Featured recipe

Shorwa

Lamb and vegetable soup

Shorwa is the everyday soup of Afghan homes from Kabul to Herat, simmered on winter evenings and during Ramadan, when a bowl of it breaks the fast. Lamb on the bone cooks slowly with onion, tomato, chickpeas and a little turmeric and coriander until the broth turns golden, then potatoes and carrots go in for the last half hour. The family tears naan into their bowls and eats it with fresh mint, onion and green chilli on the side. It is a gentle, clear soup rather than a thick stew. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes the broth cloudy and the lamb tough; keep it at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: skim the broth carefully in the first 10 minutes, as soon as the grey foam rises, for a clean golden shorwa.

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90 min

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180 min

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PapanașiFried cheese doughnuts

Papanași are the dessert Romanians order after almost any restaurant meal, from the old town of Bucharest to the mountain chalets of Sinaia and Bran. A soft dough of fresh cheese, egg and semolina is shaped into a ring with a little ball on top, fried until puffed and golden, then crowned with cold smântână and sour cherry or blueberry jam. Warm, tangy and very rich, one is a full dessert. Chef's tip: use dry, crumbly cheese and drain it if it's wet; a common mistake is a sloppy dough that soaks up oil and falls apart, so add flour only until it just stops sticking.

45 min

Romanian Desserts

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Royyala iguruThick prawn curry

Along the coastal Andhra delta, where the Godavari meets the sea near Kakinada and Bhimavaram, prawns come in fresh every morning and often end up as iguru. The word means cooked down: the onion-chilli masala is reduced until it clings to the prawns, with only a spoonful of sauce left in the pan. It goes onto hot rice with ghee, alongside sambar or pappu, and is a favourite in Telugu homes on weekends. Chef's tip: cook the masala fully first and add the prawns only for the last few minutes, so they stay plump.

40 min

Indian Fish

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Roz bel labanRice pudding

Roz bel laban (rice with milk) is the pudding of Egyptian homes and dessert shops alike, sold in clay pots and little foil cups across Cairo and eaten all year, especially in the evenings of Ramadan. It is made with short Egyptian rice cooked slowly in milk, thickened with a little cornflour so it sets creamy and spoonable, and scented with vanilla or orange blossom water. This is the roz bel laban fel forn version, finished in a very hot oven so the top blisters with brown spots, the way the Cairo dessert shops sell it. Serve it cold, scattered with pistachios or coconut. Chef's tip: stir the cornflour into cold milk before adding it; dropped straight into the hot pot it turns into lumps you can't whisk out.

45 min

Egyptian Desserts

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RugbrødDark rye loaf

In Denmark rugbrød is not a speciality but the daily bread: a dark, dense, slightly sour loaf of rye flour, cracked rye kernels and seeds, baked in a tin and sliced thin for every smørrebrød lunch. Bakeries in Aarhus and Copenhagen sell it by the brick, and many households keep a jar of rye sourdough starter in the fridge just for it. The dough is more of a thick porridge than a dough; you spoon it into the tin rather than shape it. It needs patience: a long sour, a long bake and a full day of resting before it is cut. Chef's tip: wait at least 12 hours, ideally 24, before slicing; the crumb is still setting as it cools and cut early it will be gummy.

135 minScandinavian Breads & Parathas

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