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WhatToEat.Today

High-protein vegetarian meals

Meat-free meals with plenty of protein from paneer, dal, beans, tofu and eggs. (550 recipes)

Tofu steak

Tofu steak became a family-restaurant and home favourite across Japan in the health-food boom of the 1980s, and it is still how many Tokyo households get a quick, light main dish on the table: thick slabs of firm tofu dusted with potato starch, seared until golden, then glazed in a garlicky soy, mirin and sugar sauce until sticky. Serve with rice, shredded cabbage and miso soup. A portion is about 260 kcal. The common mistake is skipping the pressing, so the tofu spits in the pan and won't brown; press it for 10 minutes first. Chef's tip: add the sauce only once both sides are golden, and let it bubble down for just a minute so it coats rather than soaks.

20 minJapaneseVegetarianVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KongguksuCold soybean noodle soup

When the monsoon heat settles over Seoul in July, queues form outside old noodle houses near City Hall for kongguksu: thin wheat noodles in an ice-cold, thick, nutty broth of soybeans boiled and blended with their skins, topped with cucumber and sesame. It is plain, rich and very cooling, and people season it at the table with salt (in Seoul) or sugar (in Jeolla). A bowl is about 520 kcal, a full meal with plenty of protein. Soak the soybeans overnight first, not counted in the times. The most common mistake is overboiling the soybeans, which gives a fermented, "meju" smell; boil them for exactly 10–12 minutes and taste one: it should be cooked but not soft. Chef's tip: blend a handful of pine nuts or toasted sesame with the beans; it makes the broth even creamier.

40 minKoreanPasta & NoodlesVegan
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Matki usalSprouted moth bean curry

Every Marathi kitchen from Pune to Kolhapur keeps a jar of matki, the small brown moth beans, sprouting on the counter, and a bowl of usal is what turns up with chapati or bhakri at a weekday lunch, or topped with farsan as misal on Sundays. The sprouts stay slightly firm in a thin, spicy gravy flavoured with goda masala, the sweet-smoky spice mix of Maharashtra, and a little fresh coconut. A portion is about 230 kcal. Sprouting takes 2 days (soak overnight, then leave wrapped in a cloth for 24–36 hours), which is not counted in the times. The common mistake is overcooking the sprouts until they split and go mushy; they should hold their shape and still have a slight bite. Chef's tip: add a teaspoon of jaggery and a few kokum petals at the end; the gentle sweet-sour balance is what makes usal taste Maharashtrian.

40 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

NifroBoiled wheat and chickpeas

When a baby cuts a first tooth, Ethiopian families celebrate with tirs mastecha, and the dish at the centre is nifro: a big pot of whole wheat berries, chickpeas and fava beans boiled with salt and handed round warm in cupped hands or small bowls. It also turns up at funerals, saints' day gatherings and long coffee ceremonies in Gondar and Addis, chewy, nutty and plain in the best way. The common mistake is boiling everything together from dry, so the wheat bursts while the fava stay hard; soak them all overnight and add the wheat later. Fava beans are unsafe for anyone with G6PD deficiency (favism), so leave them out if in doubt. Not gluten free. Chef's tip: once drained, toss the warm nifro in a dry pan for two minutes; it dries the surface and makes the salt and a pinch of berbere cling.

795 minEthiopianSnacks & StartersVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ash-e joBarley and chickpea soup

Ash-e jo is a winter staple in Tehran, Kashan and the cold cities of the plateau, and many families cook a huge pot in the month of Ramadan to break the fast. Pearl barley simmers with chickpeas, beans and lentils until it turns creamy, then plenty of herbs and a swirl of kashk make it tangy, savoury and filling. Serve it hot with bread and extra kashk at the table. The common mistake is skipping the soaking, which leaves the chickpeas hard long after the barley has gone to mush; soak them overnight. Kashk contains dairy. Chef's tip: the soup thickens a lot as it stands, so make it a day ahead and loosen it with hot water as you reheat.

140 minPersianSoups
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Ash-e haft danehSeven-grain soup

Ash-e haft daneh, the soup of seven seeds, is cooked as nazri, a votive offering, on Tasua and Ashura in Muharram, when families in Tehran, Kashan and Yazd stir huge cauldrons in the street and share bowls with neighbours and passers-by. Wheat, barley, rice, chickpeas, beans, lentils and mung beans cook slowly into a thick, nutty soup with herbs, topped with fried onion and mint. Serve it in bowls with bread. The mistake is adding all the grains together; they cook at different speeds, so the hard ones go in first. Chef's tip: soak everything except the rice and lentils overnight, each in its own bowl, and you'll cut the cooking time by an hour.

170 minPersianSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Misir alichaMild red lentil stew

Not everyone at the table in Gondar or Addis wants berbere, so the fasting platter almost always has a gentle yellow wat beside the red one: misir alicha, split red lentils cooked down with dry-sweated onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric until creamy. It is soft, warming and easy on children and anyone who finds misir wat too hot. The common mistake is letting the lentils cook to a thin soup; simmer uncovered at the end until it mounds on a spoon and sits on injera without running. Chef's tip: a sliced green chilli and a pinch of ground ajwain (netch azmud) stirred in at the end lift it without adding much heat.

35 minEthiopianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Daal chanaChickpea dal

A bowl of daal chana with a fiery tarka poured over at the table is one of the most ordered plates at dhabas from Multan to Rawalpindi, and in many homes it is the Thursday dinner, eaten with roti, raw onion and pickle. The split chickpeas cook until soft but still hold their shape in a thick, yellow, gently spiced base, and then the tarka of fried onion, garlic, cumin and whole red chilli in ghee crackles over the top. The mistake is serving it before the dal is truly soft; chana dal takes longer than you think, so test a grain by squeezing it. Contains milk (ghee); use oil for a vegan version. Chef's tip: pour the tarka over at the very last moment so it hisses, and cover the pot for a minute to trap the smoky aroma.

60 minPakistaniCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lobia masalaBlack-eyed bean curry

Truck drivers on the GT Road and students in Lahore's Anarkali eat lobia at dhabas for a few rupees a plate: soft black-eyed beans in a dark onion and tomato masala, mopped up with tandoori roti and a green chilli on the side. It tastes earthy and comforting, with a peppery edge and a thick, spoonable gravy. Undercooked beans that stay chalky in the middle are the common complaint, especially when tomato goes in before the beans are soft; boil them tender first, then simmer them in the masala. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot near the end, which thickens the gravy the way dhaba cooks do.

50 minPakistaniCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Awara

Evening hawkers in Kano, Zaria and Kaduna fry awara in wide pans of oil and sell it in paper with a sprinkle of yaji, the peanut-chilli suya spice: little cubes of homemade soybean curd that puff and turn golden outside and stay soft and tofu-like inside. It came to the North with soybean farming and is now a cheap, high-protein street snack, especially after maghrib prayers. Contains soy and peanut (in the yaji). The mistake is skipping the long boil: raw soy milk must simmer for a good 15 minutes to be digestible and taste sweet, not beany. Chef's tip: press the curd under a heavy pan for at least 20 minutes; firm awara cuts cleanly and doesn't spit in the oil.

560 minNigerianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Adalu

Across Yorubaland, from Abeokuta to Ibadan, adalu is the pot of beans and corn that keeps a family going: brown beans cooked until they collapse, sweetcorn stirred through for pops of sweetness, and a base of red palm oil, onion and blended pepper. People eat it for breakfast or an early lunch, often with fried plantain or a hunk of agege bread. It is soft, creamy and slightly sweet-savoury. Many cooks add ground crayfish; this version is vegan. The mistake is adding salt and stock cubes while the beans are still hard, which stops them softening; season only once they mash easily. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the cooked beans against the side of the pot before adding the corn; it thickens the sauce without any flour.

95 minNigerianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shorbet ads (Egyptian lentil soup)

Cairo cafés ladle shorbet ads all winter long, and at home it is the soup that opens the iftar meal in Ramadan, served smooth and golden with lemon wedges and crisp bread. Split yellow lentils are cooked with carrot, onion, tomato and cumin, then blended until velvety, with no cream at all. Serve it with lemon to squeeze and toasted pitta (leave the bread out for gluten free). The common mistake is under-cooking the lentils so the soup turns grainy; they should fall apart before you blend. Chef's tip: finish each bowl with a few drops of cumin-fried oil; it smells like an Egyptian kitchen in January.

45 minEgyptianSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fasolia beida (white beans in tomato sauce)

Fasolia beida keeps Egyptian families going through the short Cairo winter: dried white beans, soaked overnight and stewed thick with tomato and onion, eaten on rice with crunchy turnip pickles and green chillies on the side. It's cheap, filling and better the next day, which is why many cooks make a double pot. Beans cooked in salted tomato from the start can stay hard forever, so they get boiled tender in plain water first. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot near the end; it thickens the sauce naturally.

95 minEgyptianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ye-difin misir watSpicy brown lentil stew

The everyday misir wat of Addis Ababa's fasting houses is made with split red lentils, but in Tigray and Amhara homes many cooks prefer difin misir, whole brown or green lentils that keep their shape and give a thicker, nubbly stew with a deep, peppery berbere sauce. It is hearty, earthy and properly spicy, the backbone of a Lenten lunch with injera, cabbage and a cold salad. The mistake is adding the lentils to the sauce raw: whole lentils take far longer than the onions can stand, so cook them separately until tender first. Chef's tip: finish with a teaspoon of mitmita or a pinch of ground cardamom (korerima) just before serving for a fragrant top note.

65 minEthiopianCurriesVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Kik watSpiced split pea stew

On Wednesdays, Fridays and the long Lenten fast, Orthodox households from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar fill the beyaynetu platter with kik wat, the fiery red sibling of the mild yellow kik alicha. Yellow split peas are cooked into a thick sauce built on a mountain of slowly dry-cooked red onions, garlic, ginger and plenty of berbere, so it is earthy, smoky-hot and spoonable on a sheet of injera. The mistake is frying the onions in oil from the start: Ethiopian cooks sweat them in a dry pot until they collapse and turn jammy, and only then add oil and spice, which gives the sauce its body. Chef's tip: bloom the berbere in the oil for a full two minutes with a splash of water so it turns brick-red and loses its raw, dusty edge.

65 minEthiopianCurriesVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Chora nu shaakBlack-eyed pea curry

Chora nu shaak is a Sunday favourite in Surat and Baroda homes and one of the pulse shaaks that rotate through a Jain kitchen in place of onion-based gravies. Black-eyed peas are cooked soft, then simmered in a thin tomato gravy built on a vaghar of mustard seed, cumin, hing, cloves and dry red chilli, sweetened with jaggery and sharpened with lemon in true Gujarati style. Dry ginger powder replaces fresh ginger, and there is no onion or garlic. The gravy should be loose enough to soak into rotli or rice, with a few beans mashed to give it body. A common mistake is adding tomato and jaggery before the beans are fully soft; acid and sugar keep them hard however long you cook them. Chef's tip: let the shaak rest for 10 minutes before serving; the chora drink up the gravy and the flavours round out.

45 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chaye dan (marbled tea eggs)

Tea eggs bubble in pots of dark broth beside the tills of convenience stores, at railway stations and on breakfast carts all over China; in Zhejiang and Jiangsu families make a big batch for spring outings and for New Year. The eggs are hard-boiled, their shells tapped all over, then simmered and soaked in black tea, soy sauce, star anise and cinnamon, so the whites come out mottled brown like old porcelain and taste gently of spice. The common mistake is to skip the long soak: an hour in the pot only colours the shell, while a night in the fridge gives the pattern and flavour. Chef's tip: crack the shells gently with the back of a spoon so they craze all over but stay on; if pieces fall off you'll get dark patches instead of fine lines.

40 minChineseSnacks & Starters
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Koya dofu no nimonoSimmered freeze-dried tofu

Kōya-dōfu takes its name from Mount Kōya, where monks discovered that tofu left out in the winter frost dried into light, spongy blocks that would keep for months. Rehydrated and simmered in sweet dashi, it soaks up broth like a sponge, so every bite releases a mouthful of savoury-sweet liquid. It is a regular in bento boxes, osechi and temple meals across Japan. Mirin contains alcohol but simmers away; see the note for an alcohol-free swap. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes it crumble; keep the pan at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: after soaking, press each block between your palms in fresh water until the water runs clear, or it tastes faintly of the packet.

35 minJapaneseVegetarianVegan
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Paneer bhurjiScrambled paneer

Dhabas on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway and Punjabi homes everywhere make paneer bhurji when an egg bhurji won't do: for vegetarian guests, for a fast lunchbox, or when there's a block of paneer waiting in the fridge. The paneer is crumbled and folded into an onion-tomato masala with green chilli, a little garam masala and kasuri methi, and a splash of milk keeps it soft and moist. It goes with butter roti, a buttered pav from the Mumbai stalls, or rolled into a paratha for a tiffin. The common mistake is cooking the paneer too long; it toughens and dries out in minutes. Add it last and heat it through for no more than two or three minutes. Chef's tip: homemade or very fresh paneer crumbles best; grate a firm shop block instead of crumbling it.

20 minIndianVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GanmodokiTofu and vegetable fritters

The name means 'mock goose', a hint that these fritters were invented by Buddhist monks who wanted something rich and satisfying without meat; in Kyoto they are called hiryōzu. Firm tofu is pressed, mashed with grated yam, carrot, hijiki and sesame, then fried into golden discs that are crisp outside and soft and springy within. Eat them hot with ginger and soy, or simmer them in oden or sweet dashi on cold days. The common mistake is not pressing the tofu enough; wet tofu makes fritters that split and spit in the oil. Chef's tip: a little grated Japanese mountain yam (nagaimo) binds the mix without egg and makes it fluffier; potato starch alone gives a denser fritter.

45 minJapaneseSnacks & StartersVegan
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Mag nu shaakDry whole green moong

Wednesday is mag day in many Gujarati homes, and in Jain families this is how it is cooked: whole green moong soaked overnight, pressure-cooked until just soft, then tossed in a vaghar of mustard seed, ajwain and hing with green chilli and dry ginger powder instead of fresh ginger, and no onion or garlic at all. A pinch of jaggery and a squeeze of lemon give it the gentle sweet-sour taste Gujaratis expect. It's a dry shaak, each bean whole and coated, eaten with rotli, or with kadhi-bhaat for a light, very satisfying meal. A common mistake is overcooking the moong until it bursts and turns to mush; two whistles is enough, and the beans should still hold their shape. Chef's tip: save the cooking water; a few spoons loosen the shaak if it looks too dry, and the rest makes a lovely mag nu osaman with a little lemon and vaghar.

40 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Đậu hũ chiên sả ớt (lemongrass chilli tofu)

Saigon's chay restaurants, the ones tucked beside pagodas that fill up on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month, nearly always have a plate of this on the table: golden tofu cubes buried under a crunchy, fragrant rubble of fried lemongrass and red chilli. The tofu stays soft inside, the lemongrass turns nutty and crisp, and a splash of tamari with a little sugar glazes everything. Eat it with steamed jasmine rice, sliced cucumber and a bowl of clear vegetable soup. Many chay cooks skip garlic and shallot, so this version leaves them out. Chef's tip: mince the lemongrass really finely and fry it on its own until golden; coarse chunks or lemongrass added with the tofu stay woody and chewy.

25 minVietnameseVegetarianVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lentilha de Ano NovoNew Year lentil stew

Just after the fireworks at midnight on 31 December, Brazilians from Copacabana to small towns in the interior eat a spoonful of lentils, because the little coin-shaped seeds are said to bring money in the year ahead. Many families keep a pot of this warm stew of lentils, tomato, carrot and smoked paprika on the stove all through the Réveillon party. It also makes a good weekday supper with rice. Chef's tip: keep it at a gentle simmer so the lentils hold their shape, as they are meant to look like little coins.

50 minBrazilianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Caldo de habasDried fava bean soup

Few dishes say Good Friday in Mexico City, Hidalgo and Tlaxcala like a bowl of thick, golden caldo de habas, made from peeled dried fava beans cooked down until they almost dissolve. Tomato, onion and garlic give it body, cumin warmth and a handful of fresh mint lifts it, with lime and a pinch of chilli flakes at the table. Cheap, filling and protein-rich, it suits any cold weekday. Look for yellow, peeled split favas at Latin or Middle Eastern shops. Chef's tip: add the mint only at the very end, or it turns grey and loses its scent.

65 minMexicanSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ovos de codorna em conservaPickled quail eggs

A big glass jar of pickled quail eggs sits on the counter of countless botecos in Rio and São Paulo, and a few speared on toothpicks are the classic thing to nibble with a cold chopp. At home they keep for two weeks in the fridge and make an easy snack for parties or a picnic. The tiny eggs are boiled, peeled and covered in a hot, garlicky vinegar brine with bay and black pepper, which seasons them right through after a couple of days. Chef's tip: peel the eggs under a trickle of cold water, starting at the wide end where the air pocket sits.

30 minBrazilianSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chè đậu đen (black bean sweet soup)

In Hanoi summers, glass after glass of chè đậu đen is poured over crushed ice at pavement stalls, and many families keep a pot in the fridge because the beans are thought to cool the body. The beans are cooked whole until creamy inside but unbroken, then steeped in syrup until they turn dark and glossy; southern versions finish with a little coconut milk. Chef's tip: add the sugar only once the beans are completely tender; sugar too early toughens the skins and the beans never soften.

90 minVietnameseDessertsVeganGluten free
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Huevos tiradosEggs with black beans

In the port of Veracruz and the coffee towns around Xalapa, morning cafés roll out a dark, savoury omelette that looks plain and tastes rich: eggs are 'thrown' into a pan of black refried beans and stirred, then rolled into a log and served with tortillas, fresh cheese and salsa. It keeps workers going till lunch. Chef's tip: the beans should be thick and fairly dry, like mashed potato, or the roll won't hold.

20 minMexicanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Lentejas con piña y plátanoLentils with pineapple and plantain

Sweet and savoury share a pot in this Lent favourite from Puebla and Mexico City kitchens: brown lentils simmered in a tomato and garlic broth, finished with chunks of pineapple and slices of fried ripe plantain. It sounds unusual but tastes balanced and comforting, and many families eat it on the Fridays before Easter with white rice and tortillas. Chef's tip: use a plantain with a black-speckled skin; green ones stay starchy and never sweeten.

60 minMexicanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Bánh hỏi with lemongrass tofuRice vermicelli with lemongrass tofu

In Quy Nhơn and across Bình Định, breakfast stalls sell bánh hỏi by the tray: mats of hair-fine rice vermicelli brushed with scallion oil and eaten rolled in lettuce with roast pork, grilled meat or, at temple stalls, tofu. Making the woven mats from scratch needs a press, so cooks everywhere now buy dried bánh hỏi sheets or very fine vermicelli and steam them into mats, which is what this version does. The lemongrass tofu and a soy-lime dipping sauce keep the whole plate vegan; the usual partner is nước mắm chấm with grilled pork. Chef's tip: steam the vermicelli rather than boiling it; boiled strands go soft and clump, and the mats will not hold together.

45 minVietnamesePasta & NoodlesVeganGluten free
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Frittata di zucchineCourgette frittata

Frittata is Italy's everyday dish for a quick supper or a packed lunch: a thick, flat omelette cooked slowly in a pan, then flipped over a plate. Courgette frittata, with soft, golden slices of courgette and Parmigiano, is the summer favourite, taken to the beach in a panino or cut into squares for children. It is just as good cold the next day. Parmigiano is made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian hard cheese if you need to. Chef's tip: cook the courgettes until golden before adding the eggs; raw courgettes make the frittata watery.

25 minItalianVegetarianGluten free
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Ciceri e triaChickpeas with pasta

In the Salento, at the heel of Puglia, ciceri e tria is an ancient dish, its name from the Arabic "itriya" for dried pasta: creamy chickpeas cooked with bay and garlic, tossed with homemade ribbons of flour-and-water pasta, a third of which are fried in olive oil until crisp and scattered on top. It is made for the feast of San Giuseppe on 19 March, and in the trattorie of Lecce all year round. Chef's tip: the contrast is the whole point; fry the pasta strips until golden and crunchy and add them only at the very last moment, so they stay crisp.

130 minItalianPasta & NoodlesVegan
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Omelette aux fines herbesHerb omelette

Every French home cook learns the omelette aux fines herbes, the quick lunch or late supper served all over the country with a green salad and a glass of water or cider, and the test dish of every cookery school from Paris to Lyon. The eggs are stirred over a gentle heat so they set into soft, creamy curds, then rolled into a pale, smooth cigar with no brown colour at all. The four fines herbes, chives, parsley, chervil and tarragon, go in raw at the last minute so they stay bright. The usual mistake is a pan that is too hot, which browns and toughens the outside before the middle sets. Chef's tip: take the omelette off the heat while the centre still looks a little runny; it finishes cooking on the plate.

10 minFrenchBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Zuppa di cicerchieGrass pea soup

Cicerchie (grass peas) are an ancient legume that looks like a small, squared-off chickpea, grown on the hills of the Marche and Umbria around Serra de' Conti and Gubbio. They make a thick, nutty, rustic winter soup cooked with garlic, tomato and rosemary, served over toasted bread with a thread of new olive oil. Grass peas contain a natural toxin when eaten in large amounts, so always soak them for at least 24 hours, changing the water a few times, and enjoy them as an occasional dish. Chef's tip: change the soaking water at least three times; it removes most of the toxin and makes the peas easier to digest.

105 minItalianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Scarola e fagioliEscarole and bean soup

Scarola e fagioli is one of the oldest dishes of Neapolitan home cooking: tender escarole, a slightly bitter winter salad green, simmered with creamy cannellini beans, garlic, chilli and olive oil into a thick soup, sometimes with broken pasta stirred in. In Naples it is a cold-weather supper, eaten with toasted bread rubbed with garlic. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the beans into the broth; it thickens the soup and makes it creamy without any cream.

40 minItalianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Natto gohan (natto on rice)

Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, is Japan's natto town, but this sticky, pungent breakfast is eaten in homes all over eastern Japan, usually before work with miso soup and a pickle. The fermented soybeans are beaten until they form long silky strings, seasoned, and spooned over steaming rice; they are packed with plant protein. Most packs come with a little sauce sachet that contains bonito fish stock, so for a vegan bowl leave it out and season with soy sauce as here. The common mistake is pouring in the sauce before you stir: whip the beans first, or they never get properly frothy. Chef's tip: stir about 50 times until the strings turn white and fluffy, then season and stir 10 more.

5 minJapaneseBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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Zuppa di farro della GarfagnanaEmmer and bean soup

In the Garfagnana, the wooded mountain valley north of Lucca in Tuscany, farro (emmer wheat) has been grown for 2,000 years and has its own protected status. The classic local dish is a thick, warming soup of farro and borlotti beans, half of them puréed, with onion, carrot, celery, tomato and herbs, served in winter with a thread of new olive oil. Chef's tip: blend half of the cooked beans before adding the farro; it gives the soup a creamy body.

110 minItalianSoupsVegan
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Pasta e lenticchiePasta and lentil stew

In Naples, pasta with legumes is weekday food, and pasta e lenticchie is the one every family makes in winter: small lentils cooked with garlic, celery and a little tomato until soft, then mixed short pasta (pasta mista, the broken ends of different shapes) is cooked right in the pot until thick and creamy. Lentils also bring luck for the New Year, so many families make it on 1 January. Chef's tip: cook the pasta in the lentils with only just enough water, adding it a ladle at a time; the starch from the pasta makes the stew creamy without any cheese.

50 minItalianPasta & NoodlesVegan
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KongjabanSoy-braised black soybeans

Kongjaban is the shiny black bean banchan that sits in a small dish on Korean tables from Gwangju to Seoul and fills countless lunchboxes, because one batch keeps for a week. Dried black soybeans are soaked, simmered in soy and sugar and finished with rice syrup until each bean is chewy, sweet-salty and gleaming. It is a good source of plant protein and children usually love it. The common mistake is adding the syrup too early: it scorches before the beans are tender and makes them hard. Chef's tip: keep the lid off while the beans cook; the steam escaping helps the skins stay intact and wrinkled rather than bursting.

45 minKoreanSidesVegan
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Paneer parathaPaneer-stuffed flatbread

Dhaba breakfasts on the Grand Trunk Road out of Amritsar always have paneer paratha on the board, and it's a lunchbox favourite in Delhi homes because it stays soft and filling until the afternoon. The filling is fresh paneer grated fine, mixed with green chilli, lots of coriander, ajwain, a little onion and a pinch of amchur. Rolled inside atta dough and cooked with ghee, it becomes a mild, milky, protein-rich paratha with crisp brown patches. Serve with dahi, mint chutney or mango achar, and a cup of adrak chai. Use homemade or shop paneer; both are made with lemon or vinegar, not rennet. Common mistake: crumbling the paneer roughly; big lumps poke through the dough and tear it. Grate it finely or mash it with the heel of your hand. Chef's tip: if your paneer is very fresh and moist, add a tablespoon of atta to the filling to bind it, and roll these slightly thicker than a gobi paratha.

40 minIndianBreads & Parathas
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Lentilles de CilaosMountain lentils

High in the volcanic cirque of Cilaos, farmers grow tiny brown-green lentils on terraces, and the whole island prizes them: they hold their shape, taste nutty and mineral, and turn up beside every kind of cari, with a mound of white rice and a spoon of rougail. The village holds a lentil festival each autumn, and a pot of lentilles is a fixture of family Sunday lunches across Réunion. Outside the island, use small French green or brown lentils, which behave in the same way. Don't let them boil hard; a fierce boil splits the skins and turns the pot into mush, so keep it at a gentle bubble. Chef's tip: take the time to brown the onions properly before the lentils go in, because that slow, sweet browning is what gives the sauce its depth.

60 minMauritianCurriesVeganGluten free
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ChikandaOrchid tuber and peanut loaf

In Kasama and across the Bemba country of northern Zambia, chikanda is cooked for weddings, funerals and family gatherings, then sliced and sold on Lusaka street corners as 'African polony' because it looks like a pale sausage. It is made from the dried, pounded tubers of ground orchids mixed with groundnut flour, chilli and a little bicarbonate of soda, stirred over the fire until thick and then baked until firm. The texture is dense and springy, a little like a savoury jelly, with a nutty, earthy flavour and a gentle heat. Use bought dried chikanda powder from Zambian or Southern African grocers; wild orchids are badly over-harvested, so buy only from a trusted supplier. Too little stirring is the usual mistake, and it leaves raw lumps of powder through the loaf. Chef's tip: let the slices cool completely before frying or eating, as the loaf firms up a lot as it sets.

90 minSouthern AfricanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Rántott sajtFried breaded cheese

Rántott sajt is the Hungarian answer to a hungry evening: thick slabs of mild trappista or Edam, breaded twice and fried until the crumb is golden and the inside just begins to ooze. In Budapest it is sold at the büfé stands of the Nagyvásárcsarnok (the Great Market Hall), at the Lehel market and at lángos counters by Lake Balaton, almost always with chips and a dollop of tartar sauce. Traditional trappista and Edam are often made with animal rennet, so choose a cheese labelled vegetarian (made with microbial rennet) if that matters to you. Chef's tip: freeze the breaded slices for 10 minutes before frying, so the crust sets before the cheese melts.

25 minHungarianVegetarian
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Calia e simenzaRoasted chickpeas and pumpkin seeds

Calia (toasted chickpeas) and simenza (salted pumpkin seeds) are sold together in twisted paper bags by the old caliari of Palermo, at the Festino of Santa Rosalia in July, along the Foro Italico seafront and outside the Teatro Massimo after a show. You crack the seeds with your teeth and chase them with the crunchy, nutty chickpeas, a habit that can last a whole evening. This home version roasts soaked dried chickpeas and salted seeds in the oven. Chef's tip: dry the soaked chickpeas really well; any surface water steams them instead of making them crunchy.

60 minItalianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Detsadovsky omlet (kindergarten oven omelette)

Anyone who went to a detsky sad, a kindergarten, in Moscow, Kyiv or Minsk remembers this omelette: tall, pale and soft as a sponge, baked in big trays and served in squares with a slice of bread and butter. The secret is lots of milk and a deep dish, so the eggs steam-bake into a quivering, custardy block rather than a flat frittata. It makes a protein-rich breakfast or supper for toddlers from 12 months, made here without salt. It contains egg and milk; there is no gluten, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: stir the eggs and milk, don't whisk them into a foam, or the omelette rises and then collapses.

35 minRussianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Chintha chiguru pappuDal with young tamarind leaves

Every spring the tamarind trees of Telangana put out soft, coppery new leaves, chintha chiguru, and housewives in Hyderabad and the districts strip them by the handful for a few weeks of this pleasantly sour dal. The leaves give the tang that tamarind pulp gives the rest of the year, and the pappu is eaten with hot rice, ghee and a crisp papad. The common mistake is adding all the leaves at the start; they lose their fresh sourness, so stir half in near the end. Chef's tip: if tamarind shoots are out of reach, use a mix of sorrel and a teaspoon of tamarind paste.

35 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Bachali kura pappuDal with Malabar spinach

Bachali, or Malabar spinach, climbs over back walls all across Telangana and Andhra, and its thick, glossy leaves go into this everyday pappu that turns up at lunch several times a month with rice, ghee and a pickle. The leaves give the dal a silky body and a faint lemony note. People often overcook it until the greens turn khaki; add them after the dal is soft and cook just long enough to wilt. Chef's tip: use the tender stems too, chopped small; they add a pleasant crunch.

35 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Arroz e feijão amassadinho for babiesMashed rice and beans for babies

Rice and beans are on almost every lunch plate in Brazil, from São Paulo office canteens to family tables in Minas Gerais, and babies join in from about eight or nine months with an amassadinho, a soft fork-mashed version. The beans are simmered with a little onion, garlic and bay leaf for flavour instead of salt, bacon or stock cubes, then mashed into soft rice with their thick broth. It is creamy, earthy and filling. It is free of the major allergens: no milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: mash the beans well and press them through a sieve the first few times; the skins are the part babies find hardest.

50 minBrazilianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Kanji payar for toddlersRed rice gruel for toddlers

Kanji and payar, rice gruel with a dry dish of green gram, is Kerala's oldest comfort meal, eaten for dinner in homes across Kottayam and Palakkad and at simple roadside kanji kadas on rainy monsoon evenings. For toddlers from 12 months the matta rice is cooked until it bursts into a creamy porridge, and the cherupayar is steamed soft and finished with a little coconut and cumin instead of chilli, then the two are mashed together. Skip the usual pickle and pappadam. It contains coconut; there is no milk, gluten, egg, nuts or soya, and it is vegan. Chef's tip: soak both the rice and the gram overnight; it halves the cooking time and makes them far softer.

55 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Lito (sarbottam pitho porridge)

Ask a mother in Kathmandu, Pokhara or a hill village what her baby eats after the pasni rice-feeding ceremony, and the answer is often lito: porridge made from sarbottam pitho, a 'super flour' that families roast and grind themselves from two parts soybean to one part each of maize and wheat. Cooked with water it becomes a smooth, nutty, toast-coloured porridge with more protein than plain rice. For babies there is no salt, sugar, jaggery, honey or ghee needed. It contains soya and wheat (gluten). Chef's tip: roast the grains separately, each until it smells nutty and cracks between your teeth, then grind and sieve; the beans need longest.

12 minNepaliBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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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 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Moong dal cheela fingers for babiesMoong dal pancake fingers for babies

Across Punjab and north India, moong dal cheela is a weekday breakfast griddled to order, usually with green chilli, ginger and a pinch of ajwain. For babies from nine months the batter is just soaked yellow moong and grated carrot, cooked thin and soft and cut into strips that are easy to grab, ideal for baby-led eating alongside spoon food. They are tender, mildly sweet from the carrot and packed with plant protein. They are free of the major allergens: no milk, egg, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: grind the batter to the thickness of double cream; thinner batter tears, thicker batter stays raw in the middle.

30 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Jīdàn gēng for babies (steamed egg custard)

Jīdàn gēng, egg steamed with water into a quivering custard, is the dish Chinese grandparents everywhere from Shanghai to Guangzhou make for small children, and it is often the way a baby first meets whole egg at around nine months. The family version is finished with soy sauce, sesame oil and spring onion; this one is plain, so it tastes clean and gently eggy. Steamed slowly, it is smooth as silk and fully set. It contains egg and is free of milk, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame and fish. Chef's tip: cover the bowl with a plate while it steams; dripping condensation is what pockmarks the surface.

15 minChineseBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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BekangFried fermented soybeans

Bekang is the Mizo name for soybeans boiled and left to ferment in leaves until sticky and strongly savoury, and fried bekang is one of the most loved sides on the Aizawl table, spooned over plain rice. To ferment your own, keep the wrapped, drained beans at 30–40 °C for 2–3 days: they are ready when coated in sticky white threads and smell of ammonia and nuts. Throw them out if you see black, green or pink mould or they smell rotten. The common mistake is frying on high heat until the beans scorch and turn bitter. Chef's tip: bought kinema, axone or natto work in place of homemade bekang.

17 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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DubukThick lentil curry

Dubuk is a Kumaoni winter staple from the hill villages around Almora and Pithoragarh, where soaked bhatt (black soybean) or gahat is ground on a stone and simmered slowly in an iron kadhai until it turns thick and dark. It is eaten with plain rice on cold evenings, and the iron pot gives it its slightly earthy colour and taste. Toor dal or a mix of toor and urad works well if you cannot find pahadi lentils. The common mistake is grinding the lentils to a fine paste and boiling hard, which makes dubuk gluey; grind coarse and keep the simmer gentle. Chef's tip: stir in a spoon of the rice paste only at the end, and only if the gravy needs body, because the lentils thicken a lot as they stand.

60 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Dubki kadhiUrad dal dumplings in curd curry

Dubki means a dip, and in this Chhattisgarhi kadhi the spiced urad dal batter is dropped raw straight into the simmering curd so the dumplings cook in the pot rather than in hot oil. It is the lighter, everyday cousin of pakora kadhi, served with rice at lunch across Durg and Raipur and at village feasts. The common mistake is dropping the batter into kadhi that is barely warm; the dumplings fall apart, so the kadhi must be at a lively simmer. Chef's tip: whisk the batter by hand for a full 3 minutes until a spoonful floats in water, and the dumplings will be airy, not dense.

290 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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Porotos con riendasBean and squash stew with spaghetti

When the Andes turn white above Santiago, lunch counters in the Mercado Central and home kitchens all over the Central Valley put on a pot of porotos con riendas, dried beans stewed with squash until thick and orange, with broken spaghetti, the 'reins', stirred through at the end. It is served in deep plates with a spoonful of pebre or a tomato salad alongside. Many cooks add longaniza sausage; this version keeps it meat-free and relies on smoky paprika and slow-cooked onion. Adding the pasta too early is the common mistake: it swells, goes soft and drinks all the liquid. Chef's tip: grate a third of the squash so it melts into the beans and thickens the stew, and dice the rest so you still get chunks.

115 minChileanCurriesVegan
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Kangri khattaTangy chickpeas

At a Kangra dham, the leaf-plate feast cooked by botis (Brahmin cooks) for weddings and village festivals, khatta comes towards the end, a dark, sweet-sour dish of chickpeas or pumpkin in a gravy soured with tamarind or dried mango and balanced with jaggery. It is served with rice and has no onion or garlic. The gravy is thin, glossy and almost black from the long-cooked tamarind. The common mistake is adding the tamarind to undercooked chickpeas; the acid stops them softening, so cook them fully first. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of rice flour or gram flour stirred into the gravy gives the dham-style gloss without making it heavy.

50 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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OotiSoft dried pea curry

Ooti is a Meitei comfort dish from Manipur, especially loved in winter and at the community feasts of Ningol Chakouba: dried peas simmered with a pinch of soda until they collapse into a soft, mild stew scented with garlic and spring onion. It goes with rice and a fiery eromba. The mistake is adding too much soda, which tastes soapy; a small pinch is enough. Chef's tip: soak the peas overnight and they will be soft in about 40 minutes.

55 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Kelli chanaSpiced chickpea snack

On Imphal evenings, kelli chana is sold from steaming pots at street stalls and outside markets: boiled chickpeas tossed while hot with raw onion, chilli, coriander and lemon, sometimes with a spoon of roasted chilli. It is a cheap, filling snack before dinner. The mistake is using under-cooked chickpeas, which stay hard; they should squash easily between finger and thumb. Chef's tip: toss the chickpeas while still hot so they soak up the lemon and salt.

20 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Gahat ke paratheHorse gram stuffed parathas

Gahat (horse gram) is the warming winter lentil of Uttarakhand, and in Garhwal it is boiled, mashed and stuffed into parathas for cold mornings, served with butter, curd and a hill pickle. The filling is spiked with ginger, garlic, green chilli and coriander, and the parathas keep you full for hours. Gahat is hard, so it needs a long soak and a pressure cooker. The common mistake is leaving the filling wet; moisture steams through the dough and the paratha tears. Chef's tip: dry the mashed gahat in a pan for a few minutes after mashing until it holds together like a soft crumble.

80 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Chochos con tostadoLupin bean and toasted corn salad

On street corners in Quito and Latacunga vendors pile paper cups with chochos, the pale Andean lupin beans, tossed with lime-soaked red onion and tomato and showered with crunchy toasted corn. It is a cheap, filling mid-morning snack, sour and salty with a nutty crunch, and it doubles as a light lunch with a fried plantain on the side. Buy chochos ready debittered, sold cooked in jars or vacuum packs: raw lupins are bitter and contain toxic alkaloids until they have been soaked and boiled for several days, so never use dried ones without that long treatment. Lupin is also a declared allergen and can affect people with peanut allergy. The common mistake is skipping the rinse, which leaves the beans tasting of brine. Chef's tip: salt the onion with the lime juice 10 minutes ahead so it softens and turns pink.

25 minAndeanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Sopa negraBlack bean soup with egg

Costa Rican grandmothers make sopa negra with the broth from the week's pot of black beans, and in San José sodas it comes to the table steaming, with a soft-boiled egg halved into the bowl and rice or tortillas alongside. The broth is thin rather than creamy, savoury with sofrito of onion, sweet pepper, celery and culantro, and half the beans are blended to give it body. It is rainy-season comfort food. Blending all the beans is the common mistake: you lose the whole beans that make it a soup rather than a purée. Chef's tip: cook the eggs for exactly 6½ minutes so the yolks stay jammy and melt into the hot broth.

45 minCentral AmericanSoupsGluten free
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Quinchoncho guisadoStewed pigeon peas with pumpkin

In Lara and across eastern Venezuela, quinchonchos (pigeon peas) are cooked during Holy Week and on ordinary weekdays alike, stewed with a sofrito of onion, sweet ají dulce and garlic and thickened with pumpkin that melts into the broth. It's eaten with white rice, arepas or a wedge of fried plantain, and many homes add pork; this version keeps it meat-free. The common mistake is adding the pumpkin too early so it disappears. Chef's tip: put the pumpkin in for the last 20 minutes, then mash a few pieces against the pot to thicken the stew.

105 minVenezuelanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Guyanese boiled and fried channaFried garlicky chickpeas

Outside schools, cinemas and the Stabroek Market in Georgetown, vendors scoop warm fried channa into paper cones, and at Diwali and Phagwah (Holi) gatherings it comes out by the bowlful with a drink. Dried chickpeas are boiled until just tender, then fried hard with garlic, onion and hot pepper until the skins crackle and the outsides turn golden. Frying wet chickpeas is the mistake that ruins it: they spit, steam and stay soft, so dry them very well first. Chef's tip: let the boiled channa sit spread on a tea towel for 20 minutes; the drier they are, the crunchier the edges.

90 minGuyaneseSnacks & StartersVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Dombrés aux haricots rougesFlour dumplings in red beans

Dombrés are the small rolled flour dumplings that Guianese Creole cooks in Cayenne and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni drop into a pot of red kidney beans, so they swell and soak up the herb-scented sauce. In French Guiana and the Antilles the beans are often cooked with salted pork tail or smoked meat; this version leaves out the meat and uses smoked paprika, onion, chives, thyme and cloves for depth, making a hearty vegan dinner with rice. Dried kidney beans must be boiled hard for 10 minutes before simmering to destroy a natural toxin, so don't skip that step or cook them in a slow cooker from raw. Dumplings that fall apart are the usual problem: keep the dough firm and the pot at a gentle simmer once they go in. Chef's tip: roll each dombré between your palms into a small torpedo; that shape cooks evenly and holds together.

120 minGuyaneseCurriesVegan
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Guyanese egg ballsFried cassava-coated eggs

Egg balls are the snack you buy in a paper bag at a Georgetown cake shop or from a tray at a cricket match at Bourda, with a generous spoon of mango sour over the top. A whole hard-boiled egg is wrapped in a layer of mashed cassava seasoned with garlic, hot pepper and herbs, then fried until crisp and golden. The usual problem is cassava that is too wet or too thin a layer, so the balls crack in the oil; mash it dry and keep the coat about 1 cm thick. Eggs are the main allergen here. Chef's tip: chill the wrapped balls for 20 minutes before frying so they hold their shape.

60 minGuyaneseSnacks & StartersGluten free
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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 AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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KongjukSoybean and rice porridge

Kongjuk is the porridge Korean families make when they want something filling but plain: soaked soybeans ground into a milk with rice and cooked until it is thick, pale and creamy. It is a breakfast and a summer staple in the countryside, eaten with a little salt and some kimchi or radish on the side. The mistake to avoid is under-blending the beans: gritty bean skins make the porridge grainy, so blend long and fine, or sieve it. Stir often too, because soy milk catches on the bottom quickly. Chef's tip: skim off the loose skins after soaking by rubbing the beans between your palms under water; the porridge comes out silkier and whiter.

60 minKoreanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Lubia pokhteSpiced pinto beans

On cold winter mornings in Tehran, steam rises from street carts selling lubia pokhte: pinto beans simmered with a pinch of salt until soft as butter, ladled into a cup with some of their cooking liquid and sprinkled with golpar, the citrusy ground seed of Persian hogweed, plus a squeeze of lemon. It is cheap, warming and filling. The mistake is salting the water at the start; add salt once the beans are tender or the skins stay tough. Chef's tip: skim the foam in the first 10 minutes and keep the beans at a lazy simmer, never a rolling boil, so they stay whole but creamy inside.

120 minPersianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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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 minScandinavianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Mayai pasuaSplit eggs with kachumbari

Glass-boxed carts outside Nairobi's bars and matatu stages sell mayai pasua into the evening: a vendor splits a hard-boiled egg with a knife, packs the gap with fresh kachumbari and shakes over salt and chilli. It is a quick, protein-heavy snack that tastes cool and sharp from the onion, tomato and lime against the soft yolk. Make a plateful for a party or a packed lunch, and serve with a dash of chilli sauce. The mistake to avoid is a soft or jammy yolk; for street style the eggs must be fully hard-boiled so they split cleanly. Chef's tip: salt the chopped onion with the lime juice for 5 minutes before adding the tomato; it softens the raw bite the way the vendors' pre-mixed kachumbari does.

15 minEast AfricanSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Pasta jajecznaEgg spread

In Poland pasta jajeczna is the everyday breakfast and kanapki spread, piled thickly on rye bread or a crusty roll and topped with radish slices, and it is always on the table at Easter breakfast. Hard-boiled eggs are chopped finely or mashed with mayonnaise, a little mustard and a lot of chives into a creamy, savoury spread. The common mistake is boiling the eggs too long: overcooked yolks turn grey-green and taste sulphurous, so stop at 10 minutes and chill them at once. Chef's tip: grate the eggs on the coarse side of a box grater instead of chopping; you get a fluffy, even spread in seconds without mashing it to paste.

18 minPolishBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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MucapataCoconut rice and cowpeas

Quelimane cooks have a gift for making rice taste rich without a scrap of meat, and mucapata proves it: rice and boiled cowpeas are cooked down in coconut milk until the grains swell, burst at the edges and bind into a soft, spoonable mass. It sits somewhere between a pilaf and a porridge, mild and faintly sweet from the coconut, with the beans giving it body and an earthy note. Families along the Zambezi delta serve it at lunch beside a tomato and onion sauce, greens cooked with peanuts, or a fiery dab of piri-piri. The usual mistake is adding the rice before the beans are properly soft; they never catch up once the coconut milk goes in. Chef's tip: stir it only now and then once the rice is in and keep the heat very low, so the bottom turns lightly golden rather than scorched.

60 minSouthern AfricanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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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 minBalkanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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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 AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Lynyvi varenykyLazy curd dumplings

Lynyvi varenyky, 'lazy dumplings', are the Ukrainian weekday breakfast for families who love varenyky but have no time to fill them: the curd cheese goes into the dough itself, which is rolled into a log, sliced and boiled for a few minutes. They come out soft, tender and lightly sweet, finished with melted butter and a spoon of sour cream, sometimes with jam. The mistake is adding too much flour to make the dough easier to handle, which makes the dumplings heavy; the dough should stay soft and a little sticky. Chef's tip: dust your hands and board rather than the dough, and boil one test dumpling first; if it falls apart, add just one more tablespoon of flour.

27 minUkrainianBreakfast & Brunch
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Kos ata curryJackfruit seed curry

During the jackfruit season, roughly April to July, Sri Lankan households save every seed, and kos ata curry is how they become a hearty weekday dish served with rice and greens. The seeds are boiled tender, peeled of their papery skin, then simmered in a dark roasted curry powder and coconut milk gravy until they taste like chestnuts in a spicy sauce. Serve with red rice and a sambol. The usual mistake is undercooking the seeds; they must be boiled until a fork goes in easily, or they stay hard and are hard to digest. A pressure cooker saves time: boil the seeds for 10 minutes on high. Chef's tip: crack each seed lightly with the flat of a knife before simmering so it soaks up the gravy.

50 minSri LankanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Tvarohová pomazánkaQuark spread

Tvarohová pomazánka is the savoury quark spread made in Czech and Slovak kitchens for breakfast, snacks and the evening bread plate: tvaroh beaten with a little butter, finely chopped onion, sweet paprika and chives, then spread on dark rye bread. It is fresh, tangy and pale orange. The mistake is using raw onion cut too coarsely, which overpowers the mild quark and makes the spread watery; chop it very finely or grate it. Chef's tip: make it 30 minutes ahead and chill it, so the paprika colours the spread and the onion mellows.

10 minCzechBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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DrachenaBaked egg and milk custard

Drachena belongs to the old peasant cooking of northern Russia, from Arkhangelsk to Vologda, where it was baked in the cooling Russian stove on Sunday mornings. Eggs are whisked with milk, a little sour cream and flour, poured into a hot buttered pan and baked until puffed, golden and wobbly, somewhere between an omelette and a soufflé. It is eaten warm, plain or with sour cream. The common mistake is opening the oven early; the drachena collapses if it gets a draught before it is set. Chef's tip: heat the buttered dish in the oven before pouring in the batter, so it starts to set and rise from the bottom at once.

40 minRussianBreakfast & Brunch
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Besan chillaGram flour pancakes

Across North India, besan chilla is the answer when the tiffin needs packing in fifteen minutes: a pourable gram flour batter studded with onion, tomato, chilli and coriander, cooked thin on a tawa, then rolled up with chutney or ketchup. It is naturally egg-free and filling. The common mistake is a thick batter, which gives a heavy, raw-tasting pancake; it should flow like single cream. Chef's tip: spread the batter with the back of a ladle in quick circles from the centre outward, and cover the pan for the first minute so the top steams set.

25 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Verkadalai sadam (peanut rice)

Peanut rice is the filling variety rice that Tamil and Kannada parents send when the school day ends with games: roasted peanuts, dry coconut, sesame and red chillies are ground into a coarse powder and tossed through rice in a curry leaf tempering. It tastes a little like a savoury peanut brittle, and it stays good at room temperature for hours. The mistake is grinding the peanuts too long; they turn into peanut butter and the rice clumps. Pulse in short bursts and stop while it is still sandy. Chef's tip: keep a few whole roasted peanuts aside and add them at the end for crunch.

23 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Soya chunks sabziDry soya chunk curry

Soya chunks, called nutrela or meal maker across India, are a hostel and office-tiffin favourite from Delhi to Hyderabad because they are cheap, keep for months and soak up masala like a sponge. Here they are boiled, squeezed and cooked dry with onion, tomato and garam masala until each chunk is glossy and coated. The mistake is not squeezing hard enough: water left inside dilutes the masala and the chunks taste of nothing. Squeeze them in a fist, twice. Chef's tip: soak them in hot salted water with a pinch of turmeric, so they are seasoned all the way through.

35 minIndianVegetarianVegan
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Kadle manoliBlack chickpea and coconut curry

Kadle manoli is a Konkani dish from Mangaluru and Udupi, cooked for festive meals, Saturday temple days and family gatherings, where it sits beside rice, dalitoy and papad. Black chickpeas and quartered ivy gourd are cooked together, then tossed in a coarse, roasted masala of coconut, byadgi chillies and coriander, a little tamarind and a coconut-oil tempering. It is dry-ish, coating each piece rather than swimming in gravy. The usual mistake is cutting the ivy gourd into rounds; slice it lengthwise into quarters so it stays crunchy-tender. Slow-cooker: cook the soaked chana and gourd with 500 ml water on low for 7 hours, then stir in the masala and heat through. Chef's tip: grind the masala coarse, with very little water, so it clings to the chickpeas and stays fragrant.

70 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Kale chane ka salanBlack chickpea curry

Across Pakistani Punjab, from Faisalabad homes to roadside tandoors near Gujranwala, black chickpeas in a thin, peppery gravy are winter food and a Friday staple, eaten with fresh roti or rice. The small brown chana keep their bite and give a nutty, earthy broth flavoured with cinnamon, black cardamom, cloves and bay. It is cooked in one pot, on the stove or in a slow cooker, and tastes even better the next day. The usual mistake is skipping the overnight soak: unsoaked black chana stay hard however long you cook them. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the cooked chana against the side of the pot at the end; it thickens the gravy without any flour.

70 minPakistaniCurriesVeganGluten free
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Kari gros poisButter bean curry

In Mauritius, gros pois (butter beans) are a pantry staple, and kari gros pois is cooked in Creole and Indo-Mauritian homes alike for weekday lunches and Friday meat-free meals. The beans simmer in a curry of onion, tomato, garlic and ginger, flavoured with curry powder, fresh thyme and curry leaves, so it tastes of both India and the island's French side. It is served with rice, farata flatbreads and a tomato or chilli chutney. The usual mistake is frying the curry powder on high heat; it scorches in seconds and turns bitter. Pressure cooker option: cook the soaked beans for 15 minutes at pressure. Chef's tip: crush a few beans into the sauce at the end, which thickens it without any flour.

85 minMauritianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Lauki chana dalBottle gourd and chana dal

In Punjabi and Haryanvi homes lauki chana dal is a weekday staple, and it travels in the dabba's lidded steel bowl beside rotis or rice. Chana dal holds its shape while the bottle gourd melts into it, so the dal is thick enough not to slosh about. The mistake is adding the lauki at the start with the dal: it collapses into strings and turns the dal watery. Add it once the dal is half cooked. Chef's tip: choose a young, pale-green lauki that your nail dents easily; an old one is bitter and seedy, so taste a small piece raw and discard it if it is bitter.

50 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Ndizi na maharageGreen bananas and red beans

Across Tanzania, from Dar es Salaam to the banana farms around Kilimanjaro, ndizi na maharage is a filling weekday lunch: green cooking bananas and red beans simmered in one pot with tomato, onion and coconut milk until the bananas are soft and the sauce creamy. It needs nothing more than a few slices of avocado or a fresh kachumbari salad on the side. The usual mistake is cooking dried red kidney beans gently from the start: they must boil hard for 10 minutes first to be safe. Peel green bananas with oiled hands, as the sap stains and sticks. Chef's tip: add the bananas only once the beans are tender, then let them simmer until they just break at the edges and thicken the sauce.

90 minEast AfricanVegetarianVeganGluten free
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MsetoRice and green grams

Mseto, meaning 'mixture', is a staple of the Swahili coast from Mombasa to Lamu and Zanzibar, often eaten at lunch or for breaking the fast in Ramadan. Rice and green grams (whole mung beans) cook together in coconut milk with onion and a little turmeric until soft, fluffy and gently creamy. It is served beside a vegetable or bean curry, a kachumbari salad and a squeeze of lime. The usual mistake is adding the rice before the green grams are tender, so the rice turns mushy while the beans stay hard. Chef's tip: once the rice is in, cover the pot tightly and leave it on the lowest heat without lifting the lid, so the rice steams evenly.

55 minEast AfricanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Akkha masoorWhole brown lentil curry

Akkha masoor is the dish that made the dhabas on the Kolhapur–Pune highway famous: whole brown lentils cooked into a rich, fiery onion, tomato and Kolhapuri-masala gravy, finished with a big knob of butter and eaten with jowar bhakri, tandoori roti or jeera rice. At home it is a weeknight dinner and a favourite on cold evenings. The lentils keep their shape while the roasted dry coconut and red chilli give a deep, nutty heat. The usual mistake is undercooking the onions; they must turn deep brown before the tomatoes go in, or the gravy tastes thin. Slow-cooker: cook everything except the butter on low for 6 hours, then stir the butter in at the end. Chef's tip: toast the dry coconut until it is the colour of a biscuit; it is the secret of the dhaba flavour.

60 minIndianCurriesGluten freeSpicy
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Dalimbi usalSprouted field bean curry

In Konkan and Pune homes, dalimbi usal is a festival dish, cooked for Ganesh Chaturthi, weddings and thread ceremonies and served on the thali beside puran poli and rice. Dalimbi are dried field beans (val) that are soaked, sprouted and peeled; the work takes two days but turns them creamy and sweet. They are simmered gently with fresh coconut, goda masala, kokum and a little jaggery, without onion or garlic. Field beans must always be cooked until fully soft; never eat them raw or half-cooked. The usual mistake is boiling them hard, which bursts the soft peeled beans into mash; keep the simmer gentle. Chef's tip: soak the sprouted beans in warm water for 30 minutes before peeling, and the skins slip off with a pinch.

60 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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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 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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TondakMixed beans and cashew gravy

Tondak is a Goan Saraswat dish cooked in homes around Ponda and Margao for festivals, weddings and Sunday lunches: mixed beans and plump cashews in a gravy of roasted coconut, red chillies and coriander seeds. The beans soften into the reddish-brown sauce while the cashews stay buttery, making it filling and rich in protein. Serve it with a little rice or a millet bhakri and a vegetable side. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 380 kcal and 34 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is grinding raw coconut; it must be roasted to a deep golden brown first or the gravy tastes flat. Chef's tip: dried kidney beans must be soaked overnight and boiled hard for 10 minutes before they simmer, so do this even if you then use a slow cooker or pressure cooker.

65 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Tuver tothaGreen pigeon peas in garlic gravy

Tuver totha is a winter street-stall and wedding favourite from Mehsana and the villages of North Gujarat, eaten hot on cold evenings when fresh green tuver is in season. The peas are boiled soft, then simmered in a fiery, garlicky gravy of onion, tomato and green chilli and finished with chopped onion, coriander and lemon. In Gujarat it is mopped up with bread; for a lower-GI plate serve it with a bajra rotla or a small bowl of brown rice. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 260 kcal and 30 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is undercooking the peas, which then stay chalky in the gravy. Out of season, use frozen green pigeon peas, or dried green tuver soaked overnight and pressure-cooked. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the cooked peas and stir them back in so the gravy thickens without any flour.

45 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Gogji razmaKidney beans with turnips

In the Kashmir valley, gogji razma is a winter comfort dish, made in heavy pots when turnips are sweet after the first snow and dried beans from Bhaderwah fill the store. Red kidney beans and turnip chunks simmer in a thin, red gravy flavoured with mustard oil, ground fennel, dried ginger and Kashmiri chilli, without any onion or tomato. Serve with a modest bowl of rice or a millet roti and a green salad. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 300 kcal and 38 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is slow-cooking dried kidney beans without boiling them hard first; raw kidney beans are unsafe, so soak them overnight and boil hard for 10 minutes before simmering. Chef's tip: add the turnips only when the beans are almost soft, so they keep their shape and sweetness.

90 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Ugba saladFermented oil bean salad

Ugba, the long, thin slices of fermented African oil bean, are a favourite of Igboland in south-east Nigeria, eaten at village meetings, weddings and as an evening snack with cold drinks in Enugu and Owerri. The slices have a nutty, savoury, slightly funky flavour, and here they are tossed with diced garden eggs, shredded garden-egg leaves, onion, fresh pepper and a little red palm oil. Many cooks add ground crayfish and stockfish; this version is vegan. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, it is high in fibre and plant protein: about 220 kcal and 10 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is not rinsing shop-bought ugba, which can taste too sharp and fermented; rinse it in warm water first. Chef's tip: warm the palm oil just enough to make it runny, never hot, so it coats every slice.

22 minNigerianSaladsVeganGluten free
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MutakuraBeans, cowpeas and maize

Mutakura is old Zimbabwean country food, cooked in rural Mashonaland after harvest from the store of dried beans, cowpeas, groundnuts and maize kernels, and eaten as a filling lunch or snack, often at gatherings and ceremonies. Everything is soaked, boiled for hours until tender, then simply seasoned with salt, so the beans are creamy, the maize chewy and the groundnuts soft and rich. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 340 kcal and 45 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is cooking everything together from the start: the maize needs a long head start, and the dried red beans must be boiled hard for 10 minutes to be safe. A pressure cooker cuts the maize time to about 40 minutes. Chef's tip: soak everything overnight in separate bowls; the maize and groundnuts need it most.

160 minSouthern AfricanVegetarianVeganGluten free
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TovveToor dal with green chilli

Tovve is the plainest dal of the Udupi temple kitchens and of Kannada homes along the coast: toor or moong cooked soft, seasoned with green chilli and ginger and finished with a sizzling ghee tempering. There is no tomato, no onion and no masala, so it is the first dal children eat and what families cook for a light dinner or after a fast, with rice, a spoon of ghee and a lemon pickle. Its flavour depends on a well-cooked dal, so it must be soft enough to fall apart when stirred. The usual mistake is adding salt before the dal is tender, which keeps it grainy. Chef's tip: whisk the cooked dal hard for 30 seconds before tempering; the smooth, creamy texture is what makes tovve taste of more than its few ingredients.

40 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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Mochai kottai kuzhambuField bean gravy

Across Tamil Nadu, from Madurai to Tirunelveli, mochai kottai kuzhambu is a winter and weekend curry: dried field beans and small brinjals stewed in a thick tamarind and sambar-powder gravy with shallots and garlic. It is cooked in a big batch, because everyone agrees it tastes better the next day, and eaten with rice, a spoon of sesame oil and appalam or a simple keerai. The beans turn creamy and the brinjal melts into the sauce. Dried field beans must be soaked and boiled until completely soft; never eat them undercooked. The usual mistake is adding the tamarind before the beans are tender, because acid stops them softening. Slow-cooker: boil the soaked beans hard on the hob for 10 minutes first, then cook everything on low for 6 hours. Chef's tip: fry the brinjal in the oil before the gravy goes in, so it holds its shape instead of dissolving.

85 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Paruppu urundai kuzhambuLentil dumpling gravy

Paruppu urundai kuzhambu is a Sunday-lunch treat in Tamil homes from Chennai to Coimbatore: coarse balls of soaked chana and toor dal, spiked with fennel, chilli and shallot, dropped raw into a bubbling tamarind gravy where they steam and firm up. The dumplings come out soft inside and soak up the sour, spicy sauce, and the crumbs that escape thicken the gravy. Serve it with plain rice, a spoon of sesame oil and a vegetable poriyal. The usual mistake is stirring as soon as the balls go in, which breaks them; leave them alone until they float and feel firm. Chef's tip: drop one test ball in first; if it cracks, knead a spoon of rice flour into the mixture before shaping the rest.

65 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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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 minPersianSoupsGluten free
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Mashkalai dalSplit black gram dal

In Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj, in the far west of Bangladesh, mashkalai dal is eaten with thick kalai ruti flatbreads and a fiery bhorta, especially on winter mornings and evenings. Split black gram is cooked until creamy and slightly sticky, flavoured with ginger, then crowned with onion and garlic fried crisp in mustard oil. It is filling and earthy with a gentle heat. The usual mistake is boiling it too hard: mashkalai foams over and catches, so keep the lid ajar and the heat low. Chef's tip: fry the onion and garlic separately and add them just before serving, so they stay crisp on top of the dal.

50 minBangladeshiCurriesVeganGluten free
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Qorma-e-lubiaRed kidney bean stew

Qorma-e-lubia is everyday Afghan home cooking, made in Kabul and Herat kitchens for weekday lunches and sold from big pots at roadside eating houses with fresh naan. Red kidney beans simmer slowly in a sauce built on deeply browned onion, tomato, garlic and ground coriander until it turns rich and brick-red. Eat it with naan, or with plain challow rice and a salad of tomato and onion. The usual mistake is putting dried kidney beans straight into a slow cooker: they must be boiled hard for 10 minutes first, or they can make you ill. Slow-cooker option: after browning and the hard boil, cook on low for 8 hours. Chef's tip: brown the onions until properly dark, about 15 minutes; that colour is where the stew's depth comes from.

110 minAfghanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Đậu hũ khoBraised tofu with shiitake

Đậu hũ kho is the vegetarian cousin of the caramel braises (kho) cooked in clay pots all over Vietnam, and in the south it is a standard of Buddhist fasting days and a good companion for a pot of rice through the week. Golden fried tofu and chewy shiitake are braised in a dark caramel, soy sauce and coconut water until the sauce turns sticky, salty-sweet and peppery. Serve with steamed rice, a plate of fresh cucumber and a light soup. The usual mistake is letting the caramel go too dark, which makes the whole dish bitter; stop when it is the colour of strong tea. Chef's tip: coconut water gives a rounder sweetness than plain water, and the braise keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

35 minVietnameseVegetarianVegan
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Frijoles maneadosPinto beans with chile and cheese

Frijoles maneados are the rich party beans of Sonora in northern Mexico, cooked for carne asada gatherings, weddings and Sunday lunch, and spooned onto flour tortillas. Soft pinto beans are mashed and beaten (maneados means stirred or worked) with dried red chile colorado, milk and so much melting cheese that the pot pulls into strings. Serve them with flour tortillas, grilled vegetables and a sharp salsa. The usual mistake is adding the cheese while the pot is boiling hard, which makes it go rubbery and oily; take the heat right down first. Chef's tip: Sonoran queso regional or Chihuahua cheese is often made with animal rennet, so for a vegetarian pot choose a vegetarian Monterey Jack-style or mild Cheddar cheese labelled suitable for vegetarians.

130 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
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Terik tahu tempeTofu and tempeh in coconut milk

Terik is a Central Javanese way of cooking in coconut milk until almost all of it has gone, and around Solo and Yogyakarta terik tahu tempe is a staple of home lunches, Lebaran spreads and the warung nasi where you point at dishes to go on your rice. Tofu and tempeh soak up a sauce of shallots, candlenuts, coriander seed, galangal and palm sugar that reduces to a thick, oily, sweet-savoury coating. Serve with rice, sambal and something green. The usual mistake is stirring too vigorously as it reduces, which breaks the tofu into crumbs, so shake the pan or turn the pieces with a spatula. Chef's tip: steam the tempeh for 10 minutes before cutting it, which removes any bitterness and helps it absorb the sauce.

50 minIndonesianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Lilva tuvar nu shaakGreen pigeon pea curry

From December to February, Gujarati markets fill with fresh tuvar pods, and families in Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad spend evenings shelling them for lilva dishes. This simple shaak cooks the sweet, nutty green pigeon peas with ginger, green chilli, ajwain and a fistful of coriander, with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of sugar for the classic Gujarati balance. Eat it with bajra rotla, rotli or khichdi. The usual mistake is cooking the peas too long, which turns them grey and floury; they should stay green and tender. Chef's tip: frozen lilva from Indian grocers work well outside the season; add them straight from frozen and shorten the cooking time.

35 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Teliya maahBlack lentils in mustard oil

Teliya maah is one of the dishes of the Himachali dham, the feast cooked by hereditary cooks (botis) in big brass pots for weddings and temple fairs in Mandi, Kangra and Chamba, and served on leaf plates with rice. Whole black urad is cooked slowly with plenty of mustard oil, whole spices, ginger and fennel until each bean is soft but whole and glossy with oil; like most dham dishes, it uses no onion or garlic. Serve with rice and a sour madra or khatta. The usual mistake is stirring hard once the urad is soft, which turns it into a mushy dal instead of separate, oily beans. Slow-cooker option: put the soaked urad, spices and water on low for 8 hours, then finish uncovered on the hob. Chef's tip: heat the mustard oil until it smokes, then let it cool for a minute, which takes away its raw bite before the spices go in.

115 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Kumaoni rasMixed dal broth

In the hill villages of Kumaon in Uttarakhand, ras is cooked through the cold months in a heavy iron kadhai that sits on the fire for hours; the iron turns the broth dark and earthy, and families drink it with rice or mandua (finger millet) roti. Several whole dals, here horse gram (gahat), black soybeans (bhatt), black urad and green moong, are simmered until their liquid becomes a rich, brown, silky broth, lightly thickened with ground rice and finished with a crackling mustard-oil tempering of jakhya seeds. The cooked dal solids are eaten too, as a dry side. The usual mistake is hurrying: the broth needs long, slow simmering to turn silky and full-flavoured. Chef's tip: jakhya (wild mustard seed) is sold in Uttarakhand shops; cumin is a fair stand-in.

105 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Chhena tarkariFried cheese cube curry

In Odia homes, from Cuttack to Puri, chhena tarkari is the special curry for a Sunday lunch, a guest or a festival day when the household eats no onion or garlic. Fresh chhena, the soft cheese Odisha also turns into rasagola, is pressed, cut into cubes and fried golden, then simmered with potato in a thin gravy of tomato, ginger and roasted cumin. The cubes stay soft and soak up the sauce, and the dish is eaten with rice, puri or paratha. Chhena is made by curdling milk with lemon juice, so it contains no rennet. The usual mistake is boiling the gravy hard after the chhena goes in, which breaks the cubes into crumbs. Chef's tip: fry the chhena cubes until golden on two sides only, then rest them in warm water for five minutes; they swell and turn spongy, just like an Odia grandmother's.

45 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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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 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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PhaanuGround mixed lentil stew

Phaanu is everyday food in Garhwal's hill villages, from Pauri to Tehri, made on cold days and in large pots for family gatherings. Mixed lentils are soaked overnight, ground to a coarse paste and simmered slowly in an iron pot until the paste turns into a thick, earthy stew, with spinach or other greens and a mustard-oil and jakhya tempering. It is eaten with steamed rice and a little ghee. The usual mistake is adding the paste to the pot and walking away; for the first 10 minutes it must be stirred constantly or it forms lumps and sticks to the bottom. Chef's tip: whisk the lentil paste into cold water before it goes on the heat; it thickens smoothly and never catches.

70 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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FarrottoFarro cooked like risotto

In the hills of the Garfagnana and around Spoleto, where farro has been grown since Roman times, cooks make farrotto in autumn and winter as a heartier cousin of risotto. Semi-pearled farro is toasted in olive oil with onion and celery, then cooked slowly with hot vegetable stock, ladle by ladle, until the grains are tender but still bouncy and wrapped in a light, creamy sauce. Finish with pecorino and serve as a main with a green salad. The usual mistake is stirring as constantly as for risotto; farro releases less starch, so stir every few minutes and beat in the cheese at the end for creaminess. Chef's tip: toast the dry grains until they smell like popcorn before adding any liquid; it deepens the nutty flavour.

55 minItalianRice & Grains
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Ou tenga dalMasoor dal with elephant apple

Assamese cooks love a sour note, and ou tenga dal is the everyday lentil dish of Upper Assam's homes in the monsoon and autumn, when elephant apples (ou tenga) fall from the trees. Split masoor is boiled thin with turmeric and slices of the hard, tart fruit, then tempered with mustard oil, panch phoron and garlic, so it tastes bright, fruity and comforting. Serve with rice, or with a millet roti and a green vegetable for a lower-GI plate. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 190 kcal and 26 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is adding the fruit too late, so its sourness never comes out; it must cook with the lentils from the start. If you can't find it, use a slice of green mango or 1 tsp tamarind. Chef's tip: bruise the ou tenga slices with a pestle so they release their juice.

35 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Blote billetjes in het grasWhite and green beans with butter

Dutch grandmothers named this dish 'bare bottoms in the grass' for the pale white beans peeping out between the green ones, and it is a summer weekday supper all over the Netherlands, when runner and French beans are cheap. Green beans and cooked white beans are simmered together, then stirred with butter, a little stock and plenty of pepper, often with boiled potatoes on the side. Many families add bacon or a smoked sausage; this version keeps it vegetarian, so serve it with a fried egg or a vegetarian sausage if you want more. The usual mistake is boiling the green beans until grey: they should stay bright with a slight bite. Chef's tip: a splash of the bean-cooking liquid stirred in with the butter makes a glossy little sauce that clings to everything.

30 minDutchVegetarianGluten free
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FirindaMashed bean stew

Firinda comes from Ankole and Kigezi in western Uganda, where beans are the backbone of daily meals, eaten at lunch with matooke, millet bread or sweet potatoes. Red beans are boiled until completely soft, then mashed and cooked down with fried onion and tomato into a thick, smooth stew that hugs whatever is beside it. The usual mistake is skimping on the cooking: firinda only gets its creamy texture when the beans are really soft, and dried red beans must be boiled hard for 10 minutes before the long simmer. Pressure cooker option: after the hard boil, cook for 25 minutes at pressure. Chef's tip: mash only two-thirds of the beans and leave the rest whole, for a stew that is creamy but still has some bite.

100 minEast AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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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 AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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UmngqushoSamp and sugar beans

Xhosa households from Mthatha to Qunu put a pot of umngqusho on the fire on Sunday morning and let it murmur for hours while the rest of lunch comes together; Nelson Mandela famously named it his favourite meal. Crushed maize kernels and speckled sugar beans cook down together into something halfway between a risotto and a bean stew, chewy and creamy at once, sweet with slowly softened onion and thickened by potato that collapses into the pot. Eat it as it is with a spoon of chakalaka, or next to cabbage and a tomato relish. The usual mistake is skipping the overnight soak: unsoaked samp stays chalky in the centre no matter how long you cook it. Chef's tip: hold back the salt until the samp is soft, then season generously, because this dish swallows salt.

240 minSouth AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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IbiharageFried beans with onion

Beans are eaten almost every day in Rwanda and Burundi, and ibiharage is the version that feels like a treat: beans boiled until creamy, drained, then fried with plenty of onion and garlic in oil, traditionally red palm oil, until they are glossy and lightly crisp at the edges. Palm oil gives an orange colour and a deep, almost savoury-floral flavour; vegetable oil gives a cleaner taste. A Kigali lunch canteen will put it next to fried plantain, rice and a cabbage salad. People often fry the beans too wet, so they steam instead of taking colour; drain them well first. Chef's tip: save a ladle of the bean cooking water and add a splash at the end to make the beans silky without washing off the fried onion.

90 minEast AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Paneer tikka

Paneer tikka is the vegetarian star of Punjabi dhabas and Delhi wedding buffets, and at home it is a weekend starter cooked under the grill or in a hot oven. Thick cubes of paneer, pepper and onion are coated in hung yogurt with ginger, garlic, chaat masala and roasted gram flour, then charred at high heat so the edges blister while the centre stays soft. Paneer set at home with lemon juice or vinegar uses no rennet; if you buy it, check the label. Serve with mint chutney and a big salad instead of naan. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 330 kcal and 10 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is a runny marinade, which slides off; hang the yogurt for 20 minutes first. Chef's tip: marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, and don't skip a final blast of high heat for the charred spots.

35 minIndianSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Xiaocong ban doufuCold tofu with spring onion

Xiaocong ban doufu is a northern Chinese home dish, especially popular in Beijing and Shandong on hot summer evenings, so simple that it has given Chinese a proverb about being clear as 'green onion and white tofu'. Soft tofu is blanched, cooled, cut into cubes and tossed with a heap of chopped spring onion, sesame oil and a little salt, so it is cool, silky and fresh. Serve it beside stir-fried vegetables and a little rice or a wholewheat bun. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 120 kcal and 3 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is stirring hard so the tofu breaks into crumbs; fold it gently with a spoon. Chef's tip: blanch the tofu in salted water for a minute, which firms it up and takes away the raw beany taste.

10 minChineseSaladsVeganGluten free
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Jicai doufu gengShepherd's purse and tofu soup

In Shanghai and Jiangsu, shepherd's purse (jicai) is picked from field edges in early spring, and this gentle, lightly thickened soup is one of the first dishes of the season at home and in Shanghainese restaurants. Finely chopped greens and small cubes of soft tofu are simmered in vegetable stock with a few shiitake, then thickened just enough to coat a spoon, giving a soothing, savoury soup with a fresh, grassy taste. Serve it as a starter or with a small bowl of rice. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 110 kcal and 7 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is adding too much starch, which makes it gluey; it should flow off the spoon. Spinach works if you can't find jicai. Chef's tip: blanch and squeeze the greens before chopping, which keeps the soup bright green instead of murky.

25 minChineseSoupsVegan
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Xiangchun chao jidanChinese toon scrambled eggs

For a few weeks each April in Shandong, Henan and Beijing, the red-tipped young shoots of the Chinese toon tree are sold in bundles at every market, and the first thing families make is this quick scramble for lunch or supper. The toon has a strong, garlicky, almost oniony perfume that turns sweet and nutty once cooked with egg. It is eaten with rice, congee or steamed buns. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, it is high in protein and very low in starch: about 190 kcal and 3 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is skipping the blanch: raw toon tastes harsh and is always scalded first. Chef's tip: chop the toon very finely and beat it into the egg before cooking, so every mouthful carries the scent.

15 minChineseVegetarianGluten free
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ScafataBroad bean and chard stew

Scafata comes from the hill towns of Umbria, around Spoleto and Foligno, where it is cooked in late April and May when the first fresh broad beans, chard and spring onions arrive together. The beans are stewed slowly in olive oil and tomato until they are soft and creamy, with the chard melting into a green, fragrant sauce scented with wild fennel or mint. Eat it warm with a slice of wholegrain bread. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, it is rich in fibre and plant protein: about 240 kcal and 22 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is boiling it fast, which toughens the beans; it needs a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: double-pod only the large, older beans; young ones can be cooked in their pale skins.

50 minItalianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Ceci in ziminoChickpeas stewed with chard

In Genoa and along the Tuscan coast, ceci in zimino is the dish of Lenten Fridays and the first cold days of All Souls in November, when the household cooks a big pot of chickpeas and stews them with chard and a little tomato. The chickpeas turn creamy, the chard gives a gently bitter green sauce, and a spoon of good oil on top makes it taste of the Riviera. Serve it as a main dish with toasted wholegrain bread. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, it is high in fibre and plant protein: about 300 kcal and 32 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is adding the chard leaves too early so they turn brown; keep them for the last 10 minutes. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of chickpeas with a fork and stir them back in to thicken the zimino naturally.

50 minItalianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Salade de pois chichesChickpea salad

In Nice and around the old port of Marseille, chickpeas are the grain of the poor and the stuff of socca, and on hot summer days families toss them into this simple salad to eat at lunch or carry to the beach. Creamy chickpeas, sharp red onion, parsley and lemon are bound with fruity olive oil, with a few black olives and cumin in some homes. It works as a starter, a side to grilled fish or a light main. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, it is high in fibre and plant protein: about 270 kcal and 26 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is dressing cold, straight-from-the-tin chickpeas; warm them for a minute first so they drink up the dressing. Chef's tip: soak the sliced red onion in the lemon juice for 10 minutes to soften its bite.

17 minFrenchSaladsVeganGluten free
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Leshta chorbaLentil soup

Leshta chorba is cooked in Bulgarian homes all winter, and it is the soup of choice on fasting days before Christmas and Easter, when families eat no meat or dairy. Brown lentils simmer with onion, carrot and tomato, coloured with sweet paprika and scented with chubritsa (summer savory), the herb that makes Bulgarian cooking taste like itself. It is eaten with a slice of wholemeal bread and a few pickles. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 280 kcal and 34 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is frying the paprika in very hot oil: it burns and turns bitter in a few seconds, so take the pan off the heat first. Chef's tip: a splash of vinegar stirred into each bowl at the table brightens the earthy lentils.

50 minBulgarianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Feijão de óleo de palmaPalm oil beans

No Saturday table in Luanda feels complete without a pot of these beans next to the funge, and the deep orange colour of the dende oil tells you they are ready. Soft, creamy beans are simmered with onion, garlic, tomato and a generous pour of red palm oil until the broth thickens and every bean is coated, earthy, faintly smoky and rich. Serve them with funge de bombó (cassava) or funge de milho, with fried plantain, or with rice and greens. Buy unrefined red palm oil from an African grocer, ideally certified sustainable; it is not the same as the pale refined kind. Chef's tip: hold back the salt and tomato until the beans are truly soft, because both firm up the skins and are the usual reason a bean pot never gets creamy.

90 minSouthern AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Mas ko dalBlack lentil dal

Mas ko dal, made from whole black urad, is the thick, dark dal of the Nepali hills, cooked in heavy pots in Kathmandu, Gorkha and the Newar towns, especially on cold days and for festival meals. Slow cooking makes it creamy and earthy, and the tempering of jimbu, garlic and cumin in hot mustard oil gives it the scent of the Himalaya. Eat with rice, roti or dhido. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, it is high in protein and fibre: about 250 kcal and 30 g carbohydrate per portion; brown rice or millet dhido suits it well. The usual mistake is not soaking the lentils, which leaves them hard and the dal thin; soak them overnight. Chef's tip: simmer the dal with a few ginger slices and mash it lightly with a wooden spoon at the end for the classic thick texture.

70 minNepaliCurriesVeganGluten free
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Ispanakhi matsvnitSpinach with yogurt

In Georgian homes from Tbilisi to Kakheti, ispanakhi matsvnit is one of the quick dishes on a supra table and a weekday side all spring, when spinach is young and sweet. The spinach is wilted, squeezed and chopped, then folded into thick matsoni (Georgian set yoghurt) with crushed garlic, coriander and a little blue fenugreek, and served cool with bread, beans or grilled vegetables. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 110 kcal and 8 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is not squeezing the spinach hard enough, so water seeps into the yoghurt and makes it thin. Chef's tip: crush the garlic with a pinch of salt to a smooth paste so it spreads evenly through the yoghurt rather than hitting you in raw lumps.

15 minGeorgianSidesGluten free
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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 AfricanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Loroco con huevoScrambled eggs with loroco

Loroco is a climbing vine whose fragrant flower buds Salvadorans love, best known inside pupusas, and in San Salvador and the countryside it is also scrambled with eggs for breakfast during the rainy season, from June to October, when the buds are in season. The buds taste green, floral and a little like asparagus and artichoke, softened with onion and tomato and set into soft eggs. Serve with corn tortillas and a spoon of refried beans or avocado. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 210 kcal and 6 g carbohydrate per portion without tortillas. The usual mistake is cooking the eggs on high heat, which makes them dry and rubbery. Frozen or jarred loroco works well; rinse jarred loroco first. If you're cooking for anyone pregnant, a young child or anyone with a weakened immune system, cook the eggs until fully set. Chef's tip: soften the loroco with the onion first so its flavour spreads through the eggs.

15 minCentral AmericanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Tortilla de acelgaSwiss chard omelette

In Montevideo and Buenos Aires, tortilla de acelga is a homely supper or picnic dish, cut into wedges for a weekday dinner or packed for a Sunday at the beach, hot or cold. Plenty of chard is cooked down with onion and garlic, then bound with eggs into a thick, green, juicy omelette that is flipped in the pan like a Spanish tortilla. Serve it with a tomato salad. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 190 kcal and 7 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is leaving the chard wet: squeeze it well, or the tortilla weeps and won't set. If you're cooking for anyone pregnant, a young child or anyone with a weakened immune system, cook it until fully set in the middle. Chef's tip: cook it on a low heat with a lid on for the first side; it sets through without burning the base.

35 minParaguayanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Iron eggsBraised dried quail eggs

Iron eggs were invented in the 1970s at a noodle stall by the river in Tamsui, at the end of Taipei's red MRT line, when a cook kept re-braising unsold eggs until they shrank, darkened and turned chewy. Now every shop along Tamsui Old Street sells them in vacuum packs: tiny quail eggs and small hen's eggs, black as liquorice, with a firm, springy bite and a deep soy, five-spice and caramel flavour. Taiwanese families buy them as a snack for the train home. The process takes most of a day but very little work. Contains egg and soya. Chef's tip: dry the eggs under a fan between braises; the dried surface absorbs the sauce each time and builds the 'iron' skin.

600 minTaiwaneseSnacks & StartersGluten free
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BajellaBoiled fava beans with cumin

On cold mornings in Kuwait City, street carts and old-style breakfast cafés ladle out bajella into paper cups: whole dried fava beans boiled until creamy, served in their hot, salty broth with cumin and a squeeze of lemon. It is cheap, filling and warming, and families cook a big pot at home in winter and during Ramadan. Eat it with a spoon, drinking the broth as you go, or with Arabic bread and pickles. Skipping the overnight soak is the mistake: unsoaked beans take hours and split unevenly. Chef's tip: add the salt only once the beans are tender; salting at the start keeps the skins tough.

90 minGulf ArabianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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AboboiBambara beans in palm oil

Bambara beans, round and speckled, are one of West Africa's oldest crops, and in Accra they become aboboi: simmered for a long time until creamy, then finished in red palm oil fried with onion and pepper. Street sellers dish it out in the evening, often with gari sprinkled on top for crunch and sometimes with fried fish; this version keeps it meat-free and lets the earthy, chestnut-like beans shine. It is filling, protein-rich and costs little. Dried Bambara beans are sold in African and Asian shops; black-eyed beans cook faster if you cannot find them. Don't add salt before the beans are soft, or the skins stay hard however long they cook. Chef's tip: soak the beans overnight and use a pressure cooker if you have one, as unsoaked Bambara beans can take three hours and still stay hard, which is the most common disappointment.

125 minGhanaianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Ukwa (African breadfruit porridge)

Ukwa is festival and family food in the Igbo Southeast, cooked for guests and for the New Yam season, and its price in the market shows how prized it is. The seeds of the African breadfruit are dehulled and slow-cooked with a little potash until soft and creamy, then finished with palm oil, onion, pepper and fragrant utazi or scent leaves, giving a rich, nutty, slightly beany porridge. Dried fish is often stirred in; this version stays meat-free. Some cooks add fresh sweetcorn or cooked maize in the last 10 minutes. A pressure cooker saves an hour of simmering. Chef's tip: add the salt and stock cube only once the seeds are soft; seasoning early, a common mistake, keeps them hard for much longer.

120 minNigerianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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TermesBrined lupin beans

Termes sellers push their carts along the Nile corniche and outside schools and mosques, scooping the plump yellow beans into paper cones, especially around Sham el-Nessim in spring. You nip the skin with your teeth and pop out the firm, salty, nutty bean, with lemon, cumin and chilli on top. Dried lupins are naturally very bitter and must be soaked, cooked and then soaked again for about a week before they are safe to eat, so the hands-on time is short but the process is long. Never skip the debittering: badly prepared lupins can cause poisoning, so taste one before serving and keep soaking if any bitterness remains. Lupin is also a common allergen, especially for people allergic to peanuts. Chef's tip: once debittered, store them in salted water in the fridge, where they keep for two weeks.

105 minEgyptianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Nyambeh nyebbeh (cassava and beans in palm oil)

Bright with red palm oil, nyambeh nyebbeh, cassava (nyambeh) and beans (nyebbeh), is a favourite Gambian lunch from Banjul compounds to roadside food stalls. Chunks of cassava and black-eyed beans are boiled until tender, then dressed with a hot sauce of red palm oil, onion and Scotch bonnet. Cassava gives starchy, slightly sweet bites, the beans turn creamy, and the palm oil adds its earthy, peppery depth. Dried fish is often crumbled in; this is the meat-free version. Chef's tip: always cook cassava fully and pull out the woody core string, since undercooked or raw cassava is unsafe to eat; it is ready when a knife slides through with no resistance.

70 minAfricanVegetarianVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Thakali kalo dalBlack lentil dal

Trekkers on the Annapurna circuit meet Thakali food in the guesthouses of Marpha, Tukuche and Jomsom, and the dal on the brass Thakali plate is the dish they remember: whole black lentils simmered until creamy in a heavy iron pot, then finished with ghee crackling with jimbu, a dried Himalayan herb that tastes like a cross between chives and garlic. A pinch of timur adds a tingling citrus note. It is thick, smoky and deeply savoury, eaten with rice or buckwheat dhido, gundruk pickle, potatoes and a fresh tomato achar, and refilled until the guest says stop. Skip the overnight soak and you will taste it, because the lentils never turn creamy. Chef's tip: once the lentils are soft, mash about a quarter of them against the side of the pot with the back of a ladle, which gives body without any cream.

70 minNepaliCurriesGluten free
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Bhatmas sadekoRoasted soybean salad

Sadeko means marinated, and in Kathmandu it is the word for the punchy little salads served in khaja ghar snack houses and at family gatherings during Dashain and Tihar card games. The soybean version is the cheapest and one of the best: dried soybeans roasted in a dry pan until they crack and turn nutty, then tossed while warm with red onion, green chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander, lemon and a spoonful of pungent raw mustard oil. It is crunchy, sharp and hot, eaten by the handful with beaten rice (chiura) or as a side to a dal bhat plate. The pitfall here is under-roasting the beans, which leaves them hard and grassy rather than crisp. Chef's tip: roast the beans until they split their skins and smell like popcorn, then rub off and blow away the loose skins before dressing them.

20 minNepaliSaladsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Fio fio (pigeon pea pottage with cocoyam)

Pigeon peas are called fio fio or echicha in Enugu, and around Udi and Nsukka they are cooked into a thick pottage for family meals, sometimes with fresh corn in season and often with cocoyam, which melts into the pot and thickens it. The peas stay firm and nutty, the cocoyam turns soft and creamy, and the palm-oil pepper sauce ties it together into a hearty, savoury meal. Dried pigeon peas are sold in African and South Asian shops (as toor or gandules). Pigeon peas are tough and need a long simmer; the mistake is seasoning or adding cocoyam before they are completely tender. Wear gloves to peel cocoyam, which can itch. Chef's tip: soak the peas overnight and boil them hard for the first 10 minutes; it shortens the cooking and makes them evenly tender.

120 minNigerianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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HalabessaHot spiced chickpeas in broth

Halabessa carts appear on Cairo and Alexandria corners once the winter evenings get cold, with a steaming pot of chickpeas and a stack of cups. The vendor ladles out tender chickpeas with plenty of their cooking broth, then adds salt, cumin, lemon and chilli, and sometimes a spoonful of tomato sauce, so it is half drink, half snack. It warms the hands as much as the stomach. The chickpeas need soaking overnight before cooking. The cardinal mistake is draining the chickpeas: the starchy cooking water is the whole point, so keep every drop. Chef's tip: simmer them very gently with the lid ajar so the broth turns cloudy and silky without the skins breaking.

85 minEgyptianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Kuli-kuli (crisp groundnut rings)

Kano's markets sell kuli-kuli by the bagful: hard, crunchy rings and sticks of roasted groundnut paste that has had its oil pressed out before frying. They taste deeply nutty, with a warm kick of ginger and chilli, and keep for weeks in a tin. People crunch them with soaked gari, with kunun drinks or crumble them over salads like zogale. If the oil isn't squeezed out properly the paste collapses in the pan, so keep working it until it feels firm and dry. The usual mistake is not pressing out enough oil from the groundnut paste, so the rings fall apart in the fryer. Chef's tip: they only crisp fully as they cool, so judge doneness by their deep brown colour, not by how hard they feel in the pan.

80 minNigerianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Akidi (Igbo black beans with plantain)

Akidi, a small, glossy black bean, is a quiet staple of Igbo home cooking around Enugu, Anambra and Imo, cooked like beans porridge and usually with ripe plantain for sweetness. After a long simmer the beans turn creamy inside while holding their shape, and they are finished with palm oil, onion, scotch bonnet and a handful of fragrant leaves, so the pot tastes earthy, sweet and peppery. It is a filling meal on its own, often eaten with a cold drink or a side of fried plantain. If you cannot find akidi, black turtle beans are a good substitute. Chef's tip: add the plantain only for the last 15 minutes; put in at the start, it dissolves into the beans, which is the usual mistake.

120 minNigerianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Ekuru (white bean pudding with pepper sauce)

Pale and plain on purpose, ekuru is moin moin's quiet cousin: the same peeled black-eyed bean paste, but steamed with nothing in it except a little salt, so it comes out white, light and airy. In Ijebu and around Ogun State it is a breakfast and market snack, and all the flavour comes from the sauce served with it, a fried mix of red peppers, scotch bonnet, onion and locust beans in palm oil. The contrast of mild, fluffy pudding and hot, oily sauce is the whole point. This version is entirely plant-based. Chef's tip: beat the bean paste hard for several minutes before steaming; the trapped air is what makes ekuru light rather than dense.

90 minNigerianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Iftari chhola bhunaDry-fried spiced chickpeas

An hour before sunset during Ramadan, the pavement of Chawkbazar disappears under trays of iftar food, and the one thing every family buys or makes is a bowl of chhola bhuna. It is chickpeas fried down with onion, ginger, garlic and cumin until almost dry, so each one is coated in a thick, dark masala rather than swimming in gravy. On the iftar plate it sits beside piyaju, beguni, muri and dates, and many people toss it with puffed rice, chopped onion and mustard oil into a quick muri makha. A frequent error is adding the chickpeas while the onions are still pale, which leaves the dish flat and sweet instead of deep and savoury. Chef's tip: finish with a pinch of bhaja moshla, dry-roasted cumin, coriander and chilli ground together, for the smoky taste of the street version.

65 minBangladeshiCurriesVeganGluten free
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DoubaraSpicy chickpea stew

In Biskra, the oasis town at the gateway to the Algerian Sahara, doubara is street food, ladled from big pots into bowls from late afternoon and through Ramadan nights. Soft chickpeas or broad beans are simmered with cumin and garlic, then dressed with a fiery garlic-harissa sauce, olive oil, lemon and a heap of chopped tomato, onion, parsley and fresh chilli on top. It is hot, sour and very garlicky, filling yet fresh, and eaten with bread. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the chickpeas into the broth at the end; it thickens the stew so the sauce clings.

45 minAlgerianCurriesVeganGluten freeSpicy
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LencsefőzelékLentil stew

On New Year's Day all over Hungary, a pot of lencsefőzelék sits on the stove, because every lentil eaten is meant to bring a coin in the year ahead. The rest of the year it is an everyday Budapest canteen dish. Meat-eaters often top it with sausage or a fried egg; this version is fully plant-based and eaten with pickled vegetables and crusty bread. The lentils cook until creamy with a whole bay leaf, a little carrot and onion, then a paprika roux made with oil and a dash of vinegar turn them into a thick, savoury, gently sour stew. Where most people go wrong is making the roux too dark or adding paprika over high heat, which turns it bitter; take the pan off the heat first. Chef's tip: rest the finished stew for 10 minutes before serving; it thickens and the flavours settle.

50 minHungarianCurriesVegan
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Kalai rutiUrad dal and rice flour bread

In Chapai Nawabganj and Rajshahi, kalai ruti stalls fire up as the weather turns cold, and the bread has become such a regional symbol that people from Dhaka make the trip just to eat it. Flour ground from mashkalai, or urad dal, is mixed with rice flour and hot water, then patted by hand between wet palms into thick rounds and baked on a clay tawa until speckled and toasty. The texture is dense, soft and slightly chewy, with an earthy, nutty taste. It is always eaten with something sharp: a raw bhorta of onion, green chilli and mustard oil, a smoky begun bhorta, or duck or beef curry in winter. Over-wet dough is what defeats most first attempts; it should be soft but hold its shape when patted. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of water beside you and wet your palms before shaping each ruti, which stops sticking and gives the characteristic smooth surface.

45 minBangladeshiBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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Danwake (bean flour dumplings)

Roadside danwake sellers in Kano and Kaduna ladle the little dumplings out of big pots, then dress them on the plate with groundnut oil, a dusting of fiery yaji, raw onion and tomato. The dough is bean flour stiffened with baobab leaf powder and a pinch of potash or bicarbonate, which gives the dumplings their dark colour and springy bite. Boiled eggs are often served alongside; leave them out, as here, and the dish is fully vegan and still satisfying, thanks to the beans. A dough that is too soft falls apart in the water, so boil one test dumpling before you shape the rest. Chef's tip: drop the cooked dumplings into cold water straight away; it stops them sticking together and firms the surface.

50 minNigerianVegetarianVegan
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Okpa (Bambara nut pudding)

Early in the morning in Nsukka and Enugu, sellers set out wheelbarrows piled with steaming okpa wrapped in leaves or cooked in small tins, and students and workers eat it standing up with a bottle of cold drink or a cup of pap. It is made from Bambara nut flour beaten with palm oil, warm water, pepper and salt into a bright orange batter and steamed until it sets into a firm, dense pudding with a nutty, earthy taste. It is filling and naturally high in protein. Bambara nut flour is sold in African shops as okpa flour. Undercooked okpa tastes raw and bitter and is hard to digest, so steam until a knife comes out clean. A common mistake is a batter that is too thick, which steams into a hard, dry block instead of a soft-set pudding. Chef's tip: mix the oil into the dry flour before adding any water; it keeps the batter smooth and gives okpa its even colour.

95 minNigerianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Gbegiri (Yoruba bean soup)

Order amala at any buka in Ibadan or Oyo and the server will ask "abula?", meaning a ladle of gbegiri and a ladle of ewedu poured side by side, usually crowned with a spoon of pepper stew. Gbegiri itself is smooth, mellow and earthy: peeled black-eyed beans cooked until they fall apart, beaten to a cream and simmered with red palm oil and pungent locust beans. Many cooks add ground crayfish or smoked fish; this is the meat-free way, which loses nothing of its velvet texture. Serve it with amala and ewedu or spooned over boiled yam. The mistake to avoid is leaving bean skins in, which turns the soup grey and gritty, so rub and rinse until the beans are white. Chef's tip: whisk the cooked beans with a balloon whisk or the traditional ijabe broom rather than a blender for the lightest, fluffiest gbegiri.

90 minNigerianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Burus shapikCheese-filled flatbreads

Burus is the soft, crumbly fresh cheese of Hunza, made in summer pastures by heating the buttermilk left after churning until it curdles, and shapik means bread; together they make one of the valley's best-loved meals, a pair of thin wholewheat rounds sealed around a filling of cheese, onion, coriander, mint and green chilli. In Gojal and central Hunza it is cooked on a griddle for family lunch, for guests and for the walk up to the high pastures, and it is eaten hot, brushed with butter, with a cup of salty tea. Overfilling is the beginner's mistake; the dough tears and the filling leaks onto the pan. Chef's tip: crumbled paneer or well-drained cottage cheese works well in place of burus; paneer needs no rennet, but check cottage cheese is labelled vegetarian.

50 minPakistaniBreads & Parathas
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Beans and plantain porridge

A big pot of this sweet-and-savoury porridge feeds a family through Saturday breakfast and beyond, and it is cooked from Lagos to Port Harcourt. Brown or honey beans (oloyin) are boiled until they start to break up, then finished in palm oil with blended pepper, onion and chunks of ripe plantain, which melt into the beans and sweeten them. Crayfish is common in the pot; this version is vegan and still rich. Tomatoes and salt added too early slow the beans down, so stir in the pepper base only once they are soft. Avoid adding the plantain at the start: it collapses into mush before the beans are soft. Chef's tip: draining the first 10-minute boil of the beans makes them gentler on the stomach.

90 minNigerianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Saraiki kalay chanayDry black chickpeas

Small, dark kala chana are the everyday protein of the Saraiki belt, and from Dera Ghazi Khan to Multan they are cooked dry, so that each nutty chickpea is wrapped in a thick coating of fried onion, tomato and spice rather than swimming in gravy. Ground pomegranate seed (anardana) gives a gentle sourness, and the dish has an earthy depth that the lighter white chickpea never quite reaches. Expect it at breakfast with tandoori roti and a glass of lassi, packed for field work, and in big pots at shrines on Thursday evenings. Undercooked chickpeas are the usual let-down: black chana take longer than you think and must be truly soft before they meet the masala. Chef's tip: soak them overnight and keep a little of the cooking water to loosen the masala during the final fry.

70 minPakistaniCurriesVeganGluten free
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Ghiya chana daalChickpea dal with bottle gourd

Bottle gourd is the vegetable Punjabi mothers reach for when someone in the house needs something gentle, and pairing it with chana daal turns that mildness into a proper meal. The split chickpeas cook until creamy but still slightly nubbly, the ghiya melts into soft, translucent pieces and lends the pot a quiet sweetness, and a last-minute tarka of cumin, garlic and dried red chilli wakes the whole thing up. You will find it on everyday tables from Gujranwala to Sahiwal, eaten with chapati or plain boiled rice and a little sliced onion on the side. A common slip is adding the gourd at the start with the dal, so it disappears completely by the time the lentils are soft. Chef's tip: give the soaked dal a 20-minute head start and add the ghiya only then, so both are done together.

55 minPakistaniCurriesVeganGluten free
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HilbetLentil and fenugreek paste

Hilbet is one of the dishes that tells you you are in Eritrea rather than Ethiopia. Asmara households make it in big bowls for Lent and the other fasting days and serve it cold, swirled with a ribbon of red berbere oil, as part of a spread on injera. Fenugreek soaked and beaten with water turns pale and foamy, much like whipped egg white, and folding it into puréed lentils or broad-bean flour gives a dip that is fluffy, faintly bitter, garlicky and creamy. Market stalls sell a ready-mixed hilbet flour; this home version uses red lentils, which are easy to find. Chef's tip: beat the soaked fenugreek with an electric whisk for a full 5 minutes; that long whipping is what makes hilbet light instead of dense.

50 minEritreanChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Cambuulo (Somali adzuki beans with butter and sugar)

Small red adzuki beans, cooked slowly until they almost collapse, are the heart of cambuulo, a dish Mogadishu households make for a cheap, filling evening meal. Once the beans are soft they are glossed with butter, a spoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt, so the flavour lands somewhere between savoury and gently sweet. Many families stir the beans into plain rice or serve the two side by side, with a drizzle of sesame oil and a banana on the plate. The texture should be creamy, with some beans still whole. The usual mistake is pulling the pot off too early: firm beans never turn creamy, so keep simmering until one crushes easily against the side of the pan. Chef's tip: soak the beans overnight and change the water before cooking; they cook more evenly and are easier to digest.

90 minSomaliVegetarianGluten free
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Ayib be gomen (fresh cheese with spiced collards)

Gurage cooks bring ayib be gomen to the table beside kitfo, and it is just as welcome on its own with kocho or injera on an ordinary non-fasting day. Soft, mild ayib is mixed with collards that have been boiled and chopped fine, then dressed with warm niter kibbeh, garlic and mitmita, so the creamy cheese cools the chilli and the greens add an earthy bite. Ayib is an acid-set cheese made by gently heating soured milk or buttermilk (or milk with lemon juice) until curds form, so it needs no rennet and suits vegetarians. Ricotta or well-drained cottage cheese are close substitutes; if you use a bought cottage cheese, check the label for vegetarian rennet. Do not heat the cheese in the pan, or it turns rubbery and weeps; fold it in off the heat. Chef's tip: squeeze the cooked greens until they are almost dry so the dish stays fluffy rather than watery.

25 minEthiopianSidesGluten free
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Jamaican peanut porridge

Before an early shift or a long day in the field, plenty of Jamaicans swear by peanut porridge, thick, nutty and filling enough to last until lunch; it is sold hot in cups from carts in downtown Kingston in the mornings. Roasted peanuts are blended with oats and water into a smooth paste, then cooked with milk until creamy and finished with nutmeg, vanilla and condensed milk. The mistake people make is cooking it over too high a heat, which scorches the bottom within minutes; peanuts burn easily, so stir and keep it at a simmer. This contains peanuts, milk and oats (gluten unless certified gluten-free). Chef's tip: toast the peanuts in a dry pan until they smell rich before blending, which deepens the flavour enormously.

30 minJamaicanBreakfast & Brunch
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Tidali dalThree-lentil dal

Tidali simply means three in Sindhi, and this dal brings together chana, moong and masoor, each cooking at its own pace so the finished pot has creamy body from the quick lentils and a pleasant bite from the chana. It is everyday food in Sindhi homes from Thatta to Nawabshah, cooked thick and golden, sharpened with tomato and green chilli and finished with a generous tarka of garlic and cumin fried in oil until crackling. Serve it with bhuga chawal or plain rice, a crisp papad, aloo tuk and a little pickle. Many cooks put all three lentils in at once, so the masoor dissolves to mush while the chana stays hard. Chef's tip: give the soaked chana dal ten minutes on its own, then add the moong and masoor so all three finish together.

50 minPakistaniCurriesVeganGluten free
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Skyr

Skyr has been made in Iceland since the Viking settlers arrived: skimmed milk soured with a spoonful of the last batch, set with a drop of rennet, then strained until very thick, high in protein and mildly sour. Icelanders eat it every day with milk or cream and berries, or whisked into a drink, and skyrkaka is a favourite cheesecake. You need a few spoonfuls of plain shop skyr with live cultures as a starter. A common mistake is skipping the long, slow set; rushed skyr is thin and grainy. Chef's tip: strain it in the fridge overnight and stir it smooth before serving. Rennet is traditionally animal; use vegetarian rennet.

50 minScandinavianBasicsGluten free
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Eritrean frittata

Asmara's cafés kept the Italian word but changed the flavour: an Eritrean frittata is eggs beaten with softened onion, tomato and green chilli, warmed with berbere and cooked flat in a small pan until just set. It comes to the table in its pan with fresh bread and a coffee or sweet tea, and some places fold in a little extra chilli for those who ask. The texture is soft and moist in the middle, with sweet tomato and a gentle heat running through it. A common mistake is cooking the eggs over a high flame, which makes the base tough and brown before the top sets; keep the heat low and cover the pan. Chef's tip: cook the tomato until its juice has evaporated before the eggs go in, or the frittata turns watery.

20 minEritreanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Jamaican curried soy chunks

Ital cookshops in Half Way Tree and Papine sell curried "chunks" by the box with brown rice, steamed cabbage and a slice of ripe plantain, the Rastafarian answer to curry goat. The dried soya pieces soak up a deep, turmeric-gold sauce of Jamaican curry powder, thyme, pimento and coconut milk, and the potato thickens it as it breaks down. Most people skip squeezing the soaked chunks, which leaves them watery and bland; wring them out hard so they drink in the curry instead. Leave the scotch bonnet whole for warmth, or slit it for real heat. Chef's tip: fry the curry powder in the oil until it darkens a shade before anything wet goes in, the Jamaican "burn the curry" step that stops it tasting raw.

45 minJamaicanCurriesVeganSpicy
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Sopa de chícharosSplit pea soup

When money is tight in Cuban homes, the pot of chícharos comes out: yellow or green split peas cooked to a thick purée with potato, calabaza pumpkin and a sofrito of onion, pepper and garlic. Most families cook it with a ham bone or chorizo; this version keeps it meat-free and gets its depth from smoked paprika and plenty of cumin. A common mistake is adding salt at the start, which can keep the peas from softening, so season once they have collapsed. Serve with white rice or crusty bread. Chef's tip: stir a spoonful of the hot sofrito into the soup right at the end, not just at the start, for a fresh garlicky lift.

75 minCubanSoupsVeganGluten free
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KamaRoasted grain flour with kefir

Kama is a uniquely Estonian food: a fine flour of roasted barley, rye, oats and peas, sold in every Tallinn supermarket, stirred into kefir, buttermilk or yogurt with a little sugar or honey and berries. It was once farmers' food for the fields; today it is a fast, filling breakfast and the flavour of Estonian ice creams and sweets. If you can't find kama, roast equal parts barley, rye and oat flour with a little pea flour in a dry pan until nutty. A common mistake is eating it at once; give it a few minutes to thicken. Chef's tip: stir in the kama, leave for 5 minutes, then add the berries, so it thickens like a mousse.

5 minBalticBreakfast & Brunch
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Trini peanut punchPeanut butter milk drink

Bottled or blended fresh at roadside juice stands, peanut punch is what Trinidadians reach for after a long cricket afternoon, a hard gym session or a Saturday market run. Peanut butter is whizzed with cold milk, a little condensed milk, vanilla and a scrape of nutmeg until it is as thick as a milkshake and properly filling. It contains no alcohol, despite the name. The common mistake is under-blending, which leaves gritty clumps of peanut butter at the bottom of the glass. It contains peanuts and milk, so check for allergies before serving. Chef's tip: blend the peanut butter with just a third of the milk first to make a smooth paste, then add the rest.

10 minTrinidadianDrinksGluten free
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Haitian tchaka (vegetarian)Hominy, bean and pumpkin stew

Tchaka is a deeply rural Haitian stew of dried hominy corn, red beans and pumpkin, cooked low and slow until the corn bursts and the beans melt into a thick, sweet-savoury porridge. It is linked with harvest gatherings and Vodou feast days, and the classic pot usually holds smoked pork or pig's feet; this version leaves the meat out and builds depth with epis, smoked paprika and coconut oil instead. Soak the hominy and beans overnight, because skipping the soak is the main reason tchaka stays chalky. Serve it on its own in bowls, with pikliz on the side. Chef's tip: mash a cupful of the pumpkin against the pot wall near the end; it thickens the stew far better than flour.

150 minHaitianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Corn chaff

Big pots of corn chaff are everyday food in the North West, from Bamenda's Food Market to boarding-school dining halls, where maize and beans stretch a long way. Dried corn and beans are simmered until soft, then folded into a red palm oil sauce with onion, tomato and hot pepper, with a handful of greens stirred through at the end. The result is hearty and chewy with a deep, slightly smoky sweetness from the oil, and it tastes even better the next day. Serve it in bowls, with ripe avocado on the side when it is in season. Soak the maize and beans overnight. Chef's tip: give the dried maize a head start of about 45 minutes before adding the beans, because it takes far longer to soften.

120 minCameroonianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Huevos haminadosOvernight slow-cooked eggs

Sephardic families of Turkish and Greek origin in Jerusalem's Nachlaot and in Bat Yam tuck eggs into the Shabbat hamin or simmer them alone overnight, and by morning the shells are mahogany and the whites a pale coffee colour. The long, gentle heat turns the yolks creamy and the whites soft and faintly savoury, with none of the sulphur smell of a fast boiled egg. Serve them with bourekas, cucumber salad and grated tomato on Shabbat morning or at a Passover seder. The mistake is letting the pot boil hard, which cracks the shells and makes the whites rubbery. Chef's tip: a tight lid and the lowest oven setting are all you need; top up the water at bedtime so the eggs never go dry.

610 minIsraeliBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Nnam ngon with mushrooms

Steamed parcels of nnam ngon turn up at Beti weddings, funerals and big Sunday tables in the Centre, unwrapped to reveal a firm, pale cake of ground pumpkin seeds that slices like a terrine. The seeds are ground with onion, garlic, ginger and hot pepper, then bound with water and steamed slowly in leaves until rich, savoury and almost meaty. Smoked fish is the classic addition; here browned mushrooms take its place, so the parcels are vegan and still very filling. Serve with bobolo, boiled plantain or sweet ripe plantain. Chef's tip: brown the mushrooms in a dry pan first; added raw, they release water inside the parcel and leave the mixture loose.

120 minCameroonianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Digir (Somali spiced black-eyed peas)

Mornings at Mogadishu tea shops often start with a bowl of digir, black-eyed peas cooked down with onion, tomato, garlic and a warm hit of xawaash until the sauce clings to every pea. It is scooped up with canjeero, muufo or a piece of soft bread and washed down with spiced shaah, and it keeps people full well past noon. The finished dish is thick rather than soupy, earthy and gently spiced, with a little green chilli for anyone who wants it. Tomatoes added before the onions have softened are the usual misstep: the sauce stays sharp and watery, so cook the onions properly first. Avoid boiling the peas at a gallop; they burst and go mushy. Simmer them gently. Chef's tip: save a cup of the bean cooking water; a splash of it at the end loosens the stew and makes it glossy without diluting the flavour.

60 minSomaliCurriesVeganGluten free
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Mitin shiroRoasted chickpea and pea spice flour

Every pot of shiro wat starts with a few spoons of mitin shiro, and in Ethiopia most households either buy it by the kilo at the market or roast and grind a big batch a few times a year, especially before the fasting seasons when shiro is eaten almost daily. It is not a spice blend like berbere or mekelesha but a seasoned flour: dried chickpeas and split peas roasted until nutty, then milled with garlic, ginger, onion and chilli into a fine, orange-red powder. Whisked into simmering water with onions and oil it becomes a smooth stew in minutes. A home spice mill or strong blender does the grinding well. Chef's tip: roast the legumes until they are evenly golden and smell like toasted nuts; underdone, the shiro tastes raw and beany however long you simmer it.

50 minEthiopianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Shimbra asa (chickpea 'fish' in berbere sauce)

During the 55 days of Lent, when fish and meat are off the table in Orthodox homes of Gondar and Gojjam, cooks make 'chickpea fish': a firm dough of chickpea flour cut into diamonds, fried until golden, then dropped into a dark, oily berbere sauce. The pieces soak up the wat but keep a pleasant bite, a bit like a dense dumpling, and the sauce itself is rich with slow-cooked onion, garlic and ginger. It is a dish for fasting-day guests and Lenten Sundays, served on injera with gomen and a spoon of senafich. Everything is plant-based and fried in oil, so it suits the fast. A common mistake is a dough that is too soft, which breaks up in the sauce; it should feel like firm play dough before you roll it. Chef's tip: add the fried pieces to the sauce only in the last few minutes and shake the pan rather than stirring, so the diamonds stay whole.

75 minEthiopianCurriesVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Anglesey eggs

Anglesey eggs, wyau Ynys Môn, is a farmhouse supper from the island of Anglesey off North Wales: leeky mashed potato piped round halved hard-boiled eggs, covered with cheese sauce and baked until golden. It is cheap, filling and comforting, the kind of dish made on a wet weeknight with what the farm had. Use a vegetarian hard cheese, as traditional cheddar can contain animal rennet. Chef's tip: cool the boiled eggs in cold water straight away so the yolks stay yellow without a grey ring.

50 minBritishVegetarian
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TlatlapasBean, fava and pea soup

In the villages of Tlaxcala, tlatlapas is the Lenten and rainy-season soup: dried beans, fava and peas are toasted on a comal, ground to a coarse flour and simmered into a thick, earthy purée seasoned with dried chilli, epazote and strips of cactus. It is a peasant dish with pre-Hispanic roots, cheap, filling and full of protein, eaten with corn tortillas and a squeeze of lime. Using split beans keeps the cooking under an hour. Chef's tip: toast the pulses until golden and nutty, not dark; burnt ones turn the whole pot bitter.

55 minMexicanSoupsVeganGluten free
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CancoillotteWarm runny cheese with garlic

Cancoillotte is the loose, pale-gold melted cheese of Franche-Comté, the region around Besançon, Morteau and the Jura border. Families keep a pot of it in the fridge and warm it for Sunday supper, pouring it over boiled potatoes, dipping bread into it or spooning it over a baked potato. The real thing starts from metton, a ripened curd that is hard to find outside the region, so this home version uses quark and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda, the same trick German cooks use for Kochkäse: the soda turns the curd soft and melty, and butter, garlic and a little milk give the silky, slightly tangy finish. Most quark is made with little or no rennet, but check the label if that matters to you. Chef's tip: leave the quark and soda to rest for a full hour; it should turn translucent and gooey before it goes near the heat.

80 minFrenchChutneys & DipsGluten free
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Cervelle de canutHerbed fresh cheese dip

The name means 'silk weaver's brain', a joke from the Croix-Rousse hill in Lyon, where nineteenth-century canuts worked the looms and could not afford the lamb's brains their bosses ate. Their version was fromage blanc whipped with shallot, garlic and herbs, and it is still served in every bouchon as a starter or after the main course, with bread, toast or boiled potatoes. Some cooks splash in white wine; this version uses a little white wine vinegar instead, so it is alcohol-free. Some fromage blanc is set with rennet, so pick a brand labelled vegetarian if that matters. Chef's tip: make it an hour ahead; the shallot softens and the herbs flavour the cheese right through.

15 minFrenchChutneys & DipsGluten free
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Omelette au brocciu et à la mentheFresh cheese and mint omelette

Inland Corsica, around Corte and the mountain villages, serves this omelette from late autumn to early summer, the months when shepherds make fresh brocciu. The cheese goes in at the last moment so it stays creamy, and wild mint picked from the maquis cuts through its richness; it is a light lunch or supper with a green salad and bread. Brocciu is made from the whey of rennet cheeses, so vegetarians often use ricotta labelled vegetarian instead. Chef's tip: season the cheese and mint, not just the eggs, because fresh whey cheese is very mild.

13 minFrenchBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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EnfrijoladasTortillas in black bean sauce

Think of enfrijoladas as enchiladas that swap chilli sauce for beans: warm tortillas dipped in a silky black-bean purée, folded into quarters and scattered with fresh cheese and raw onion. In Oaxaca they are a breakfast and supper dish, made from yesterday's pot of beans, and the purée is perfumed with toasted avocado leaves, which taste faintly of anise. Serve two or three per person with a fried egg or a spoonful of salsa. Queso fresco is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian feta or paneer-style fresh cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: keep the bean sauce loose, like double cream; it thickens on the plate and a stiff sauce tears the tortillas.

30 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
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Fave e cicorieBroad bean purée with chicory

Few plates say Puglia as plainly as this one: a pale, velvety purée of dried broad beans beside a tangle of boiled wild chicory, the two joined by a stream of green olive oil. Families from the Murgia to the Salento cook it on winter weekdays and through Lent, and Bari trattorias still put it on the menu as the true taste of cucina povera. The beans are sweet and earthy, the greens bitter, and every forkful should carry a little of both. Chef's tip: buy dried broad beans that are already skinned and split; they cook to a cream on their own, with no sieving.

90 minItalianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Sopa de grão com espinafresChickpea and spinach soup

This is everyday food in the villages of the Beira interior, where chickpeas are a winter store-cupboard standby and a big pot of soup starts most lunches and suppers. Part of the chickpeas are blended with potato and onion for a creamy base, the rest left whole, and fresh spinach is stirred in at the end. It is filling, cheap and ready in under an hour. A common mistake is boiling the spinach in the soup for too long; add it at the end and cook it only until it wilts. Chef's tip: add the spinach only at the last minute, as long cooking turns it grey and bitter.

50 minPortugueseSoupsVeganGluten free
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PapadzulesEgg tortillas in pumpkin seed sauce

Papadzules may be the oldest dish still eaten in the Yucatán: Maya cooks were rolling tortillas in ground squash seeds long before the Spanish brought chickens and their eggs. Today they are a lunch and Lent dish in Mérida, Valladolid and Campeche. Corn tortillas are dipped in a pale green sauce of toasted pumpkin seeds and epazote, rolled around chopped hard-boiled egg, then topped with a cooked habanero-tomato sauce and a few drops of green pumpkin-seed oil squeezed from the paste. The flavours are nutty, herbal and gently hot. Chef's tip: keep the seed sauce warm, never boiling; heat makes it split and turn grainy, and the oil that separates is meant to be drizzled on top, not stirred back in.

55 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
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Sikil pakPumpkin seed dip

In Yucatec Maya, sikil means squash seed and p'aak means tomato, and that is almost all there is to this pale, coarse dip from the Yucatán Peninsula. Cooks in Mérida and the villages around it toast the seeds on a comal until they pop, grind them with charred tomato, chives and a little habanero, and serve the dip with tostadas or crisp tortilla chips before a meal. It tastes nutty, smoky and fresh at the same time, and is naturally vegan. Chef's tip: roast the habanero whole and add it a little at a time; you can always grind in more, but you can't take the heat back out.

25 minMexicanChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Tlacoyos de habaStuffed blue corn cakes

Walk out of almost any Metro station in Mexico City in the morning and you will find a woman on a low stool patting out tlacoyos on a clay comal: thick, oval cakes of blue or white corn masa with a seam of bean or fava purée hidden inside, topped with cactus, salsa and crumbly cheese. They are bought hot, eaten standing up, and are one of the oldest street foods in the valley, older than the city itself. This version is filled with garlicky fava purée (habas) and topped with a quick nopal salad and salsa verde. Leave off the cheese and it is vegan. Chef's tip: keep the purée stiff, like mashed potato; a loose filling bursts through the masa when you flatten it.

70 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Gordas de frijol negroBlack bean masa cakes

In the Sotavento region of southern Veracruz, around Tlacotalpan and Los Tuxtlas, cooks knead well-fried black beans straight into the corn masa, so the little cakes come out speckled grey-black, then fry them until they puff up like balloons. Gordas de frijol are a supper snack from street stalls and fiesta tables, split and topped with salsa, chopped onion and, for a non-vegan version, a crumble of fresh cheese. Avocado leaf in the beans gives a faint aniseed note. Chef's tip: the beans must be very thick and cooled; warm, wet beans make a sticky dough that will not puff.

40 minMexicanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Mercimek köftesiRed lentil and bulgur patties

No women's afternoon gathering in Ankara or Kayseri is complete without a platter of mercimek köftesi: little finger-pressed ovals of red lentils and fine bulgur, rich with onion, pepper paste, cumin and a big handful of spring onion and parsley. They're eaten cold, tucked into lettuce leaves with a squeeze of lemon, and they keep well for picnics and lunch boxes. Common mistake: draining the lentils; the bulgur needs all that hot liquid to swell, so cook the lentils until the water is just absorbed. Chef's tip: knead the mixture with wet hands for a few minutes after the bulgur softens; the more you knead, the smoother and less crumbly the köfte.

50 minTurkishVegetarianVegan
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RevithadaClay-pot baked chickpeas

On Sifnos, Saturday night means taking a clay pot of chickpeas, onions, olive oil and bay to the village baker, who leaves it in the cooling wood oven overnight; on Sunday morning, after church, families collect it and eat it for lunch. The chickpeas turn creamy and almost melting in a thick, sweet, onion-rich broth. A home oven at low heat does the same job in about five hours. Common mistake: adding salt at the start, which can keep the chickpeas firm; add it in the last hour. Chef's tip: rub the soaked chickpeas with a little bicarbonate of soda and rinse well; it helps them soften to that silky texture.

315 minGreekVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Harrak osbaoLentils with pasta and tamarind

The name means 'he burnt his finger', and the Damascene story goes that it is so good people can't wait for it to cool. Brown lentils and fresh pasta are cooked together in a sour sauce of tamarind and pomegranate molasses, then topped with coriander, garlic, crisp fried onions and fried bread so every bite is soft, tangy and crunchy at once. It is a Lenten and summer favourite in Damascus, served at room temperature with flatbread. Common mistake: frying the croutons and onions too early; they go soft on top of the lentils, so add them just before serving. Chef's tip: use a mix of pomegranate molasses and tamarind for a rounder sourness than either alone.

80 minSyrianVegetarianVegan
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SfougatoCourgette and cheese oven omelette

Sfougato means 'sponge', which is just how this island oven omelette looks when it comes out puffed and golden; in the Cyclades and the Dodecanese it's the summer answer to too many courgettes. Grated courgette, spring onion and mint are softened in olive oil, mixed with eggs and cheese and baked, then cut into squares for lunch with bread and tomatoes or packed for a day at the beach. Kefalotyri and feta are usually made with animal rennet, so use vegetarian versions if you need to. Common mistake: leaving the courgettes wet, which gives a watery, rubbery omelette. Chef's tip: let the softened vegetables cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs so they don't scramble at the edges.

60 minGreekBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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TurmusBrined lupini beans

Strolling the Beirut Corniche or a Sunday market in Amman, you will pass carts selling turmus: plump golden lupini beans kept in salted water, scooped into paper cones and eaten by nicking the skin with your teeth and popping out the bean. They are also a fixture on mezze tables and a fasting snack for Lent. Dried lupins are naturally very bitter and must be soaked for days to wash those compounds out; never eat them while they still taste bitter, and if you are allergic to peanuts, check with a doctor first as lupin allergy is linked. A jar of ready-debittered lupini, drained and seasoned, is a quick shortcut. The common mistake is salting the beans before they are fully sweet, which seals the bitterness in. Chef's tip: finish with lemon, cumin and a little chilli just before serving; the salty brine keeps them, the dressing makes them moreish.

90 minLebaneseSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Southern boiled peanuts

Boiled peanuts are sold steaming from roadside stands and petrol stations all along the back roads of South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, ladled into paper bags in late summer when the green peanut harvest comes in. Raw peanuts are simmered for hours in heavily salted water until soft as cooked beans, salty and earthy. A Cajun-spiced version with chilli is popular too. Chef's tip: taste a peanut every hour; they are done when the kernel is completely soft with no crunch.

245 minAmericanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Adas bi hamodLentils with chard and lemon

Adas bi hamod — 'lentils with sourness' — is a Lenten staple in Lebanese Christian homes and a thrifty weeknight pot everywhere else, especially in the south. Brown lentils simmer with chard, potato and a fried paste of garlic and coriander until the broth turns thick, then a generous amount of lemon makes it tangy and refreshing. It is somewhere between a soup and a stew and is just as good warm or at room temperature with bread. Common mistake: adding the lemon at the start; the acid stops the lentils softening, so add it at the end. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of lentils against the side of the pot to give the broth body without any flour.

60 minLebaneseSoupsVeganGluten free
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RummaniyehLentil and aubergine stew with pomegranate

Rummaniyeh, from rumman (pomegranate), is a Gazan autumn dish made when the pomegranates ripen: brown lentils and cubes of aubergine cooked to a thick, earthy stew, soured with pomegranate juice and molasses, enriched with tahini and finished with a sizzling oil of garlic, dill and chilli. It is eaten warm or at room temperature, scooped up with bread, and keeps well for days. Common mistake: adding the tahini over a high heat, where it seizes and turns grainy; stir it in off the boil. Chef's tip: fry the garlic and dill only until the garlic is pale gold; brown garlic tastes bitter against the sour fruit.

65 minPalestinianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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IjjehHerb omelette cakes

Ijjeh is the quick supper of Palestinian and Levantine homes: eggs beaten with so much parsley, mint and spring onion that they turn green, spiced with a little cinnamon and allspice, then fried as thick little patties. They are tucked into warm bread with tomatoes and pickles for school lunches, or served on a breakfast spread with olives and labneh. Common mistake: frying in too little oil over a high heat, so the outsides burn before the herbs inside cook. Chef's tip: a spoonful of flour and a pinch of baking powder make them puff and stay soft when eaten cold the next day.

22 minPalestinianBreakfast & Brunch
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RashoofLentil and cracked wheat yoghurt soup

In the stone villages around Karak and Tafileh, rashoof is what simmers on cold, wet evenings: brown lentils and coarse bulgur cooked soft, then enriched with jameed, the dried salted yoghurt that is also the soul of mansaf. The result is thick, sour and comforting, almost a porridge, finished with a heap of onions fried golden in samneh. Jameed is sold in hard balls or as a liquid in Middle Eastern shops; thick strained yoghurt with a little extra salt makes a fine stand-in. The classic mistake is letting the soup boil hard once the yoghurt goes in, which makes it split into grainy curds. Chef's tip: temper the yoghurt with a ladle of hot soup first and stir in one direction over a low heat; it stays silky.

65 minJordanianSoups
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BalilaWarm chickpeas with garlic and lemon

On winter mornings in Damascus, handcarts with steaming pots of chickpeas park outside schools and offices, and vendors ladle balila into paper cups with a squeeze of lemon and a shake of cumin. In Beirut it is a mezze dish and a light Sunday breakfast, served warm in a shallow bowl with pine nuts and parsley and bread on the side. It is simply chickpeas, cooked until creamy inside, dressed while hot so they soak up the garlic and oil. The usual mistake is dressing cold chickpeas from the fridge; they stay waxy and the flavours sit on the surface. Chef's tip: keep a ladle of the hot cooking water and add it to the dressing; it turns the oil and lemon into a light, clinging sauce.

85 minLebaneseSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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MsabbahaWhole chickpeas in tahini sauce

Hummus shops in Jerusalem's Old City and in Nablus open before dawn, and alongside the smooth hummus they ladle out msabbaha: whole, just-cooked chickpeas bathed in a loose, garlicky tahini and lemon sauce, still warm. It is a working breakfast, eaten with raw onion wedges, green chilli and plenty of bread, and it is just as popular in south Lebanon. The texture is the point, soft chickpeas in a creamy pool rather than a purée. The common mistake is making the tahini sauce too thick; it should pour like double cream so it seeps around every chickpea. Chef's tip: crush a handful of the hot chickpeas into the sauce before you spoon it over; it makes the msabbaha richer and creamier.

90 minPalestinianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Pickled red beet eggs

Red beet eggs are on the table at every Pennsylvania Dutch church picnic and Easter lunch, a jar of shocking-pink eggs sitting in the same sweet-sour brine as the pickled beets. The whites take on colour and tang from the outside in, while the yolks stay creamy. Slice them on a salad or eat them whole with a pinch of salt. Chef's tip: two days in the brine gives a thin pink ring; leave them four days for colour almost to the yolk.

45 minAmericanSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Appalachian soup beans

Soup beans, a pot of brown pintos simmered all afternoon until the broth turns thick and creamy, are the everyday supper of the coal-country hollows of Kentucky and West Virginia, served with cornbread, raw onion and chow-chow. Most mountain cooks add a ham hock or salt pork; this meat-free pot gets its savour from browned onion, garlic and a little smoked paprika. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of beans against the pot side near the end to thicken the 'pot likker'.

165 minAmericanCurriesVeganGluten free
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AdasiBrown lentils with onion and cumin

Adasi is the winter breakfast of Iran's cafés and university canteens, ladled out early in the morning in Tehran, Tabriz and Mashhad from big pots that have bubbled since dawn. Whole brown lentils are cooked soft with turmeric and onion until thick and spoonable, then finished with cumin, a little golpar (ground angelica seed), black pepper and lemon. It is eaten with warm barbari or sangak and sweet tea. The common mistake is cooking it at a hard boil, which leaves the skins split and the soup grainy rather than velvety. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of lentils against the side of the pot at the end; it thickens the adasi without any flour.

50 minPersianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Ash-e kashkWheat, bean and herb soup

Ash-e kashk is the winter ash of Khorasan and the central plateau, simmered in big pots in Mashhad and Neyshabur homes and served from the pot for long Friday lunches. Cracked wheat, chickpeas, beans and lentils cook down with a mountain of herbs until creamy and thick, then each bowl gets a swirl of kashk, crisp fried onion and sizzling mint oil. Kashk is fermented dried whey, made without rennet, so it is vegetarian. A common mistake is adding the herbs too early, which turns them grey and muddy; stir them in for the last 30 minutes only. Chef's tip: stir the kashk in a little hot broth before swirling, so it blends smoothly rather than splitting.

125 minPersianSoups
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Linsen mit SpätzleSweet-sour lentils with egg noodles

Linsen mit Spätzle is Swabia's Saturday supper, eaten in kitchens from Stuttgart to Ulm when the week's cooking was done and something cheap and filling was needed. Small brown or green Alb lentils are stewed with root vegetables, then sharpened with vinegar and a little sugar, and ladled over freshly scraped Spätzle. Most families add a pair of thin smoked Saitenwürstle; this version skips them, and the smoked paprika keeps a hint of that flavour. A common mistake is adding the vinegar at the start, which stops the lentils softening, so it goes in at the end. Chef's tip: beat the Spätzle batter until bubbles pop on the surface; that air is what makes them springy.

65 minGermanCurries
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Steirische Kernöl-EierspeisScrambled eggs with pumpkin seed oil

Eierspeis is the Austrian word for scrambled eggs, and in Styria they get a final drizzle of the region's dark green pumpkin seed oil. It is a farmhouse breakfast or a late-night snack after a long evening in a Graz wine bar, eaten straight from the small pan it was cooked in with a slice of rye bread. The eggs are soft and creamy in big folds, and the oil adds a toasted, nutty depth that tastes almost like brown butter. A common mistake is stirring too fast on a high heat, which gives small dry crumbs instead of soft curds. Chef's tip: salt the eggs a few minutes before cooking; it helps them set more tenderly.

8 minAustrianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Salada de feijão-fradinhoBlack-eyed pea salad

Black-eyed peas are the bean of Bahia, ground for acarajé and abará and simmered whole for the caruru feasts of late September. Cooked until just tender and dressed while warm, they also make this bright salad that appears on Salvador's por-quilo lunch buffets and next to grilled food at weekend gatherings. Tomato, red onion, two kinds of pepper, coriander and plenty of lime give it crunch and sharpness, and the peas stay creamy inside. It goes with rice and grilled vegetables, or stands alone as a light lunch. Soak the dried peas for at least 4 hours or overnight before you start. The trap to avoid is boiling the peas hard until the skins split; they turn to mush when tossed. Chef's tip: dress the peas while they are still warm with the lime, oil and salt only, then add the raw vegetables once they are cool so everything stays crisp.

40 minBrazilianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Guiso de quinoaQuinoa and squash stew

High in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, where quinoa has been grown on terraces for centuries, a pot of guiso de quinoa is the sort of thing served at a comedor beside the road or in a family kitchen on a cold evening at 3,000 metres. The grain cooks in a cumin-scented broth with potato, squash and red pepper until it bursts and thickens everything into a spoonable stew, and cubes of fresh cheese go in at the end to soften. Serve it in deep bowls with a spoon of llajua or chilli sauce and bread. Skipping the rinse is the mistake that spoils it: quinoa is coated in saponins that taste soapy and bitter, so wash it until the water runs clear. Queso fresco is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian fresh cheese, or leave it out for a vegan stew. Chef's tip: toast the rinsed quinoa in the oil for two minutes before the liquid goes in; it brings out a nutty flavour.

50 minArgentinianCurriesGluten free
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Pesque de quinuaCreamy quinoa with cheese

Up on the Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, where quinoa grows at almost 4,000 metres, pesque is everyday food: quinoa cooked until it collapses, then beaten with milk, a knob of butter and crumbled fresh cheese until it looks like a loose, savoury risotto. Puno families eat it for a warming lunch or supper, often with a glass of milk poured over or a fried egg on top, and in the cold dry air it is exactly what the body wants. It is soft, nutty and mildly salty. The step people skip is rinsing the quinoa, and the natural saponins then leave a soapy, bitter edge; rub it under running water until the foam stops. Serve with a tomato salad or a spoon of uchucuta for some heat. Andean fresh cheese is usually set with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian fresh cheese if needed. Chef's tip: cook the quinoa in a little more water than usual and leave it a few minutes longer than for a salad, so it turns creamy and the grains burst.

35 minPeruvianVegetarianGluten free
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PurtumuteBean and white corn stew

High-jungle towns like Chachapoyas and Moyobamba, in the cloud-forest regions of Amazonas and San Martín, serve purtumute at festivals and family gatherings: a thick pot of beans and big white mote corn kernels simmered with onion, garlic, chilli and plenty of chopped culantro. Some versions add cheese or pork crackling; this one keeps it vegan, letting the creamy beans and chewy corn carry the dish. It is filling and earthy with a fresh green finish, and it is served in bowls with ají on the side and a plantain or a little rice. The dried beans need an overnight soak, which isn't included in the times. The usual mistake is adding salt and the sofrito too early, which can stop the beans from softening; season once they are tender. Canned or jarred white hominy works for the mote. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the beans against the side of the pot near the end; it thickens the stew without any flour.

120 minPeruvianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Ensalada de pallaresLima bean and red onion salad

Around Ica, on Peru's southern desert coast, pallares grow in irrigated valleys and dry into fat, flat beans the size of a thumbnail; the region holds them in high regard and sells them by the sack at the Ica market. Cooked until creamy and dressed while warm, they become a filling salad that sits on the table beside fried fish, rice or a plate of boiled sweet potato, and it works as a light lunch on its own. The onion is cut the Peruvian way, in fine half-moons, rinsed so it stays crisp without biting, and the ají limo gives a fruity heat that you can turn up or down. A frequent slip is dressing the beans straight from the fridge: they stay chalky and the lime slides off instead of soaking in. Using dried beans adds an overnight soak; good jarred or canned large lima beans make it a 20-minute dish. Chef's tip: dress the beans while they are still warm with half the lime and salt, then add the onion, tomato and the rest of the lime just before serving.

20 minPeruvianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Ceviche de chochoLupin bean ceviche

Chocho, or tarwi, is the Andean lupin bean, a protein-packed legume grown high around Huaraz, Cajamarca and Puno, and street carts in the highlands sell it in plastic cups dressed like a ceviche: lime, red onion, tomato, coriander and a little ají, sometimes with toasted corn for crunch. It is fresh, sour and pleasantly firm, a vegan stand-in for fish ceviche that works as a starter or a light lunch. Food safety matters here: raw or bitter lupins contain toxic alkaloids and must never be eaten as they are. Use only ready-debittered, cooked chochos, sold in jars, vacuum packs or chilled tubs in Latin shops; if they taste bitter, rinse and soak them longer or throw them away. Lupin is also a common allergen and may affect people allergic to peanuts. The usual mistake is to drown everything in lime and leave it, which makes the onion limp; mix the dressing just before serving. Chef's tip: squeeze the limes gently by hand rather than with a press, so the juice doesn't turn bitter.

15 minPeruvianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Moroccan lentils (aadess)

Cheap, filling and ready in under an hour, aadess turns up on home tables from Fez to Casablanca and in the clay bowls of small medina eateries that sell beans and lentils with bread to workers at lunchtime. The lentils stay whole but tender, sitting in a thick, brick-coloured sauce of grated tomato, garlic, cumin and paprika, finished with a generous slick of olive oil and fresh herbs. Scoop it up with crusty khobz; a dab of harissa or a few olives on the side is all it needs. Chef's tip: pick through the lentils on a plate before you rinse them, since small stones turn up even in good bags.

50 minMoroccanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Ourkimen (Yennayer pulse and grain stew)

Ourkimen is cooked across the Souss and the Atlas for Yennayer, the Amazigh New Year on 12–13 January, when a pot of mixed dried beans, chickpeas, wheat berries and corn is simmered for hours to wish for a plentiful harvest. Many families add lamb's feet or dried meat; this is the meat-free version, made the way many cooks prepare it when meat is not on the table, and it is still deeply savoury from tomato, cumin, paprika and a good dose of olive oil. The grains turn chewy and the pulses creamy, and the stew is eaten hot from bowls with bread. Start the soaking the night before; the stew then needs about 3 1/2 hours of gentle simmering. People who have G6PD deficiency (favism) should leave out the dried broad beans and use more white beans. Chef's tip: stir from the bottom every 20 minutes in the last hour; as the stew thickens it catches easily.

230 minMoroccanCurriesVegan
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Barley couscous with vegetables (belboula)

In the palm oases of the Draa Valley, south of the Atlas, barley grows where wheat struggles, and the couscous cooked for family meals is often belboula: cracked barley grains steamed three times until fluffy, nutty and slightly chewy. It is heaped on a big platter, crowned with vegetables from the broth bubbling beneath it, such as carrots, turnips, pumpkin, courgettes and cabbage, plus chickpeas, then moistened with ladles of the turmeric-and-ginger broth. On hot days the same couscous is eaten cold with buttermilk instead. It takes time but very little skill once you know the rhythm of steaming. Chef's tip: oil and rub the grains between your palms before each steaming so they stay separate.

105 minMoroccanRice & GrainsVegan
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Chickpeas with cumin (hummus bel kamoun)

On chilly evenings, street carts in the medinas steam a great pot of chickpeas and scoop them, piping hot, into paper cones with a shake of cumin, salt and sometimes a little chilli. It is one of the cheapest and most comforting snacks in the country, eaten while strolling, and the chickpeas should be tender and creamy but whole, never mushy. At home they make a lovely warm nibble, a lunchbox protein or something to pick at alongside soups. Dried chickpeas give the best texture and need an overnight soak; tinned ones work in a hurry, just warmed through in salted water. Chef's tip: toss the cumin and salt onto the chickpeas the moment they come out of the water, while they are still steaming and damp, so the seasoning clings.

65 minMoroccanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Loubia (white beans in cumin and tomato)

Ask in a Marrakech side street where to eat cheaply and you will be pointed to a stall with a vat of loubia: white beans stewed until creamy in a garlicky tomato sauce spiked with cumin, paprika and a little ginger, ladled into a bowl and eaten with bread. At home the same dish is a weekday staple, often cooked with a piece of meat, but the meat-free version here is just as satisfying and is how plenty of families make it. The sauce should be thick and orange with olive oil pooling on top. A sprinkle of cumin and a drizzle of oil at the table are customary. Avoid adding the tomato before the beans are tender; its acid keeps the skins tough however long they simmer. Chef's tip: soak the beans overnight and cook them until tender before the tomato goes in properly; acid stops beans softening, so loubia rushed with tomatoes from the start can stay chalky.

90 minMoroccanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Frittata di maccheroniPasta frittata

Neapolitans turn yesterday's spaghetti into frittata di maccheroni, a thick, golden pasta cake bound with egg and lots of grated cheese, with pockets of melting provola inside. It travels everywhere: cut into wedges for the beach at Mergellina, packed for the Easter Monday picnic (Pasquetta) or eaten cold from the fridge. The outside is crisp, the middle soft and cheesy. Most families add cubes of salami; this version leaves them out and uses smoked provola for a savoury depth. Chef's tip: use a plate the size of the pan to flip it, and slide it back in confidently in one move.

35 minItalianSnacks & Starters
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Pallotte cace e oveCheese and egg tomato balls

Abruzzo's shepherds and farm families invented pallotte cace e ove as "meatballs" with no meat: stale bread, eggs and plenty of sharp local cheese, shaped into balls, fried golden and then simmered in tomato sauce until soft and fluffy inside. They turn up at village festivals (sagre) in the mountains around L'Aquila and Chieti, and at home as a Friday or Sunday second course with crusty bread to mop the sauce. Chef's tip: wet your hands before shaping; the mixture is soft and the balls stay round and smooth without extra breadcrumbs.

50 minItalianVegetarian
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Scrippelle 'mbussePecorino crêpes in broth

In Teramo, in northern Abruzzo, scrippelle 'mbusse ("wet crêpes") open the meal on cold winter evenings and at Christmas. Thin, eggy crêpes are sprinkled with grated pecorino and parmesan, rolled into tight cigars and drowned in boiling broth at the table, so they soften into silky, cheesy spirals. Families normally pour over a clear chicken or capon broth; this recipe uses a well-flavoured vegetable stock instead. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for half an hour before cooking, so the crêpes come out thin and supple enough to roll without cracking.

60 minItalianSoups
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Zuppa di lenticchie di CastelluccioMountain lentil soup

High on the Piano Grande above Norcia, the plateau around Castelluccio turns into a carpet of flowers each June, and among them grow the tiny, speckled lentils the village is known for. They are so small and thin-skinned that they cook in under half an hour without soaking and hold their shape, which is why Umbrian cooks keep this soup simple: a soffritto of garlic, celery and onion, a little tomato, the lentils and good olive oil poured on at the end. It is a cold-weather supper, brothy and earthy, often served with toasted bread. Chef's tip: salt only at the end; salting early can toughen the skins of mountain lentils.

50 minItalianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Fagioli all'uccellettoCannellini beans with sage and tomato

Florentines are nicknamed mangiafagioli, bean-eaters, and this is the dish that earned it: creamy cannellini simmered in olive oil with whole sage leaves, crushed garlic and a little tomato. The name, 'little-bird style', comes from the sage and garlic once used to cook small game birds, though there has never been a bird in the pot. In trattorie it sits next to grilled meat as a side; served with crusty bread and greens it makes a full vegetarian supper. The beans should be soft and glossy in a thick, rust-coloured sauce. Chef's tip: let the sage and garlic sizzle gently in the oil before the tomato goes in; that scented oil is the whole flavour of the dish.

40 minItalianSidesVeganGluten free
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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
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EetchBulgur in tomato and pepper

Eetch is a Western Armenian dish from the old Cilician towns, carried by families to Aleppo, Beirut and the Armenian quarters of American cities. Fine bulgur is stirred into a hot sauce of onion, red pepper, tomato and pepper paste and left to drink it up, then finished with lemon, parsley and spring onion and eaten at room temperature, often scooped up with lettuce leaves. Unlike a herb-heavy raw bulgur salad, eetch is cooked, so it is rich and tomatoey, and it is a fixture of Lenten tables, picnics and mezze spreads. It keeps for days, which makes it a favourite for lunchboxes. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat before adding the bulgur and keep the lid on; the grains soften in the residual heat and stay separate instead of turning to porridge.

30 minArmenianSaladsVegan
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Bryndzové haluškyPotato dumplings with sheep's cheese

Bryndzové halušky is Slovakia's national dish, cooked in every koliba (timber shepherd's restaurant) in the Liptov and Orava valleys and fought over each summer at the halušky-eating contest in Turecká. Little grated-potato dumplings are tossed while hot with bryndza, a tangy, spreadable sheep's cheese, and finished with a sour milk drink called žinčica. The traditional topping is crisp smoked bacon; here golden fried onions bring the same savoury crunch, and meat-eaters can add bacon on their own plates. Chef's tip: grate the potatoes at the last moment and work fast; grated potato left standing turns grey and watery and the dumplings go heavy.

45 minCzechVegetarian
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Homemade fresh yubaFresh tofu skin

Yuba is the thin skin that forms on soy milk as it heats, and in Kyoto and the temple town of Nikko it is a delicacy in its own right. Workshops in Kyoto's old streets have made it for centuries for monks' shojin ryori, the Buddhist vegetarian cuisine that relied on it for protein. Fresh yuba is soft, creamy and faintly sweet, and the first sheets of the day, eaten warm with a drop of soy, are prized above all. It needs patience rather than skill: just a wide pan, gentle heat and good soy milk. Serve as a starter with wasabi soy, or roll the sheets and slice them. Chef's tip: use unsweetened soy milk with at least 7% protein (check the label). Thin supermarket drinks won't form a skin.

45 minJapaneseSnacks & StartersVegan
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Habichuelas guisadasStewed pink beans

Habichuelas guisadas are on the stove most weekdays in Puerto Rico, from Ponce to Fajardo, ladled over plain white rice for the everyday plate called arroz con habichuelas. Pink or red beans simmer with sofrito, tomato sauce and olives, and cubes of calabaza (West Indian pumpkin) melt into the pot to make a thick, orange-red, gently sweet sauce. It's homely, cheap and deeply savoury. Island cooks often add a piece of ham; this version doesn't need it. Chef's tip: when the pumpkin is soft, crush a few pieces against the side of the pot; they dissolve into the liquid and thicken it without any flour.

45 minPuerto RicanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Sattu parathaRoasted gram stuffed flatbread

Sattu paratha is a Bihari breakfast that keeps farmers going until lunch. Sattu, roasted bengal gram ground to a fine flour, is mixed with onion, garlic, green chilli, carom seeds and a dash of pickle masala, then rolled into wholemeal dough and cooked on a hot tawa until blistered. The filling is savoury, punchy and high in protein, and the bread stays soft for hours, which is why it's packed for long journeys. Serve with curd or chokha and a pickle. Chef's tip: moisten the filling just enough to clump; a dry sattu filling bursts through the dough and burns on the tawa.

40 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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DalmaPigeon pea and vegetable dal

Dalma is the comfort food of Odisha and the dal offered at the Jagannath temple in Puri. Toor dal is cooked together with chunky vegetables, usually raw banana, pumpkin, aubergine and potato, so they soften into it and make it hearty enough to be a meal. A tempering of panch phoron and dried chilli and a sprinkle of roasted cumin-chilli powder give it its smoky warmth; a little grated coconut is often added on top. Odia homes finish it with a spoonful of ghee; this version uses oil so it stays vegan. Serve with plain rice. Chef's tip: add the vegetables halfway through cooking the dal, not at the start, so they keep their shape and the dal stays thick rather than watery.

40 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Frijoles de la olla & refritosPot beans and refried beans

Frijoles de la olla, beans cooked slowly in a pot (traditionally clay) with just onion, garlic and a sprig of epazote, are the backbone of Mexican home cooking from north to south. Served brothy in a bowl with chopped onion, chilli and lime, they are a meal on their own; mashed and fried in oil they become frijoles refritos, the creamy refried beans that go into tacos, tortas, sopes and molletes. This recipe makes both: one pot, half served as it is, half refried. We fry in vegetable oil rather than lard, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: salt the beans only once they are tender; salting at the start won't stop them cooking, but adding it late seasons the broth better and saves you from oversalting as it reduces.

120 minMexicanSidesVeganGluten free
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KokiSteamed black-eyed bean pudding

Koki is a dense, orange-red bean cake from the Douala and Bakweri country of Cameroon, made from skinned black-eyed beans blended with red palm oil, chilli and greens, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed for hours. It is weekend food and market food, eaten with boiled plantain, cassava or ripe banana. It is related to Nigerian moi moi but heavier, richer with palm oil and full of cocoyam leaves or spinach. Chef's tip: warm the palm oil just until liquid before beating it in; poured in cold and solid it leaves streaks of fat instead of an even orange colour.

180 minCameroonianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Tacu tacuPan-fried beans and rice cake

Tacu tacu was born in the Afro-Peruvian kitchens of Lima, as a thrifty way to turn yesterday's beans and rice into something new; today it appears on the menus of smart criollo restaurants too. Mashed canario beans and rice are fried with garlic, onion and ají amarillo, then shaped in the pan into a long, crisp-edged cake, soft inside and golden outside. It is a hearty lunch for two with a sharp salsa criolla of onion and lime, and often a fried ripe plantain on the side. Canario beans are pale yellow and creamy; pinto or cannellini beans work well. Chef's tip: use cold, day-old rice and beans; warm, freshly cooked ones are too soft to hold their shape and the tacu tacu falls apart.

25 minPeruvianRice & GrainsVegan
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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
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Misal pavSprouted bean curry with bread rolls

Misal pav is Maharashtra's great street breakfast, eaten from Pune's old eateries to the hot, red misal of Kolhapur. Sprouted moth beans (matki) are cooked into a thick usal, then drowned at the table in a fiery, oily, thin curry called kat or tarri, and topped with crunchy farsan, raw onion, coriander and a squeeze of lemon. It comes with soft pav to mop it all up. Each person builds their own bowl, adding as much tarri as their tongue can take. Chef's tip: let the kat simmer until a red layer of oil floats on top; Pune vendors skim this 'tarri' off and spoon it over each bowl, and that oily, spicy film is the whole point of a good misal.

60 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganSpicy
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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
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HandvoSavoury rice and lentil cake

Handvo is a savoury cake from Gujarat, made from a fermented batter of rice and lentils mixed with grated bottle gourd, yogurt and spices. It's baked or cooked slowly in a heavy pan until it has a deep-brown, crackly crust of mustard seeds and sesame and a soft, moist, slightly tangy inside. Gujarati families make it for Sunday tea or a light supper, with green chutney and a cup of masala chai. Slices are also good packed for a journey. Chef's tip: don't rush the crust; cook on a low heat with a lid and let the base go deep golden before you flip, because the crunchy, almost toasted sesame crust is the best part.

75 minIndianSnacks & Starters
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Dal baati churmaLentil dal with baked wheat balls

Dal baati churma is the dish every Rajasthani wedding and festival is built around. Baati are hard, round wheat breads, traditionally buried in desert embers, cracked open and drowned in ghee; they are eaten with panchmel dal made from five lentils and with churma, baati crumbs sweetened with sugar and cardamom. The joy is in the contrast: crunchy and soft, spicy and sweet, all rich with ghee. Serve with sliced onion, green chillies and lime. Chef's tip: rub the ghee into the baati flour until a handful holds its shape when squeezed; that shortening is what makes the baati crumbly inside instead of bready.

90 minIndianCurries
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Gado-gadoVegetable salad with peanut sauce

In Jakarta, gado-gado is lunch from a pushcart: the Betawi seller grinds the peanut sauce to order on a stone ulekan, then tips blanched greens, potato, tofu, tempeh and egg into it and mixes everything by hand. The name roughly means "mix-mix", and that is how it's eaten, with every vegetable coated in a sauce that's nutty, sweet from palm sugar, sour from tamarind and as hot as you ask for. It's a full meal on its own, crunchy with emping or rice crackers on top. Chef's tip: loosen the peanut sauce with warm water only at the end and stop when it coats a spoon like custard; too thin and it slides off the vegetables and pools on the plate.

35 minIndonesianSaladsGluten free
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Tempe mendoanBattered fried tempeh

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

20 minIndonesianSnacks & StartersVegan
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Tempe orekSweet crisp tempeh

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

25 minIndonesianSidesVegan
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Uganda matokeMashed green bananas

Uganda's national dish: green matoke bananas steamed in banana leaves, mashed and kept warm in the leaves, then topped with a thick, gently spiced tomato and ground peanut sauce. It's soft, savoury and very filling. The book's Handy Hints add that bananas and peanuts are both good for the heart.

65 minAfricanVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Missir watRed lentil stew

A spicy Ethiopian stew of masoor lentils cooked down with browned onions, garlic, ginger, fresh tomato and tomato paste, and finished with red chilli and black pepper. It's thick, rich and hot. Serve with injera, alongside atter kik and azifa.

75 minAfricanCurriesVeganGluten freeSpicy
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