Featured recipe

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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Latest recipes

Ash-e dooghYogurt soup with rice and chickpeas

Ash-e doogh is the summer and autumn soup of Ardabil and the Azeri north-west of Iran, cooked in big pots for family gatherings and sold in bowls in the bazaars. Rice and chickpeas are simmered in tangy yoghurt with handfuls of dill, coriander, spinach and mint, and the soup is topped with crisp fried onion and dried mint. It is creamy and sour, never heavy. The usual mistake is stopping stirring: the yoghurt splits into grains if left to boil alone, so stir in one direction without stopping until it comes to the boil. Chef's tip: beat a spoonful of rice flour into the yoghurt before heating; it stabilises it and keeps the soup silky.

60 min

Persian Soups

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Pineapple fritters

Every Queensland fish-and-chip shop from the Gold Coast to Cairns has a tray of pineapple fritters by the fryer, rings of local pineapple in light batter, fried and dusted with cinnamon sugar. They are the dessert you order with your fish and chips on a hot evening. Fresh pineapple is best; well-drained tinned rings work too. A common mistake is wet fruit, which makes the batter slide off; pat it really dry. Chef's tip: dust the rings in a little flour before dipping so the batter clings.

25 min

Australian Snacks & Starters

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Magic coffee

The magic is a Melbourne café insider's order, born in the city's Fitzroy and Collingwood coffee bars: a double ristretto (the short, intense first part of the espresso shot) topped with silky steamed milk in a 160 ml cup. It is stronger and sweeter-tasting than a flat white because there's less milk and only the richest part of the shot. A common mistake is scalding the milk; above about 65 °C it loses its natural sweetness. Chef's tip: stop the shot early, at about 30 ml for a double, to get that syrupy ristretto.

5 min

Australian Drinks

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Caribou stew

Caribou is the everyday red meat of many Dene, Inuit and northern families in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Labrador, and a pot of caribou stew is what simmers on the stove in Yellowknife or Inuvik through the long winter. The meat is lean and slightly sweet and gamey, and slow-braising with onion, carrot, potato and turnip makes it meltingly tender. Outside the North, farmed reindeer, venison or beef chuck work in exactly the same way. A common mistake is boiling hard, which toughens lean meat; it should barely bubble. Chef's tip: dust the meat in flour and brown it well in batches for a rich, thick gravy.

175 min

Canadian Meat

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Aam ki launjiSweet and sour raw mango relish

In Rajasthan and across the Hindi belt, launji is the quick mango relish made the day the first raw mangoes come home in April, and it keeps appearing on the thali all through the scorching summer. Unlike the long-cured achaars, it is cooked in 20 minutes: mango pieces in mustard oil with saunf, kalonji, methi and cumin, then simmered with jaggery until glossy. The pieces stay soft but hold their shape in a thick, amber syrup that is sweet first, then sour, with a warm hum of chilli and a liquorice note from the fennel. Eat it with dal-baati, puri, paratha or plain khichdi; in the heat it is believed to cool the body. The common mistake is adding the jaggery too early, so it caramelises and turns bitter before the mango is tender; cook the mango first, then the jaggery. It is ready when the syrup coats the back of a spoon and the mango looks translucent at the edges. It thickens as it cools. Store in a clean jar in the fridge and eat within a week to 10 days. Chef's tip: leave a little peel on some pieces; it gives a pleasant chew and stops the mango from turning to mush.

30 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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Sydney rock oysters with mignonette

Sydney rock oysters grow in the estuaries of the New South Wales coast, from the Hawkesbury River to Merimbula, and are the pride of the Sydney fish market, slurped by the dozen with a glass of something cold on summer afternoons. They are smaller and creamier than Pacific oysters, with a rich, mineral taste. A sharp shallot and vinegar mignonette is all they need. These oysters are eaten raw, so they are not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; for them, grill the oysters for 3–4 minutes until the edges curl. Buy from a trusted fishmonger and eat them the day you buy them. A common mistake is rinsing opened oysters under the tap, which washes away their flavourful juice. Chef's tip: shuck them just before serving and keep them on crushed ice.

15 min

Australian Fish

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Feijoa crumble

Every autumn, from March to June, New Zealand back gardens drop more feijoas than anyone can eat, and bags of the green, perfumed fruit get passed over fences and left on office desks. Baking them into a crumble is the classic way to use them: their fragrant, pineapple-guava flavour softens under a buttery oat and brown-sugar topping. Serve with custard or vanilla ice cream. A common mistake is leaving the gritty skin on; scoop out the flesh. Chef's tip: add a couple of apples to stretch the feijoas and give the filling body.

55 min

New Zealand Desserts

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Vanilla slice

The vanilla slice, or snot block as Aussie kids call it, is the country bakery's pride; towns like Ouyen in north-west Victoria even hold a yearly competition for the best one. A thick, wobbly vanilla custard is set between two sheets of crisp puff pastry and topped with white or passionfruit icing. It needs a few hours to set but is easy. A common mistake is a soft custard that oozes when cut; it must boil for a full minute to thicken properly. Chef's tip: prick and weigh the pastry down with a tray while baking so it stays flat and thin.

60 min

Australian Baking

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Mince and cheese pie

Mince and cheese is New Zealand's best-selling bakery pie, the go-to lunch for tradies, students and rugby crowds from Auckland to Dunedin, with a rich, peppery beef mince gravy under a thick layer of melted cheese and a flaky puff lid. It is eaten from the paper bag with tomato sauce. Cheddar is often made with animal rennet. A common mistake is filling the pastry with hot mince, which makes the base soggy; cool it fully. Chef's tip: put the cheese on top of the mince, right under the lid, so it melts into a gooey layer.

90 min

New Zealand Meat

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Ciulama de ciuperciMushrooms in white sauce

Ciulama is a white, velvety sauce stew from Moldova and Muntenia, and the mushroom version is cooked in autumn when wild mushrooms come down from the Carpathians, or any time with cultivated ones. Mushrooms are sautéed with onion, then simmered in a light roux of butter, flour and milk until thick and creamy, and finished with dill and garlic. It is served with a mound of hot mămăligă (cornmeal mash) and sometimes a spoon of sour cream. The usual mistake is adding the milk to a cold, raw roux, which leaves the sauce lumpy and floury. Chef's tip: let the mushrooms brown before the flour goes in; golden mushrooms give a much deeper flavour than pale, steamed ones.

35 min

Romanian Vegetarian

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Barbecued garlic prawns

Prawns on the barbie are the true Australian Christmas and summer meal, cooked on the backyard barbecue from Perth to the Gold Coast with a cold drink in hand. Big raw king or tiger prawns are marinated in garlic, chilli, lemon and olive oil, then grilled quickly in their shells, which keeps them juicy. A common mistake is leaving them in the marinade too long; the lemon starts to cook them. Chef's tip: cut down the back of the shell and remove the vein but leave the shell on, so the marinade gets in and the prawns don't dry out.

21 min

Australian Fish

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Bò khoLemongrass beef stew

Bò kho is a southern Vietnamese breakfast: in Saigon street stalls ladle this red, gently spiced beef stew over bánh mì torn for dunking, or over rice noodles, from first light. Chunks of beef shin marinate with lemongrass, ginger, garlic, five-spice and fish sauce, are browned in annatto oil, then simmered in coconut water with star anise and cinnamon until tender, with carrots added near the end. The broth should be glossy and aromatic, not thick. The usual mistake is adding the carrots at the start, so they turn to mush; they go in for the last 25 minutes. Slow-cooker option: brown the beef, then cook everything except the carrots on low for 8 hours, adding the carrots for the last hour. Chef's tip: bruise the lemongrass stalks with the back of a knife so they release oil without falling apart.

155 min

Vietnamese Meat

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Pie floaterMeat pie in pea soup

The pie floater is Adelaide's late-night street food, sold from pie carts outside the railway station and on North Terrace since the 1870s: a beef mince pie turned upside down in a bowl of thick, green split-pea soup and topped with a swirl of tomato sauce. It sounds odd and tastes wonderful on a cold night. This recipe makes both the soup and the pies; you could use good bakery pies to save time. A common mistake is a thin soup; it should be thick enough to hold the pie up. Chef's tip: make the pea soup the day before, it thickens overnight.

160 min

Australian Meat

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AlkubusSteamed wheat bread

In Kano, Katsina and Sokoto, alkubus is a breakfast bread you steam rather than bake: a soft yeasted wheat dough set in small cups or tins over boiling water until it puffs into fluffy, slightly sticky domes. It is eaten warm, pulled apart and dipped into groundnut oil with yaji, the peanut and chilli spice mix, or with a bowl of miyan taushe or other soup. The common mistake is lifting the lid during steaming; the rush of cold air makes the breads sink and turn dense. Yaji contains peanuts. Chef's tip: wrap the pot lid in a tea towel so condensation can't drip back and leave wet craters on the tops.

95 min

Nigerian Breads & Parathas

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KaasbroodjeCheese puff pastry roll

The kaasbroodje is the Dutch commuter's breakfast: a rectangle of puff pastry wrapped around a log of Gouda, baked until the cheese oozes from the ends. Kiosks in Amsterdam Centraal and bakeries along the Haarlemmerstraat sell them warm all morning, and they get eaten on the platform or on the tram, scattering flakes everywhere. Use a young or medium Gouda for melt, with a little aged one for flavour. Traditional Gouda is often made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian (made with microbial rennet) if that matters to you. Chef's tip: seal the ends well and bake with the seam underneath, so the cheese melts inside rather than running onto the tray.

30 min

Dutch Snacks & Starters

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Kabocha saladPumpkin salad

Children across Japan know this golden, chunky salad from their bento boxes and school lunches: steamed kabocha squash crushed with mayonnaise, a few plump raisins and a touch of pepper, sweet enough to pass for dessert. It holds its shape cold, so it fills a bento cup neatly. The common mistake is mashing the squash while it is wet, which gives a watery salad; dry it off in the pan first. Leave some skin on for colour. The mayonnaise contains egg. Chef's tip: dress the squash while it is still warm with the salt and pepper, but add the mayonnaise only once it has cooled, so it stays creamy instead of turning oily.

22 min

Japanese Salads

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Braaied lamb chops

Ask a Karoo farmer for a braai rub and you will be handed the salt grinder: good lamb chops off the veld need salt, pepper and wood coals, and nothing else. On a Saturday evening in Colesberg or Cradock the chops go on last, after the boerewors, and come off with crisp, smoky fat and juicy, rosy meat. Pile them on a board with pap and tomato smoor, a potato salad and a braaibroodjie or two. Chops cut too thin, under 2 cm, dry out before the fat crisps, so ask the butcher for thick ones. Chef's tip: stand the chops upright on their fat edge for the first few minutes, held together with tongs, so the fat renders and crisps before the meat goes flat on the grid.

25 min

South African Meat

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Beef wet fry

Order 'beef wet fry' at any Nairobi hoteli, from a River Road lunch counter to a Westlands nyama joint, and a sizzling dish of browned beef cubes arrives in a thick, tomato-red sauce glossy with fat. It sits halfway between a dry fry and a stew: the meat is chewy-tender and well seared, and the sauce is reduced so far it clings rather than pools. Ugali is the classic partner, with kachumbari and a tangle of sukuma wiki, though chapati or rice are just as common. The mistake most home cooks make is crowding the pan, so the beef steams grey in its own juices instead of browning. Chef's tip: give the beef a short covered simmer in a splash of water before frying; it tenderises the cheaper cuts Kenyan butchers sell and the water cooks off in time for the browning.

50 minEast African Meat

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Karoo roast leg of lamb

Sheep in the Great Karoo graze on wild bossies and shrubs, and farmers around Prince Albert and Graaff-Reinet swear the meat comes out of the oven tasting faintly of the veld. That is why the seasoning stays plain: garlic slivers pushed deep into the meat, rosemary, salt and pepper, and a long, slow roast over a bed of onions that melt into the pan juices. Sunday lunch on a farm stoep means slices of rosy lamb with roast potatoes, sweet pumpkin with cinnamon, geelrys with raisins and a jug of gravy. Many cooks carve the moment the leg leaves the oven, and the juices end up on the board instead of in the meat. Chef's tip: give the leg a full 20 minutes' rest under foil; the temperature climbs a few degrees and every slice stays moist.

180 min

South African Meat

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Durban prawn curry

Durban's beachfront takeaways and Indian family kitchens along the North Coast make prawn curry fast: the gravy of tomato, red masala, mustard seeds and curry leaves is cooked first, and the prawns go in only for the last few minutes. The result is a tangy, fiery red sauce with sweet, juicy prawns, lighter and sharper than a slow meat curry. Serve it with white rice or soft rotis and a wedge of lemon. Overcooking is the big mistake: prawns turn rubbery within a minute or two of being done, so take the pot off as soon as they are pink and opaque all the way through. Chef's tip: thaw frozen prawns overnight in the fridge and pat them very dry, or their water thins the gravy.

30 min

South African Fish

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Kådon pikaChicken in coconut milk with chilli

Kådon pika is a fiery Chamorro chicken stew from Guam, cooked for family dinners and fiestas: chicken is simmered with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and onion, then finished in coconut milk with plenty of hot donne' peppers. It shares roots with Filipino adobo but the coconut milk and heat make it its own. Serve with red rice. A common mistake is boiling the coconut milk hard; it can split and go oily. Chef's tip: let the vinegar boil for a minute uncovered before adding the coconut milk, which mellows its sharpness.

60 minPacific Islander Chicken

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KajganaScrambled eggs with peppers

Kajgana is the everyday breakfast of Serbia and Montenegro, cooked in every home and kafana: eggs scrambled softly in a little fat, often with sweet peppers or onion, and finished with a spoon of kajmak, the rich clotted cream of the Balkans, or crumbled white cheese. It is eaten straight from the pan with warm bread. The mistake is high heat: the eggs seize into dry, rubbery lumps; a medium-low flame and constant gentle stirring give soft, creamy curds. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly underdone, because they keep cooking in the hot pan for another minute.

13 minBalkan Breakfast & Brunch

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Kala vatana amtiBlack pea curry

On the Konkan coast around Malvan and Sindhudurg, kala vatana amti is cooked for Sunday lunch and festive meals, and it is the vegetarian partner to fluffy fried vade made from rice and pulse flour. Small dried black peas simmer until creamy in a dark, aromatic gravy of onion and dried coconut roasted until brown, ground with Malvani masala, then soured with kokum. Serve with vade, rice or jowar bhakri. The usual mistake is not soaking the peas long enough, so they stay hard however long they cook; soak them for at least 8 hours. Slow-cooker option: cook the soaked peas with the water on low for 7 hours, then stir in the masala and simmer 15 minutes. Chef's tip: roast the coconut and onion slowly on a medium heat until deep brown but never black, as that colour gives the gravy its depth.

65 min

Indian Curries

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Aam telMango pickle in mustard oil

In Bengal the summer of kal-baishakhi storms is also the season of aam tel, mango oil. Slices of hard green mango are salted and sun-dried until leathery, then sunk in mustard oil with roasted panch phoron and chilli and left to steep for a couple of weeks. The mango turns chewy, salty and sour; the oil turns golden, sharp and fruity, and that oil is the real treasure. A spoonful goes into jhalmuri (spiced puffed rice) on every Kolkata street corner, over plain rice with a fried egg or mashed potato, or into a bowl of panta bhat in the heat. The common mistake is not drying the mango enough: if it still feels wet when pressed, it will grow mould under the oil. Dry it until the slices are shrunken, leathery and bend without releasing juice. The pickle is ready when the oil has turned golden and smells strongly of mango and spice. Because the mango is salt-cured and acidic and stays fully under the oil in a dry jar, with no garlic, it keeps up to a year in a cool cupboard; in hot, humid weather keep it in the fridge. Chef's tip: no strong sun? Dry the salted slices in the oven at 60–70 °C with the door propped open, for 5–6 hours.

50 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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SagetSpider plant greens in soured milk

Spider plant, saget to the Kalenjin and sagaa in Swahili, grows in every kitchen garden around Eldoret and Kericho, and its slightly bitter, peppery leaves are boiled and then softened with mursik or cream to go with ugali. The result is tender, dark greens in a tangy, creamy sauce, bitter in a pleasant way like rapini. Look for fresh or frozen spider-plant leaves at African grocers (sometimes sold as African cabbage or cleome); don't pick wild plants, and if you can't find them, use spinach with a handful of kale or mustard greens for the bite. Letting the milk boil hard is where people slip: it curdles into grainy bits, so add it over a low heat. Chef's tip: some homesteads cook saget the day before and leave it overnight in its milk; it mellows and tastes even better reheated gently.

40 minEast African Sides

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KamandeBrown lentil stew

Kamande is a weekday staple in Nairobi homes and small hotelis (cafés), served at lunch or supper with chapati, rice or ugali and a side of sukuma wiki greens. Brown lentils are simmered until tender, then cooked into a thick, savoury stew of onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and a touch of curry powder, finished with fresh coriander. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 300 kcal and 38 g carbohydrate per portion; brown rice or extra greens on the side suit a lighter plate. The usual mistake is boiling the lentils to mush before adding the tomato base; they should still hold their shape. Chef's tip: cook the onions low and slow until soft and golden before the tomatoes go in, which gives the stew its natural sweetness.

50 minEast African Curries

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KikomandoChopped chapati with bean stew

Kampala students named this after a commando film hero, the joke being that it gives you the strength to survive on almost no money, and roadside chapati makers from Makerere to Wandegeya still sell it all evening. Hot chapatis are chopped into strips and folded through a quick, peppery bean stew, so the bread soaks up the sauce yet keeps a little chew. Raw onion, tomato and green chilli on top make it fresh and crunchy. The mistake is drowning it: the beans should be thick enough to cling, not soup. Ready-made chapatis work well, but check they are made with oil if you want it vegan. Chef's tip: warm the chapatis in a dry pan until they puff and blister before chopping; cold ones turn rubbery in the sauce.

30 minEast African Fast Food

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Aate ka halwaWholewheat flour halwa

Across Marwar, this simple halwa is the one cooked for temple prasad, for Satyanarayan katha and for women in the weeks after giving birth, when ghee and jaggery are thought to build strength. Wholewheat flour is roasted slowly in plenty of ghee until it turns a deep nutty brown, then cooked with hot water and sugar or jaggery until soft and glossy. The whole thing takes 30 minutes. The common mistake is rushing the roast on high heat, which leaves the flour raw-tasting inside and scorched outside. Chef's tip: roast on low heat until the colour is like milky tea and the ghee starts to separate and bubble around the flour.

30 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Kapeng barakoStrong Liberica coffee

In Lipa and the hill towns of Batangas, mornings start with kapeng barako boiled in a dented aluminium kaldero and poured into enamel mugs, often next to pandesal, a slab of tapang Taal or a plate of suman. Barako is Liberica, a large-beaned coffee that grows on tall trees around Mount Malarayat, and the word itself means a strong, rough-mannered man. The cup is heavy and earthy with notes of jackfruit, dark chocolate and smoke, and it is sweetened with sticky muscovado from Negros or Antique, never with white sugar. It carries plenty of caffeine, so go easy if you are sensitive and keep it away from children. The usual mistake is keeping the pot at a rolling boil once the coffee is in: the grounds stew and the drink turns sour and harsh. Bring the water to the boil, then take it off the heat before adding the coffee. The brew is ready when the crust of grounds sinks after the splash of cold water and the liquid underneath is a clear, deep mahogany. Chef's tip: grind it coarse, like raw sugar, so it settles cleanly in the pot.

11 min

Filipino Drinks

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Kapusta provansalCabbage and apple salad

Kapusta provansal has nothing to do with Provence: the grand name is a Soviet-era flourish for a bright marinated cabbage salad that turns up on festive tables from Moscow to Novosibirsk, especially at New Year and through the autumn when the cabbage is crisp and sweet. Coarsely cut cabbage, grated carrot, apple wedges and red cranberries are packed into a jar under a hot marinade of water, sugar, vinegar, sunflower oil, bay and allspice. By the next day it is crunchy, juicy, sweet and sour, with tart pops of berry and a gentle spiced warmth, and it sits happily beside boiled potatoes, kotlety, salted herring or roast chicken. The commonest mistake is slicing the cabbage very finely, which goes limp under the hot marinade; cut it into rough 3 cm squares and crush it only lightly with the salt. It is ready when the cabbage has turned slightly translucent but still snaps and the carrot has coloured the brine pale orange. Chef's tip: add a few strips of red pepper and a crushed garlic clove to the jar for colour and depth.

35 min

Russian Salads

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Kari boulettesSpiced meatballs in coconut curry

Kari boulettes come from Puducherry's Franco-Tamil Creole families, whose Sunday tables mix French names with Tamil spice boxes. Minced mutton or beef is mixed with onion, herbs and a little egg into small balls, then simmered in a curry of tomato, onion, poppy seed and coconut milk, often served with rice or crusty bread on feast days and at Christmas. The common mistake is stirring the balls as soon as they go into the gravy, which breaks them; let them set for five minutes, then only shake the pan. The meatballs are done when they reach 71 °C in the centre. Chef's tip: chill the shaped balls for 20 minutes before cooking so they hold their shape.

75 min

Indian Meat

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Karnemelkse papButtermilk porridge

Karnemelkse pap, made with the buttermilk left over from Dutch farm churning, was breakfast and supper in the Netherlands for centuries, and many older Dutch people still remember it on cold winter mornings. Buttermilk is thickened with flour into a smooth, tangy porridge and eaten hot with stroop (syrup) or brown sugar. The common mistake is pouring cold buttermilk on flour and boiling hard, which splits the porridge into grainy lumps; mix a smooth paste first and keep the heat gentle. Chef's tip: stir constantly with a whisk, especially at the bottom of the pan, until it bubbles once, and it stays silky.

20 min

Dutch Breakfast & Brunch

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Acar buahFruit pickle

In Penang, Nyonya households start filling big glass jars with acar buah a week before Chinese New Year, so there is always a dish to set out for visitors with tea, and to eat beside nasi lemak or curry through the fifteen days. Penang is nutmeg country, and candied strips of nutmeg fruit (buah pala) from the Balik Pulau orchards go in with green papaya, dried apricots and raisins, all coated in a rempah of chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal and candlenuts fried until the oil splits, then cooked with vinegar and sugar. A shower of toasted sesame and crushed peanuts finishes it. It is sticky, jammy, sweet-hot and tangy, with crunchy papaya against chewy fruit. Many cooks add a little toasted belacan to the rempah; it is left out here to keep it vegan. Common mistake: frying the rempah too briefly, which leaves it harsh and makes the pickle spoil faster; cook it slowly until dark red and the oil separates. It tastes best after two days in the fridge. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted papaya as hard as you can, or the pickle turns watery.

70 min

Malaysian Chutneys & Dips

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Kasza jaglana na mlekuMillet porridge with milk

Millet, jagły, has been eaten in Poland for centuries, and kasza jaglana na mleku is the warming winter breakfast many Polish children grew up on, now back in fashion as a gentle, gluten-free porridge. The grains are cooked in water first, then simmered in milk until soft and creamy, and topped with sautéed apple, cinnamon and a little honey. The mistake that puts people off millet is skipping the rinse: the grains carry a bitter coating that has to be washed off and scalded away with boiling water. Chef's tip: toast the rinsed millet in the dry pan for 2 minutes before adding water, and the porridge tastes nutty instead of grassy.

30 min

Polish Breakfast & Brunch

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Acar timunPickled cucumber and carrot

Order sate at a Madurese stall in Java, or nasi goreng from a night-time warung tenda, and a little saucer of acar timun comes with it: cubes of cucumber and carrot, whole small shallots and a few green or red bird's eye chillies in a sweet, sharp vinegar dressing. It is also spooned beside martabak telur and served at kenduri feasts and weddings. It is cold, crunchy and refreshing, sweet first, then sour, with a sudden bite when you hit a chilli, and it cuts the richness of peanut sauce and fried rice. Make it fresh: it is at its best the same day. Common mistake: pouring the dressing on warm or cutting the cucumber too thin, which turns everything limp and watery; dissolve the sugar in warm water, then let it cool before mixing. It is ready after 10–15 minutes, when the shallots have lost their raw edge and the cucumber is lightly seasoned but still snaps. Chef's tip: leave the bird's eye chillies whole so guests can choose whether to eat them; slit one or two if you want the dressing itself to carry heat.

17 min

Indonesian Chutneys & Dips

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KatmiLacy fermented pancakes

Katmi come from Thrace in southern Bulgaria, where they were once baked on a domed iron pan over the fire and served at fairs and family breakfasts. The batter is lightly fermented with yeast, so the thin pancakes come out full of holes and lacy, crisp at the edge and soft in the middle. They are folded and eaten with honey, jam or crumbled sirene. The common mistake is pouring batter into a pan that isn't hot enough, which gives pale, rubbery pancakes with no lace. Chef's tip: let the batter rest until bubbly, and pour it in a thin spiral from the centre outwards rather than swirling, for proper lacy edges.

45 min

Bulgarian Breakfast & Brunch

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BooCowpea leaves in peanut paste

Ask someone from Lira or Kitgum what home tastes like and many will say boo, the leaves of the cowpea plant, picked young from the same fields that give the beans. Slow-cooked until they are dark and silky, then thickened with groundnut paste, they turn into a mellow, slightly bitter, deeply savoury green sauce with none of the tartness of malakwang. It is everyday food, eaten with kalo, posho or sweet potatoes. Fresh, frozen or dried cowpea leaves are sold at African grocers; kale or spring greens stand in well. Chef's tip: a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in the first boil softens tough leaves quickly and keeps their colour; any more than a pinch makes them soapy.

40 minEast African Sides

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MalakwangSour greens in peanut paste

Gulu and the villages of Acholiland wait for the rains, when malakwang, the tart young leaves of the roselle hibiscus, come into the markets in big bundles. Simmered down with onion and tomato and finished with roasted peanut or sesame paste, they make a thick, dark green, sharply sour and richly nutty sauce that tastes of lemon and cream at once. It is eaten with boiled sweet potatoes, cassava or millet bread at a family meal. Look for fresh or frozen roselle leaves at African grocers, or the same leaf sold as gongura or sorrel leaves in Indian shops; spinach with lime juice is a fallback. Chef's tip: let the leaves collapse fully before the paste goes in, otherwise their sourness stays raw and harsh.

40 minEast African Sides

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LapenaPigeon peas in sesame paste

Lapena comes out for Christmas, weddings and the days when relatives arrive in Gulu from Kampala: dried pigeon peas boiled until soft, then cooked slowly in roasted sesame paste until thick, earthy and nutty, with a faint bitterness from the sesame that balances the sweetness of the peas. Some families mash it smooth, others keep the peas whole; both are eaten with kwon millet bread, rice or boiled cassava. Dried pigeon peas are sold as toor or arhar (whole, not split) in Indian grocers. The common mistake is adding salt before the peas are tender, which keeps the skins tough. Chef's tip: if you can only find light tahini, toast it in a dry pan for a minute or two until it darkens to get closer to Acholi sesame paste.

120 minEast African Curries

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NdenguGreen gram stew

Lunchtime kibandas around Nairobi's Industrial Area ladle ndengu over rice or tear chapati into it, and office workers queue for it because it is cheap, filling and ready fast. Whole green grams (mung beans) are boiled until soft, then folded into an onion and tomato base with garlic, a little cumin and a splash of coconut milk, so the gravy is earthy, mellow and just thick enough to coat a spoon. Serve it with chapati, plain rice or ugali and a heap of kachumbari. The usual mistake is adding the tomatoes and salt before the grams are tender; acid and salt keep the skins tough, so cook the grams first. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the cooked grams against the pot before you add the coconut milk; it thickens the gravy without any flour.

60 minEast African Curries

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UjiFinger millet porridge

Mugs of brown uji are handed out at breakfast in Kenyan homes and schools, sold from steaming flasks at bus stages, and given to children and nursing mothers for strength. Finger millet flour (wimbi) makes a thin, drinkable porridge with a malty, slightly chocolatey taste; it is sweetened with sugar and soured with lemon, or left overnight to ferment for a deeper tang. Look for finger millet flour at African grocers or as ragi flour in Indian shops, and never tip it straight into boiling water, the mistake that gives lumps every time; always make a cold slurry first. Drink it hot in a mug, with mandazi or roasted groundnuts on the side. Chef's tip: for fermented uji, mix the slurry the night before and leave it covered on the counter; by morning it smells gently sour and needs only half the lemon.

20 minEast African Breakfast & Brunch

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KeperíSlow-roast beef flank

Keperí is the cut Santa Cruz families save for Sundays and birthdays: a flat, well-marbled piece of beef from the flank, rubbed with garlic, cumin and salt, slow-cooked under cover until meltingly soft, then browned hard at the end. It comes to the table sliced across the grain with boiled yuca, rice and a fresh tomato salad. Beef flank or skirt in one piece is the closest cut outside Bolivia. The most common mistake is slicing along the grain, which makes even tender meat chewy. Chef's tip: let the marinade work overnight in the fridge, then cook the meat fat side up so it bastes itself.

200 minAndean Meat

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Keri no murabboSweet raw mango preserve

In Gujarat, when the summer stock of pickles goes up in May, murabbo is the gentle, sweet one that children are allowed to dip into freely. Pieces of firm raw mango (rajapuri or totapuri) are cooked slowly in sugar syrup until they turn translucent and glossy, then scented with saffron and cardamom. Unlike chhundo, which is grated and spiked with chilli, murabbo keeps the mango in distinct, tender-firm pieces in a clear, golden syrup; it tastes like candied fruit with a sour edge. Spread it on a warm thepla or rotli, serve it with khakhra at breakfast, or spoon a little beside a Gujarati thali. The common mistake is boiling the mango hard in the syrup, which breaks the pieces and clouds it; keep it at a gentle simmer. It is ready when the pieces look see-through at the edges and the syrup reaches one-string consistency (a cooled drop stretches into a single thread between finger and thumb). With this much sugar it keeps 6 months in a cool cupboard in a sterilised, dry jar, or longer in the fridge. Chef's tip: soak the cut mango in lightly salted water for 10 minutes first; it firms the pieces and stops browning.

50 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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Kering kentangSweet and spicy potato matchsticks

Javanese households fry a big batch of kering kentang before Lebaran or a long journey, because these candied potato sticks stay crunchy in a jar for a week and make a plain bekal lunchbox of rice and egg feel special. They are sweet, hot and tangy all at once. The common mistake is frying wet potatoes all at once, which steams them; they must be soaked, dried thoroughly and fried in small batches until they rattle. Chef's tip: let the sugar glaze bubble until it threads from the spoon before adding the potatoes, so it coats them in a thin, glassy shell instead of making them soft.

60 min

Indonesian Sides

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Ägg och kaviarBoiled eggs with fish roe spread

Open any fridge in Stockholm or Gothenburg and you'll find a blue tube of kaviar, a salty, smoky, slightly sweet spread of smoked cod roe, and at breakfast it goes on halved boiled eggs on crispbread or buttered bread. It's a combination Swedes love from childhood, eaten every day and at Easter. The kaviar is smoked and pasteurised, so it is safe for most people; boil the eggs fully for pregnant people and young children. The common mistake is over-boiling the eggs to a grey, chalky yolk; 8 minutes gives a set yolk that's still bright and slightly fudgy. Chef's tip: plunge the eggs into iced water straight away; they peel cleanly and the yolks stay sunny yellow.

15 minScandinavian Breakfast & Brunch

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ÄggostEgg cheese

Äggost, egg cheese, belongs to the farm kitchens of Västergötland and Halland in west Sweden, where it is made for Christmas, Easter and midsummer tables and the leftovers become breakfast with cloudberry or lingonberry jam. Eggs and milk are heated until soft, sweet curds form, which are drained in a holed mould so they keep its pattern. It is creamy, mild and slightly sweet. The common mistake is rushing the heat: boiling the milk too hard makes rubbery curds, so keep it at a gentle simmer. Chef's tip: this version sets the curds with buttermilk, not rennet, so it is suitable for vegetarians; drain it overnight in the fridge for the firmest slice.

45 minScandinavian Breakfast & Brunch

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Khatta magGreen moong in sour yogurt

Khatta mag is weekday comfort across Gujarat, from Ahmedabad flats to Saurashtra farmhouses: whole green moong cooked soft and simmered in a tangy, kadhi-like gravy of yoghurt and gram flour with ginger, green chilli and a clove-and-cinnamon tempering. It is ladled over rice or eaten with bajra rotla, and many families cook it on Wednesdays, the day for moong. A little jaggery is optional. The usual mistake is pouring cold yoghurt into the hot pot without whisking it with gram flour first, which makes it split into curds. Slow-cooker: cook the soaked moong with 600 ml water on low for 5 hours, then stir in the yoghurt mix and cook on high for 30 minutes. Chef's tip: slightly sour, day-old yoghurt gives the best khatta flavour.

55 min

Indian Curries

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Khatta meatMutton in sour pomegranate gravy

Khatta meat is a pride of Jammu's Dogra kitchens, cooked for family gatherings and the winter wedding season: mutton on the bone simmered slowly in mustard oil with fennel and dry ginger, then soured with ground anardana (dried pomegranate seeds) or lemon. The gravy is thin, tangy and deep red, eaten with plain rice. It has no curd or tomato; the sourness comes from the pomegranate alone. The common mistake is adding the anardana early, when it turns bitter during the long cook; stir it in for the last ten minutes. Chef's tip: grind the anardana fresh and soak it in a little hot water first, then strain, for a clean, fruity sourness without grit.

95 min

Indian Meat

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KhuriBuckwheat crepes with cheese

Khuri is a Sikkimese tea-time and breakfast dish from the buckwheat-growing villages of the north, where the thin grey-brown crêpes are filled with fresh cheese sharpened with chilli and spring onion, then rolled and eaten warm. It is often served with a fiery tomato achar. The batter needs to be thin enough to swirl, and the common mistake is flipping too early, before the edges lift by themselves, which tears the crêpe. Wheat flour in the batter helps it hold together, so these are not gluten free. Chef's tip: rest the batter for 20 minutes so the buckwheat hydrates and the crêpes come out supple rather than brittle.

45 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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AkabenzCrispy fried pork

Pork is the star on Kigali's evening bar terraces, where friends share a plate of akabenzi; the name jokes that pork was once a luxury fit for a Mercedes-Benz owner. Chunks of pork shoulder or belly ribs are simmered until tender, then fried hard with onion and chilli until the fat crackles and the edges go crisp and caramelised, while the inside stays juicy. It comes with fried plantain or chips and a fiery chilli oil. The mistake is frying raw pork straight away: the outside burns before the middle cooks, so boil it first. The pork is cooked to well beyond 71 °C. Chef's tip: dry the boiled pieces thoroughly before they hit the oil, or they spit and steam instead of crisping.

70 minEast African Meat

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NjahiBlack beans mashed with banana

Kikuyu families in Kiambu, Murang'a and Nyeri cook a big pot of njahi for a woman who has just given birth, and visitors bring the beans as a gift; the dish is said to build strength and milk. The beans are small, glossy black lablab beans, simmered for a long time until creamy, then mashed with ripe bananas so the result is dark, soft and gently sweet against the savoury onion and tomato. Look for dried njahi at African grocers (sometimes labelled black dolichos or black lablab beans); black turtle beans are the closest swap and cook a little faster, but skipping the overnight soak is the classic error with either: unsoaked beans stay chalky even after hours. Eat it warm with a cup of tea, or as a main with greens. Chef's tip: choose bananas with brown freckles but still firm; overripe black ones make the mash taste like dessert.

150 minEast African Curries

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KilanjiRice crepes with coconut banana sauce

On the coral islands of Lakshadweep, kilanji is the treat for weddings, Eid mornings and a welcome guest. Thin, soft crepes of soaked rice and egg, or rice alone as here, are folded and drenched in a warm sauce of coconut milk sweetened with coconut jaggery and full of mashed ripe banana and cardamom. The islanders often add egg to the batter; this version keeps it vegan with a touch of cooked rice for softness. The common mistake is a gritty batter: the rice needs a full four hours' soak and a long, fine grind, or the crepes tear. Chef's tip: keep the sauce barely warm, never boiling, so the coconut milk stays silky.

290 min

Indian Desserts

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Agra dalmothFried lentil snack mix

Agra is famous for two sweets and one namkeen, and dalmoth is the namkeen: soaked masoor and chana dal fried until crunchy and tossed with chilli, black salt, dry mango and a little sugar, sold in big tins near the Taj and packed for every train journey. It is eaten with tea in the afternoon and handed round to guests at Diwali. The dal is fried dry, without any batter coating. The common mistake is frying the dal straight from soaking water; any moisture makes the oil spit dangerously and the dal chewy, so dry it on a cloth for at least an hour. Chef's tip: fry the masoor and chana separately, as they need different times to turn crisp.

50 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Agua de chilacayoteFig-leaf squash drink

When the big, mottled chilacayote squashes ripen at the end of the rains, cooks in Oaxaca's valleys and the Mixteca of Puebla turn them into a drink you eat with a spoon. The flesh is cooked with dark piloncillo and cinnamon until it falls into translucent threads, then cooled and loosened with water; in Oaxaca it is ladled out of clay jars at fairs, weddings and the Day of the Dead, often with a little pineapple. It tastes like cinnamon-scented panela, with soft, slightly crunchy strands that slide up the straw. The usual mistake is boiling it to mush; overcooked flesh goes cloudy and the strands disappear. Simmer gently and stop when the threads separate easily with a fork but still have a little bite. It is ready when the syrup is amber and the strands look glassy. Chilacayote is hard to find outside Mexico; spaghetti squash is the best substitute and gives the same threads. Keeps 3 days in the fridge. Chef's tip: grate a little orange zest into the pot in the last minute to brighten the piloncillo.

60 min

Mexican Drinks

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Kiri kosJackfruit in coconut milk

Kiri kos, 'milk jackfruit', is a mild white curry from the villages of Sri Lanka's wet zone, cooked when the jackfruit is mature but not yet sweet, and often served at lunch or at almsgivings beside red rice and a spicy sambol. The yellow bulbs are simmered with turmeric, pandan, cinnamon and green chilli in thin coconut milk until tender, then finished with thick milk so the curry is creamy and soothing. The usual mistake is using ripe, sweet jackfruit, which turns to jam; ask for mature 'kos' with firm, pale bulbs, or use tinned young jackfruit in brine. Chef's tip: oil your knife and hands before cutting fresh jackfruit so the sticky latex wipes off easily.

45 min

Sri Lankan Curries

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ManaguNightshade greens

Market women in Kisii and Kakamega sell managu in thick bunches, and in the hills it is the green that goes with ugali at almost every family dinner. The leaves of cultivated African nightshade are soft and pleasantly bitter, a bit like a stronger spinach, and here they are blanched, then cooked down with onion and tomato into a soft, savoury heap. At home many families stir in a spoon of cream at the end; to keep it vegan, use coconut milk as below; buy managu fresh or frozen from African grocers and never gather wild nightshade, as some kinds are poisonous. Using the boiling water as a sauce is a common error: always drain the first boil, or the dish stays harsh. Chef's tip: squeeze the drained leaves firmly in your fist before frying so the tomato flavour soaks in instead of being watered down.

30 minEast African Sides

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Ají de papalisaUlluco in yellow chilli

Papalisa, the glossy pink-and-yellow tuber called ulluco in Peru, has a crisp, slightly slippery bite that holds up beautifully in this ají from the La Paz highlands. The tubers are cut into fine sticks and stewed with onion, tomato and yellow chilli until tender, then served with white rice and a boiled potato. Highland cooks often add shredded dried beef; this vegan version keeps all the flavour with extra onion and cumin. Look for papalisa fresh or in jars in Latin American shops; waxy new potatoes cut the same way are a fair stand-in. The mistake most people make is skipping the soaking and rinsing, which leaves the sauce gummy. Chef's tip: cut the papalisa into matchsticks as thin as you can, so they soak up the chilli sauce like noodles.

55 minAndean Curries

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Kitchener bunsJam and cream doughnut buns

Kitchener buns are a South Australian bakery icon, found in every Adelaide suburb and country town bakery from the Barossa to the Fleurieu. The soft yeast buns are fried or baked, rolled in sugar, split open and filled with a stripe of raspberry jam and a generous swirl of cream; they were named after a British field marshal during the First World War. Messy and delicious with a cup of tea. A common mistake is filling them warm, which melts the cream. Chef's tip: roll them in sugar while still warm so it sticks, then fill when cold.

45 min

Australian Baking

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Ají amarillo pasteYellow chilli paste

In Lima's markets ají amarillo is sold fresh all year, and most Peruvian cooks keep a tub of this paste in the fridge the way others keep tomato purée: it is the golden base of causa limeña, ají de gallina, papa a la huancaína, chupe and the sauce for tiraditos. The chillies are seeded, de-veined and blanched in three changes of water, which tames the heat and the raw grassiness, then peeled and blended with oil into a thick, silky, saffron-orange paste. It tastes fruity and sunny, almost like apricot and passion fruit, with a rounded, medium heat. Abroad, buy whole frozen ají amarillo from Latin grocers; dried ají mirasol, soaked, gives a darker, earthier paste. Common mistake: skipping the peeling; the thin skins leave papery flecks and a bitter edge. It is ready when it is completely smooth and holds a soft peak like thick hummus. This is a low-acid paste: keep it in the fridge for a week or freeze it, never on the shelf. Chef's tip: freeze it in an ice-cube tray; one cube is about a tablespoon, just right for a pot of ají de gallina.

40 min

Peruvian Basics

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Kkwari-gochu jorimBraised shishito peppers

Kkwari-gochu, the small wrinkly peppers the Japanese call shishito, are braised all over Korea into a soft, garlicky, sweet-soy banchan that sits in the fridge ready for the dosirak. Many households add dried anchovies; this version leaves them out and keeps it vegan, with a few toasted sesame seeds for crunch. Most peppers are mild, but about one in ten is surprisingly hot. The common mistake is leaving the peppers whole and unpierced, so they puff up and never take in the sauce. Chef's tip: prick each pepper with a fork once or twice, and the braising liquid soaks right into it.

17 min

Korean Sides

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Ajmeri kadhi kachoriDal kachori in spiced kadhi

In Ajmer, near the dargah and in the lanes around Naya Bazaar, the breakfast crowd orders kadhi kachori: a crisp moong dal kachori broken open on a leaf plate and drowned in hot, thin, spicy kadhi, then topped with green chutney, sweet tamarind chutney and raw onion. The kachori soaks up the kadhi but keeps some crunch at the edges. The kadhi here is thinner and hotter than Gujarati kadhi, without sweetness. The common mistake is letting the kadhi boil hard before the gram flour cooks, which splits it; stir until it comes to the boil. Chef's tip: make the kachoris a day ahead and re-crisp them in a low oven, so only the kadhi is cooked fresh.

90 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Koko SamoaHot cocoa drink

Koko Samoa is the morning drink of Samoa, made from the island's own cocoa beans, roasted over a fire, pounded into a dark paste and dried into blocks sold at Apia's Fugalei market. Dissolved in hot water and sweetened, it is earthy, slightly bitter and rich, with a little oil floating on top, and is drunk with panikeke or buttered bread. If you can't find koko Samoa, use 100% cocoa chocolate. A common mistake is expecting it to be like milky hot chocolate; it is darker and thinner. Chef's tip: simmer it for a few minutes rather than just stirring it in, which brings out the roasted flavour.

10 minPacific Islander Drinks

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ChurmurCrushed puchka chaat

When you have eaten your fill of puchka at the stalls in Vivekananda Park or outside Gariahat market in the evening, the puchkawala will make you a churmur: the same crisp shells crushed into the same spicy potato filling with tamarind water, onion and coriander, served in a leaf bowl. It is part chaat, part crunchy salad, and puckeringly sour. Chef's tip: crush the shells into big shards, not crumbs, and fold them in last so some stay crisp.

25 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Club kachoriSmall spiced kachoris

In the narrow lanes of Burrabazar and Bowbazar, sweet shops start frying club kachori before eight in the morning for traders and office-goers, who eat four or five standing up with a ladle of thin, gingery potato curry poured into a sal-leaf bowl. The kachoris are small and puffed like balloons, with a thin layer of peppery ground urad dal inside the crust. Chef's tip: soak the dal ahead (from the night before is easiest) and grind it with almost no water, so the paste is thick enough to roll without breaking through.

60 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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AkibiyeCreamy taro with fermented soybean

Akibiye is Sumi Naga comfort food from Nagaland: colocasia boiled until it melts into a thick, creamy stew, flavoured with chilli and axone, the fermented soybean that gives Naga cooking its deep savour. It is eaten with rice, especially in winter. For homemade axone, keep boiled soybeans wrapped in leaves at 30–40 °C for 3–5 days until sticky and pungent, then dry or use fresh; discard if black, green or pink mould appears or it smells rotten. The mistake is handling raw taro with bare hands, which itches; wear gloves or oil your hands. Chef's tip: bought axone, kinema or natto work well.

45 min

Indian Vegetarian

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Kombu dashi for babiesKelp broth for babies

Kombu dashi is where Japanese weaning starts: the gentle, savoury water that thins jūbai-gayu (rice porridge) and vegetable purées, so babies learn umami instead of salt. Japanese parents make a jug every few days, and baby-food counters in Osaka department stores sell frozen cubes of it. Kombu is very high in iodine, so this broth is used a spoonful or two at a time to flavour a meal, a few times a week, never as a drink. Nothing else goes in: no salt, soy sauce, bonito or stock powder. It is free of the major allergens. Chef's tip: lift the kombu out just before the water simmers; boiled kombu turns slimy and gives a bitter, sea-weedy taste.

40 min

Japanese Basics

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Akoho sy sakamalaoGinger and garlic chicken

Sakamalao means ginger, and Malagasy cooks are generous with it: this everyday braise from family kitchens across the island uses a whole fist of the root, along with a full head of garlic and soft onions. Bone-in chicken is browned, then simmered gently in its own juices until the meat slides off the bone and the sauce turns golden, sticky and warming, with ginger heat that lingers rather than burns. Serve it with a big plate of rice, a dish of romazava greens or lasary, and sakay for anyone who wants more fire. Many people rush the onions; give them time to turn soft and golden, because they become the body of the sauce. Chef's tip: pound the ginger and garlic together into a coarse paste rather than slicing them, so they melt into the sauce and coat every piece of chicken.

60 min

Malagasy Chicken

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Köménymagos levesCaraway soup with bread cubes

Köménymagos leves was the breakfast of Hungarian peasants and soldiers long before coffee arrived, and it is still made in villages on cold mornings and as a soothing soup after a big night. A dark roux of flour and fat is cooked with plenty of caraway and a touch of paprika, thinned with water and finished with beaten egg and crisp bread cubes. The common mistake is not browning the roux enough: pale roux gives a floury, grey soup, so keep stirring until it is the colour of hazelnuts. Chef's tip: add the paprika off the heat, just before the water, because paprika burns in seconds in hot fat and turns bitter.

25 min

Hungarian Soups

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Kori gassiChicken in red chilli coconut gravy

Kori gassi is the Sunday chicken curry of Mangalore's Bunt community on the Karnataka coast, cooked for family lunches and festivals and traditionally eaten with paper-thin neer dosa. Byadgi chillies, coriander, cumin and a little fenugreek are roasted until fragrant, ground with coconut, garlic and tamarind, then simmered with chicken into a brick-red, gently sour gravy. This version uses less coconut than usual and is suitable as part of a balanced diet; serve it with brown rice, millet roti or a salad. About 360 kcal and 9 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is roasting the spices over a high heat: they scorch and turn the gravy bitter. Chef's tip: byadgi chillies give deep colour with gentle heat, so don't swap them for hot chilli powder.

60 min

Indian Chicken

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KoserevaCandied bitter orange peel

Kosereva is a Paraguayan home preserve from the days when nothing was wasted: thick strips of bitter-orange peel soaked and boiled to soften their bite, then cooked slowly in dark cane molasses until glossy and nearly black. In the countryside it is eaten after lunch with a slice of fresh cheese or simply on its own. Bitter oranges (Seville oranges) are in season in winter. The most common mistake is not changing the boiling water enough, which leaves the peel unpleasantly bitter. Chef's tip: taste a sliver of peel after the third boil; it should be gently bitter like marmalade, not harsh.

180 min

Paraguayan Desserts

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Kratiam dongPickled garlic

Order khao kha moo, the braised pork leg on rice sold from Bangkok shophouses to Chiang Mai night markets, and a few cloves of kratiam dong come on the side; they also sit in a bowl beside nam prik, congee, sai ua sausage and Isan-style sour pork. The garlic is picked young in the cool season, from December to February, when the heads are small, the skins thin and the cloves still tender, and it is cured whole so you nibble the cloves straight from the head. After about a month in brine the harshness is gone: the garlic is crunchy, sweet-sour and only faintly pungent, and the brine itself becomes a seasoning for stir-fries and dipping sauces. Common mistake: skipping the first salt-and-vinegar soak; it draws out the raw sting and some water, so the final brine stays strong. Do not worry if a few cloves turn blue-green; that is a harmless reaction between garlic and acid. They are ready when a clove bites through crisp and sweet with no burn. Chef's tip: look for small young heads at Asian grocers in early spring; large mature garlic works, but separate it into cloves and peel it.

40 min

Thai Chutneys & Dips

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Kudrum chutneyRoselle chutney

Kudrum is roselle, the red-calyxed hibiscus that tribal households in Jharkhand grow round their homes, and in the post-monsoon months its sour fleshy calyces and leaves are cooked into this bright red chutney. It is eaten with plain rice, dhuska or pitha, and a spoonful wakes up a simple meal of dal and saag. A frequent mistake is leaving the hard green seed pod inside each calyx, which makes the chutney woody; split each one and pop the pod out. Chef's tip: dried hibiscus flowers sold for tea make a good stand-in; soak them 20 minutes in hot water first.

25 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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JholiYogurt and gram flour kadhi

Jholi is the thin, everyday kadhi of Kumaon, cooked when there is curd in the house and no time for pakoras, and spooned over rice for a quick lunch. It is tempered with jakhya, a tiny crunchy hill seed with a mustardy bite, and coloured gold with turmeric. Because there are no fritters, it is lighter and tangier than a Punjabi kadhi. The common mistake is letting it boil before the gram flour has cooked in, which splits the curd into grains. Chef's tip: keep stirring in one direction until the first bubble; after that the jholi is stable and can simmer on its own.

30 min

Indian Curries

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Kumaoni kheere ka raitaCucumber raita

This yellow raita is the famous one of Kumaon, made from the fat, pale hill cucumbers of late summer and served at every wedding and Holi gathering. It gets its nose-tingling kick from freshly ground raw mustard seed, which is left to mellow in the curd for an hour, and its sunny colour from turmeric. It is eaten with rice, puris and pakodas. The common mistake is not squeezing the grated cucumber, which floods the raita and dulls the mustard. Chef's tip: make it at least an hour ahead and chill it; the mustard grows sharper and rounder as it rests.

15 min

Indian Sides

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Til ki chutney (Kumaoni)Sesame chutney

This is the everyday sesame chutney of Kumaoni homes, ground on the sil-batta to go with mandua rotis, rice and dal, or the pakodas made for Harela and Ghughutiya. Unlike southern sesame chutneys, it has no coconut or tamarind: just toasted white sesame, green chilli, coriander and plenty of hill-lemon juice, so it tastes bright and nutty at once. It keeps for two days in the fridge. The most common mistake is burning the sesame, which only takes a few seconds too long and makes the chutney bitter. Chef's tip: pull the pan off the heat the moment the first seeds turn golden; they keep cooking in the hot pan.

12 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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Kumbakonam kadappaMoong dal and potato gravy

Kadappa belongs to the temple town of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, where it is ladled beside idli, dosa and soft poori at breakfast, a mild gravy of moong dal and potato thickened with a paste of coconut, roasted gram, fennel and green chilli. Its gentle, aromatic taste is a world away from sambar. The common mistake is boiling it hard after the coconut goes in; the paste separates and loses its fragrance, so heat it just to a simmer. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of poppy seeds ground into the paste gives the creamy body of the Kumbakonam hotels.

40 min

Indian Curries

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Aloo bhindiPotato and okra stir-fry

Aloo bhindi is the sabzi that Delhi children are happiest to find in their dabba with soft phulkas: okra fried until its edges crisp, potato cubes browned alongside, and sliced onion cooked sweet, all dusted with amchur and cumin. The single big mistake is washing the okra and cutting it wet, which releases slime that never cooks off. Wash it, dry every pod with a cloth and wait half an hour before slicing. Chef's tip: add the salt only at the very end; salt draws moisture out of the okra and makes it sticky.

35 min

Indian Sides

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AmadumbeBoiled taro

Market women in Pietermaritzburg and along the KwaZulu-Natal north coast sell amadumbe by the bucket, hairy brown corms that look unpromising until boiled and peeled to reveal dense, creamy white flesh with a nutty, almost chestnut-like flavour. They are eaten hot as a starch with a stew, cold as a snack, or simply split and buttered; this vegan version dresses them in oil warmed with spring onion and chilli. Peeling them raw is the mistake to avoid, because the sap irritates the skin and leaves your hands itching. Always cook taro right through: undercooked corms taste scratchy in the throat. Chef's tip: boil them in their skins and slip the skins off while still warm, when they come away cleanly with a small knife.

40 min

South African Sides

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Lahori kulfaKulfi with falooda

On hot Lahore nights, families stroll to Gawalmandi food street and the old shops near Anarkali for kulfa: a whole cone of dense, cardamom-scented kulfi is sliced into fat discs, laid over soft falooda noodles and spooned over with rabri, the thick sweetened milk. It is cold, chewy and creamy in every mouthful. Contains milk and tree nuts (pistachio and almond); the falooda noodles may contain wheat. Chef's tip: scrape the bottom and sides of the pan constantly as the milk reduces; one scorched patch flavours the whole batch.

60 min

Pakistani Desserts

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LakrorLeek and cheese pie

Lakror comes from the south of Albania, around Korçë, where it was baked in a round copper tray under a saç, a domed iron lid heaped with embers, and eaten for breakfast or carried to the fields. Thin rounds of homemade dough are layered with oil, then filled with leeks, onions and cheese, giving a pie that is crisp at the top and soft inside. At home, a very hot oven stands in for the saç. The common mistake is rolling the dough too thick: each round should be thin enough to see your hand through, or the layers stay doughy. Chef's tip: rest the dough balls for 30 minutes after kneading; relaxed dough rolls out thin without shrinking back.

100 minBalkan Baking

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Chipotles en adoboSmoked jalapenos in adobo sauce

Chipotles are ripe jalapeños smoked slowly over wood until leathery; in Puebla and Veracruz the reddish, plump mora type is the everyday one, and the tan, leathery meco is prized for its deeper smoke. Simmered in a sweet-sour adobo of tomato, onion, garlic, vinegar and piloncillo, they become the soft, glossy chillies that go into tinga poblana, albóndigas en chipotle, bean soups and a quick chipotle mayonnaise. Homemade, they are smokier and less sugary than the tinned kind, with sauce that is brick red, tangy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Common mistake: toasting the dried chillies too long; a few seconds a side is enough, because scorched chillies make the whole jar bitter. This is a low-acid chilli preserve, so it is kept in the fridge or freezer, never canned in a water bath. It is ready when the chipotles are plump and soft enough to crush with a spoon and the adobo has reduced to a glossy sauce. Chef's tip: blend one or two chillies with their sauce and freeze it in an ice-cube tray, so you can add a single cube to a pot.

70 min

Mexican Basics

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Laohu caiTiger salad

Laohu cai, 'tiger salad', is the fierce raw salad of China's north-east, served in Shenyang and Harbin homes and restaurants alongside dumplings, grilled skewers and heavy stews. Long green chillies, cucumber, coriander and spring onion are cut into thin strips and dressed with rice vinegar, a little soy and sesame oil, so it is hot, crunchy and very fresh. Serve it next to protein dishes as a crisp, low-starch side. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 50 kcal and 5 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is dressing it too early, so the cucumber weeps and the coriander goes limp; dress it just before eating. Chef's tip: choose a mix of mild and hot chillies so you control the heat and still get plenty of crunch.

10 min

Chinese Salads

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Alle belleCoconut-filled pancake rolls

Alle belle are the tea-time sweet of Goan Catholic homes: soft, lacy pancakes, sometimes tinted with a little green from pandan or turmeric leaf, rolled up around a sticky filling of fresh coconut and dark palm jaggery (godd). They appear at feast-day teas, at village fairs and in school tiffin boxes, and they contain egg in the batter. The common mistake is a thick batter, which gives heavy pancakes that crack when rolled; it should pour like single cream and spread thinly with a swirl of the pan. Chef's tip: cook the filling until it is sticky but still soft, then add a pinch of salt, because the salt makes the palm jaggery taste richer.

45 min

Indian Desserts

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LasopyBlended vegetable soup

Highland evenings in Antananarivo can turn surprisingly cold, and that is when lasopy comes out, a smooth, pale-orange soup of carrot, leek, potato, turnip and green beans blended until velvety. Market cooks and grandmothers usually simmer it with beef bones; this version keeps it fully vegetarian, with the vegetables browned lightly first and a bay leaf and thyme for depth, so the water turns into a sweet, savoury broth on its own. It is often eaten with a handful of thin vermicelli cooked in it, or simply with bread, and a dab of sakay stirred in at the table. Leave the vegetables in big chunks: chopping them tiny makes them boil to mush before the flavour comes out. Chef's tip: hold back a ladle of cooking liquid and blend the rest, then thin to taste, because once lasopy is too watery there is no fixing it.

60 min

Malagasy Soups

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Aloo sadekoSpiced potato salad

Sadeko means marinated, and aloo sadeko is the sharp, tingly potato salad served in every khaja ghar, the little snack houses round Asan Tole and New Road, as afternoon khaja beside beaten rice and a cup of tea. Cool boiled potatoes are dressed with mustard oil heated with fenugreek seeds until they turn dark and nutty, then timur (Nepal's numbing Sichuan pepper), green chilli, toasted sesame and lots of lime. Contains sesame and mustard. Chef's tip: fry the fenugreek seeds until reddish-brown, not black; burnt fenugreek makes the whole bowl bitter.

30 min

Nepali Snacks & Starters

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LavasaThin leavened flatbread

Every Kashmiri neighbourhood has its kandur, the baker who slaps breads onto the walls of a clay tandoor before dawn, and lavasa is the thin, soft, bubbly sheet bought for the afternoon or for wrapping hot seekh kebabs at weddings. It is lightly leavened, a little chewy and faintly smoky, and is eaten with noon chai or with harissa in winter. At home a very hot heavy pan or a pizza stone does a fine job. The common mistake is rolling it too thick; lavasa should be thin enough to see light through at the edges. Chef's tip: stack the breads under a clean cloth as they come off the heat, so the steam keeps them soft and foldable.

140 min

Indian Breads & Parathas

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Aloo pitikaMashed potato with mustard oil

Aloo pitika is the first thing on many Assamese lunch plates, a rough mash of boiled potato sharpened with raw mustard oil, onion, green chilli and coriander, eaten with the first mouthfuls of rice and dal. Guwahati families make it daily, and in winter it may be mixed with roasted aubergine or a boiled egg. The usual mistake is making it smooth like a Western purée; it should be coarse and hand-mashed so the onion and chilli stay crunchy. Chef's tip: use pungent kachi ghani mustard oil and rub it in last, so its heat hits the nose.

25 min

Indian Sides

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Leche con plátanoBanana 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.

5 min

Chilean Drinks

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Aloo seddho bhaat for toddlersRice and potato mash for toddlers

In Kolkata homes, from north Kolkata's old paras to the flats of Salt Lake, aloo seddho bhaat is what you cook when someone is tired, ill or very small: a potato boiled right in the rice pot, mashed with hot rice. Grown-ups add raw mustard oil, green chilli and onion; for toddlers from 12 months it is mashed instead with a spoon of ghee, so it's soft, buttery and mild. Gobindobhog rice gives it a lovely fragrance. It contains milk (ghee); there is no gluten, egg, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: mash the potato and rice with a fork or your fingers, never a blender, or it turns gluey.

25 min

Indian Rice & Grains

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MagayaSun-dried mango pickle

In Andhra Pradesh the pickle season opens around Ugadi, and long before the fiery avakaya is cut, many homes make magaya, the gentler mango pickle. Peeled raw mango is sliced thin and salted until it weeps a yellow brine (magaya ooru), the slices are dried in the hot April sun until leathery, then mixed back into the brine with mustard powder, chilli and fenugreek and sealed under a tempering of gingelly oil. After a week the slices are chewy and soft, tangy and salty, with a rounder heat than avakaya. It is eaten with hot rice and a spoon of ghee, stirred into curd rice, or turned into a raita-like magaya pachadi with yoghurt; the leftover brine is mixed into plain rice. The salt is about 10% of the peeled mango weight (100 g per kg), which, with the fruit's own acid, keeps it safe. Common mistake: drying the slices to hard chips, or too little so they stay wet and mould; stop when they bend without snapping. It is ready when the slices have softened, turned deep red-orange and the oil floats on top. Chef's tip: no sun? A dehydrator or oven at 50 °C dries the slices in 6–8 hours.

50 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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