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Vazhakkai podimas (raw banana podimas)
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Vazhakkai podimas (raw banana podimas)

Podimas comes from Tamil Brahmin kitchens in Thanjavur and Chennai, where green plantain is boiled whole, grated into soft crumbs and tossed with a tempering of mustard, dal, ginger, green chilli and coconut, then sharpened with lemon. It is light and fluffy, and it sits happily next to sambar rice or rasam rice in a tiffin. The mistake is overboiling the plantain: it turns sticky and will not grate into crumbs. Pull it out as soon as a knife slides in with a little resistance. Chef's tip: grate it on the large holes of a box grater while still warm, then let it cool before tossing, so the shreds stay separate.

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Nem ran (Hanoi fried spring rolls)

At Tết, the lunar new year, a plate of nem rán sits on almost every family feast tray in Hanoi and the north, and the same rolls turn up at weddings, death anniversaries and Sunday lunches all year. Northern cooks wrap a filling of minced pork, crab or prawn, glass noodles and wood ear mushroom in thin rice paper, which fries into a pale golden, bubbly shell quite different from wheat-wrapped spring rolls. Southerners call the same idea chả giò. Serve them cut in pieces with rice vermicelli, lettuce, herbs and a warm sweet-sour fish sauce. Chef's tip: fry them twice, first gently to cook the filling through, then briefly in hotter oil to crisp; they stay crunchy far longer.

60 minVietnameseSnacks & Starters
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Arepa dominóArepas with black beans and cheese

In Caracas the arepa is not a topped flatbread but a pocket: a thinner, crisp-skinned white-corn round that is split open while hot and stuffed, sold from areperas that stay open late into the night. The dominó is the classic vegetarian filling, named for its black and white look: warm black beans (caraotas) and crumbly salty white cheese. It is a filling meal for breakfast or dinner. Chef's tip: once the arepas have a crust, finish them in a hot oven or let them stand on the griddle until they sound hollow when tapped; that dry, steamy middle is what makes them easy to split and stuff.

30 minVenezuelanFast FoodGluten free
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Dharwad pedaCaramelised milk sweets

Dharwad peda has been made in this north Karnataka town for well over a century, first by families who came from Uttar Pradesh, and it now carries a geographical indication tag. Unlike pale, smooth pedas elsewhere, it is cooked slowly until the milk solids caramelise to a deep brown and a grainy, almost crumbly texture, then rolled in powdered sugar. Pilgrims and travellers carry boxes home from Dharwad and Hubballi, and families buy it for weddings and exam results. Chef's tip: let the cooked mixture cool for ten minutes before you add the sugar for rolling; added while too hot, the sugar melts and the pedas go sticky.

70 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Banh mi

On Saigon pavements at breakfast time, bánh mì carts with glass cases are stacked with light, crackly rolls, tubs of pickles and trays of pâté and pork. The bread came with the French, but the filling is entirely Vietnamese: a smear of liver pâté and mayonnaise, cold cuts or lemongrass-grilled pork, sweet-sour carrot and daikon, cucumber, coriander and fresh chilli, with a splash of savoury seasoning sauce. It's eaten on the move, often on the back of a motorbike. This is the meat version; there is also a lemongrass tofu bánh mì on the site. Chef's tip: choose the lightest, airiest baguettes you can find, as a dense French loaf squeezes the filling out the sides.

25 minVietnameseFast Food
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ShabhaleyFried beef pastries

Tibetan families in Lhasa and across the plateau make these crisp, half-moon or disc-shaped pies for Losar, the Tibetan New Year, and for gatherings with friends; Tibetan cafés in exile communities sell them by the plate too. The name means meat bread, and the filling of minced beef with onion, ginger, coriander and a pinch of Sichuan pepper stays juicy inside a thin, crackly crust. They are hearty, savoury and lightly numbing, never fiery. Serve them hot with a tomato chilli sauce (sepen) and a cup of butter tea or black tea. Chef's tip: keep the oil at 170 °C; hotter and the pastry browns before the meat inside is cooked.

60 minChineseSnacks & Starters
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