted dough enriched with sour cream is rolled thin, spread with a vanilla-scented filling of flour, butter and sugar, rolled into a log and cut on the slant before baking. The result is flaky outside, with a soft, buttery swirl inside, sweet but not sticky. It is a coffee pastry, served to guests and packed for long journeys because it keeps well. Chef's tip: keep the filling cold and spread it right to the side edges; the swirl looks finished and every slice gets its share.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shaki pitiLamb, chickpea and chestnut stew

Piti belongs to Shaki, the old silk-road town in the green foothills of northern Azerbaijan, where it is still cooked in individual clay pots and served in restaurants near the caravanserai. Each pot holds lamb on the bone, chickpeas, a chestnut or two, a little tail fat and saffron water. It is eaten in two stages: first you pour the broth over torn bread with sumac, then you mash the meat and chickpeas and eat that as a second course. Rushing it at a high heat is the error to avoid; the broth turns cloudy and the lamb tightens. Chef's tip: if you have no clay pots, a heavy casserole works, and you can ladle it into bowls to serve.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable saloonaVegetable and tomato stew

Saloona is the stew Emirati families make on an ordinary weekday, ladled over white rice for lunch in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and every town between. Each household has its own mix, but the base is always the same: tomatoes, onions and the local bezar spice blend, sharpened with dried lime and simmered with whatever vegetables are in the fridge. This meat-free pot uses potato, courgette, aubergine, carrot and okra with chickpeas for body, and it tastes even better the next day. Chef's tip: add the okra in the last 10 minutes and leave it whole; cut okra goes slimy in a long simmer.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Natilla colombianaPanela and cinnamon milk pudding

Natilla is the firm, sliceable Christmas pudding of Colombia, stirred on the night of the alumbrado (7 December) and through the novenas, and always shared with buñuelos. Milk is infused with cinnamon, sweetened with panela (unrefined cane sugar), thickened with cornflour and finished with grated coconut and raisins, then poured into a dish to set. It is dark gold, caramel-scented and soft, a bit like a firm flan. Chef's tip: stir without stopping once the cornflour goes in, scraping the corners of the pan, or lumps and a scorched bottom will form.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable saltadoWok-fried vegetables

Saltado comes from Lima's chifa tradition, the cooking of Chinese-Peruvian families who brought the wok to Peru in the nineteenth century. The famous version is lomo saltado with beef; this saltado de verduras uses meaty mushrooms in its place. Thick wedges of red onion and tomato are tossed over a fierce flame with garlic, ají amarillo, soy sauce and a splash of vinegar until just wilted, so the vegetables keep their shape and the pan juices turn smoky and savoury. It is always served with both chips and white rice, which soak up those juices. Chef's tip: cook in two batches if your pan is small; a crowded wok steams the vegetables instead of searing them, and the tomatoes collapse into soup.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nasi lemakCoconut rice with sambal

All over Malaysia, nasi lemak is what people grab before work: a pyramid of banana leaf or brown paper from a roadside stall, opened at a desk or on a car bonnet, with fragrant rice steamed in coconut milk, a dab of sticky red sambal, crunchy peanuts and cool cucumber. Stalls usually add fried anchovies and boiled egg; our meat-free plate keeps the morning ritual but swaps the anchovies for thin batons of tempeh fried until they shatter, and the sambal is cooked without belacan, so the depth comes from slow-fried chillies, tamarind and palm sugar. Eat it for breakfast, brunch or a lazy supper. Chef's tip: give the sambal the full time on a low flame; it is ready only when a shiny red oil floats free around the edge.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shan tofuChickpea flour tofu

Shan tofu (to hpu) contains no soy at all: it is a smooth, wobbly block of chickpea flour cooked with water and turmeric, then left to set. Shan women sell it in golden slabs at the five-day markets around Inle Lake and Taunggyi, cut into cubes and dressed as a salad with chilli oil, garlic, vinegar and peanuts, or sliced and fried into crisp fritters. Warm and unset, it's eaten as a porridge (to hpu nway). Chef's tip: whisk constantly as it thickens and keep cooking for a full 8 minutes after it turns thick; undercooked Shan tofu tastes raw and never sets firmly.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nasi kuningTurmeric coconut rice

Yellow rice is Indonesia's rice for good news: shaped into a tall cone called tumpeng, it's the centrepiece at birthdays, housewarmings and thanksgiving gatherings across Java, Bali and Sulawesi, and in Manado and Banjarmasin it's also a weekday breakfast wrapped in banana leaf. The grains are cooked in coconut milk with turmeric, lemongrass, salam and lime leaf, so they come out fluffy, golden and gently fragrant, rich without being heavy. Serve it with tempe orek, perkedel, sambal and cucumber for a festive platter. Chef's tip: steam the rice after its first absorption, Javanese style, or rest it covered off the heat for 10 minutes — skipping this gives sticky, uneven grains.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shanghai ci fan tuanSticky rice rolls with fried dough

Ci fan tuan is one of the 'four heavenly kings' of Shanghai breakfast, along with fried dough sticks, soy milk and sesame flatbread. Vendors spread warm sticky rice on a cloth, lay a crisp youtiao and pickles in the middle and squeeze it into a fat roll to eat on the way to work. The savoury version often adds pork floss; this one uses pickled mustard and sesame, and there's a sweet sugar version too. Soak the rice overnight. Chef's tip: wrap the rice tightly in cling film and a tea towel, so the roll holds without being squashed flat.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shanghai scallion oil noodlesNoodles with spring onion oil

Cong you ban mian is a Shanghai breakfast and late-night favourite: thin wheat noodles tossed in oil that has been slowly infused with spring onions until they turn dark and crisp, plus a sweet soy sauce. It's almost nothing, and yet the caramelised onion flavour is addictive. Locals have it with a bowl of soup or a fried egg. Chef's tip: fry the spring onions over a medium-low heat for the full 12 minutes, until deep brown but not black; pale onions give oil with no character.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nasi kerabuBlue rice with herbs

Nasi kerabu comes from Kelantan on the north-east coast, and in Kota Bharu it is a breakfast and lunch staple, sold in the morning markets in mounds of startlingly blue rice. The colour comes from butterfly pea flowers. Around the rice sit 'ulam', raw herbs and vegetables sliced as fine as thread: lime leaves, lemongrass, long beans, bean sprouts, cucumber, mint and basil, with nutty toasted coconut on top. Kelantanese stalls dress it with budu, a fermented fish sauce, so this version uses a sharp tamarind, lime and chilli dressing instead. It's light, crunchy and full of perfume. Chef's tip: slice the herbs as thinly as you can with a sharp knife; the finer the shreds, the more they scent every mouthful of rice.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nasi gorengIndonesian fried rice

Every warung and night stall from Medan to Makassar has its own nasi goreng, but the starting point is always yesterday's rice, a pounded paste of shallot, garlic and chilli, and a glug of kecap manis that turns the grains glossy and caramel-brown. Indonesians eat it for breakfast as readily as for a late supper, crowned with a fried egg and served with cucumber, tomato and a heap of crackers. This vegetarian version keeps all the smoky-sweet depth without the usual shrimp paste. Chef's tip: get the wok properly hot and add the kecap manis down the side of the pan, not onto the rice, so it sizzles and caramelises before you toss it through.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable Shan noodlesRice noodles with tomato sauce

Shan khao swe comes from the hills of Shan State in eastern Myanmar, where it's eaten for breakfast at markets around Inle Lake and Taunggyi before the day's work begins. Sticky rice noodles are tossed with a garlicky tomato sauce, sesame oil and crushed peanuts, then served with pickled mustard greens and a small bowl of clear broth on the side. Markets usually make the sauce with chicken or pork; here mushrooms and tofu give it the same savoury depth. Chef's tip: cook the tomatoes down until the oil separates and the sauce turns jammy; a watery sauce slides off the noodles and tastes flat.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sharba libiyaLamb and orzo soup

Sharba libiya is the soup that opens the iftar table in almost every Libyan home during Ramadan, from Benghazi to Misrata: small pieces of lamb, tomato, chickpeas and tiny pasta (lisan asfour, orzo) in a red broth spiced with turmeric and chilli and finished with dried mint and lemon. It is light enough after a day of fasting but filling. The mistake is adding the pasta too early, which makes it swell and turn the soup to porridge; it needs only the last 12 minutes. Chef's tip: rub the dried mint between your palms over the pot at the end so it releases its oils.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable Sindhi biryaniLayered vegetable biryani

Sindhi biryani is the biryani of Karachi, Hyderabad and the rest of Sindh, and it is the one people order by the deg (a huge pot) for weddings, Eid lunches and every big family gathering. What makes it Sindhi is the tang and the heat: plenty of tomatoes, yogurt, whole green chillies and sour dried plums (aloo bukhara) in the masala, with chunks of potato that soak up all of it. This vegetable version keeps all of that and swaps the meat for potato, carrot, cauliflower and peas, layered with half-cooked basmati, fried onions, mint and saffron milk, then steamed shut. A common mistake is boiling the rice until soft before layering; take it out when a grain still has a firm white core, because it finishes in the steam. Chef's tip: fry the onions until deep brown but not black, and keep the oil they fried in; it carries their flavour into every layer.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable sinigangSour tamarind vegetable soup

Sinigang is the sour soup that Tagalog families crave when the monsoon arrives between June and October, when rain hammers the tin roofs and a steaming bowl next to rice feels like the only sensible lunch. The sourness traditionally comes from young tamarind (sampalok) boiled and mashed into the broth, and the vegetables are whatever the market has: white radish, taro to thicken the soup slightly, okra, yard-long beans, aubergine and a final handful of water spinach. This vegetarian sinigang na gulay skips the pork or fish and relies on the tamarind, tomato and onion for flavour. The broth should make you pucker a little on the first sip. Chef's tip: add the tamarind in stages and taste between each, since blocks of tamarind vary a lot in sourness.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable siu maiOpen-topped vegetable dumplings

Siu mai are among the first baskets wheeled past at Cantonese dim sum in Guangzhou's tea houses, where people meet over yum cha on weekend mornings. The classic is pork and prawn; this one is packed with shiitake, tofu, crunchy water chestnut and carrot, with a dot of diced carrot on top in place of fish roe. Steam them in a bamboo basket and serve with chilli oil and soy. Chef's tip: squeeze the wrapper into a 'waist' with your thumb and finger and flatten the base on the board, so they stand up straight in the steamer.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nasi dagangCoconut rice with tuna curry

Breakfast on the east coast, in Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu, very often means nasi dagang: soft, slightly sticky rice steamed twice with coconut milk, ginger and fenugreek seeds, wrapped in paper with a ladle of gulai ikan tongkol, a gentle tuna curry. The rice is fragrant and a little chewy from the glutinous grains mixed in, while the curry is mellow, coconutty and sour from dried tamarind slices. Stalls sell it from dawn, with hard-boiled eggs and cucumber pickle on the side. It also makes a fine weekend brunch at home. Chef's tip: soak the two kinds of rice overnight so the grains steam evenly and turn plump rather than chalky.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SharlotkaApple sponge cake

Sharlotka is the cake every Russian family bakes in September, when dachas around Moscow and Saint Petersburg drown in Antonovka apples. It is nothing like Polish szarlotka with its shortcrust: here the tin is packed with sliced tart apples and a feather-light batter of whisked eggs, sugar and flour is poured over, so it bakes into an airy, crackly-topped sponge holding a soft apple layer. Only four ingredients, and it is on the table in under an hour with tea from the samovar. Chef's tip: whisk the eggs and sugar for a full 8 minutes until pale and tripled; that air is the only raising agent and a short whisk gives a flat, rubbery cake.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Narikol laruCoconut and jaggery balls

Narikol laru are the small, chewy coconut balls that sit next to til pitha on every Bihu plate in Assam, offered to visitors with tea and jolpan. Fresh coconut is cooked with jaggery until it binds, flavoured with cardamom and rolled warm. They are soft and moist, not dry like desiccated-coconut ladoos, and are made in big batches the night before the festival. Chef's tip: roll them while still warm with damp palms; once cold, the mixture won't hold.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shatkora beefBeef curry with wild citrus

Shatkora is a large, thick-skinned citrus that grows in the hills of Sylhet in north-east Bangladesh, and its bitter, perfumed rind is what Sylhetis put in beef curry instead of lemon. The rind and pith are cut into chunks and simmered with the meat, so the sauce turns gently sour and smells like lime leaves and grapefruit at once. It is a home dish for Fridays and Eid, eaten with rice; the many Sylheti families in Britain made it famous in UK curry houses. Shatkora is sold frozen or in brine at South Asian grocers; if you can't get it, use the peel of half a grapefruit and a lime. The common mistake is adding too much shatkora early, which makes the curry bitter. Chef's tip: boil the shatkora pieces in water for 2 minutes and drain before adding them; it removes the harshest bitterness and keeps the fragrance.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nam tok neuaGrilled beef salad

The name means 'waterfall', after the juices that drip from the beef onto the coals, and this salad is what Isan drinking spots and family barbecues serve when there is good meat on the grill. Smoky slices of pink steak are tossed while still warm with lime, fish sauce, chilli flakes, shallots and mint, then dusted with toasted rice powder for crunch. The meat soaks up the dressing like a sponge, so every bite is juicy, sour and hot. Pile it on a plate with sticky rice, cabbage, cucumber and long beans. Chef's tip: choose a steak with some marbling, such as sirloin or rump; very lean cuts turn dry and chewy once sliced thin.

30 minThaiSaladsGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sheer khurmaVermicelli milk pudding

Sheer khurma means milk with dates in Persian, and in Pakistan it is the taste of Eid ul-Fitr morning: after the Eid prayer, families come home and every visitor who knocks that day is handed a small bowl. It is richer and nuttier than everyday seviyan: whole milk is boiled down until creamy, fine vermicelli fried golden in ghee goes in late, and it is loaded with soaked dried dates (chhuhare), almonds, pistachios, cashews, raisins and charoli seeds, scented with cardamom. It is served warm in the morning and thickens to a spoonable pudding when cold. The mistake most people make is adding the vermicelli too early or using too much; it keeps drinking milk as it cools and turns stodgy. Chef's tip: soak the dried dates overnight and slice them thinly; fresh soft dates melt away, but soaked chhuhare stay chewy and sweet in every spoonful.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nam prik ongTomato and pork chilli dip

Every khantoke dinner in Chiang Mai sets out a bowl of this brick-red relish beside the sticky rice baskets, and morning markets sell it by the scoop in little plastic bags. It sits somewhere between a chunky meat sauce and a dip: sweet-sour from slow-cooked cherry tomatoes, savoury from shrimp paste and pork, with a gentle chilli warmth rather than a blast. Scoop it up with cucumber, blanched long beans, cabbage wedges and crisp pork crackling, or press a ball of sticky rice into it. Chef's tip: fry the pounded paste in the oil until it darkens and smells toasty before the pork goes in; that is where the deep, roasted flavour comes from.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sheer yakhRose and cardamom ice cream

Sheer yakh, literally milk-ice, is the ice cream Kabul's street vendors once churned by hand in metal drums set in buckets of salted ice, and it's still the treat of choice on hot summer evenings and at Eid gatherings. It's dense and slightly stretchy, flavoured with cardamom and rose water and packed with chopped pistachios. Traditional sheer yakh is thickened with salep (orchid root); cornflour gives a similar body at home. Chef's tip: cook the custard until it thickly coats a spoon, then chill it overnight before freezing; a cold, aged base churns denser and smoother.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nam prik noomRoasted green chilli dip

Nam prik noom is the relish Chiang Mai is proud of: long green chillies, shallots and garlic charred over coals until blistered and soft, then pounded into a rough, smoky, gently hot dip. At Warorot Market and the morning markets of the north it is sold by the bagful next to crunchy pork rinds and baskets of steamed vegetables, and it sits on almost every Lanna family table with sticky rice. Most versions are salted with fish sauce or pla ra; this one uses salt and a dash of soy, and the smokiness carries it just as well. Eat it with blanched cabbage, long beans, cucumber and sticky rice. Chef's tip: roast the vegetables until their skins are black in patches and they collapse when pressed; undercooked chillies taste raw and sharp.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ShekerburaNut-filled half-moon pastries

Şəkərbura is one of the three sweets that must be on the khoncha tray at Novruz, the spring new year celebrated on 20–21 March, alongside pakhlava and gogal. The half-moon shape is said to stand for the moon, and the fine herringbone pattern on top is pinched by hand with small brass tweezers called maggash, a skill passed down at family baking sessions in the days before the holiday. Inside is a sweet, fragrant mix of ground almonds or walnuts with sugar and cardamom. Shaki is famous for its shekerbura, though every family has its own pattern. Serve with black tea. Chef's tip: bake them pale; shekerbura should stay creamy-white with only the edges just turning blond, never brown.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ShekerchoreyiCrackle-top shortbread

Şəkərçörəyi, "sugar bread", is the simplest of the Novruz sweets: small domed shortbreads made from melted butter, icing sugar and flour, whose tops crack in fine lines like dry earth as they bake. They melt in the mouth and leave a powdery sweetness, and families in Ganja and Baku bake big batches in the week before the spring festival to fill trays for visiting neighbours. Some cooks press a hazelnut or a pinch of poppy seeds into the centre. Serve with tea, ideally with a spoonful of quince jam. Chef's tip: let the melted butter cool and turn pale and creamy before mixing; hot butter makes the biscuits spread flat and greasy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ShelpekThin fried flatbreads

Shelpek are paper-thin flatbreads fried in a shallow pan, and in Kazakh homes they carry meaning: on Thursday evenings and Fridays women fry seven shelpek 'for the smell', a prayer for the ancestors, and they're handed out at funerals and memorial meals. In everyday life they are eaten warm with tea, butter and jam, all over Kazakhstan and in the Kyrgyz villages across the Tian Shan. The dough is soft and rich with milk and butter, and takes minutes to fry. Chef's tip: roll them almost transparent; thin shelpek blister and stay soft, thick ones go stiff like crackers.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shengjian baoPan-fried pork buns

Shanghai wakes up to the sound of shengjian bao sizzling in huge flat pans, the cooks spinning the pans over the flame and splashing in water so the buns fry and steam at the same time. What you get is a soft, slightly fluffy top scattered with sesame and spring onion, a crackling brown base and a juicy pork filling that squirts if you bite too fast. They are breakfast food, bought by the four and eaten from paper trays with black vinegar. A heavy non-stick or cast-iron frying pan with a tight lid works perfectly at home. Chef's tip: let the shaped buns rise for 15 minutes before frying, no longer; over-risen dough flattens and loses its neat shape in the pan.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChamponSeafood noodle soup

Champon belongs to Nagasaki, the port that stayed open to Chinese and Dutch traders for centuries. It was created there at the end of the 19th century by a Chinese restaurant owner who wanted a cheap, filling meal for Chinese students, and the city's Chinatown still serves it in huge bowls. Pork, squid, prawns, fishcake and a pile of cabbage are fried in one wok, then the stock goes in and the thick noodles cook right in the soup. Restaurants make the cloudy broth from long-boiled pork and chicken bones; at home a little milk gives the same mellow, creamy look. Chef's tip: fry everything over the highest heat in small batches; the slight scorch on the cabbage and pork is what flavours the soup.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nagasaki castellaHoney sponge cake

Castella arrived in Nagasaki with Portuguese traders in the 16th century, when the port was Japan's only window to Europe, and the name probably comes from 'pão de Castela', bread from Castile. Over 400 years Nagasaki's bakers turned it into something their own: a tall, fine-crumbed sponge made only of eggs, sugar, flour and honey, with a dark, sticky top and a layer of crunchy zarame sugar crystals at the bottom. It's still sold in long wooden boxes at old shops near the harbour and given as a formal gift. Cut it into neat slices and serve with green tea. Chef's tip: wrap the cake in cling film while still warm and rest it overnight. Its moist, springy texture develops as it rests.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

NacatamalLarge pork tamal in banana leaf

Nacatamales are the Saturday and Sunday breakfast of Nicaragua, bought from neighbours who make them on Friday nights or steamed at home for Christmas: a large, soft masa dough enriched with lard and sour orange, wrapped round marinated pork, rice, potato, tomato, onion, sweet pepper and mint, then tied in banana leaves and steamed for hours. This dish contains pork. They are eaten with bread and black coffee. The mistake is a dry masa: it should be soft and spreadable, almost like thick mashed potato, or the tamal turns hard. Chef's tip: wipe the banana leaves and pass them briefly over a flame so they become supple and don't split.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mysore pakGram flour and ghee fudge

Mysore pak was first made in the kitchens of the Mysuru palace in Karnataka, and it's still the sweet that every Mysuru sweet shop is judged by. Roasted gram flour is cooked in a sugar syrup while hot ghee is poured in a spoonful at a time, until the mixture froths up and sets into a golden, honeycombed block. This home version is the softer, melt-in-the-mouth style, with a fine porous crumb; cook it a minute or two longer for the harder, crunchier traditional slab. It keeps for a week and is made for Diwali, weddings and Dasara. Chef's tip: keep the ghee hot on a second burner the whole time; hot ghee hitting the batter is what makes it froth and form those little air holes, and cold ghee gives a dense, greasy fudge.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mysore masala dosaGarlic chutney dosa with potato

Mysuru in Karnataka gave its name to this bolder dosa: a slightly thicker, golden crêpe that is crisp outside and soft inside, painted with a hot red chutney of dried chillies, garlic and roasted chana dal before the potato palya goes in. The chutney melts into the dosa as it cooks, so every bite has a sweet-spicy, garlicky kick. In Mysuru's old cafés it's served flat and folded, with coconut chutney to cool things down. Chef's tip: use Byadagi or Kashmiri chillies for the chutney; they give a deep red colour without blowing your head off, so you can spread it generously.

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Nadru yakhniLotus stem in yogurt gravy

Lotus stem, called nadru in Kashmiri, is pulled from the shallow waters of the Dal and Anchar lakes around Srinagar, and Kashmiri Pandit families treat it as something close to a festive vegetable. Yakhni is their pale, onion-free yogurt gravy, scented with fennel, dry ginger and black cardamom instead of tomato or chilli. The lotus slices stay faintly crunchy and show their lacy holes in a creamy, ivory sauce. It turns up at Herath (Shivratri) meals and at Sunday lunches, always with a mound of plain steamed rice. Chef's tip: pick firm, pale stems with closed ends; the ends keep mud out of the hollow channels, so you rinse far less.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Muya awandruBamboo shoot with rice paste

Muya awandru is a classic of the Tripuri (Kokborok-speaking) kitchen around Agartala: tender bamboo shoot is cooked with green chilli and a rice-flour paste (awandru) until it thickens into a soft, savoury mass, a little like a porridge. Traditionally a piece of berma (fermented dried fish) goes in; this vegetarian version drops it and adds roasted garlic and a little fermented soybean for depth, as vegetarian Tripuri cooks do. It is eaten with rice, often at village feasts. Chef's tip: mix the rice flour with cold water before adding it, or it lumps.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ShingaraPotato-filled pastry cones

Shingara is Bengal's samosa, and every Kolkata sweet shop fries a batch for the evening tea crowd. It differs from the North Indian kind in small, important ways: the pastry is flecked with nigella seeds, the potatoes are diced rather than mashed, and in winter the filling gets cauliflower florets, fried peanuts and a few raisins, all tempered with panch phoron. The shape is a tall cone with a tight pleated top, so it stands upright on the plate. Chef's tip: dice the potato small (1 cm) and cook it only until just tender; mushy potato turns the filling into mash and loses that Bengali bite.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

OyakodonChicken and egg rice bowl

The name means 'parent and child bowl', a gentle joke about cooking the chicken and the egg together. A Nihonbashi chicken restaurant in Tokyo says it first served the dish in the 1890s, and today it is a staple lunch in soba shops, office canteens and home kitchens all over the country. Thigh meat and sliced onion simmer briefly in sweet soy dashi, then beaten egg goes in and is taken off the heat while still soft and glossy. Everything slides onto a bowl of hot rice so the sauce seeps into the grains. Chef's tip: beat the eggs with just a few strokes of chopsticks, leaving streaks of white and yolk, as that marbled look and silky texture is what you're after.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ovoshchnoe raguSummer vegetable stew

Ovoshchnoe ragu is what happens at a Russian dacha in August, when the garden outside Moscow or Nizhny Novgorod produces more courgettes, cabbage, peppers and new potatoes than anyone can eat. Everything is fried in turn, then stewed together in one heavy pot with tomato until soft and spoonable, and eaten hot with black bread, or cold the next day. It is homelier than French ratatouille or Greek briam: cabbage and potatoes give it body, and dill and garlic go in right at the end. Chef's tip: fry each vegetable separately before stewing; dumping everything in raw gives a watery, boiled taste.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ovocné knedlíkyFruit-filled dumplings

Ovocné knedlíky are the summer main course of Czech childhoods: in July with apricots from South Moravian orchards, in September with blue plums, eaten as lunch rather than pudding. Each soft quark dumpling hides a whole fruit that turns jammy as it simmers, and they are served the old way, rolled in melted butter and buried under grated tvaroh (quark) and icing sugar. Kids compete over who can eat the most. Chef's tip: pinch the dough completely closed with no thin patches; a single gap lets water in and the dumpling bursts in the pot.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Samosa thokeSamosa salad

Samosa thoke is pure Yangon street food, born from the city's Indian-Burmese communities: vendors on Mahabandoola Road chop crisp samosas into a bowl with cabbage, onion and mint, ladle over a thin, spiced lentil broth (pe hin ye), and finish it with tamarind, chilli and a squeeze of lime. The samosas soften at the edges while the middle stays crunchy, and the whole bowl is hot, sour and savoury. Use vegan samosas made without ghee. Chef's tip: ladle the broth over at the very last moment and eat straight away; samosa thoke left to sit turns soggy fast.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ou khattaElephant apple chutney

Ou tenga, the elephant apple, is a hard, sour green fruit that grows across Assam and turns up in every winter market in Guwahati. Ou khatta is its sweet chutney: slices are boiled until tender, then simmered with jaggery and panch phoron until glossy, sticky and sharp-sweet. It is served in a little mound at the end of a festive Assamese lunch and at Bihu feasts, the way Bengalis end with tomato chutney. Chef's tip: outside the Northeast, use a mix of very sour green apple and a little tamarind; it gets surprisingly close.

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

Sancocho de verdurasVegetable and plantain stew

Sancocho is the big Sunday soup Colombian families cook outdoors on riverbanks and fincas (country houses), with every region from Antioquia to the Valle having its own version. This vegetarian sancocho keeps the essentials: green plantain broken by hand, cassava, potatoes and corn on the cob simmered in a broth seasoned with spring onion, garlic, cumin and plenty of coriander, until the starches thicken it. Serve each bowl with white rice, avocado and lime on the side. Chef's tip: break the plantain into pieces with your hands rather than cutting it; the rough edges release starch and thicken the broth.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sancocho panameñoChicken and yam soup

Sancocho is Panama's national dish, a golden chicken soup thickened with ñame (white yam), seasoned with culantro (a strong, saw-edged cousin of coriander), oregano and onion; families make it on Sundays, after a long night out and whenever someone is unwell, and the soup from the town of Chitré in the Azuero peninsula is said to be the best. It is served with white rice on the side, which people spoon into the bowl. The mistake is adding the yam too early; it dissolves and the broth turns gluey, so add it after the chicken has simmered. Chef's tip: some of the yam should break down to thicken the broth, so let it cook until the edges soften.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SandeshSoft fresh cheese sweets

Sandesh is the most delicate of Bengal's sweets, made in Kolkata's sweet shops every morning from chhena, fresh milk curds. The chhena is kneaded until silky, cooked briefly with sugar and pressed into little rounds or moulds. It's soft, fine-textured and milky, sweet but light, often scented with cardamom or saffron. This is the soft 'norom pak' style. Serve at room temperature as a sweet with tea or after a meal. Chef's tip: hang the chhena only until it stops dripping; if it's too dry, the sandesh turn crumbly, and if too wet they won't hold a shape.

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

Zeytinyağlı taze fasulyeGreen beans braised in olive oil

Along the Aegean coast, from İzmir down to Bodrum, summer lunch often begins with a plate of flat green beans that have been stewed in olive oil and tomato until they are silky, then left to cool to room temperature. It belongs to the zeytinyağlı family: vegetables cooked in olive oil, with no meat, and eaten cold or barely warm with bread to mop up the orange-red juices. Home cooks make a big pan in the morning and serve it over two or three days, because it tastes better after a night in the fridge. The most common mistake is rushing it on a high flame: the beans stay squeaky and the oil never turns glossy. Chef's tip: lay the beans on top of the onions and tomatoes without stirring, cover tightly and let the steam do the work; stirring breaks the beans and turns the sauce muddy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Otak-otakGrilled spiced fish mousse

Drive through Muar in Johor and you will see roadside grills stacked with slim green parcels, sold by the dozen in paper bags for the journey home. Inside each is a soft, bright-orange custard of pounded mackerel, coconut milk and egg, flavoured with a chilli-lemongrass rempah and kaffir lime leaf, which turns smoky and slightly charred at the edges from the grill. Melaka's Nyonya cooks make a fatter, steamed version, but this one is grilled in banana leaf. Eat it warm, peeled straight out of the leaf, with white bread, rice or nasi lemak. Chef's tip: chill the fish mixture for 15 minutes before wrapping; it firms up and is far easier to spoon onto the leaves.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ossobuco alla milaneseBraised veal shanks

Thick cross-cut slices of veal shank, each ringed around a hollow bone full of marrow, are browned and then braised slowly in white wine and stock until the meat is soft enough to cut with a spoon: this is Milan's great winter Sunday dish. The old Milanese way, 'in bianco', keeps tomato out, so the sauce stays golden and savoury. Just before serving it gets a shower of gremolata, a sharp mix of lemon zest, garlic and parsley that wakes up the rich braise. Serve it with risotto alla milanese, the saffron risotto that is its traditional partner (one of the few times a Milanese risotto shares the plate), or with soft polenta. Chef's tip: snip through the thin skin around each shank in three or four places before browning, so the slices stay flat in the pan instead of curling up.

150 minItalianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 72 of 7,762 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 689 of 863