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Tatale
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Tatale

Spiced plantain pancakes

Tatale is how Ghanaian cooks rescue plantains that have gone soft and black: they are mashed with onion, ginger and chilli, bound with a little flour, and fried as thick pancakes. In Accra and the Volta region they are sold warm from roadside pans and eaten as a snack or with a bowl of bean stew (aboboi). The outside crisps and caramelises while the inside stays soft and sweet. This version uses fine cornmeal, which keeps it gluten free. Chef's tip: the blacker the plantain skins, the better; they should feel soft like an overripe banana.

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Tavë kosiBaked lamb and rice in yogurt

Elbasan, in central Albania, claims tavë kosi as its own and serves it on Dita e Verës, the spring festival in March, though families across Albania and Kosovo bake it all year. Pieces of lamb on the bone are browned with garlic and a little rice, then covered with a thick custard of tangy yogurt, eggs and a butter-flour roux and baked until puffed and golden on top. Inside, the custard stays soft and slightly sour against the rich meat. A classic slip is using thin, low-fat yogurt, which splits in the oven; use full-fat strained yogurt. Chef's tip: let the yogurt come to room temperature and whisk the warm roux in slowly, so the custard stays smooth.

135 minBalkanMeat
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Chiles en nogadaStuffed poblanos in walnut sauce

Chiles en nogada belong to Puebla and to September, when fresh walnuts, peaches, pears and pomegranates are all in season and Mexico celebrates its independence: the green chilli, white walnut sauce and red pomegranate are the colours of the flag. Roasted poblano peppers are stuffed with picadillo, a sweet-savoury hash of fruit, nuts and spices, then cloaked in nogada, a cool sauce of fresh walnuts, milk and fresh cheese. Our vegetarian picadillo uses mushrooms for the savoury depth that minced meat usually gives. It is served at room temperature, never hot, as a centrepiece for a celebration lunch. Chef's tip: soak the walnuts in milk overnight and rub off as much of the papery skin as you can; the skins make the nogada bitter and grey. Use a fresh cheese made with vegetarian rennet.

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XiaolongbaoSoup dumplings

Bite carefully: inside each pleated parcel is a pork meatball floating in hot broth, which comes from a pork-skin jelly that melts as the dumplings steam. Shanghai's teahouses and the old town around Nanxiang have served them in bamboo baskets for well over a century, usually for breakfast or a late lunch with a saucer of black vinegar and threads of ginger. The wrapper should be thin enough to see the soup move but strong enough to lift with chopsticks. Make the jelly the day before (or use the gelatine shortcut in the ingredient note), then the folding takes about an hour with a little practice. Chef's tip: keep the filling in the fridge until the moment you wrap; cold jelly stays solid and the dumplings are far easier to pleat.

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FrappéShaken iced coffee

The frappé was invented by accident at the Thessaloniki International Fair in 1957, when a coffee rep shook instant coffee with cold water because there was no hot water to hand. Within a few years it was the drink of every Greek café and beach bar, sipped slowly through a straw for an hour or more. Instant coffee, sugar and a little water are shaken or frothed into a thick, light-brown foam, then topped up with cold water, ice and, if you like, milk. Order it sketos (no sugar), metrios (medium) or glykos (sweet). Chef's tip: use only a splash of water for the first shake; adding all the water at once is the common mistake and you get thin coffee with no foam.

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Frango à zambezianaCoconut-lime grilled chicken

Frango à zambeziana comes from Quelimane and the Zambezia province of central Mozambique, where coconut palms line the coast: chicken is marinated in coconut milk, lime, garlic and piri-piri chilli, then grilled over coals and basted with the marinade, boiled down into a sauce. It is served with rice or xima (maize porridge) at weekend lunches. The mistake is basting with raw marinade right up to the end; boil it first so it is safe and turns into a creamy sauce. Chef's tip: spatchcock the chicken or use pieces so it grills evenly.

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FrancesinhaLayered meat sandwich with beer sauce

The francesinha ('little French girl') belongs to Porto, where it was dreamed up in the 1950s by a cook inspired by the croque monsieur, and it is now the city's famous late-night and match-day meal. This sandwich contains pork: thick bread is layered with steak, ham and fresh sausage, covered in cheese slices, then drowned in a spicy tomato sauce made with beer and port-style fortified wine. For an alcohol-free sauce, use alcohol-free beer, or beef stock with a teaspoon of honey. Serve with chips and a fried egg on top if you dare. Chef's tip: simmer the sauce for at least 20 minutes and blend it smooth; it should be thick enough to cling, not run off.

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FosoliaGreen beans and carrots

Fosolia takes its name from the Italian fagioli, a reminder of the Italian occupation of the 1930s, but it is now completely Ethiopian and a regular on fasting platters in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Green beans and carrot batons are cooked with lots of onion, garlic and ginger until tender but still bright, then served warm with injera or rice. It is quick, mild and colourful. Chef's tip: cut the beans and carrots to the same length and thickness so they cook evenly.

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CarimañolasYuca fritters stuffed with beef

Carimañolas are torpedo-shaped fritters of mashed yuca filled with savoury minced beef, a breakfast and party snack in Panama City and along the Caribbean coast in Colón, often eaten with a cup of coffee or a spoon of hot sauce. The yuca dough is soft and smooth, the outside crisp after frying. The mistake is working the yuca dough while it is cold; mash and shape it while still warm, when it is smooth and pliable. Chef's tip: wet your hands with a little oil or water as you shape them so the dough doesn't stick.

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TehriYellow rice with vegetables

In many Uttar Pradesh homes, tehri is what happens on a cold evening when nobody wants to cook three dishes. Rice, potatoes, cauliflower and peas go into one pot with mustard oil, turmeric and whole spices, and come out yellow, fluffy and lightly spiced. Families in Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi eat it with plain yogurt, a spoon of mango pickle and roasted papad, and it is also cooked for winter picnics. It differs from pulao in its turmeric colour and the sharp warmth of smoked mustard oil. A frequent mistake is stirring after the water goes in, which breaks the grains and makes the rice gluey. Chef's tip: heat the mustard oil until it just smokes, then let it cool for a few seconds before adding spices; this mellows its bite without losing the flavour.

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Fondue moitié-moitiéGruyère and Vacherin fondue

Moitié-moitié means half and half, and in Fribourg it names the canton's own fondue: equal weights of nutty Gruyère and soft, buttery Vacherin fribourgeois melted with dry white wine in a glazed earthenware caquelon. Families light the burner in the middle of the table on cold evenings from October to March, and ski huts above Gruyères serve it after a day on the slopes. The Vacherin makes it silkier and milder than a Gruyère-only fondue, so it clings to the bread in a thick, glossy coat. Serve with day-old bread, a plate of cornichons and small boiled potatoes, and drink white wine or warm black tea with it; locals say cold water sits badly with all that cheese. Traditional Gruyère and Vacherin are made with animal rennet, so for a vegetarian table look for wheels labelled with microbial or vegetarian rennet, or ask a cheesemonger for a similar Alpine cheese that uses it. Chef's tip: grate the cheese rather than cubing it and let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes; it melts evenly and the fondue stays smooth.

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Xinjiang onion nangOnion flatbread

Across Xinjiang, from Kashgar's bazaars to Urumqi's backstreets, bakers slap rounds of dough onto the walls of clay tandoors and pull them out a few minutes later, golden and stamped with patterns. The centre is pressed thin and crisp while the rim stays soft and chewy, and the onion version is scattered with cumin and sesame. Nang keeps for days and is eaten with tea, kebabs and salads. Chef's tip: get your oven and tray as hot as they'll go; nang bakes quickly in fierce heat.

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Focaccia di ReccoThin cheese-filled flatbread

Focaccia di Recco has nothing to do with the thick, bubbly focaccia most people know: it is two sheets of unleavened dough stretched almost transparent, with blobs of soft, tangy cheese in between, baked in a blisteringly hot oven for a few minutes. It comes from the seaside town of Recco, east of Genoa, where bakeries sell it in the morning and families eat it as a first course. At home, use stracchino or crescenza, the creamy fresh cheeses closest to Ligurian prescinseua. Chef's tip: stretch the dough over the backs of your hands like a pizzaiolo; rolling alone never gets it thin enough.

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Cari pouletChicken curry

In Réunion a cari is any stew cooked with turmeric (called "safran" on the island), garlic, ginger, onion, tomato and thyme, and cari poulet is the dish families cook on Sundays in Saint-Denis and the mountain villages, often in a big cast-iron pot over a wood fire. It is served with white rice, red beans or lentils, and a fiery rougail on the side. The mistake is adding water too early: let the chicken brown and the tomatoes melt first, then add only a little. Chef's tip: thyme is essential in Réunionnais cooking; add it whole and fish it out before serving.

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Carciofi alla romanaBraised artichokes with mint

Every spring, from February to April, Roman market stalls pile up round, thornless romanesco artichokes (cimaroli), and trattorie serve them alla romana: stuffed with wild mint, parsley and garlic and braised stem-up in oil and water until meltingly soft. They are eaten warm or at room temperature as a contorno, often next to their crisp cousins, carciofi alla giudia. Any large globe artichoke works at home. Chef's tip: braise them upside down, stems in the air and tightly packed, so the hearts sit in the liquid and the stems steam to the same tenderness.

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Foutou bananePounded plantain and cassava

Foutou is the pounded staple of the Baoulé country around Bouaké and Yamoussoukro: boiled plantain, often mixed with cassava, pounded in a wooden mortar into a smooth, stretchy, slightly sweet ball. It is eaten with the fingers, pulled off in pieces and dipped into sauce graine (palm nut), sauce arachide or okra sauce. A food processor followed by a short knead does the job at home. Chef's tip: pound while everything is steaming hot; cold plantain will not come together and stays lumpy.

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Vegetarian FlammkuchenLeek and mushroom tarte flambée

Flammkuchen comes from the borderlands of Alsace, Baden and the Palatinate, where farmers baked it on bread day to test the heat of the wood oven. The dough has no yeast and is rolled almost as thin as paper, spread with crème fraîche or quark and baked hot and fast so the edges blister and char in spots. The classic topping is onion and bacon; around Strasbourg and Freiburg the leek and mushroom version is a popular meat-free choice, often eaten with a glass of new wine in autumn. Chef's tip: bake it as hot as your oven will go, on a preheated tray or stone; a Flammkuchen baked at a moderate heat turns out bready instead of crisp.

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Fish ambul thiyalSour tuna curry

Ambul thiyal means 'sour stew', and it comes from the fishing towns of the south coast, around Matara, Galle and Tangalle. Fishermen once cooked it so the tuna would keep for days without a fridge: almost no liquid, plenty of goraka and black pepper, slowly reduced in a clay pot until each chunk is dark and coated. Today it is a favourite rice-and-curry dish on Sundays and holidays, and people often pack it for long journeys. It is sharp, peppery and firm, so a little goes a long way with rice and a coconut sambol. Chef's tip: cut the tuna into big 4 cm chunks; small pieces fall apart during the long, slow reduction.

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Chilaquiles verdesTortilla chips in green salsa

Chilaquiles are Mexico City's favourite breakfast and hangover cure: day-old corn tortillas cut into wedges, fried into crisp totopos, then tossed in hot salsa just long enough to soften at the edges. Chilaquiles verdes use a bright, tangy salsa of tomatillos, serrano chillies and coriander, and come topped with a fried egg, crema, crumbled cheese and raw onion. The best ones keep a little crunch in the middle. Tomatillos are sold fresh or tinned; if you can't find them, use green tomatoes with an extra squeeze of lime. Choose queso fresco made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: toss the chips into the salsa right before serving and take them to the table immediately; chilaquiles wait for nobody.

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Telur baladoFried eggs in chilli sambal

Telur balado is a fixture of the nasi Padang counter and of West Sumatran home cooking: hard-boiled eggs fried until their whites blister and turn golden, then smothered in balado, the coarse red sambal of chilli, shallot and tomato that the Minangkabau cook with almost everything. The fried skin of the eggs grips the sauce, and the sambal is bright and fresh rather than long-cooked. It's a cheap, quick weekday lunch with rice and greens, and it travels well in lunch boxes. Chef's tip: grind the balado coarse, not smooth — the Padang version should look rough and glossy, with visible flecks of chilli skin.

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Fırın sütlaçBaked rice pudding

In Turkish pudding shops (muhallebici) from Istanbul to Ankara, fırın sütlaç is served chilled in little clay bowls, its surface blistered dark brown under the grill while the rice pudding beneath stays creamy and cool. It is a dessert families make on Sunday or for guests, since it has to set in the fridge for a few hours, and it travels well to neighbours during Ramadan evenings. The flavour is clean milk and vanilla, thickened with rice flour rather than eggs, so it is light compared with Western rice puddings. Eat it cold, plain or dusted with cinnamon or ground hazelnuts. Chef's tip: stand the filled bowls in a tray of cold water before they go under the grill; the water keeps the pudding from boiling up while the top browns.

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TemblequeCoconut milk pudding

Tembleque gets its name from the way it shivers (tiembla) when you set it on the table, and in Puerto Rico it is the dessert of the Christmas season, from the parrandas of December through to the Three Kings in January. It's nothing more than coconut milk, sugar and cornflour cooked into a silky custard, poured into a mould and chilled until it holds its shape. It is cool, pure white, lightly sweet and tastes completely of coconut, with a blush of cinnamon on top. Chef's tip: use full-fat tinned coconut milk; light coconut milk sets thin and tastes watery.

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Tempe mendoanBattered fried tempeh

Mendoan comes from Banyumas in Central Java, and in Purwokerto it's sold by the stack at every roadside stall, eaten warm with a raw bird's eye chilli bitten between mouthfuls or dunked in sweet soy. The name comes from the Banyumas word mendo, meaning half-cooked: the batter is deliberately fried only until set and pale, so it stays soft and bendy rather than crisp. Make it with thin, wide tempeh slices so each one is mostly batter and herbs. Chef's tip: fry for barely a minute a side in very hot oil and pull the slices out while they're still pale gold and floppy — that limp, tender texture is the whole point.

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Tempe orekSweet crisp tempeh

Across Java, tempe orek is the side dish every household keeps in a tub: crisp sticks of tempeh fried and then tossed in a sweet-salty glaze of kecap manis, palm sugar, garlic and chilli. It goes into lunch boxes with plain rice, onto nasi campur plates, and lasts several days without losing its chew, which is why student boarding houses and office canteens rely on it. Some cooks add peanuts or green beans; this version stays classic. Chef's tip: fry the tempeh sticks properly crisp before glazing and keep the glaze to a thick syrup, so the tempeh stays crunchy rather than going soft.

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FirfirTorn injera in spicy sauce

Firfir (or fitfit) is what Ethiopian households do with yesterday's injera: torn into pieces and tossed in a hot, oniony berbere sauce until it soaks up all the flavour. It is breakfast in Addis Ababa cafés and homes alike, eaten with a spoon or, more often, scooped up with fresh injera. This version uses oil, making it suitable for fasting days; on other days a spoon of niter kibbeh adds richness. Chef's tip: use day-old injera; fresh injera is too soft and turns to mush in the sauce.

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Xoi xeoSticky rice with mung bean

Xôi xéo is a Hanoi breakfast sold before dawn from baskets on the pavement, wrapped in a lotus or banana leaf for people to eat on the way to work. Turmeric-tinted glutinous rice is steamed until chewy, then topped with thin shavings cut from a firm ball of cooked mung bean (the 'xéo' is the slanting cut) and a spoonful of crunchy fried shallots with their fragrant oil. Street sellers often use pork fat for the shallots; frying them in vegetable oil keeps it vegan and still rich. Chef's tip: squeeze the mung bean paste into a tight ball while it is warm and let it cool before shaving; a loose ball crumbles instead of slicing into ribbons.

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Fijian cassava cakeCassava and coconut cake

In Fiji, cassava (tavioka) is everyday food, and grated sweet cassava cake turns up at village feasts, church bazaars and morning tea across Viti Levu. Fresh cassava is finely grated and baked with coconut milk, sugar, butter and a little vanilla into a heavy, chewy, golden cake that's cut into squares. It's naturally gluten free and keeps well for a couple of days. Chef's tip: squeeze some of the liquid out of freshly grated cassava; too wet and the cake stays gluey in the middle.

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TequeñosFried cheese sticks

Tequeños are said to come from Los Teques, the town in the hills outside Caracas, and they are the party food of Venezuela: no birthday, wedding or office celebration is without a tray of these crisp pastry fingers wrapped around salty white cheese. The dough is spiralled around the cheese, then fried so the pastry is crunchy and the cheese just starts to melt. Serve with guasacaca (avocado sauce) or a sweet chilli dip. Use a cheese made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: overlap each spiral of dough slightly and seal the ends well, or the cheese escapes into the oil.

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FesenjanChicken in pomegranate walnut sauce

In the rice paddies and forests of Gilan on the Caspian coast, fesenjan is cooked with duck or chicken in autumn, when walnuts are freshly cracked and pomegranates ripen; across Iran it now marks Yalda night in December and big family dinners. Ground walnuts are toasted, then simmered slowly with pomegranate molasses until their oil rises and the sauce turns almost chocolate-brown, thick and glossy, tangy first and gently sweet after. Chicken thighs braise in it until they are spoon-tender. Serve it over saffron chelow rice with a crisp tahdig. Chef's tip: stir the walnut paste over a low heat for a full hour; the longer, slower cook is what darkens the sauce and brings the walnut oil to the surface.

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ThiakryMillet couscous with sweet yogurt

Thiakry, called dégué in Mali and Burkina Faso, is the creamy dessert of Senegalese weddings, naming ceremonies and Tabaski: pellets of steamed millet stirred into sweetened yoghurt and soft fromage frais, scented with vanilla and nutmeg and served cold. Ready-made millet granules (arraw or sankhal) are sold in African grocers, which makes it a 15-minute job. Raisins and a little coconut are common in Dakar. Chef's tip: steam or soak the millet fully before it meets the yoghurt; undercooked grains stay hard and gritty in the cold.

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FërgesëBaked peppers and tomatoes with cheese

Fërgesë is the dish people in Tirana order at lunchtime in a small clay pot, still bubbling, with a basket of bread for dipping. Soft fried peppers and tomatoes are folded through gjizë, Albania's fresh salted curd cheese, then baked until the top spots golden. The meatless version with peppers is the everyday one across central Albania; it is rich, tangy and gently spicy. Ricotta mixed with a little feta is a good stand-in for gjizë outside Albania. Chef's tip: cook the tomatoes down until thick before the cheese goes in; a watery fërgesë that splits in the oven is the usual mistake.

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Chilaquiles rojosTortilla chips in red salsa

Chilaquiles rojos are eaten for breakfast all over Mexico: fried corn tortilla wedges (totopos) tossed in a red salsa of dried guajillo and árbol chillies blended with roasted tomato. The salsa is earthy, slightly smoky and properly hot, and it clings to the chips so every bite is crisp, soft and saucy at once. They are finished with crema, cheese, onion and coriander, and often served with refried beans on the side. If you can't find guajillo, use ancho chillies or 2 tbsp mild chilli powder; for árbol, use a pinch of cayenne. Choose queso fresco made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: toast the dried chillies for seconds, not minutes; the moment they smell nutty and darken slightly, they are done.

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Terong baladoFried aubergine in chilli sambal

Balado is the Minangkabau way of smothering fried food in a coarse, shiny red chilli sambal, and in West Sumatra the aubergine version is a daily home dish as much as a restaurant one. The aubergine is fried until soft and creamy inside, then folded into a sambal of red chillies, shallots and tomato cooked down until sweet. Serve it at room temperature with rice and fried tofu. Chef's tip: grind the chillies coarsely rather than to a purée; Padang cooks want flecks of skin and seed in a balado.

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Chicons au gratinBaked endive in cheese sauce

Chicons au gratin, or witloof in de oven in Flemish, is the winter Sunday dish of Belgian grandmothers: whole heads of Belgian endive braised until silky, then baked in a nutmeg-scented cheese sauce until bubbling and brown. Endive was first forced in the dark cellars around Brussels in the 1800s, and it is still grown in the fields of Flemish Brabant. Traditionally each chicon is rolled in a slice of cooked ham; this vegetarian version leaves the ham out and lets the gentle bitterness of the endive meet the sweetness of the cheese. Serve it with mashed potato or crusty bread. Chef's tip: squeeze the braised endives firmly in a clean towel before they go in the dish; they hold a lot of water, and skipping this turns the sauce thin and watery in the oven.

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FeijoadaBlack bean and pork stew

In Rio de Janeiro, feijoada has its own days: Wednesdays and Saturdays, when botecos and restaurants put the big pots on and lunch stretches into the afternoon. Black beans simmer slowly with carne seca (salt-dried beef), salted pork ribs, smoky sausages and bacon until the broth is thick, dark and glossy. The full spread, feijoada completa, comes with white rice, garlicky shredded couve, crunchy farofa and slices of orange to freshen the palate. Our vegetarian feijoada covers the meat-free version; this is the classic. Start a day ahead, because the salted meats must soak. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of cooked beans with the fried onion and garlic and stir it back in; it thickens the broth naturally.

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Chickpea kabsaSpiced rice with chickpeas

Across Saudi Arabia, from Riyadh flats to Jeddah family compounds, a Friday lunch usually means one huge tray of kabsa set on a cloth on the floor, everyone eating from their own side. The rice cooks in a tomato broth scented with dried lime, cinnamon and cardamom, so every grain turns orange-red and fragrant; this version swaps the usual chicken for chickpeas and carrot, which soak up the spices just as well. It is topped with raisins and toasted almonds and comes with daqqus, a sharp tomato-chilli sauce spooned over at the table. Chef's tip: pierce the dried limes before they go in; whole ones float and give little flavour, pierced ones fill the broth with a sour, smoky depth.

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Feteer meshaltetFlaky layered pie

Feteer meshaltet comes from the villages of the Nile Delta, in Sharqia, Menoufia and around, where it is baked for weddings, feast days and for guests, and sent home with visitors in a cloth. A soft dough is stretched paper-thin, brushed with lots of ghee or butter and folded over and over into a round that bakes into dozens of crisp, flaky layers. Eat it warm, torn with your hands, dipped in honey or 'asal eswed (sugar-cane molasses) or with white cheese and olives. Chef's tip: let the dough balls rest in butter until they feel loose and silky; dough that hasn't relaxed tears when you stretch it, and torn dough is the most common reason a feteer comes out tough.

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