Skip to content
LoginRegister
WhatToEat.Today
Leche con plátano
Featured recipe

Leche con plátano

Banana milk

Ask anyone who grew up in Chile, from Arica to Punta Arenas, what they drank after school and many will say leche con plátano. It is made in a blender in two minutes, usually at onces, the late-afternoon tea, alongside marraqueta rolls with butter or avocado, and it is the first thing many children learn to make by themselves. It is pale, foamy and thick enough to leave a moustache, tasting simply of sweet ripe banana and cold milk, sometimes with a pinch of cinnamon. The common mistake is making it ahead: within half an hour the banana turns the milk greyish-beige and the foam collapses, so blend it just before drinking. It is ready when it is completely smooth, light and frothy, with no banana lumps at the bottom of the jug. Use bananas with a few brown freckles: they are sweet enough that you may need little or no sugar. Chef's tip: slice and freeze overripe bananas, then blend them straight from the freezer; the drink comes out icy and extra thick without any ice.

Read more 1 views

What to eat today?

Around the world

Today's trip: Persian

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

Persian

Persian halva

Saffron rose flour halva 40 minMore from Persian (181) →

This week's collection

Kid-friendly dinners772 recipes · a new collection every Monday

New this week

See all new →

Coming up

All occasions →

Latest recipes

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.

30 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KootuVegetable and moong dal stew

Kootu sits halfway between a dal and a vegetable dish, and in Tamil homes it is the mild, kind side on a lunch plate next to a sharp rasam or a fiery kuzhambu. Chopped vegetables such as chow-chow, snake gourd, cabbage or pumpkin are cooked with moong dal until soft, then thickened with a paste of fresh coconut, cumin and a little green chilli. It's the dish many Tamil grandmothers give children and anyone recovering from a fever. Spoon it over rice with ghee or serve it alongside sambar and poriyal. Chef's tip: grind the coconut paste with the cumin raw, not toasted; the fresh, sweet cumin flavour is what makes kootu taste like kootu.

40 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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.

360 minPuerto RicanMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Black sesame tang yuan in ginger syrupSesame rice balls in ginger syrup

Tang yuan are eaten all over China at the Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, and in the south also at the winter solstice; their roundness stands for family togetherness. The dough is glutinous rice flour, the classic filling black sesame, sugar and fat, served in a light ginger syrup. Lard is traditional in the filling; coconut oil sets just as firmly and keeps them vegan. Chef's tip: chill the filling until firm and roll it into balls before you start the dough; cold filling is far easier to wrap.

45 minChineseDessertsVegan
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.

40 minIndonesianSnacks & Starters
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.

75 minCentral AmericanCurriesVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TantanmenSesame chilli noodle soup

Sichuan dan dan noodles are eaten almost dry, with just a spoonful of sauce, but Chinese chefs cooking in post-war Tokyo turned them into a full bowl of soup for Japanese diners. Today tantanmen sits on the menu of almost every Chinese-style restaurant and many ramen shops across Japan, and it sells best in the cold months. The broth is rich with sesame paste, softened with soy milk and lit up with chilli oil, then crowned with savoury fried pork. Pak choi adds a fresh, crunchy contrast. Chef's tip: fry the pork until it is properly brown and a little crisp before seasoning, so it keeps some bite in the soup instead of turning soft.

40 minJapanesePasta & NoodlesSpicy
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.

20 minMalaysianSalads
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.

60 minMalaysianSnacks & Starters
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.

75 minMalaysianSoupsSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bhuna khichuriFried rice and moong dal

In Dhaka, the first heavy monsoon downpour sends people home craving bhuna khichuri, and Eid mornings in old Dhaka often start with a pot of it too. Unlike the loose, porridge-like khichdi of north India, the Bangladeshi bhuna version is dry and fluffy: dry-roasted moong dal and short-grain rice are fried in ghee with onions and whole spices until fragrant, then cooked with just enough water so the grains stay separate. Serve it hot with begun bhaja, a bhorta or two and a spoon of pickle. Chef's tip: roast the moong dal in a dry pan until it smells like toasted nuts before you wash it; that roasted note is what makes this khichuri taste of Bangladesh.

55 minBangladeshiRice & GrainsGluten free
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.

100 minHaitianDessertsGluten free
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.

75 minIndonesianSnacks & Starters
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.

105 minRussianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TaralliFennel and olive oil rings

Taralli are the crunchy rings found on every table in Puglia: with a glass of wine before dinner, in bags on the beach, or dunked in coffee. They are made with olive oil and dry white wine, no yeast or butter, and boiled briefly before baking, which gives them their shiny skin and fine, crumbly bite. Fennel seed is the classic flavour; black pepper or chilli are common too. They keep for weeks in a tin. Chef's tip: lift them out of the water the moment they float; longer boiling makes them hard and glassy instead of crumbly.

75 minItalianSnacks & StartersVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bhetki paturiFish steamed in banana leaf

Paturi means 'wrapped in a leaf', and in Bengal the favourite fish for it is bhetki, the meaty barramundi of the Sundarbans estuaries. Fillets are coated in a sharp paste of mustard, coconut and green chilli, tied up in banana leaf and steamed or cooked on a griddle, so they come out moist and fragrant. It is a dish for celebration lunches in Kolkata and is unwrapped at the table over hot rice. Chef's tip: no banana leaves? Use baking paper inside foil; you lose a little aroma but none of the texture.

55 minIndianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TaratorCold yogurt and cucumber soup

Tarator is what Bulgarians eat on hot July days, from the Black Sea resorts of Varna and Burgas to Sofia lunch counters: a cold, thin soup of tangy yogurt and water with grated cucumber, garlic, dill and crushed walnuts, a drizzle of sunflower oil on top and sometimes an ice cube floating in the bowl. It is served as a starter or drunk from a glass beside a plate of grilled vegetables. Chef's tip: use full-fat, sour, set yogurt and thin it to the consistency of single cream; making it too thick is the usual mistake, and it should be sippable.

15 minBulgarianSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bhatt ki churkaniBlack soybean curry

Black soybeans, called bhatt, grow on the slopes around Almora and Pithoragarh, and churkani is the everyday Kumaoni way of eating them: roasted in a dry iron pan until they crack, then simmered with garlic, ginger and a little rice flour into a thick, nearly black gravy. It's the kind of food that keeps people warm through a hill winter, eaten with steamed rice, a spoonful of ghee and a sharp radish raita. The roasting gives a nutty, almost smoky taste you won't get from boiling the beans. Chef's tip: cook it in an iron kadhai if you have one; the metal reacts with the beans and gives churkani its traditional dark colour.

75 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PelamushiGrape juice pudding

Pelamushi is the spoonable cousin of churchkhela: the same thickened grape must, tatara, poured into bowls instead of over walnuts and left to set into a soft, wobbly pudding. In Kakheti it is made in harvest season with fresh must straight from the press, and in Imereti it is often thickened with cornmeal instead of wheat flour. It is served chilled with chopped walnuts, and it is a favourite Lenten dessert because it needs no egg or dairy. A common mistake is adding the flour straight to hot juice, which makes lumps that never cook out; always mix it with cold juice first. Chef's tip: stop cooking when the pudding plops thickly from the spoon; it firms up a lot as it cools.

30 minGeorgianDessertsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarri pohaFlattened rice with spicy chickpea curry

In Nagpur, winter mornings start at a poha stall: soft, turmeric-yellow flattened rice heaped onto a plate and then flooded with tarri, a spicy black-chickpea gravy with a slick of red oil on top, finished with raw onion, sev, coriander and a squeeze of lemon. It's Vidarbha's answer to the plain poha eaten elsewhere in India, louder and hotter, made for a cold morning and a cutting chai. Making it at home takes a little planning because the chana needs an overnight soak, but the tarri keeps for days. Chef's tip: don't skimp on the oil in the tarri; the red layer that floats on top is what soaks into the poha and gives the dish its name.

65 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarta de acelgaChard and cheese pie

Tarta de acelga is the green, savoury pie found in every Argentine bakery window and on weeknight tables, a legacy of Italian torta pasqualina. Swiss chard is wilted with onion, bound with eggs and soft cheese, seasoned with nutmeg and baked between layers of pastry, sometimes with whole eggs hidden inside. It's eaten warm or cold, for dinner with a salad or packed for a picnic. Chef's tip: squeeze the cooked chard hard in your hands; any water left in it makes the pastry soggy.

60 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BalaleetSweet vermicelli with omelette

Sweet noodles for breakfast surprise visitors, but in the UAE and Qatar balaleet is the dish of Eid mornings and lazy weekend brunches. Fine vermicelli is toasted in butter, then steamed with sugar, saffron, cardamom and rose water until soft and glossy, and finally capped with a thin, salty-edged omelette. The contrast of sweet, fragrant noodles and savoury egg is the whole point, so serve them together in one wedge. Chef's tip: toast the vermicelli until it is the colour of a biscuit; pale noodles taste flat and floury.

25 minGulf ArabianBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bhapa pithaSteamed rice flour cakes

When the date palm sap starts flowing in early winter, small steaming pots appear on street corners all over Bangladesh, from Rajshahi to Dhaka's Karwan Bazar, selling bhapa pitha in the dark mornings. Damp, lightly salted rice flour is packed into a small bowl around a layer of grated coconut and khejur gur (date jaggery), wrapped in cloth and steamed over a narrow-necked pot until soft, fluffy and fragrant. Eat them warm, straight from the cloth. Chef's tip: the rice flour should feel like damp sand that just holds when squeezed; too wet and the cake turns gummy, too dry and it crumbles.

50 minBangladeshiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte au rizRice pudding tart

In the province of Liège, and above all in the town of Verviers, no village fair (ducasse) or family celebration happens without tarte au riz, called rijsttaart in Flanders. A thin, soft yeast-dough crust holds a thick layer of rice cooked slowly in milk with vanilla and sugar, enriched with egg yolks and baked until the top is speckled brown. People buy whole tarts from the bakery for a birthday and eat them cold with coffee. Chef's tip: cook the rice until a spoon drawn through it leaves a clear path that closes slowly; a runny filling never sets in the oven, and the crust turns soggy.

110 minBelgianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte au sucreMaple sugar pie

Tarte au sucre is the sweet that closes Québec's holiday réveillon (Christmas Eve feast) and the Sunday meal at grandmother's house. Brown sugar, cream and a little maple syrup are thickened with flour and baked in a buttery shell until set like soft fudge, glossy on top. It's very sweet, so slices are thin, often with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream. Rural Acadian and Franco-Ontarian families make very similar pies. Chef's tip: let it cool completely, for at least 3 hours; warm sugar pie is runny and only sets as it cools.

75 minCanadianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

XalwoCardamom halwa

Xalwo is the sweet of Somali celebrations: weddings, Eid and the arrival of guests are all marked with a tray of this dark, glossy, chewy confection, cut into diamonds and served with coffee or spiced tea. Sugar is caramelised, then cooked slowly with cornflour and oil or ghee while the cook stirs without stopping until it pulls away from the pan. It is a cousin of Omani and Yemeni halwa. Chef's tip: stir constantly and keep going until the oil starts to separate and shine on the surface; stopped early, xalwo stays soft and does not set.

70 minSomaliDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Baladi saladChopped tomato and cucumber salad

Salata baladi, the 'country salad', is on every Egyptian table, from Cairo koshari shops to Alexandria fish restaurants and home lunches, next to the rice and bread. It is finely diced tomato, cucumber, onion and green chilli, with a little parsley, a big squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cumin that makes it taste Egyptian rather than Levantine. It takes ten minutes and cuts through rich food like molokhia or mahshi. Chef's tip: dice everything small, about the size of a chickpea, so each spoonful carries a bit of everything.

10 minEgyptianSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte normandeApple tart with custard

Normandy is the land of orchards and dairy cows, and its apple tart uses both: sliced apples baked in a buttery pastry case, then covered with a custard of eggs, crème fraîche and sugar that sets around the fruit, golden and slightly puffed. Some cooks add a splash of Calvados, the local apple brandy. It's served for Sunday lunch, at village fêtes in autumn, and with a glass of cider. The apples stay soft but hold their slices, and the custard tastes like baked cream. Chef's tip: pre-bake the pastry case before adding the custard; skipping it is the common mistake that leaves a pale, soggy base.

75 minFrenchBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte tatinUpside-down apple tart

Tarte tatin is said to have been created at the Hôtel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, in the Sologne, south of Orléans, where the Tatin sisters cooked for hunting parties in the 1880s. The apples are cooked in butter and sugar until they turn amber, covered with pastry, baked, then turned out so the glossy caramelised fruit sits on top of a crisp base. It is the French family dessert of autumn and winter, served warm with crème fraîche. This version uses an all-butter shortcrust made without egg. Chef's tip: pack in more apples than seem possible, as they shrink; using too few is the common mistake and leaves a flat tart with gaps.

75 minFrenchBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TartiflettePotato, bacon and Reblochon bake

Tartiflette is the dish skiers dream about on the last run of the day in the Savoie Alps, served bubbling in its dish in mountain restaurants from Annecy to Val d'Isère. It contains pork: sliced potatoes are layered with onion, smoky lardons and a splash of cream, then a whole Reblochon cheese is halved and laid rind-side up on top so it melts down through everything in the oven. Many cooks add a splash of white wine to the onions; this recipe leaves it out, so it is alcohol-free. Eat it with a sharp green salad and cornichons. Chef's tip: keep the rind on the Reblochon; it bakes to a golden, nutty crust.

75 minFrenchMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PehakFermented soybean and chilli chutney

Pehak is the Apatani chutney of the Ziro valley in Arunachal Pradesh: fermented soybean pounded with roasted chillies, ginger and salt into a thick, pungent paste. It goes with nearly every meal, a little at a time, with rice, boiled vegetables or millet. It is savoury, salty and very hot, and it keeps for weeks. Chef's tip: dry-roast the fermented soybean briefly before pounding; it mellows the sharp smell and brings out a toasty depth. Natto or Naga axone work if you can't get local soybean.

15 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PecelBlanched greens in peanut sauce

Madiun, in East Java, calls itself the home of nasi pecel, and its stalls serve it from early morning on banana leaf: rice under a heap of blanched spinach, bean sprouts, long beans and cabbage, drowned in a peanut sauce that's thinner, hotter and more herbal than gado-gado's. The difference is kencur, an earthy, camphor-scented root that gives pecel its signature smell, and lime leaf pounded into the paste. A crisp peanut rempeyek cracker is broken on top. Chef's tip: make a block of pecel paste ahead and dissolve just what you need in hot water each time — that's how East Javanese households do it, and it keeps for weeks in the fridge.

25 minIndonesianSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PebreCoriander and tomato relish

Every Chilean asado and every basket of warm bread in a picada (simple eatery) comes with pebre: a fresh relish of finely chopped coriander, onion, tomato and ají verde (green chilli) loosened with oil and a splash of vinegar. In Santiago it's spooned on marraqueta bread while waiting for the grill, and on sopaipillas in winter. It's more herb-heavy and oilier than Mexican pico de gallo. Chef's tip: rinse the chopped onion in cold water and drain it well; it takes away the harsh bite without losing crunch.

15 minChileanChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

XawaashSomali spice blend

Xawaash (pronounced 'ha-wash') is the spice mix every Somali kitchen keeps in a jar, used in rice, soups, stews, sambuusa fillings and even tea. Families toast and grind their own, often in quantity before Ramadan, and the balance of warm cumin, earthy coriander and sweet cardamom and cinnamon varies from house to house. It is different from Yemeni hawaij and Ethiopian berbere: there is no chilli in it. Chef's tip: toast each spice only until it darkens a shade and smells warm; burnt cumin turns the whole jar bitter.

11 minSomaliBasicsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pazham poriBanana fritters

Pazham pori is what the glass cases of Kerala's roadside tea shops are full of at four in the afternoon: long slices of ripe nendran banana dipped in a sweet batter and fried in coconut oil until puffed and golden. Bite through the crisp, slightly chewy coat and the banana inside is soft, hot and honeyed. People eat them standing at the counter with a glass of frothy, milky chaya, or carry a paper parcel home for the family. Chef's tip: wait until the nendran skins are mostly black; the banana must be fully ripe to turn creamy when fried.

25 minIndianSnacks & StartersVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PatoleoRice dumplings in turmeric leaves

In August, when the monsoon makes turmeric leaves grow tall in Goan backyards, families make patoleo. Catholic households steam them for the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August, and Hindu families make the same sweet, called patoli, for Nag Panchami and Ganesh Chaturthi. A thin layer of rice paste is spread on a turmeric leaf, filled with fresh coconut and dark Goan jaggery, folded and steamed. The leaf leaves a sweet, gingery perfume on the rice that nothing else can copy, so look for fresh turmeric leaves in Indian grocers; banana leaves are a fair substitute. Chef's tip: spread the rice paste as thin as you can while still covering the leaf; thick patoleo are stodgy and the filling gets lost.

60 minIndianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Patodi rassaGram flour squares in spicy gravy

Patodi rassa (also called patwadi rassa) comes from the dry, hot districts of Vidarbha around Nagpur and Amravati, where gram flour often takes the place of vegetables. Gram flour is cooked thick like a polenta, spread on a plate, scattered with coconut, sesame and poppy seeds and cut into squares. Just before eating, the squares go into bowls and a spicy, thin rassa of roasted onion and dry coconut is poured over them so they soak it up. It's a dish for a Sunday lunch or a wedding feast in the region, served with jowar bhakri or chapatis and rice. Chef's tip: pour the rassa over the patodi at the table, not in the pot; simmered together, the squares fall apart.

65 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PatishaptaCoconut-filled rice crepes

Patishapta is the star of Poush Sankranti in mid-January, when Bengali homes make pithe-puli, sweets of new rice, coconut and the season's nolen gur (date-palm jaggery). A loose batter of rice flour, semolina, plain flour and milk is swirled thin on a hot pan and rolled round a sticky filling of coconut cooked with jaggery and cardamom. The crêpe should be soft and pale, never crisp. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and grease the pan only lightly with a cut potato dipped in ghee, which spreads a film rather than a pool.

60 minIndianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TataleSpiced 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.

30 minGhanaianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bal mithaiChocolate-brown fudge with sugar balls

Bal mithai belongs to Almora in Kumaon, where sweet shops on the old Lala Bazaar have sold it for well over a century. Khoya is cooked slowly with sugar until it caramelises to the colour of dark chocolate, set into bars and rolled in little white sugar balls, which give a crunchy bite against the fudgy middle. Families carry boxes of it home from the hills as the town's best-known souvenir. The flavour is deep and toffee-like, with no added colour or cocoa. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and be patient; the deep brown comes from slow caramelising over half an hour, not from turning the flame up.

45 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pâté chinoisBeef, corn and mashed potato bake

Pâté chinois is the weeknight family bake of Quebec, served in school canteens and home kitchens from Montreal to the Gaspé: a layer of seasoned minced beef, a layer of creamed corn, and a thick layer of buttery mashed potato, baked until the top is golden and served with ketchup or pickled beets. Its name is said to come from cooks who fed the Chinese workers building Canada's railway. The mistake is skipping the creamed corn in favour of whole kernels only; the creamed corn holds the layers together. Chef's tip: fluff the top of the mash with a fork so the ridges turn crisp.

70 minCanadianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tavče gravčeBaked white beans

Tavče gravče, 'beans in a pan', is the dish North Macedonians call their own: large white beans, ideally the Tetovo variety, cooked soft, then baked in a shallow earthenware tava with onions fried in paprika until the top forms a crust. In Skopje it is a Friday staple and a Christmas Eve fast-day dish, served in the same clay dish it baked in, with bread, pickled peppers and a cabbage salad. This version keeps to the meat-free fasting style, with a paprika-and-onion roux for depth. Chef's tip: let the paprika sizzle in the oil for only a few seconds off the heat; scorched paprika turns brown and bitter and spoils the whole dish, which is the most common slip.

170 minBalkanVegetarianVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PastitsioBaked pasta with spiced beef

Pastitsio is the dish Greek mothers make for big Sunday lunches and christenings, and the one every Athens taverna keeps warm in a deep tray at lunchtime. Long tubular pasta is layered with a beef and tomato sauce scented with cinnamon and allspice, then topped with a deep, wobbly béchamel that bakes to a golden crust. Cut it into neat squares once it has rested and serve with a green salad. Chef's tip: let it rest for at least 30 minutes after baking; cut hot, it slumps, but rested it slices into clean layers.

130 minGreekPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BaksoBeef meatball soup

Listen for a spoon tapped against a bowl in any Indonesian neighbourhood and you will find a bakso cart, its glass case stacked with meatballs and two kinds of noodles. The meatballs are springy, almost bouncy, sitting in a clear, garlicky beef broth with yellow noodles, glass noodles and a little green veg. Everyone then builds their own bowl at the counter with sambal, sweet soy sauce, vinegar and a scattering of fried shallots; it is the go-to comfort on a wet afternoon. Chef's tip: keep the beef and everything that touches it ice-cold while you blend, because warm meat gives dense, crumbly balls instead of that famous bounce.

60 minIndonesianSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Xi'an liangpiCold wheat starch noodles

In Xi'an's Muslim Quarter, cooks peel liangpi off steaming trays all day, cut it into wide ribbons and toss it with chilli oil, black vinegar, garlic water and cubes of springy gluten. It's eaten cold, often with a flatbread, as a summer lunch. Gansu's niangpi, from Lanzhou and Tianshui, is the same dish with thicker sheets and more garlic, so it's covered here too. You wash a flour dough to split the starch from the gluten, so allow 4 hours for the starch to settle. Chef's tip: stir the starch water every time before you ladle it, because the starch sinks fast.

100 minChinesePasta & NoodlesVeganSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PastilRice parcels with shredded chicken

Pastil is the grab-and-go breakfast of Cotabato City and the Maguindanao region of Mindanao: a mound of warm rice wrapped in a banana leaf, topped with shredded chicken that has been fried dry with garlic and onion (kagikit). Vendors sell them by the dozen from early morning, and Muslim families pack them for the pre-dawn meal during Ramadan. Each parcel is small, cheap and filling. Eat them warm with a hot chilli vinegar. Chef's tip: fry the chicken flakes until they are dry and fluffy, almost like floss; moist chicken makes the rice soggy inside the leaf.

90 minFilipinoRice & GrainsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PašticadaWine and prune braised beef

Split and the Dalmatian coast reserve pašticada for weddings, christenings and Christmas, and the preparations start days ahead. A piece of beef is studded with garlic and cured ham (so this recipe contains pork), marinated overnight in wine vinegar, then braised for hours with onions, dried prunes, tomato and a little sweet Prošek or red wine until the sauce turns dark, glossy and sweet-sour. In Split it is always served with homemade gnocchi; pasta works too. This recipe uses red wine and dried figs or prunes; for an alcohol-free version use grape juice with a spoon of red wine vinegar. The common mistake is rushing the braise: it needs a low, steady heat for at least three hours. Chef's tip: blend the cooked onions and prunes back into the sauce for that velvet texture.

280 minBalkanMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PastelónPlantain and beef bake

Pastelón turns up at Puerto Rican Sunday lunches and Christmas parties all over the island, from San Juan to Ponce, usually next to a pot of rice and beans. Instead of pasta it is layered with long slices of fried ripe plantain, so every bite is sweet and salty at once: soft caramelised plantain, a savoury beef picadillo with olives and capers, melted cheese and a light egg binding. Cut it into squares like a lasagne. The mistake to avoid is using yellow or green plantains; they stay starchy and dry, so wait until the skins are almost black. Chef's tip: leave the pastelón to rest for 15 minutes after baking; the egg and cheese set and the squares come out clean.

85 minPuerto RicanMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pastelitos de guayabaGuava and cream cheese pastries

Pastelitos de guayaba are the flaky puff pastry squares sold warm from the glass cases of Cuban bakeries, eaten standing up with a café cubano mid-morning. Havana bakers fill them with dense guava paste, often with a layer of cream cheese (de guayaba y queso), and brush the tops with sugar syrup so they shine. Shop-bought all-butter puff pastry makes them easy at home. Chef's tip: chill the filled tray for 15 minutes before baking; cold pastry rises higher and the filling is less likely to leak.

35 minCubanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Beyaynetu (fasting platter)Fasting platter of vegan stews

Beyaynetu means 'a bit of every kind', and on Wednesdays, Fridays and through the long Lenten fast it is what most of Addis Ababa orders for lunch: a round of injera covered with small heaps of different vegan stews and salads, each a different colour and spice level, with extra rolled injera on the side. At home it is a feast for sharing, built from dishes you can make ahead. This page shows you how to plan and assemble it, and gives the red lentil misir wat that sits at its centre; for the other dishes use our Shiro wat, Kik alicha, Gomen, Tikil gomen, Fosolia and Timatim salata recipes, and of course Injera. Chef's tip: balance the platter with two spicy red dishes, two mild yellow ones and two green or fresh ones, so every mouthful can be cooled or warmed.

90 minEthiopianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

50 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pastel tres lechesThree milks cake

Pastel de tres leches is the birthday and celebration cake of Mexico and much of Latin America: a light, airy sponge drenched in a mixture of three milks (evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and cream) until it is soaked through but still holds its shape, then topped with whipped cream. It is cold, milky and sweet, and every bakery from Mexico City to Guadalajara sells it by the slice. The sponge is made with whisked eggs for lightness, so it drinks up the milk without collapsing. Chef's tip: let the cake soak in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight; the milk needs time to work its way into the centre and the cake slices far more neatly when cold.

90 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

180 minChineseSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pastel mandi'oCassava turnovers with beef

Pastel mandi'o are the golden half-moons sold at bus stations and street stalls all over Paraguay, especially in Asunción and around Holy Week: a soft dough of cooked cassava (mandi'o in Guaraní) and a little corn flour, wrapped round minced beef with onion, pepper, boiled egg and cumin, then fried. The mistake is a wet cassava dough that sticks and tears; drain the cassava well and add starch until it is smooth and pliable. Chef's tip: shape them between two sheets of cling film, which stops the soft dough sticking to the worktop.

80 minParaguayanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetarian pastel de chocloMushroom and corn bake

In Chile pastel de choclo is the taste of January and February, when choclo (big-kernelled starchy corn) is in every market from Santiago to Talca and families bake it in individual clay dishes called pailas. Underneath is the pino, a slow-cooked onion filling with olives, raisins and hard-boiled egg; on top, fresh corn blended with basil and a little milk, scattered with sugar so it browns into a crackly crust. This version makes the pino with mushrooms instead of beef. Chef's tip: cook the corn topping on the hob until it thickens like polenta before it goes in the oven, or it will stay runny.

100 minChileanVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bake and sharkFried shark in fried bread

After a swim at Maracas Bay on Trinidad's north coast, the queue at the beach huts is for bake and shark: a puffy fried bread split open around a piece of seasoned, crisp-fried fish, then loaded at a toppings bar with coleslaw, cucumber, pineapple, tamarind sauce, pepper sauce and the bright green chadon beni (culantro) sauce. Shark is the tradition, but many shark species are now overfished and some build up mercury, so this recipe uses a firm, sustainably caught white fish such as hake, pollock, catfish or mahi-mahi; use shark only from a source you trust. Chef's tip: let the bake dough rest for a full 30 minutes; relaxed dough puffs up like a pillow in the hot oil instead of frying flat and tough.

65 minTrinidadianFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

50 minChineseBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pastéis de nataCustard tarts

Pastéis de nata were first baked by monks of the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, on the Lisbon waterfront, who used surplus egg yolks (whites went to starch habits) in a lemon-and-cinnamon custard. Today every pastelaria in Portugal sells them warm from first thing in the morning, eaten standing at the counter with a bica or galão, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar. The pastry is a spiral of thin, buttery layers pressed up the sides of the tin with a wet thumb; the custard is baked in the hottest oven you have, so it sets creamy and catches dark freckles in under 15 minutes. Chef's tip: chill the rolled log of pastry well and press the discs from the centre outwards, so the edge stands slightly above the rim; that thin rim is what shatters when you bite.

120 minPortugueseBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pasta e patatePasta with potatoes

Pasta e patate is Neapolitan home cooking at its most thrifty: potatoes and mixed broken pasta (pasta mista, the odds and ends from many packets) cooked together in one pot like a risotto, until the potato breaks down and the starch makes everything creamy. Naples families eat it on weekday evenings in winter, and many stir in cubes of smoked provola at the end so it goes stringy (pasta patate e provola). Children love it. Chef's tip: cut half the potato small and half larger; the small pieces melt into the sauce while the larger ones keep their shape.

40 minItalianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pasta e fagioliBean and pasta soup

In Naples pasta e fagioli (pasta e fasule in dialect) is thick enough to stand a spoon in, made with cannellini or borlotti beans, a few cherry tomatoes, garlic and broken pasta cooked straight in the bean broth. It is a cheap, filling Friday-night meal in many Neapolitan homes, and the bean starch, not cream or cheese, makes it velvety; this version stays vegan. Chef's tip: blend a ladle of the beans before the pasta goes in; it thickens the soup naturally so the pasta is coated, not swimming.

45 minItalianSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kalguksu with clamsClam noodle soup

Kalguksu means 'knife noodles': a soft wheat dough is rolled thin and cut by hand. Korean noodle shops serve it all year, but it is the dish people crave on a rainy day, often with a crisp pajeon on the side. Along the west coast, near the mudflats where clams are dug, the broth is loaded with them. The flour clinging to the noodles thickens the soup slightly as they cook, giving it a gentle, silky body. Chef's tip: shake off most of the flour before the noodles go into the pot, so the broth turns silky rather than gluey.

50 minKoreanPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

25 minIndonesianSidesGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pasta con le sardePasta with sardines and fennel

Sweet, salty and grassy all at once, Palermo's favourite pasta carries the island's history in one pan: Arab raisins, pine nuts and saffron meet fresh sardines and the wild fennel that grows on every Sicilian hillside in spring. It is cooked at home and in the city's old trattorie from March to the start of summer, and on 19 March for the feast of San Giuseppe. Instead of cheese, it is finished with olive oil toasted breadcrumbs, the crunchy 'muddica' that Sicilians call poor man's parmesan. Wild fennel is hard to find outside Italy; the fronds from two fennel bulbs plus a few fennel seeds come close. Serve it warm, or at room temperature as Palermitans often do. Chef's tip: blanch the fennel greens in the pasta pot first and cook the bucatini in that same green, aniseed-scented water, so the flavour runs right through the pasta.

45 minItalianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

20 minPuerto RicanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

20 minIndonesianSnacks & StartersVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

25 minIndonesianSidesVegan
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.

40 minItalianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bajan sweet breadCoconut and raisin loaf

Sweet bread is what Barbadian families bake in December, wrapped in foil and handed over at Christmas visits around the island, and it's sold year round in bakeries from Bridgetown to Speightstown. It isn't a yeast bread but a dense, moist loaf packed with freshly grated coconut, sweet with brown sugar and scented with almond essence, with raisins, mixed peel and bright red glacé cherries in every slice. The top gets brushed with sugar syrup for a sticky shine. Chef's tip: use fresh or frozen grated coconut if you can; desiccated coconut makes a drier loaf unless you soak it first in the milk for 20 minutes.

80 minBajanBaking
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.

25 minItalianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

45 minVenezuelanSnacks & Starters
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.

60 minMalaysianSalads
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Parmigiana di melanzaneBaked aubergine with tomato and mozzarella

Parmigiana di melanzane is Campania's big summer bake, made when aubergines are cheap and glossy and served for Sunday lunch or carried in a tin to the beach. Fried slices of aubergine are layered with a quick basil tomato sauce, fior di latte and grated hard cheese, then baked until the edges bubble and darken. It is better warm than piping hot, and better still the next day, cut into neat squares. Chef's tip: salt the slices and press them for 30 minutes before frying; they drink less oil and the layers stay distinct instead of watery.

90 minItalianVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

25 minSenegaleseDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Parippu vadaiCrunchy split pea fritters

Parippu vadai are the crunchy, lumpy fritters sold from glass boxes on Sri Lankan trains and from carts along Colombo's Galle Face Green at sunset, often with a couple of fried prawns pressed on top; ours are the plain vegetarian kind, which are just as common. Soaked yellow split peas (kadala parippu) are coarsely ground with green chilli, onion, curry leaves and fennel, shaped into flat discs and deep-fried until craggy and golden, crisp outside and nubbly within. Eat them hot with a cup of plain tea or a spoonful of seeni sambol. They're different from South Indian medu vada, which are made with smooth black lentil batter. The common mistake is grinding the lentils to a smooth paste; leave plenty of whole and half peas for the crunch. Chef's tip: hold back about a quarter of the soaked peas and stir them in whole after grinding.

40 minSri LankanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BeshbarmakBoiled lamb on noodle sheets

Beshbarmak, "five fingers", is the dish a Kazakh family puts on the dastarkhan for guests, weddings and Nauryz, traditionally eaten with the hand. Lamb (or horse meat in many homes) is simmered for hours, sliced and laid over wide squares of fresh noodle dough cooked in the same broth, then topped with soft onions in a peppery sauce. The broth, called sorpa, is drunk from bowls alongside. Cutting the noodles too thick is a common slip; they should be thin enough to be silky, not chewy. Chef's tip: keep a cup of the hot fat skimmed from the broth to cook the onion sauce; it carries all the lamb flavour.

210 minKazakhMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

40 minIndonesianVegetarianVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

80 minVietnameseBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Paprikás krumpliPaprika potato stew

Paprikás krumpli is a thrifty potato stew that every Hungarian student learns to cook, and it turns up at school dinners, on autumn weekdays and in cauldrons at village harvest festivals. Potatoes simmer in an onion and paprika base with pepper and tomato until they start to break and thicken their own sauce. Most versions add sliced smoked sausage; this vegan one swaps it for a pinch of smoked paprika and caraway, which give the same savoury depth. Serve in bowls with crusty bread and a pickled cucumber or a spoon of pickled peppers on the side. Chef's tip: cut the potatoes unevenly on purpose; the smaller pieces melt and thicken the sauce while the bigger ones stay whole.

45 minHungarianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BesaraVegetables in mustard garlic paste

Besara means 'with mustard', and in Odisha it is the name of any dish cooked in a freshly ground paste of mustard seeds, garlic and green chilli. Fish besara is the best known; this is the vegetarian version cooked in Odia homes with pumpkin, potato, aubergine, raw banana and a few drumsticks, made sour with a little tamarind or dried mango. The mustard gives it a clean, sinus-clearing heat that is very different from a turmeric-and-chilli curry. Chef's tip: grind the mustard with a pinch of salt and a green chilli; this stops the paste turning bitter.

45 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pappa al pomodoroTomato and bread soup

Pappa al pomodoro is what Florentine grandmothers make in July and August, when tomatoes are almost too ripe and yesterday's unsalted Tuscan bread is going hard. Bread, tomatoes, garlic and basil are cooked together and beaten into a soft, spoonable porridge (pappa means mush, the word for baby food). It is eaten warm, at room temperature or even cold on hot days, never piping hot. Chef's tip: stir it hard with a whisk at the end; it breaks the bread down into a velvety texture without a blender.

40 minItalianSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Papelón con limónIced panela and lime drink

Papelón con limón is the cold drink of Venezuela, served in jugs alongside arepas, empanadas and every Sunday lunch, and sold by the glass from street stalls in the heat of Maracaibo and the plains. Papelón is the Venezuelan name for panela, the dark block of unrefined cane sugar; melted into water and mixed with lots of fresh lime, it tastes like a caramel-scented lemonade. The hot Colombian cousin is aguapanela. Chef's tip: dissolve the papelón in warm water first, then chill; it never fully dissolves in cold water and leaves grains at the bottom.

10 minVenezuelanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Papeda with ikan kuah kuningSago porridge with fish soup

In Ambon, Jayapura and the islands between, the everyday staple isn't rice but papeda: sago starch stirred with boiling water into a translucent, glue-like porridge. It has almost no taste of its own, which is the point; it's eaten with ikan kuah kuning, a sharp, yellow fish soup bright with turmeric, lime and lemon basil. Families twirl the papeda out of the pot on two sticks, drop it into a bowl and ladle the soup over, then slurp it down without chewing. The texture is surprising the first time: slippery, soft and soothing next to the hot, sour broth. Chef's tip: the water must be at a full rolling boil when it hits the sago, or the papeda stays white and lumpy instead of turning clear.

60 minIndonesianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ThalipeethMultigrain flatbread

Thalipeeth is a rustic Maharashtrian flatbread made from bhajani, a flour of roasted grains and lentils. The dough is soft and sticky with onion, green chilli and coriander, and is patted out by hand straight onto the pan, with holes poked in it so the oil can crisp it from both sides. It comes off the tawa crunchy at the edges and soft in the middle, smoky with cumin and coriander seed. Eat it hot for breakfast with thick yogurt, white butter or a garlic and peanut chutney, or with lemon pickle. Chef's tip: pat the dough out on a damp cloth or wet baking paper and flip it straight onto the pan; it's too soft to roll, and wet hands keep it from sticking.

35 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Papdi chaatCrisp wafers with potato and chickpeas

Papdi chaat is the plate Delhi orders without thinking about it, from the stalls outside Bengali Market to wedding buffets. Small, flaky wheat wafers called papdi are laid flat, topped with potato and chickpeas, drowned in sweetened yogurt and streaked with tamarind and green chutney, so you get crunch and creaminess in the same spoonful. Homemade papdi, crisp with ajwain, are far better than shop ones and keep for a week in a tin, though bought papdi will do on a busy day. Chef's tip: rub the oil into the flour until it holds together when squeezed; that shortening is what makes the papdi flaky rather than hard.

45 minIndianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thayir sadamCurd rice

No Tamil meal is really finished without thayir sadam. It's the last course on a banana-leaf lunch, the comfort food packed for train journeys and school tiffins, and the prasadam handed out in some Tamil Nadu temples. Soft, mashed rice is mixed with cool yogurt and a splash of milk, seasoned with ginger, green chilli and curry leaves popped in hot oil, then dotted with pomegranate, grated carrot or green grapes. It's eaten slightly cool with a spoonful of pickle or a fried vathal on the side. Chef's tip: mix a little milk in with the yogurt; it keeps the rice creamy and stops it turning sour if you pack it for lunch several hours ahead.

25 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ThekuaWheat and jaggery cookies

During Chhath Puja, when families across Bihar stand in rivers and ponds to make offerings to the setting and rising sun, thekua fill the bamboo baskets carried to the ghats. Women make them at home in the days before, pressing jaggery-sweetened wheat dough into carved wooden moulds (sancha) and frying them in ghee until dark and crunchy. Outside the festival they are the snack Bihari students take back to hostels in the city, because they keep for weeks. Chef's tip: the dough must be stiff, and the frying slow; soft dough loses the pattern and hot oil leaves them pale and soft inside.

50 minIndianIndian Sweets
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ThethriGram flour twists

No Teeja in Chhattisgarh passes without a tin of thethri: knotted and twisted pieces of gram-flour dough, seasoned with ajwain and chilli and fried slowly until they shatter when you bite. Married daughters coming home for the festival are sent back with them, alongside the sweet khurmi, and they keep for weeks. Each family has its favourite shape, from simple knots to little spirals and braided rings. Chef's tip: fry on a medium-low flame and be patient; thethri fried hot puff up and brown outside but stay soft and chewy inside.

55 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ThieboudienneFish and rice in tomato broth

Ceebu jën, "rice and fish" in Wolof, is the dish Saint-Louis claims as its own and the whole of Senegal cooks for the big Friday or Sunday lunch, served on one wide platter that the family eats from together. Thick fish steaks are stuffed with a green paste of parsley, garlic and chilli, browned, then simmered in a deep tomato broth with whole cassava, carrot, cabbage and aubergine; the broken rice then soaks up that same broth until it turns orange and fragrant. The prized part is the xoon, the crust that forms at the bottom of the pot, which is shared out at the end. The usual mistake is leaving the fish in the pot while the rice cooks, so it falls apart; lift it out with the vegetables and keep it warm. Chef's tip: rinse the broken rice three times and steam it briefly before it goes into the broth, so the grains stay separate instead of turning to porridge.

135 minSenegaleseFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PapanașiFried cheese doughnuts

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

45 minRomanianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 90 of 10,569 recipes

Page 977 of 1,175