Skip to content
Haitian tchaka (vegetarian)
Featured recipe

Haitian tchaka (vegetarian)

Hominy, bean and pumpkin stew

Tchaka is a deeply rural Haitian stew of dried hominy corn, red beans and pumpkin, cooked low and slow until the corn bursts and the beans melt into a thick, sweet-savoury porridge. It is linked with harvest gatherings and Vodou feast days, and the classic pot usually holds smoked pork or pig's feet; this version leaves the meat out and builds depth with epis, smoked paprika and coconut oil instead. Soak the hominy and beans overnight, because skipping the soak is the main reason tchaka stays chalky. Serve it on its own in bowls, with pikliz on the side. Chef's tip: mash a cupful of the pumpkin against the pot wall near the end; it thickens the stew far better than flour.

Read more 0 views

What to eat today?

Around the world

Today's trip: Persian

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

This week's collection

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

Latest recipes

TostonesTwice-fried green plantain

Tostones are the crisp golden discs of green plantain sold at every Cuban cafeteria and fried at home to go with rice, beans and mojo; along Colombia's coast and in Cali the same thing is called patacones and comes with hogao or ají on top. The plantain is fried once to soften, smashed flat, then fried again until the edges shatter while the middle stays starchy and tender. Eat them hot as a side or a snack. Chef's tip: use truly green, hard plantains; yellow ones turn sweet and soft and will never go crisp.

25 minCubanSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ToumWhipped garlic sauce

Every shawarma and grill shop in Lebanon has a tub of toum, a fluffy, snow-white emulsion of garlic, lemon and neutral oil that tastes fiercely of fresh garlic. At home it is spread on roast potatoes, stirred into grilled vegetables, dabbed on falafel wraps and served with batata harra. It contains no egg: the garlic itself holds the emulsion, so the only trick is patience while the oil goes in. Chef's tip: halve each garlic clove and pull out any green shoot; the germ makes toum bitter and harsh.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zagorski štrukliBaked cheese dough rolls

In Hrvatsko Zagorje, the green hill country north of Zagreb, štrukli are Sunday food: paper-thin dough is spread with fresh cow's cheese, rolled up, pinched into pieces with the edge of a plate, then boiled and finished in the oven under a blanket of cream. Zagreb restaurants serve them as a starter or a main, blistered golden on top and soft and custardy inside. The dough is stretched by hand over a tablecloth, which is easier than it sounds once it has rested. Chef's tip: squeeze the cheese if it is wet; a runny filling soaks the thin dough and makes the rolls tear when they boil.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TourtièreSpiced pork and beef pie

Tourtière is the meat pie of Quebec, served after midnight mass at the Christmas Eve réveillon and through the holidays, from Montreal to the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region (where a deep, layered version is also called tourtière). This dish contains pork. Minced pork and beef cook slowly with onion, a little potato and warm spices — cinnamon, cloves, allspice and savory — then are baked in a flaky double crust and served with ketchup or fruit chutney. The mistake is a wet filling that makes the bottom crust soggy; cook it until the liquid has almost gone and cool it before filling. Chef's tip: a grated potato in the filling soaks up the juices and holds the slices together.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SabichAubergine and egg pita

Sabich came to Israel with Iraqi Jews, who ate fried aubergine and hard-boiled eggs on Saturday mornings when no cooking was allowed. In Ramat Gan in the 1950s someone stuffed it all into a pita, and today it is street food all over Tel Aviv: crisp-edged aubergine, sliced egg, hummus, tahini, chopped salad and a spoonful of tangy amba mango pickle, with zhug for heat. It is messy, rich and best eaten standing up with a paper napkin. Chef's tip: salt the aubergine and dry it well before frying; it soaks up far less oil and comes out creamy instead of greasy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rujak buahFruit salad with tamarind dip

Across Java, rujak buah is the afternoon snack that office workers share from a paper cone: crisp green mango, jicama, pineapple and cucumber dragged through a dark, sticky sauce of palm sugar, tamarind and crushed chilli. Hawkers usually add shrimp paste; many make a version without, which is what this is, with a few roasted peanuts for body. The mix of sour fruit and hot, sweet sauce wakes you up on a humid day. Chef's tip: chill the fruit but keep the sauce at room temperature, so it stays loose enough to cling.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pescado a la tallaGrilled fish in chilli paste

On the long beach of Barra Vieja, just south of Acapulco in Guerrero, whole fish are split open, painted with chilli paste and grilled over wood embers in palapa restaurants with their feet in the sand. One half gets a brick-red adobo of guajillo and ancho, the other a bright green paste of herbs and fresh chilli, so a single fish brings two flavours to share. It is eaten straight off the platter with tortillas, rice, lime and cold drinks. Chef's tip: cook it mostly skin-side down in a hinged fish basket, so the skin protects the flesh and the fish turns without breaking.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PesarattuGreen moong crêpes

Pesarattu is the breakfast dosa of Andhra Pradesh, made from whole green moong beans ground with ginger, green chilli and cumin rather than rice and urad dal. Because the batter needs no fermenting, you can soak the beans before bed and have crisp, nutty, bright-green dosas on the table by morning. In Andhra homes they're scattered with onion and eaten with a sharp ginger chutney, and on festive days filled with upma to make 'MLA pesarattu'. They're high in protein, light and naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: add a small handful of raw rice to the soak; it isn't traditional everywhere, but it gives the dosa a crisper edge and stops it tearing on the pan.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PernilRoast pork shoulder

No Puerto Rican Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) is complete without pernil, a whole pork shoulder rubbed with a pounded paste of garlic, oregano and black pepper, left in the fridge overnight and roasted low for hours until it falls apart. This is a pork dish. Families fight over the cuerito, the crackling skin on top, and the meat goes with arroz con gandules, salad and more rice the next day. The usual mistake is smearing the marinade over the skin: the garlic burns and the skin never crackles, so push the paste into slits and under the skin, and keep the skin itself dry and salted. Chef's tip: marinate for a full 24 hours if you can; the garlic and vinegar soak right into the meat.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rugra curryPuffball mushroom curry

Rugra are small, round underground mushrooms that push up under sal trees in Jharkhand's forests after the first monsoon rains. Tribal villagers dig them out and sell them by the basket in Ranchi markets for a few short weeks, and families cook them into a dark, spicy curry with onion, tomato and mustard oil. They have a firm skin and a meaty, earthy bite. Outside Jharkhand, small whole button or chestnut mushrooms make a fine version. Chef's tip: rugra come caked in soil, so soak and scrub them several times, then halve one to check the inside is white; grey or black ones are past their best.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RugelachCream cheese cinnamon crescents

Rugelach came from the Jewish bakeries of Eastern Europe, and today they are piled high on trays in Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market and in every New York deli bakery, eaten with coffee on Friday or packed for a Hanukkah visit. The American-style dough made with cream cheese and butter bakes up tender and flaky, and each wedge is rolled up around a filling of brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts and raisins into a small crescent. Chef's tip: chop the walnuts and raisins finely; big pieces tear the thin dough as you roll it.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minIndianFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RougailleSpiced tomato sauce with eggs

Rougaille is the Creole tomato sauce at the heart of Mauritian home cooking, made in every kitchen from Port Louis to Mahébourg and also in the Seychelles and Réunion. Tomatoes are cooked down with onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and chilli until thick, and then something is simmered in it: sausages, salted fish, or, in many homes on a weeknight, hard-boiled eggs. Serve with rice, lentils (dholl) and chatini. Chef's tip: cook the tomatoes until the oil separates at the edges; watery rougaille tastes thin.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rou jia moSpiced pork flatbread sandwich

Walk through Xi'an's Muslim Quarter or any Shaanxi bus station and you will see cooks chopping steaming braised pork on thick wooden blocks and stuffing it into split, griddle-crisped buns. The bread, called baijimo, has a crackly shell with an 'iron ring' edge, a 'tiger-back' top and a spiral 'chrysanthemum heart' inside; the pork is slow-cooked in a soy broth with a dozen warm spices until it falls apart. Chopped with green chilli and coriander and moistened with the braising juices, it makes one of the world's oldest sandwiches. Eat it hot in the hand, with cold liangpi noodles or a bowl of soup alongside. Chef's tip: keep the braising liquid as a master stock in the freezer; the next batch of pork tastes even better.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RotkohlBraised red cabbage

Rotkohl, called Blaukraut in Bavaria and Austria, is the purple braised cabbage that sits next to dumplings and potatoes on German plates from autumn to Christmas. Red cabbage is cooked slowly with apple, onion, vinegar, bay and clove until meltingly soft, sweet-sour and glossy, a deep wine-red because the acid keeps the colour bright. Traditionally it's started in goose fat or lard; oil works perfectly and keeps it vegan. It's one of those dishes that is better the next day, so families make a big pot before Christmas. Chef's tip: add the vinegar at the start, not the end; without acid the cabbage turns an unappetising blue-grey as it cooks.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RöstiPotato cake

Rösti was once the farmer's breakfast in the canton of Bern, fried in the morning from potatoes boiled the night before, and it is still the plate Bernese families make on a Sunday or eat with a fried egg for supper. It is so tied to German-speaking Switzerland that the language border with the French-speaking west is jokingly called the Röstigraben, the rösti ditch. Coarsely grated, cold, parboiled potato is pressed into a hot pan of butter and left alone until the underside turns a deep, crunchy gold, while the inside stays soft. Serve it with fried eggs and a tomato salad, with melted cheese on top, or next to mushrooms in cream. Chef's tip: parboil the potatoes a day ahead and chill them overnight; cold, firm potato grates into clean strands that stay separate and crisp.

60 minSwissSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ropa viejaShredded beef stew

Ropa vieja means 'old clothes', after the ragged strands the beef falls into, and it is the dish Cubans name first when asked about home cooking. Families in Havana and Camagüey make a big pot on a weekend: flank steak is simmered until soft, pulled into threads and then stewed again in a sofrito of peppers, onion, tomato, cumin and green olives. It is eaten with white rice, black beans and fried ripe plantain, and it tastes even better reheated the next day. The common mistake is cutting the beef across the grain before cooking; leave it whole so it shreds into long strands. Chef's tip: keep the cooking liquid from the first simmer and use it instead of water in the sauce, because it carries most of the beefy flavour.

190 minCubanMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rooh Afza sherbetRose syrup drink

During Ramadan almost every household in Pakistan breaks the fast at sunset with a jug of this bright red sherbet on the table, from Karachi apartments to village courtyards in Punjab. It is made with the herbal rose syrup sold as Rooh Afza (any rose sherbet syrup works), stirred into ice-cold water with a squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of swollen basil seeds (tukh malanga) that are said to cool the body after a long, hot day without water. Some families make it with cold milk instead, which turns it pink and creamy. The mistake people make is adding the basil seeds dry; they clump into hard lumps, so soak them first. Chef's tip: chill the water and syrup well before mixing so you need less ice and the sherbet does not taste watered down.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rocoto rellenoStuffed rocoto peppers

Rocoto relleno is the pride of Arequipa's picanterías: fiery rocoto peppers stuffed with a sweet-savoury filling, topped with cheese and baked over sliced potato in an egg and milk custard. The traditional filling is minced beef; this vegetarian version uses mushrooms and lentils fried with ají panca, cumin, peanuts, raisins, olives and boiled egg, which gives the same rich, spiced, slightly sweet bite. The peppers are first blanched several times in fresh water with sugar and vinegar to tame their heat, which is the real skill of the dish. If you can't find rocotos, use small red bell peppers and add a little habanero to the filling. Chef's tip: taste a sliver of rocoto after the second blanching; stop when it is hot but pleasant, and blanch once more if it still burns.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Risotto alla milaneseSaffron risotto

Risotto alla milanese is the saffron risotto of Milan, served on its own as a first course or beside ossobuco on Sunday tables, and a legend says it was first made in 1574 by a glass-painter's apprentice working on the Duomo who coloured rice with saffron. Milanese cooks use beef marrow and meat broth; here a well-flavoured vegetable stock keeps it vegetarian, with butter and hard cheese for richness. It should be all'onda: loose enough to ripple like a wave when you shake the plate. Chef's tip: keep the stock at a bare simmer beside the rice; cold stock stops the cooking and makes the grains chalky.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Risi e bisiRice and peas

Risi e bisi was once served to the Doge of Venice every 25 April, the feast of Saint Mark, when the first tender peas arrived from the lagoon islands. It sits between a soup and a risotto: thicker than a minestra, looser than risotto, eaten with a spoon. Venetians make a quick broth from the empty pods, which gives a sweet, grassy flavour no stock cube can match; pancetta often goes in, but this version keeps it vegetarian with parsley and butter. Chef's tip: when podding fresh peas, keep the pods; simmered for 20 minutes they make the whole dish taste of spring.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RisalamandeRice pudding with cherry sauce

On Christmas Eve, almost every Danish family ends dinner with risalamande, a cold vanilla rice pudding lightened with whipped cream and chopped almonds and served with a hot cherry sauce poured over the top. Hidden somewhere in the bowl is one whole almond, and whoever finds it wins the mandelgave, the almond prize, usually a marzipan pig. Some finders keep the almond in their cheek until everyone has eaten far too much. The rice base, risengrød, is often cooked on 23 December, eaten warm with butter and cinnamon, and the leftovers become risalamande the next night. Chef's tip: let the rice pudding cool completely before folding in the cream; warm rice melts the whipped cream and the pudding turns heavy instead of airy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PerkedelPotato fritters

Perkedel came to Indonesia from the Dutch frikadel, but became something quite different: mashed fried potato seasoned with nutmeg, white pepper, spring onion and fried shallots, shaped into little patties and fried in a coating of egg. Families make them for soto, for nasi kuning platters and Lebaran tables, and children grab them cold from the fridge. The outside is lacy and golden, the inside soft and peppery. Chef's tip: fry the potatoes before mashing, rather than boiling them — it's the Indonesian way, and it gives drier, fluffier potato that holds its shape without flour.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Trofie al pesto genoveseTwisted pasta with basil pesto

In Genoa and along the Ligurian coast, pesto is pounded from small-leaved basil, pine nuts, garlic, hard cheese and local olive oil, and served on trofie, short twisted pasta, cooked in the same pot as diced potato and green beans. The starch from the potato helps the pesto cling, and the beans add sweetness. It is the dish of a summer lunch in the Cinque Terre. Chef's tip: never heat the pesto; loosen it with a spoon of pasta water in a bowl and toss the pasta off the heat so the basil stays bright green.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pepián de verdurasRoasted seed and vegetable stew

Pepián is often called Guatemala's national dish, a recado (sauce) from the Kaqchikel Maya highlands around Antigua and Chimaltenango, served at fiestas and family Sundays. Its depth comes from charring tomatoes, tomatillos and dried chillies and toasting pumpkin and sesame seeds before grinding them into a thick, smoky, reddish-brown sauce. Traditionally it simmers chicken; here chayote, potato, green beans and carrot soak it up. Serve with white rice and tamalitos or warm corn tortillas. Chef's tip: toast the seeds separately and stop when they smell nutty; burnt seeds turn the whole pot bitter.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Penang rojakFruit salad with prawn paste dressing

Few salads are as divisive or as loved as the rojak sold from carts along Penang's Gurney Drive: crisp jicama, cucumber, green mango, pineapple and guava cut into bite-size pieces and tossed in a black, toffee-thick dressing of hae ko (fermented prawn paste), tamarind and sugar. The fruit stays cold and crunchy while the sauce is sweet, sour, salty and funky at once, finished with a snowfall of crushed peanuts. Stalls often add fried dough fritters and tofu puffs for chew. Eat it as an afternoon snack or alongside grilled meats. Chef's tip: toss only just before serving; the salt in the dressing draws water out of the fruit and turns it watery within 15 minutes.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ZanMillet porridge with vegetables

Zan is the millet porridge of Arunachal Pradesh, eaten by the Monpa, Sherdukpen and other hill communities for breakfast or dinner on cold days. Finger millet (ragi) flour is stirred into boiling water with vegetables, ginger and chilli until thick and smooth, then served with a chilli chutney or butter. Some families cook it with meat; this is the vegetable version. It is warming, filling and earthy-tasting, a little like a savoury polenta. Chef's tip: sprinkle the millet flour in with one hand while whisking with the other, or it forms lumps that never cook out.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ZangiFried marinated chicken

Ask for fried chicken in Kushiro or Sapporo and you'll be handed zangi, which locals insist is not the same as karaage. A Kushiro restaurant says it coined the name around 1960, and today zangi shops, ski-lodge canteens and supermarket delis across Hokkaido sell it in big, bone-in pieces. The chicken soaks for hours in a punchy mix of soy, sake, garlic, ginger and oyster sauce with an egg beaten in, so the flavour runs right through the meat, and it often comes with a sharp dipping sauce of vinegar, soy and black pepper. The coating is a mix of flour and starch, so it fries darker and more savoury than karaage. Chef's tip: marinate it overnight in the fridge for the full Hokkaido flavour; 30 minutes works, but the difference is clear.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RibollitaBread and bean soup

Ribollita means 'reboiled': a Tuscan peasant soup of cannellini beans, cavolo nero and other vegetables, layered with stale bread and heated again the next day until thick enough to eat with a fork. Florentines eat it through the cold months, when cavolo nero is sweetest after the first frosts, finished with a green thread of new-season olive oil. Make it a day ahead, because the reboil is the point. Chef's tip: when reheating, let the bottom catch very slightly before stirring; that toasty edge is what Tuscans love about day-two ribollita.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RevaniSemolina cake in lemon syrup

Revani is the syrup cake you meet in Turkish pastry shops and on home tea tables, especially at bayram visits, when trays of it are cut into diamonds and handed round with çay. Unlike a dense eggless semolina bake, it is a light, airy sponge of whisked eggs, semolina and a little flour, which drinks in cold lemon syrup straight from the oven until it is moist right through yet still holds a clean cut. It sweetens with sugar syrup rather than icing and is often finished with desiccated coconut or crushed pistachios. Serve it at room temperature or chilled, with tea or a spoon of kaymak or thick cream. Chef's tip: pour cool syrup over the hot cake (or hot over cool), never hot on hot; that contrast lets the sponge soak up syrup without collapsing into mush.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rellenitos de plátanoPlantain dumplings with sweet beans

Rellenitos surprise everyone who hasn't grown up in Guatemala: soft, sweet plantain dough wrapped around a filling of black beans cooked down with chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, then fried and rolled in sugar. They're sold in panaderías and at fairs, and made at home for afternoon coffee and Christmas. The beans taste nothing like a savoury dish; think of a fudgy chocolate paste. Chef's tip: mash the plantains while hot and chill the dough for 20 minutes; cold dough wraps cleanly without sticking to your hands.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Red redBean stew in palm oil

Red red is Ghanaian chop-bar comfort food, eaten at lunchtime from Kumasi to Cape Coast, and it gets its name from its two reds: the bean stew glowing with palm oil and the fried ripe plantain served alongside. Black-eyed beans simmer in a tomato and onion sauce until creamy, then a sprinkle of gari on top adds crunch. It is often made with smoked fish or momoni; this meat-free version uses smoked paprika for the same savoury edge. Chef's tip: choose plantains with mostly black skins; they fry up sweet and caramelised, the perfect partner for the salty stew.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Penang lor bakFive-spice pork rolls

Every Penang lor bak stall shows off a tray of fried things, but the five-spice pork roll is the reason people queue. Minced pork and chopped water chestnut, seasoned with five-spice, soy and garlic, are rolled tight in sheets of dried beancurd skin, steamed, then fried until the skin shatters like thin pastry. Slices are dipped in two sauces: a thick, starchy 'lor' gravy streaked with egg and a bright chilli sauce. They are a favourite with drinks at the hawker centres along Kimberley Street or as part of a Chinese New Year spread. Chef's tip: wipe the beancurd skin with a damp cloth rather than soaking it; too wet and it tears and will not crisp.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Penang asam laksaSour fish noodle soup

Forget coconut and cream: Penang's asam laksa is all sour, hot and herbal, a dark tamarind broth thickened with flaked mackerel and poured over thick, slippery rice noodles. Hawkers at Air Itam market and along Gurney Drive pile the bowl with shredded pineapple, cucumber, red onion, lettuce, torn mint and a spoon of sticky, sweet prawn paste (hae ko) that you stir in as you eat. Torch ginger flower and Vietnamese mint (daun kesum) give it a smell that is wholly its own. It is a hot-afternoon dish, eaten fast while the herbs are still crisp. Chef's tip: poach the mackerel in the broth whole, then flake it back in; the bones and skin give the soup much of its body.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zanzibar mixMango and gram flour soup with fritters

Zanzibar's famous street bowl (urojo): a thin, tangy, golden soup of gram flour, raw mango, coconut and chilli, filled with little lentil fritters and potato balls and topped with crushed cassava crisps and coconut, green and red chutneys. It's sour, spicy and crunchy all at once. Make the fritters, potato balls and chutney ahead, then assemble the bowls at the table.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pen patatSweet potato pudding

Pen patat, sweet potato 'bread', is the Haitian pudding sold in squares by street vendors and baked at home for Sunday afternoons and holidays, from the hills above Pétion-Ville to Haitian bakeries abroad. Grated white sweet potato (patat) and ripe banana are baked with coconut milk, evaporated milk, fresh ginger and warm spices until set and caramel-brown on top. It is dense, moist and fudgy, a little like a spiced cake and a little like a custard, and it's eaten warm or cold with coffee. Chef's tip: grate the sweet potato finely on the small holes; coarse shreds stay stringy, fine ones melt into a smooth pudding.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable tsuivanSteamed noodles with vegetables

Tsuivan is one of the most-cooked dinners in Mongolia, from Ulaanbaatar apartments to gers on the steppe: homemade noodles laid over a stir-fry and steamed under a lid until they soak up all the juices, then tossed together. It's normally made with mutton; meaty mushrooms and firm tofu stand in here, with carrot, cabbage and onion. Simple and filling, it's often eaten with a pot of salty milk tea. Chef's tip: lay the noodles on top and don't stir until the end; they cook in the steam, not in the liquid.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TteokgalbiGrilled short rib patties

Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.

60 minKoreanMeat
by KrazyBadal 1 views

Tudkiya bhathSpiced rice with lentils and potatoes

Tudkiya bhath comes from Chamba in western Himachal Pradesh, where it is the dish cooks make when a crowd turns up: rice, whole lentils and potato cooked in one big pot with fried onions, tomato and a tangy splash of yogurt. Tudka means tempering, and the name hints at the generous mustard-oil base of whole spices that flavours every grain. It is heartier and spicier than a pulao, a little wetter than a biryani, and is usually eaten with a bowl of plain yogurt or a sour pickle. Chef's tip: fry the onions properly to a deep golden brown; they give the rice its colour and its sweetness.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TufahijeWalnut-stuffed poached apples

Tufahije came to Bosnia with the Ottomans, and the name comes from the Persian and Arabic word for apple. In Sarajevo's old Baščaršija quarter they sit in the windows of slastičarne (sweet shops), whole apples poached pale in lemon syrup, filled with sweet walnuts and capped with whipped cream; at home they are a favourite after the iftar meal during Ramadan and at Bajram. They are soft, juicy and only moderately sweet. Chef's tip: choose firm, slightly tart apples and poach them gently; boiling them hard is the classic mistake and leaves you with split, mushy apples.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rechta with vegetable sauceNoodles in turnip and chickpea broth

Rechta is the dish of Algiers and Blida for Mouloud, Ashura and the first day of the new year: thin, square-cut fresh noodles steamed in a couscoussier like couscous, then drenched in a pale, cinnamon-scented white sauce of turnips, courgette and chickpeas. It is usually made with chicken; this vegetable version keeps the gentle, peppery broth. Dried rechta is sold in North African shops; very thin dried egg-free noodles work too. Chef's tip: steam the noodles twice and rub them with oil in between, so they stay separate and silky.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Saag (rayo ko saag)Mustard greens stir-fry

Ask for saag anywhere in Nepal and you will get the leafy part of the dal bhat plate: a tangle of greens, most often rayo (a broad-leafed mustard green), fried fast in mustard oil with garlic and a dried chilli until just wilted. It is nothing like the slow-cooked, puréed sarson ka saag of Punjab. Nepali saag keeps its bright colour, a little bite in the stems and a pleasant bitterness. It grows in every kitchen garden from the Terai to the hills and is on the table most days from autumn to spring. Spinach, chard or Chinese mustard greens all work the same way. The common mistake is to cover the pan, which stews the leaves to a grey mush; keep the heat high and the lid off. Chef's tip: add the stems a minute before the leaves so both are done at the same moment.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pasta alla NormaPasta with fried aubergine and tomato

Pasta alla Norma comes from Catania, in the shadow of Mount Etna, and is named after Norma, the opera by the city's own composer Vincenzo Bellini; a local writer is said to have called the dish 'a real Norma', meaning a masterpiece. Fried aubergine, a simple garlic and basil tomato sauce and a snowfall of salty ricotta salata make one of Sicily's best summer lunches. Chef's tip: keep a few of the best fried aubergine slices aside and lay them on top at the end; the rest melt into the sauce and the top ones stay silky.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pasta alla griciaPasta with guanciale and pecorino

Older than both carbonara and amatriciana, gricia is the white pasta of the Roman hills: no egg, no tomato, nothing but guanciale, pecorino and pepper brought together with starchy cooking water. On a Roman menu it often sits with its siblings under the heading of the four great Roman pastas, and it is many locals' quiet favourite for a weekday lunch. Short rigatoni catch the creamy, salty sauce in their ridges and tubes, and the guanciale is cooked until amber and crisp-edged so its fat flavours everything. Follow it with something light, such as sautéed chicory with garlic. Chef's tip: before you finish the pasta, mash the pecorino in a bowl with a few spoonfuls of cooled pasta water into a smooth cream; it melts into the sauce instead of seizing into strings.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RawonBlack beef soup

Nothing else on the table looks like rawon: a beef soup as dark as strong coffee, served in Surabaya from breakfast through to the late-night warungs that stay open after the football. Its colour and flavour come from keluak (kluwek), the fermented kernel of a tropical tree nut, which tastes earthy and faintly bitter, somewhere between black olive, cocoa and mushroom. Tender beef cubes swim in the broth, and it's served with rice, short crunchy bean sprouts, a salted duck egg and prawn crackers for crunch. Raw keluak contains a natural poison and is only safe after long processing, so always buy ready-prepared kluwek nuts from an Asian grocer. Chef's tip: crack one nut first and taste a crumb; good flesh is moist, black and smells chocolatey, while sour or dry, pale flesh should be thrown away.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tuna kinilawRaw tuna in vinegar

Kinilaw is the Visayas and Mindanao way with very fresh fish: raw cubes of tuna or Spanish mackerel (tanigue) cured briefly in coconut or palm vinegar with ginger, red onion, chilli and calamansi. In General Santos, the tuna capital, and on the beaches of Cebu and Siargao, it is made minutes after the catch and eaten as pulutan or a starter on hot afternoons. Please note: the fish is not cooked by heat; the vinegar only firms it and turns it opaque, and it does not kill all bacteria or parasites. Use only sashimi-grade fish that has been frozen to kill parasites, and pregnant women, young children, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system should not eat it. Chef's tip: pour a first splash of vinegar over the fish and drain it off, then dress it; this 'washing' firms the surface and keeps the flavour clean.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ZapiekankaOpen baguette with mushrooms and cheese

Zapiekanka is Polish street food born in the 1970s and perfected at the hatch windows around Plac Nowy in Kraków's Kazimierz district, where students and night owls queue for one at midnight. Half a long baguette is topped with mushrooms fried with onion, covered in grated cheese and baked until crisp at the edges and bubbling, then finished with a zigzag of ketchup and chives. The classic version has no meat at all. Use a hard cheese made with vegetarian rennet (many supermarket mild Cheddars and Goudas are). Chef's tip: fry the mushrooms until completely dry before they go on the bread; wet mushrooms make the baguette soggy instead of crisp.

by KrazyBadal 1 views

TungrymbaiFermented soybean with sesame and ginger

Tungrymbai is the Khasi Hills' great fermented food: soybeans boiled, wrapped in leaves and left by the hearth until sticky and pungent, then cooked with onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric and a generous paste of roasted black sesame. In Shillong's markets and local eateries (jadoh stalls), it is often cooked with pork, but many Khasi homes make it with soybeans alone, which is the version here. It is dark, nutty and savoury, eaten in small spoonfuls with rice. Chef's tip: roast the black sesame until it just begins to pop; underroasted it tastes grassy, overroasted it turns bitter. Natto works if you can't get tungrymbai.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ravitoto with porkPounded cassava leaves with pork

Ravitoto sy henakisoa, cassava leaves with pork, is a favourite of the Malagasy highlands around Antananarivo and is served at family Sunday lunches with a mound of white rice. This dish contains pork. The cassava leaves are pounded to a dark green paste and simmered for a long time with fatty pork, garlic and ginger until rich and soft, often finished with coconut milk. The mistake is undercooking the cassava leaves: they must cook for at least an hour to be safe and lose their bitterness, so don't cut it short. Chef's tip: frozen pounded cassava leaves (sold as ravitoto, pondu or saka saka) save a lot of work.

120 minMalagasyMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rava dosaCrisp semolina crêpes

Rava dosa is the instant dosa of Karnataka's Udupi restaurants: a thin, pourable batter of semolina and rice flour, studded with cumin, cracked pepper, ginger and curry leaves, poured onto a very hot griddle so it sets into a crisp, holey lace. There's no soaking or fermenting, so it's the dosa to make when the craving strikes. Serve straight from the pan with coconut chutney and sambar. Because it contains semolina it's not gluten free. Chef's tip: the batter must be watery, thinner than single cream; pour it from a height onto the pan instead of spreading it, and stir the bowl before every dosa because the semolina sinks.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RasabaliFried cheese discs in milk

Rasabali comes from the Baladevjew temple in Kendrapara and is one of the 56 offerings of Puri's Jagannath temple. Flattened discs of chhena are deep-fried until reddish-brown, then soaked in milk that has been simmered down until thick and sweet with cardamom. Unlike rasmalai, whose discs are poached in syrup, rasabali's are fried, so they keep a chewy, slightly caramelised skin under the milk. It is eaten chilled at festivals and weddings in Odisha. Chef's tip: press a dimple into the centre of each disc before frying, so it fries evenly and holds more milk.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

VigorónYuca, pork crackling and cabbage salad

Vigorón was born in the 1910s in the colonial city of Granada, Nicaragua, where it is still sold from stalls around the Parque Central, wrapped in banana leaf: boiled yuca topped with crisp pork crackling (chicharrón) and a tangy cabbage and tomato salad. This dish contains pork. It is street food, eaten at any hour with your fingers. The mistake is serving dry yuca; boil it until tender and slightly split, then keep it in its warm water until serving. Chef's tip: make the cabbage salad an hour ahead so the vinegar softens it.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ranon'apangoToasted rice water

Ranon'apango is the everyday drink of Madagascar: after rice is cooked, the crust at the bottom of the pot is left to toast until golden, then water is boiled with it to make a pale amber, nutty, slightly smoky drink. It is served warm or cold in jugs alongside meals in homes and hotelys, and is a safe way to drink boiled water. Chef's tip: toast the crust until golden-brown, not black; burnt rice makes the drink bitter.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ram ladooMoong dal fritters with chutney

Despite the name, ram ladoo aren't sweet. They're small, crisp moong and chana dal fritters, sold from carts across Delhi in winter, when white radish is at its best. The vendor splits a few hot ones, smears them with a sharp coriander chutney and buries them under a heap of grated mooli and its leaves, with lemon and chaat masala over the top. Hot, crunchy fritters against cold, peppery radish is the whole appeal; it's a light snack for a foggy evening. Chef's tip: grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible, then beat the batter by hand for 3–4 minutes; air whipped into it is what makes the ladoos puff up and stay light.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rakott krumpliLayered potato and egg bake

Rakott krumpli means 'layered potatoes', and it is a family supper baked all over Hungary, especially in winter in the north-east around Miskolc and Eger, where every household layers it slightly differently. Slices of boiled potato are stacked with hard-boiled eggs and plenty of sour cream, then baked until bubbling and golden. Many versions add smoked sausage; this vegetarian one uses sautéed mushrooms and a dusting of smoked paprika for depth. It is rich, creamy and needs only a sharp cucumber salad or pickles alongside. Chef's tip: boil the potatoes in their skins and peel them while warm; they slice cleanly and don't soak up water.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rajasthani kalmi vadaChana dal fritters

Kalmi vada gets its name from kalam, the Hindi word for pen: the fried chana-dal log is sliced into thin, slanted pieces that resemble pen nibs, then fried again until the slices are crunchy right through. In Jaipur and Ajmer, kalmi vadas are sold by weight from big trays, especially during the monsoon, and served with mint chutney and hot tea. The dal is ground coarse and spiced with whole coriander, fennel and chilli, so every bite crackles. The mistake to avoid is adding water when grinding; a wet mix won't hold its shape and absorbs oil. Chef's tip: let the first-fried logs cool completely before slicing, or they'll crumble under the knife.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Raja mircha chutneyGhost pepper chutney

Raja mircha, the king chilli or bhut jolokia, is grown in the hills around Kohima and Dimapur and was once ranked the hottest chilli in the world. Naga households pound it with tomatoes smoked in the embers, ginger, garlic and salt into a thick red chutney that is fruity, smoky and ferociously hot. It is eaten in tiny amounts with rice and boiled vegetables, and at the Hornbill Festival there are eating contests. Chef's tip: one king chilli is plenty for this amount; wear gloves, open the window when roasting, and keep the seeds if you are brave.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PasemburVegetable and fritter salad

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

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Turkish tea (çay)Strong black tea

Nowhere in Turkey is far from a glass of çay. Tea from the slopes of Rize on the Black Sea coast is brewed in a stacked double teapot, the çaydanlık, and poured into small tulip-shaped glasses all day long: at breakfast with simit and cheese, in shops when you haggle, after every meal. The strong brew sits in the top pot and each glass is diluted to taste with hot water from the bottom, so one person drinks it dark (koyu) and another light (açık). It should be clear, the colour of a ruby or rabbit's blood (tavşan kanı), never cloudy. Serve it with sugar cubes on the side, not milk. Chef's tip: steam the dry leaves in the top pot for a few minutes before adding any water; the warm leaves open up and give a rounder, deeper colour.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zunda mochiRice dumplings with edamame paste

Zunda is Sendai's signature sweet: young green soybeans mashed with sugar into a coarse, pale-green paste. Farmers in Miyagi made it at the end of summer, when edamame were at their best, and it is still sold everywhere from Sendai station's souvenir halls to small tea shops, now also as zunda shakes and rolls. The flavour is gentle, beany and fresh, closer to sweet peas than to red bean paste. Spoon it over warm, chewy rice dumplings and serve with green tea. Chef's tip: rub the skins off the cooked beans. It takes ten minutes but turns the paste from dull khaki to a vivid jade colour.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Raj kachoriGiant puri chaat

Raj kachori is the showpiece at Delhi's sweet-and-chaat shops: a fist-sized puri, fried until it balloons and turns crisp as a biscuit, then cracked open and stuffed with potato, chickpeas, sprouted moong, sweet yogurt, two chutneys and a snowfall of sev. It arrives on a steel plate at weddings and family outings, and it's eaten with a spoon because there's no other way. Every bite is crunchy, cold, sweet, sour and spicy at once. The puris can be fried a day ahead and kept in a tin. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin and even, and keep the oil properly hot; a puri rolled thicker on one side won't puff into a full ball.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TuronFried banana spring rolls

Turon is the afternoon snack sold by vendors on every Filipino street corner, school gate and jeepney stop around three o'clock, often next to banana cue on bamboo skewers. A slice of saba banana and a strip of ripe jackfruit are rolled in a thin spring roll wrapper with brown sugar, then fried in oil that has more brown sugar sprinkled in it, so each roll comes out wrapped in a crackly, glassy caramel shell. It is eaten hot with your fingers, when the banana inside has turned soft and sticky. Saba is a short, firm cooking banana; ripe plantain is the closest substitute. Chef's tip: roll them tightly with no air pockets, or the caramel blows holes in the wrapper.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Túrós csuszaPasta with curd cheese

Túrós csusza is a simple dish of wide pasta squares tossed with crumbly túró curd cheese and sour cream, loved across Hungary and especially in the Danube villages, where it is served as a filling main after a bowl of fish soup. At home it is a Friday or end-of-the-month supper made from what is in the fridge. Traditionally it is topped with crisp pork crackling; here, fried onions and a little smoked paprika give the same crunch and savouriness. The flavour is mild, tangy and comforting. Chef's tip: toss the cheese into the pasta while it is still steaming so the túró warms through, but serve the sour cream cold on top for contrast.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ragi mudde with bassaruFinger millet balls with dal broth

In the villages around Mandya, Mysuru and Hassan, the farmers' lunch is ragi mudde: steaming balls of finger millet cooked into a firm, smooth dough, eaten with a thin, spicy bassaru. Bassaru literally means 'drained water': greens and dal are cooked together, the liquid is poured off and spiced into a peppery broth (the saaru), and the solids become a dry palya on the side. You pinch off a piece of mudde, roll it in the saaru and swallow it without chewing. It is filling, very nourishing and naturally gluten-free. Chef's tip: the wooden stick (mudde kolu) matters; stirring with the handle of a wooden spoon pushes the flour into the water and gets rid of lumps far better than a whisk.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PempekFish and tapioca cakes

Palembang in South Sumatra is pempek country: shops line the streets selling these chewy fish cakes by the dozen, and visitors fly home with boxes of them in their luggage. Fresh fish is worked with tapioca starch into a dough, shaped into logs, poached, then sliced and fried until blistered and golden outside while staying springy within. The real star is cuko, a thin, dark, sweet-sour-hot sauce of palm sugar, tamarind, garlic and chilli that is poured over everything, ideally with diced cucumber and a few yellow noodles. People eat it any time of day as a snack, often sipping the cuko straight from the bowl. Chef's tip: make the cuko first; it tastes best after resting for an hour or more.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

QuinottoCreamy quinoa with mushrooms

Quinotto is quinoa cooked like a risotto, a dish from the new Andean cooking of Cusco and Lima that marries Italian technique with the grain of the high Andes. Quinoa is toasted with onion and garlic, simmered in stock with white wine, then finished with mushrooms, butter, cream and grated cheese until creamy and loose. It has a pleasant pop and nutty flavour that rice never has, and a gentle warmth from ají amarillo. Serve it as a main with a green salad. Use a hard cheese made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: quinoa has little starch, so the creaminess comes at the end; stir in the butter, cheese and cream off the heat and serve straight away while it still flows.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

QuesitosCream cheese pastry rolls

Every panadería in Puerto Rico has a tray of quesitos by the till, and a warm one with a café con leche is a standard island breakfast, from Old San Juan to small-town bakeries in the mountains. Puff pastry is rolled around a log of sweet vanilla cream cheese and baked until it shatters, then brushed with sugar syrup so the top turns glossy and sticky. The filling stays soft and slightly tangy inside the crisp layers. Chef's tip: chill the filling before you roll, so it holds its shape and doesn't squeeze out of the ends in the oven.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Quesadillas de flor de calabazaCourgette flower quesadillas

In Mexico City markets, squash blossoms (flor de calabaza) are sold by the armful in the rainy season and end up in quesadillas: soft corn tortillas folded around the flowers cooked with onion, green chilli and epazote, with stringy Oaxaca cheese. A famous Chilango joke is that a quesadilla there does not automatically come with cheese, so ask for it! The blossoms taste delicately of young courgette and wilt into a silky filling against the toasty corn. Serve them straight off the pan with salsa verde. Choose a cheese made with vegetarian rennet; if you can't find Oaxaca cheese, low-moisture mozzarella melts the same way. Chef's tip: cook the blossoms only until they collapse; any longer and they turn to mush and lose their colour.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PelmeniMeat dumplings

In Siberian villages whole families sat round the table before the long winter to fold hundreds of pelmeni, then froze them in sacks outside where the frost kept them for months. Today every Russian freezer holds a bag, and a bowl with butter and sour cream is a quick supper from Novosibirsk to Moscow. The little ear-shaped dumplings have a thin, springy dough wrapped round a juicy filling of pork and beef with onion; it contains pork. Unlike Ukrainian varenyky, they are always meat-filled and boiled in seasoned water or broth. The classic mistake is rolling the dough too thick, which leaves you chewing flour instead of tasting the filling; aim for 1–2 mm. Chef's tip: work a few spoons of ice-cold water into the mince; it turns to juice inside the dumpling as it cooks.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Qubani ka meethaStewed apricots with cream

No Hyderabadi wedding feast, or dawat, ends without qubani ka meetha: dried Afghan apricots soaked overnight, then simmered slowly with sugar until they break down into a glossy, deep amber compote, served cold with thick cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In Hyderabad the kernels from inside the apricot stones are scattered on top; at home, blanched almonds give the same look and taste, and are safer, as some apricot kernels are bitter and shouldn't be eaten in quantity. It is sweet, tart and jammy, and very easy to make for a crowd days ahead. Chef's tip: keep the soaking water and cook the apricots in it; it holds much of their flavour and natural sugar.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 72 of 7,762 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 710 of 863