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Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani
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Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani

Hyderabad's biryani grew up in the kitchens of the Nizams, and the kacchi style is its proudest form: the chicken goes into the pot raw, in a thick yogurt, mint and fried-onion marinade, and cooks only in the steam trapped under part-cooked basmati. In the old city it is wedding and Eid food, ordered in huge copper deghs, and at home it's the Sunday showpiece, served with mirchi ka salan and a cooling raita. Because the meat cooks without being stirred, small bone-in thigh and drumstick pieces work best. Chef's tip: marinate overnight in the fridge — the yogurt tenderises the chicken and the flavours go right to the bone.

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Hong Kong vegetable macaroni soup

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90 minAlgerianBaking
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Pyaaz kachoriOnion-filled fried pastries

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80 minIndianSnacks & StartersVegan
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Wahan mosdengGrilled pork salad

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60 minIndianSaladsGluten freeSpicy
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MujaddaraLentils and rice with crisp onions

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20 minTurkishChutneys & DipsVegan
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Mughlai parathaEgg-stuffed paratha

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60 minIndianBreads & Parathas
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MtsvadiGrilled pork skewers

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Pupusas de queso y frijolCheese and bean stuffed corn cakes

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StroopwafelsCaramel-filled wafers

Stroopwafels come from Gouda, the cheese town in South Holland, where bakers once made them from leftover crumbs and syrup. Today they are made fresh at Dutch markets, split while still hot and glued back together with warm caramel syrup. The Dutch way to eat one is to rest it on top of a cup of hot coffee or tea for a minute, so the steam softens the caramel. You need a thin waffle iron (a pizzelle or stroopwafel iron) to make them at home. Chef's tip: cut each waffle open the moment it comes off the iron; after 20 seconds it stiffens and shatters instead of splitting.

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Wantan meeEgg noodles with dumplings and pork

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Su böreğiLayered boiled pastry with cheese

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115 minTurkishBaking
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PunuguluDosa batter fritters

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WarabimochiBracken starch jelly with soybean flour

Warabimochi is Kyoto's summer sweet. Made from the starch of bracken fern roots, it is not really mochi at all but a clear, wobbly jelly that melts on the tongue, and on hot afternoons teahouses around Gion and Arashiyama serve it chilled on ice. It is dusted with kinako, a nutty roasted soybean flour, and finished with kuromitsu, a dark syrup of Okinawan brown sugar. Real warabi starch is costly and greyish-brown, so most home cooks buy warabimochi-ko, a blend with sweet potato or tapioca starch, which gives a clearer jelly. Chef's tip: keep stirring hard once it turns clear. Two more minutes of beating over the heat is what makes it springy rather than gluey.

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Warak enabRice-stuffed vine leaves

Warak enab bi zeit, vine leaves cooked in oil, is what Lebanese aunts make in big batches in early summer when the young grape leaves are tender, and it fills the cold mezze table at every wedding and family lunch. The meatless version, eaten on Lenten fast days, is packed with short-grain rice, tomato, parsley, mint and spring onion, seasoned with dried mint and seven spices, and simmered slowly in lemon juice until the leaves are silky and the filling sharp and fresh. It is served cold with a wedge of lemon and a spoonful of yogurt for those who are not keeping it vegan. Rolling too tightly is the mistake most people make: the rice swells and splits the leaves, so roll them snug but not stretched. Chef's tip: line the pan with sliced potato and tomato; they stop the rolls catching and are a cook's treat to eat straight from the pot.

150 minLebaneseSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Punjene paprikeStuffed peppers

When late-summer markets in Novi Sad and Belgrade fill up with pale yellow and light green peppers, Serbian kitchens make big pots of punjene paprike to eat for several days. The peppers are packed with seasoned beef and pork mince and rice, stood upright and simmered slowly in a light tomato sauce until meltingly soft. They are served with a dollop of sour cream and bread to mop up the sauce. This recipe contains pork. The easy mistake is stuffing the peppers too tightly: the rice swells and splits them, so leave the top 2 cm empty. Chef's tip: plug each pepper with a slice of potato or tomato before simmering, so the filling stays inside.

105 minBalkanMeatGluten free
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MtoriGreen banana and beef soup

Mtori comes from the Chagga people on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, where cooking bananas grow around every house; it is a thick, smooth soup of green bananas and beef, mashed until creamy and finished with butter. It is given to new mothers to build their strength and eaten on cool mornings in Moshi and Arusha. The mistake is using sweet ripe bananas, which make it sugary; you need hard green cooking bananas or green plantain. Chef's tip: rub a little oil on your hands before peeling green bananas, as the sap stains.

100 minEast AfricanSoupsGluten free
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MtewemGarlic meatballs in chickpea sauce

Mtewem, from the word for garlic (thoum), is an old dish of the Casbah of Algiers: chunks of lamb and garlicky beef meatballs simmered together in a peppery white sauce with chickpeas, and finished with whole cloves of garlic that turn soft and sweet. It is cooked for Ramadan and for guests, and eaten with bread. Some families add a little tomato; this is the white version. The mistake is letting the sauce boil hard after the meatballs go in, which makes them tough and break; keep it at a gentle simmer. Chef's tip: wet your hands when rolling the meatballs so they come out smooth and hold together.

105 minAlgerianMeatGluten free
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WatalappanJaggery and coconut custard

Watalappan came to Sri Lanka with the island's Malay and Muslim communities, and no Eid table in Colombo, Beruwala or Kandy is complete without it; it now turns up at weddings and birthdays across every community. Thick coconut milk and eggs are sweetened with kithul jaggery, the dark palm sugar from the fishtail palm, and spiced with cardamom, nutmeg and a little clove, then steamed until it sets into a wobbly, honeycombed custard the colour of toffee. Cashews scattered on top add crunch. Dark muscovado sugar works if you can't find kithul jaggery. The common mistake is steaming it on a fierce boil, which makes it full of large holes and watery; a steady, gentle simmer gives a smooth set with the fine honeycomb that's prized. Chef's tip: strain the mixture through a sieve before steaming to remove any stringy egg and jaggery grit.

60 minSri LankanDessertsGluten free
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MshikakiGrilled beef skewers

Mshikaki are the beef skewers grilled at night markets in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar's Forodhani Gardens and every Tanzanian roadside barbecue, sold hot with chips, pili pili sauce and a wedge of lime. Small chunks of beef are marinated in lime, ginger, garlic, chilli and curry powder, which tenderises them, then grilled quickly over charcoal. The mistake is marinating with raw papaya or too much lime for too long, which turns the meat mushy; 2–6 hours is plenty. Chef's tip: soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes so they don't burn.

35 minEast AfricanMeatGluten free
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Wattakka curryPumpkin curry

Wattakka (pumpkin) curry is one of the soft, sweet dishes on a Sri Lankan buth (rice) spread, and in villages around Kurunegala it often appears at Poya day almsgivings, when temple meals are always meat-free. The pumpkin is cooked in its skin with dark roasted curry powder, cinnamon, a pinch of fenugreek and pandan, then thickened with coconut milk and a spoonful of ground mustard, which gives it a gentle tang. Some cooks also add toasted coconut paste (kalu pol); we keep it simpler. The common mistake is cutting the pumpkin too small, so it dissolves into mush before the gravy is ready; keep the chunks about 4 cm. Chef's tip: leave the skin on butternut or Kent pumpkin; it holds each piece together and softens completely as it cooks.

35 minSri LankanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Punjabi lassiSweet yogurt drink with cream

In Amritsar and on the highways across Punjab, lassi comes in a tall steel or brass glass, churned so thick a spoon nearly stands up in it, with a raft of malai (clotted cream) floating on top. It is a summer drink, but Punjabis drink it all year with a stuffed paratha breakfast or after a heavy lunch. This is the plain sweet kind, with no fruit, so the tang of good full-fat yogurt is the whole point. Chef's tip: chill the yogurt, milk and glasses beforehand; cold lassi stays thicker.

5 minIndianDrinksGluten free
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Sugar-bean bunny chowBean curry in a bread loaf

Bunny chow was born in Durban, among the city's Indian community, where curry in a hollowed loaf became the takeaway lunch of dockworkers and caddies. Many Durbanites say the first bunnies were vegetarian, filled with sugar beans, and cafés around Grey Street still sell a bean bunny beside the mutton one. A quarter loaf of unsliced white bread is scooped out and filled with a fiery, red Durban curry, with the scooped-out bread (the 'virgin') put back on top for dunking. It is eaten with your hands, with grated carrot and chilli salad on the side. Chef's tip: the curry needs to be thick and saucy, not watery; a runny curry soaks through the loaf before you've finished the first bite.

60 minSouth AfricanFast FoodVeganSpicy
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MsemenFlaky square pancakes

Msemen are the square, layered flatbreads sold hot from griddles in every Moroccan medina at breakfast time and again for afternoon tea, when they are drizzled with honey or dipped in olive oil. The dough is stretched paper-thin on an oiled surface, sprinkled with fine semolina, folded into a square and cooked until crisp outside and flaky in the middle. This version uses oil throughout so it is vegan; many homes use butter or smen. Chef's tip: oil your hands and work surface generously; the dough should be stretched, not rolled, and it tears if it sticks.

60 minMoroccanBreads & ParathasVegan
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SukumawikiSautéed collard greens

Sukumawiki (collard greens) finely chopped and cooked quickly with cumin, onion, tomato and a little turmeric, chilli and coriander-cumin powder until just tender. Its name means 'push the week', because it's cheap enough to stretch the budget to the end of the week. Serve hot with ugali.

22 minAfricanSidesVeganGluten free
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Punjabi chole samosa chaatSamosas with chickpea curry and yogurt

Samosa chaat is how the street stalls of Punjab and Delhi turn yesterday's samosas into the best snack of the day. Samosas are broken open on a plate, covered with a ladle of hot, tangy chole, then cooled down with sweet whisked yogurt, green and tamarind chutneys, raw onion, crunchy sev and a dusting of chaat masala. Every spoonful is hot and cold, crisp and soft, sweet, sour and spicy at once. Use bought samosas or the site's own samosa recipe. Chef's tip: warm the samosas in the oven until crisp before you crush them; a soggy samosa makes a heavy chaat, a crisp one soaks up the chole and still crunches.

20 minIndianSnacks & StartersSpicy
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Pumpkin samsaPumpkin pastries

In autumn, when piles of orange pumpkins appear in the Chorsu bazaar in Tashkent, bakers switch some of their samsa from meat to oshqovoq somsa: crisp, flaky triangles filled with diced pumpkin, onion, cumin and a little sugar, baked against the tandoor wall. They are a street snack eaten hot from paper with green tea, and a fasting-friendly favourite at home. The pastry here is the quick laminated dough Uzbek home cooks use, rolled thin, buttered and coiled. Chef's tip: dice the pumpkin small (1 cm) and don't pre-cook it; raw pumpkin steams inside the pastry and stays in tender, distinct pieces instead of turning into purée.

80 minUzbekSnacks & Starters
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Sundubu jjigaeSoft tofu stew

All over Korea, small lunch restaurants bring sundubu jjigae to the table still boiling in a black stone pot, with a raw egg on the side to crack in while it bubbles. The stew is built on very soft, unpressed tofu, which breaks into creamy curds in a red, chilli-oil broth. Seafood and pork go in together here, though you can use just one. Have it with a bowl of rice and some kimchi; it's especially welcome on a cold day. Chef's tip: fry the chilli flakes gently in oil with the pork and garlic before adding liquid; this red chilli oil gives the stew its colour and a deep, rounded heat.

25 minKoreanSoupsSpicy
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Pumpkin kibbehBaked bulgur and pumpkin layers

Kibbet laqteen is the Lenten kibbeh of Lebanon's Christian villages, made in the weeks before Easter when meat is off the table: roasted pumpkin is kneaded with fine bulgur, onion and warm spices into a soft dough, which is pressed in layers around a filling of caramelised onion, chickpeas, spinach and walnuts, then baked in a round tray. It is cut into diamonds and eaten warm or cold, often with a plate of pickles and a bowl of salad. The common slip is a wet pumpkin, which makes the dough too sticky to spread; roast the pumpkin rather than boiling it. Chef's tip: score a deep diamond pattern before baking and pour oil into the cuts, so every piece comes out with crisp edges.

75 minLebaneseVegetarianVegan
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PumaloiSteamed rice cakes

Pumaloi is the everyday breakfast of the Khasi Hills: coarse powdered rice, lightly moistened, packed into a tall steamer (traditionally a bamboo or metal 'khiew') and steamed into a soft, crumbly cake. In Shillong it is sold warm at morning stalls with a cup of sweet tea, and at home it is served with tungrymbai, a vegetable stew or a chilli chutney. It is plain on purpose, like Kerala's puttu but drier and lighter. Chef's tip: the flour should feel like damp sand, holding a shape when squeezed but crumbling easily; any wetter and the cake goes gluey.

50 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Pulpo a la gallegaOctopus with paprika and potatoes

Pulpo a feira is fair-day food in Galicia: at markets and village fiestas, pulpeiras boil whole octopus in big copper pots, snip it with scissors onto round wooden plates and finish it with coarse salt, pimentón and olive oil. The town of O Carballiño in Ourense holds an octopus festival every August, and you'll find the dish in pulperías across the region all year. At home it is simpler than it looks; the secret is that a frozen octopus is a tender one, because freezing breaks down the tough fibres. Chef's tip: use the octopus cooking water to boil the potatoes, which picks up its flavour and pink colour.

60 minSpanishFishGluten free
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PulihoraTamarind rice

Pulihora is the rice Andhra families cook for Ugadi, Sankranti and every temple festival in between, and it's also the dish wrapped in banana leaves for long train trips because it keeps all day. The Telugu version is sharper and hotter than Tamil puliyodarai or Karnataka puliyogare: cooked rice is tossed with a thick tamarind paste, turmeric, mustard and a hefty tempering of peanuts, chana dal, green and red chillies and curry leaves, with no sweet spice powder. It's sour, hot, nutty and fragrant with sesame oil. Eat it at room temperature with curd or a crisp papad. Chef's tip: cook the tamarind paste until oil separates at the edges; under-cooked tamarind gives the rice a raw, puckery sourness.

45 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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SupplìFried rice croquettes

In Rome supplì are bought from pizza-by-the-slice shops and friggitorie and eaten standing up, wrapped in paper, before the pizza arrives. Unlike Sicilian arancini they are oval and the rice is cooked in tomato sauce, so the inside is orange-red; when you bite one in half, the mozzarella stretches into a long 'telephone cord', which is where the nickname al telefono comes from. Roman bars usually add meat ragù; this version keeps it vegetarian with a basil-scented tomato rice. Chef's tip: cook the rice a day ahead and chill it in a thin layer; cold, firm rice shapes neatly and does not split in the oil.

75 minItalianSnacks & Starters
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PukhleinFried rice flour and jaggery cakes

Pukhlein are the sweet treats of Khasi tea stalls and celebrations in Meghalaya: a batter of rice flour and jaggery fried into round, puffed cakes that are crisp and caramelised on the outside and chewy within. They are made for Christmas and family gatherings and are sold at Shillong's Iewduh (Bara Bazaar) with red tea. They taste a little like a cross between a doughnut and an Indian anarsa. Chef's tip: rest the batter for at least an hour; the rice flour hydrates and the cakes puff instead of spreading.

95 minIndianDessertsVeganGluten free
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SuqaarSpiced beef stir-fry

Suqaar is the quick beef dish found everywhere from Mogadishu tea shops to Somali cafés in Minneapolis and London: small cubes of beef or lamb browned with onion, peppers and garlic, seasoned with xawaash, the house spice mix of cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric. Somalis eat it for breakfast with canjeero (spongy flatbread) or for lunch with rice or pasta. The mistake is cutting the beef in big chunks, which go chewy; cut it into small 1–2 cm cubes so it cooks fast and stays tender. Chef's tip: add a squeeze of lime and a handful of coriander just before serving.

30 minSomaliMeatGluten free
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