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WhatToEat.Today

Low-calorie recipes

Lighter recipes that are still filling and full of flavour. (805 recipes)

MizeriaCucumber salad with soured cream

Mizeria is the cool, creamy cucumber salad that sits beside Sunday dinner in Polish homes from May to September, especially next to young potatoes sprinkled with dill. Thin slices of cucumber are dressed in soured cream with dill, a pinch of sugar and a little lemon or vinegar, so it is fresh, tangy and slightly sweet. Legend links the name to Queen Bona Sforza longing for Italy, but in practice it is simply summer on a plate. Chef's tip: slice the cucumbers paper-thin on a mandoline or the slicing side of a box grater; thick slices never soak up the dressing.

10 minPolishSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tian provençalBaked layered summer vegetables

A tian is named after the shallow earthenware dish Provençal cooks use to bake vegetables, and the most famous version lines up thin slices of courgette, aubergine, tomato and onion in tight rows like roof tiles. In Provence it's a Sunday side for the whole family and a light supper with a green salad in summer. The vegetables roast in their own juices with olive oil, garlic and thyme until soft, sweet and lightly browned on top. Unlike ratatouille, nothing is fried first, so it is lighter and more delicate. Chef's tip: choose vegetables of the same width and slice them all 3–4 mm thick; uneven slices are the common mistake and cook unevenly, some raw, some collapsed.

70 minFrenchVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Soupe au pistouBean and vegetable soup with basil

Soupe au pistou is Provence's summer minestrone, eaten from July to September when basil grows thick in the gardens around Marseille and Avignon. Beans, courgettes, green beans, carrots, potato and small pasta simmer in a light broth, then each bowl gets a spoonful of pistou, a pounded paste of basil, garlic, olive oil and hard cheese with no pine nuts. Stirred in at the table, it turns the broth fragrant and green. It is a whole meal with bread. The traditional cheese is Parmesan or aged Gouda, so use a vegetarian hard cheese. Chef's tip: never boil the pistou; adding it to the pot is the common mistake that turns the basil dark and kills its smell.

60 minFrenchSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ratatouille

Ratatouille comes from Nice, where it was a peasant stew of whatever the late-summer garden gave: aubergines, courgettes, peppers, onions and very ripe tomatoes, simmered in olive oil with garlic and thyme. Cooks in Nice argue about method, but the most respected version fries each vegetable on its own first, so each keeps its colour and shape before they are brought together in one pot. It's eaten warm with rice, cold the next day with bread, or as a side to an omelette. Chef's tip: brown the aubergine in batches and don't crowd the pan; piling it in is the common mistake that makes it steam into a grey mush.

75 minFrenchVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

FakesLentil soup

Fakes (say 'fah-KES') is the weekday soup of Greek homes, often made on a Wednesday or Friday, the traditional fasting days. Small brown lentils are simmered with onion, garlic, carrot, tomato and bay until thick and soft, then brightened at the table with red wine vinegar. It is cheap, filling and ready in well under an hour. Greeks eat it with olives, a wedge of feta for those who eat dairy, raw onion and bread. Chef's tip: add the vinegar off the heat just before eating, not while it cooks; boiling it is the usual mistake and flattens the sharp lift it is meant to give.

45 minGreekSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BingtteokBuckwheat crepe rolls with radish

Bingtteok (빙떡) comes from Jeju island, where volcanic soil grew buckwheat and radish better than rice. Thin, almost translucent buckwheat crêpes are rolled around a filling of blanched radish seasoned only with salt, sesame and spring onion. The flavour is gentle and nutty, and it was traditionally brought to funerals, weddings and village gatherings, sometimes with a cup of makgeolli. Today you find it at Jeju's Dongmun and Seogwipo markets beside more fiery snacks. Chef's tip: pour a little batter and swirl the pan fast, or spread it with the back of a ladle; bingtteok crêpes should be so thin you can almost see through them.

40 minKoreanSnacks & StartersVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HeotjesatbapRice with seven vegetable sides

In Andong, the old Confucian town of North Gyeongsang, the scholars of the yangban class were said to want the food from jesa, the rite offered to ancestors, without waiting for a rite to come round, so they cooked the same dishes and called them heotjesatbap (헛제삿밥), 'fake rite rice'. Restaurants by Andong's dam still serve it: a bowl of rice to be mixed with brown, white and green namul and seasoned with soy sauce, never chilli, because ritual food avoids red pepper and garlic. The full table includes grilled fish and beef skewers; this vegetarian version keeps the vegetables and tofu jeon that make up most of it. Chef's tip: cook each namul separately with only salt, soy or sesame, so each keeps its own taste and colour when you mix the bowl.

60 minKoreanRice & GrainsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Umibudo saladSea grapes salad

Umibudo, 'sea grapes', is a seaweed farmed in the warm, clear waters around Okinawa and Miyako island. Its tiny green beads burst in the mouth with a salty, oceanic pop, which is why Okinawans also call it green caviar. It's served as a starter in island izakaya, often next to a cold Orion beer, either plain with a dish of citrus soy or piled on a simple salad. Look for it vacuum-packed in salt at Japanese grocers; it keeps for weeks unopened. Chef's tip: dress the salad, not the sea grapes. Pour the dressing on the greens and dip the sea grapes as you eat, because vinegar and soy make the beads shrivel within minutes.

15 minJapaneseSaladsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KangshoiClear vegetable stew

Kangshoi is the everyday stew of the Imphal Valley: seasonal vegetables simmered in water with ginger, onion and chilli, and finished with a fistful of fresh herbs such as maroi (a garlic chive), coriander and mint. It is light, clear and brothy, eaten with rice at almost every Meitei meal. Many households add dried fish or ngari (fermented fish) for depth; Vaishnav Meitei homes leave it out, and this vegetarian version relies on toasted chilli and plenty of herbs instead. Chef's tip: cook it without oil, as Manipuris do; the clean broth is the point.

35 minIndianSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Jeonju kongnamul gukbapBean sprout rice soup

Jeonju, the North Jeolla city known for bibimbap, starts its day with kongnamul gukbap (콩나물국밥): a scalding clay bowl of clear soybean-sprout broth over rice, sharp with garlic and chilli, served before dawn to market traders and, famously, to anyone with a hangover. Many Jeonju shops bring a half-cooked egg in a separate cup, which you season with a little broth and crumbled seaweed and slurp first. The usual broth is anchovy based, with salted shrimp at the table; here it is kelp, shiitake and soup soy sauce. Chef's tip: keep the lid on while the sprouts cook and don't open it until they are done; lifting it early is said to give them a raw, grassy smell.

35 minKoreanSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chodang sundubuSoft silken tofu

In Chodang village on the edge of Gangneung, tofu houses have curdled soy milk with clean seawater from the East Sea for generations, and the result, chodang sundubu (초당순두부), is served warm in a bowl before it has been pressed: soft, quivering curds in their own pale whey, with a soy dressing to spoon over. It is breakfast and lunch there, eaten with rice, kimchi and a few banchan, and tastes sweet and clean in a way packaged tofu never does. At home, nigari (the mineral salt left from seawater) gives the same effect. Use plain, unsweetened soy milk with at least 7% soy or make your own. Chef's tip: add the nigari off the heat and stir only once or twice; stirring after the curds start to form breaks them into grains.

35 minKoreanVegetarianVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kol posolaBanana stem stir-fry

Kol posola is the pale inner core of the banana plant, chopped and cooked down with mustard oil, ginger and green chilli until it is soft, juicy and faintly sweet. In Assamese villages, where banana plants grow in every yard, it is cheap everyday food, and it is also a favourite on Bihu tables and in Assamese thalis in Guwahati restaurants. It has a mild, cucumber-like flavour and is prized as a cooling, cleansing food. Chef's tip: as you chop the stem, twirl a finger or a skewer through the slices to catch and pull away the fine fibres; otherwise they stay stringy.

45 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MakguksuCold buckwheat noodles

Chuncheon, the lake city in Gangwon, is famous for two things: spicy grilled chicken and makguksu (막국수), coarse buckwheat noodles served icy cold. The name roughly means 'roughly made noodles', and the dish started as simple farm food in a region where buckwheat grew better than rice. In summer, makguksu houses serve it in a sweet, sour and spicy dressing with crunchy cucumber, sweet pear and sesame, often with a jug of chilled broth on the side to pour in halfway. This one is dressed with gochujang, vinegar and pear, and a cold kelp broth. Chef's tip: rinse the cooked noodles under cold running water and rub them between your hands until the water runs clear, then chill them in iced water; that washes off the starch and gives them their springy bite.

25 minKoreanPasta & NoodlesVeganSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LecsóPepper and tomato stew

Lecsó is what Hungarian kitchens cook in late August, when markets in Szeged and Kecskemét are heaped with pale yellow wax peppers and over-ripe tomatoes. It is a soft, sweet-sour stew of peppers and tomato cooked down in paprika-scented oil; many families add smoked sausage or scramble eggs into it, but this version keeps it vegan and lets the peppers carry the flavour. Eat it hot with crusty bread or rice, or cold the next day, and jars of it are put up for winter. Chef's tip: add the tomatoes only once the peppers have softened; if they go in together, the tomato juice stews the peppers instead of letting them sweeten in the oil.

40 minHungarianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BriamRoasted summer vegetables

Briam is what Greek home cooks put in the oven on a hot afternoon when the garden is full of courgettes: potatoes, courgettes, aubergine, peppers and onions tumbled with grated tomato, garlic and oregano, then roasted slowly until soft and caramelised at the edges. It is one of the ladera, dishes cooked in olive oil and eaten as a main course, usually at room temperature with feta and bread. It tastes better the next day, when the flavours have settled. Chef's tip: cut the potatoes thinner than everything else so they cook in the same time; same-size chunks are the common mistake that leaves you with hard potatoes and mushy courgettes.

80 minGreekVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tabbouleh

In Lebanese homes tabbouleh is a green salad first and a grain salad a distant second: a heap of finely cut flat-leaf parsley and mint, flecked with fine bulgur, diced tomato and spring onion, and sharpened with lemon and olive oil. It turns up on every mezze table from Beirut to the mountain villages, and families make it in big bowls for Sunday lunch, scooping it up with crisp inner leaves of cos lettuce. It tastes bright, lemony and fresh, and goes with falafel, grilled halloumi or any spread of dips and bread. The usual mistake is chopping wet parsley, which bruises into a dark, soggy mush; dry it thoroughly and slice it with a sharp knife instead. Chef's tip: dress the bulgur with the lemon juice and tomato juice first, so it softens in that liquid instead of in water and soaks up all the flavour.

25 minLebaneseSaladsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mercimek çorbasıRed lentil soup

If one soup feeds Turkey, it is this. Mercimek çorbası is on the counter of every lokanta (tradesmen's restaurant), in factory and hospital canteens, and it is often what Turks eat for breakfast on a cold morning or to break the fast in Ramadan. Red lentils simmered with onion, carrot and potato are blended until velvety, then each bowl gets a squeeze of lemon and a swirl of butter sizzled with Aleppo pepper and dried mint. It is warming, cheap and filling. Chef's tip: rinse the lentils in several changes of water until it runs clear; it washes off the starch that makes the soup foam and taste dusty.

35 minTurkishSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KısırBulgur salad with pepper paste

Kısır comes from southeastern Turkey but is now the dish women across the country bring to 'altın günü', the afternoon gatherings where friends meet at each other's homes over tea. Fine bulgur is softened with hot water and kneaded with tomato and pepper paste until rosy, then mixed with spring onion, parsley, mint, lemon and pomegranate molasses. It is served at room temperature, often wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves. The typical mistake is pouring in too much water, which turns the bulgur mushy; use just enough to cover. Chef's tip: knead the pastes into the warm bulgur with your hands for a full minute so every grain turns red and the flavour goes right through.

25 minTurkishSaladsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Çoban salatasıChopped tomato and cucumber salad

Çoban salatası, the shepherd's salad, is on the table at almost every Turkish meal from Edirne to Van, whether that is a home dinner, a lokanta lunch or a summer barbecue. It is simple by design: small dice of tomato, cucumber, green pepper and onion with parsley, dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and a little sumac. It is eaten alongside pilaf, beans, börek or anything grilled. The common mistake is salting it too early, which draws the water out of the tomatoes and leaves it swimming. Chef's tip: rub the onion slices with salt and sumac and rinse them before adding; the onion stays crunchy but loses its harsh bite.

10 minTurkishSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeytinyağlı enginarArtichokes braised with peas

In spring, when globe artichokes pile up on stalls in İzmir and Urla, market sellers trim them on the spot into pale hearts kept in lemon water, and families take them home to make zeytinyağlı enginar. The hearts are braised cup-side up with small onions, carrots, potato and peas in olive oil and lemon, then served cold with a shower of dill, often as the first course of a spring dinner. The classic mistake is leaving trimmed artichokes in the air: they turn grey within minutes. Chef's tip: rub every cut surface with lemon as you go and drop the hearts straight into water with lemon juice and a spoonful of flour, which keeps them pale and cream-coloured.

50 minTurkishSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeytinyağlı pırasaLeeks braised in olive oil

Winter in Istanbul brings fat leeks to every neighbourhood market, and zeytinyağlı pırasa is how many households use them: chunks of leek and carrot stewed gently in olive oil with a handful of rice to thicken the juices, finished with lemon. It is served at room temperature on the side of a winter table, or as a light lunch with bread and white cheese, and grandmothers often say it is better the second day. The usual mistake is skipping a proper wash: grit hides between the layers and ruins the whole pot. Chef's tip: cut the leeks on a slant into thick pieces and keep them whole rather than separating the rings, so they hold their shape through the slow braise.

40 minTurkishSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeytinyağlı taze fasulyeGreen beans braised in olive oil

Along the Aegean coast, from İzmir down to Bodrum, summer lunch often begins with a plate of flat green beans that have been stewed in olive oil and tomato until they are silky, then left to cool to room temperature. It belongs to the zeytinyağlı family: vegetables cooked in olive oil, with no meat, and eaten cold or barely warm with bread to mop up the orange-red juices. Home cooks make a big pan in the morning and serve it over two or three days, because it tastes better after a night in the fridge. The most common mistake is rushing it on a high flame: the beans stay squeaky and the oil never turns glossy. Chef's tip: lay the beans on top of the onions and tomatoes without stirring, cover tightly and let the steam do the work; stirring breaks the beans and turns the sauce muddy.

50 minTurkishSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Risi e bisiRice and peas

Risi e bisi was once served to the Doge of Venice every 25 April, the feast of Saint Mark, when the first tender peas arrived from the lagoon islands. It sits between a soup and a risotto: thicker than a minestra, looser than risotto, eaten with a spoon. Venetians make a quick broth from the empty pods, which gives a sweet, grassy flavour no stock cube can match; pancetta often goes in, but this version keeps it vegetarian with parsley and butter. Chef's tip: when podding fresh peas, keep the pods; simmered for 20 minutes they make the whole dish taste of spring.

40 minItalianRice & GrainsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bastar aamatMixed vegetable curry

Aamat comes from the forested Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh, where Gond and Halba families cook whatever the garden and forest give: pumpkin, brinjal, beans, drumsticks and, in the monsoon, sour fermented bamboo shoot. There is almost no oil and no heavy masala. Instead a paste of soaked rice turns the broth silky, and garlic, ginger and green chilli carry the flavour. It is served in bowls with plain rice, especially at village feasts and the Bastar Dussehra gatherings. Tinned bamboo shoot works well; leave it out and add lime at the end if you cannot find it. Chef's tip: keep stirring as you pour in the rice paste, because it sinks and sets into lumps on the bottom of the pot if left alone.

55 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BafauriSteamed chana dal dumplings

Bafauri comes from the same Chhattisgarhi home kitchens that make fara and chila, and it is the region's answer to a fried pakora without the frying. Soaked chana dal is ground coarse with ginger, garlic and chilli, mixed with onion and herbs, then steamed into little dumplings that are firm, nubbly and high in protein. They are eaten hot at teatime with tomato chutney, and many families also toss them in a quick mustard-seed tadka. Chef's tip: grind the dal with only 2–3 tablespoons of water; a wet paste spreads flat in the steamer and loses the rough texture that makes bafauri good.

40 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Barszcz czerwony (Christmas Eve beetroot broth)Clear beetroot soup

Barszcz czerwony wigilijny is the clear, ruby-coloured beetroot broth that opens the Christmas Eve supper in most Polish homes, from Warsaw to Wrocław. It is not the thick vegetable soup of Ukraine but a sipping broth, sweet, sour and earthy, sharpened with beetroot kvass or lemon and deepened with dried forest mushrooms; on 24 December it is served with tiny mushroom dumplings called uszka, and through winter people drink it from mugs alongside a croquette. It is fully plant-based, as the Wigilia table traditionally is. Chef's tip: once the beetroot is in, never let the soup boil hard; a bare simmer keeps the colour bright, and boiling turns it a dull brown.

90 minPolishSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SpanakorizoSpinach and rice

Spanakorizo is a spring dish from Greek home kitchens, made when the markets fill with spinach and fresh dill. Rice is cooked right in the pot with wilted spinach, spring onions and olive oil until it is soft and a little loose, then squeezed with lemon. It isn't meant to be fluffy like a pilaf: Greek cooks like it moist, almost creamy. It is a full meal with a slab of feta and bread, or a side to fried eggs for those who eat them. Chef's tip: take it off the heat while it still looks a bit wet and let it rest covered for 5 minutes; cooking it until dry is the usual mistake and the rice turns stodgy as it cools.

35 minGreekRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PanzanellaTomato and bread salad

Panzanella is how Tuscans eat old bread in summer: hard, unsalted loaf soaked in water, squeezed and crumbled with juicy tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and basil, then dressed with vinegar and plenty of olive oil. In Florence and the Maremma it is a cool lunch for the hottest days, and every family argues about cucumber. Make it 30 minutes before eating so the bread drinks the tomato juice but keeps some bite. Chef's tip: salt the tomatoes first and let them weep in a bowl; that juice becomes the dressing.

20 minItalianSaladsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pappa al pomodoroTomato and bread soup

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

40 minItalianSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CaponataSweet and sour aubergine stew

Caponata is the agrodolce dish of Sicily: cubes of fried aubergine, crisp celery, green olives and capers in a glossy tomato sauce sharpened with vinegar and softened with a little sugar. Palermo families keep a bowl in the fridge through late summer and eat it at room temperature as an antipasto, a side or on bread, and many say it is best on the second day. The sweet-sour balance shows the Arab influence on Sicilian cooking. Chef's tip: blanch the celery for 2 minutes before frying; it keeps a pleasant crunch without tasting raw.

45 minItalianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Carciofi alla romanaBraised artichokes with mint

Every spring, from February to April, Roman market stalls pile up round, thornless romanesco artichokes (cimaroli), and trattorie serve them alla romana: stuffed with wild mint, parsley and garlic and braised stem-up in oil and water until meltingly soft. They are eaten warm or at room temperature as a contorno, often next to their crisp cousins, carciofi alla giudia. Any large globe artichoke works at home. Chef's tip: braise them upside down, stems in the air and tightly packed, so the hearts sit in the liquid and the stems steam to the same tenderness.

50 minItalianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Buddha's delight (luohan zhai)Braised mushrooms, tofu and vegetables

Luohan zhai is the vegetarian dish of Chinese Buddhist temples, and many families cook it on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when eating meat is traditionally avoided. Recipes vary from house to house, but most combine dried shiitake, wood ear fungus, tofu puffs, tofu skin, napa cabbage and glass noodles, braised in one pot in a light, savoury sauce. It's light, colourful and full of different textures. Chef's tip: keep the shiitake soaking water; strained, it makes the base of the sauce and gives far more flavour than stock.

40 minChineseVegetarianVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Plain rice congee with toppingsRice porridge with toppings

Congee (zhou in Mandarin, juk in Cantonese) is what much of China eats for breakfast, and what everyone is given when they are under the weather. The base is just rice and water cooked until the grains burst into a smooth, gentle porridge; the fun is in the toppings, from fried shallots to peanuts and salty pickles, so everyone builds their own bowl. Chef's tip: rinse the rice, then rub it with a little oil and salt and freeze it for an hour if you can; the grains crack and break down twice as fast.

75 minChineseBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gai lan with vegetarian oyster sauceChinese broccoli with mushroom sauce

Every Cantonese table needs a plate of greens, and gai lan (Chinese broccoli) is the favourite in Guangdong homes and Hong Kong cha chaan teng. The stems are thick, sweet and slightly bitter, the leaves soft. Restaurants blanch it and pour oyster sauce on top; here a mushroom-based vegetarian oyster sauce gives the same dark gloss and savouriness. Chef's tip: add a spoon of oil and a pinch of sugar to the blanching water; the oil keeps the greens bright and shiny, and the sugar softens the bitterness.

10 minChineseSidesVegan
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Smashed cucumber salad (pai huang gua)

Pai huang gua turns up on tables from Beijing to Guangzhou, often the first dish to land at a summer meal because it takes ten minutes and cools the mouth between spicy bites. Smashing the cucumbers rather than slicing them cracks them into rough pieces that soak up dressing in minutes. It goes with any stir-fry, noodles or dumplings. Chef's tip: salt the smashed pieces for 10 minutes and pour off the water, otherwise the dressing is diluted to nothing by the time you sit down.

10 minChineseSaladsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Yong tau fooStuffed tofu and vegetables

Hakka miners brought yong tau foo to the tin town of Ampang, on the edge of Kuala Lumpur, and families still drive there on weekends for big bowls of it. You choose your pieces from a counter, tofu, chillies, okra, aubergine and bitter gourd, each stuffed with a savoury paste, and the stall poaches or fries them and serves them in a light broth, with a sweet brown sauce and chilli sauce to dip. The traditional filling is fish and pork; this one is firm tofu, shiitake, water chestnut and carrot. It is a gentle, light meal. Chef's tip: press the stuffing in tightly and smooth it flush with a wet finger, so it stays put while it cooks.

60 minMalaysianSoupsVegan
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Nasi kerabuBlue rice with herbs

Nasi kerabu comes from Kelantan on the north-east coast, and in Kota Bharu it is a breakfast and lunch staple, sold in the morning markets in mounds of startlingly blue rice. The colour comes from butterfly pea flowers. Around the rice sit 'ulam', raw herbs and vegetables sliced as fine as thread: lime leaves, lemongrass, long beans, bean sprouts, cucumber, mint and basil, with nutty toasted coconut on top. Kelantanese stalls dress it with budu, a fermented fish sauce, so this version uses a sharp tamarind, lime and chilli dressing instead. It's light, crunchy and full of perfume. Chef's tip: slice the herbs as thinly as you can with a sharp knife; the finer the shreds, the more they scent every mouthful of rice.

50 minMalaysianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PecelBlanched greens in peanut sauce

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

25 minIndonesianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Timatim salataTomato and onion salad

Timatim salata is the cool, crunchy salad served alongside the stews of an Ethiopian meal, from roadside restaurants in Tigray to home tables in Addis Ababa. Ripe tomatoes, red onion and green chilli are dressed with lemon juice and oil, and the salad is left to stand so the juices mingle; mixed with torn injera it becomes timatim fitfit. Chef's tip: salt the tomatoes only a few minutes before serving, or they release so much liquid the salad turns soupy.

10 minEthiopianSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Duba watSpicy pumpkin stew

Duba wat is a fasting-season stew from the Ethiopian highlands, made when pumpkins are plentiful after the rains around Meskel in late September. Chunks of pumpkin are cooked in a classic red wat base of slow-cooked onion, garlic and berbere, so the sweetness of the squash plays against the heat of the spices. It is softer and sweeter than most wats and goes well with gomen and injera. Chef's tip: add the pumpkin only once the onion and berbere base is fully cooked and glossy; raw-tasting berbere spoils the dish.

40 minEthiopianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

FosoliaGreen beans and carrots

Fosolia takes its name from the Italian fagioli, a reminder of the Italian occupation of the 1930s, but it is now completely Ethiopian and a regular on fasting platters in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Green beans and carrot batons are cooked with lots of onion, garlic and ginger until tender but still bright, then served warm with injera or rice. It is quick, mild and colourful. Chef's tip: cut the beans and carrots to the same length and thickness so they cook evenly.

25 minEthiopianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tikil gomenCabbage, carrot and potato stew

Tikil gomen means 'cabbage stew', and it is the mild, golden side on almost every beyaynetu fasting platter in Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar. White cabbage, carrots and potatoes are cooked slowly with onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric until soft and sweet, with no chilli heat apart from a few strips of green pepper. Children love it, and it balances the spicy red wats beautifully. Chef's tip: let the cabbage cook down until it is sweet and slightly caramelised at the edges; that is where all the flavour comes from.

35 minEthiopianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GomenBraised collard greens

Gomen is the everyday green on Ethiopian tables, cooked in homes across the highlands and always part of a fasting platter in Addis Ababa restaurants on Wednesdays and Fridays. Collard greens (or kale) are chopped fine and braised gently with onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli until they turn soft, dark and silky, without any berbere, so they cool the palate next to the red stews. On non-fasting days many cooks add a little niter kibbeh at the end; this oil version keeps it vegan. Chef's tip: cut out the thick central stalks before chopping; left in, they stay stringy long after the leaves are tender.

35 minEthiopianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AjapsandaliAubergine and pepper stew

Ajapsandali is what Georgian kitchens make in late summer, when the markets of Tbilisi and the gardens of Kakheti are heaped with aubergines, peppers and tomatoes. The vegetables are fried briefly, layered in a pot and left to stew gently until soft and sweet, then finished with a whole handful of coriander, basil and garlic. It is eaten warm with bread as a main dish during Lent, or cold the next day as a side at a feast. The common mistake is stirring it too often, which breaks everything into mush; shake the pan instead and let the layers keep their shape. Chef's tip: fry the aubergine on its own first until golden; this one step gives the whole stew its deep, rounded flavour.

65 minGeorgianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Georgian salad with walnut dressing

On a Georgian table in July and August the tomato and cucumber salad is not dressed with oil and lemon but with ground walnuts loosened with water and vinegar, so the dressing turns creamy and nutty. You find it in Tbilisi kitchens, in Kakhetian village gardens where the tomatoes come off the vine warm, and next to every khachapuri. It takes fifteen minutes and is best eaten as soon as it is made. A common mistake is salting the tomatoes too early, which floods the bowl with juice and thins the dressing; dress and salt just before it goes to the table. Chef's tip: use purple (opal) basil if you can find it; its clove-like scent is what makes this salad taste Georgian.

15 minGeorgianSaladsVeganGluten free
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Mandua ki rotiFinger millet flatbread

Mandua, or finger millet, is the grain that hill farmers in Uttarakhand have relied on for generations, and its roti is the staple of a pahadi winter kitchen. The rotis come out dark brown, slightly sweet and earthy, and they are eaten hot from the tawa with a spoon of ghee, kafuli or a bowl of chainsoo, sometimes with jaggery on the side. With no gluten to hold it together the dough is fragile, so cooks pat it out between wet palms rather than rolling it. Chef's tip: knead the dough in two small batches with hot water; millet dough dries and cracks quickly, so the second batch stays fresh while you cook the first.

35 minIndianBreads & ParathasGluten free
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Green borschtSorrel soup with egg

When the first sorrel comes up in village gardens around Chernihiv and Sumy in May, Ukrainian grandmothers stop making red borshch and switch to green: a light, lemony soup of sorrel, potato and herbs, served with halved boiled eggs. It is the soup of early summer and of Trinity Sunday, eaten hot with sour cream or chilled on a warm day. Sorrel gives it a clean sourness, so no vinegar is needed. This version uses vegetable stock instead of the chicken or pork stock some families use. Chef's tip: add the sorrel only in the last two minutes; it turns olive green the moment it hits the heat, but if it boils longer it collapses into stringy khaki threads.

40 minUkrainianSoupsGluten free
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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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