Jain recipes: no onion, garlic or root vegetables

2,799

2799 Jain recipes with no onion, garlic, potato, carrot, fresh ginger or other root vegetables, and no mushrooms, eggs or honey. Hing, dry ginger and turmeric powder are fine. Each has photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Apfelschorle, takes 2 minutes. Most take around 40 minutes.

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Koova payasamArrowroot pudding

In central Kerala, the morning of Thiruvathira begins with a bath before dawn and a bowl of koova, arrowroot starch that many families still pound and wash out from their own garden roots. Cooked with jaggery and coconut milk, it turns into a glossy, wobbly pudding that is light on the stomach for a day without rice. The texture should be silky and pourable while hot, thickening as it cools. Common mistake: tipping the powder straight into hot liquid, which gives lumps you can never whisk out; slake it in cold coconut milk first and stir all the time, and it is ready when it turns from cloudy white to clear and coats the back of a spoon. It is fasting-safe as written (arrowroot, jaggery, coconut and cardamom only), and Gujarati farari cooks use the same starch; check your own family's fasting rules if you add anything else. Chef's tip: melt and strain the jaggery separately and let it cool a little before adding, so the coconut milk does not split.

30 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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ThandaiAlmond, fennel and rose milk

On Mahashivratri the ghats and temples of Varanasi fill with brass pots of thandai, a cooling milk ground with almonds, melon seeds, fennel, poppy seeds, black pepper and rose, poured as an offering to Shiva and then shared with everyone queuing for darshan. In the city's lanes it is sometimes made with bhang (cannabis); this version is made entirely without it and contains no alcohol, so the whole family can drink it. It tastes nutty, floral and gently peppery, and is thick enough to coat the glass. Most people who keep the Shivratri fast take it, since it holds only milk, nuts, seeds and spices, but check your own family's rules: some leave out poppy seeds, and poppy seeds are restricted in a few countries, so skip them if you need to. Common mistake: grinding the soaked nuts and seeds with too little water, which leaves a gritty paste; keep blending until it feels smooth between your fingertips, then strain. Chef's tip: make the paste the night before and keep it in the fridge; the flavour deepens and you only need to whisk it into cold milk on the day.

30 min

Indian Drinks

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MoodeSteamed idli in leaf cylinders

Moode is the festive idli of Mangaluru and Udupi, made for Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi and big family breakfasts. The batter goes into tall cylinders woven from kedige (screwpine) leaves, which perfume the soft, spongy rice cake with a floral scent you can't get any other way; markets on the coast sell the woven moulds ready to fill. Slice it into thick rounds and serve with coconut chutney, sambar or a spicy chana gassi. The common mistake is filling the leaf moulds to the brim: the batter rises as it steams and spills out, leaving a dense cake. Fill them only two-thirds full. Chef's tip: if you can't find screwpine leaves, roll banana leaves into tight cones and tie them with string; the shape and steaming are the same, only the scent is milder.

60 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Gato zinzliSesame caramel sweets

Zinzli is the Mauritian Creole word for sesame, and gato zinzli are the little amber squares or drops of toasted sesame set in caramelised sugar that crowd the edge of every Divali plate on the island, next to moutaille and cravate. They are close to the til chikki of India but made with white sugar, a squeeze of lime and a little vanilla, so they are glassy, crunchy and nutty. Common mistake: taking the caramel off too early, which gives chewy sweets that stick to your teeth; cook the sugar to a light amber, about the hard-crack stage, when a drop in cold water snaps cleanly. Chef's tip: have everything oiled and ready before you start, because once the sesame goes in you have only a minute or two to shape it.

30 min

Mauritian Indian Sweets

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DindeSteamed chana jaggery parcels

On Nag Panchami in Maharashtra, women draw snakes in turmeric, offer milk and lahya at anthills, and by custom nothing is cut, chopped or fried on the tava that day, so the festival sweet is dinde: wheat-dough squares folded around puran (chana dal and jaggery) and steamed. They are soft, a little chewy and fragrant with nutmeg and cardamom, eaten warm with ghee. Common mistake: wet puran that leaks; cook the dal and jaggery until the mixture is thick and a spoon stands upright in it, then cool before filling. Chef's tip: steam the dinde on a greased banana leaf or plate and keep the seams down, so they keep their square shape.

80 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Kashi halwaAsh gourd halwa

Kashi halwa, also called dumrot, is the sweet that ends Udupi and Karnataka wedding feasts, spooned onto the banana leaf next to payasa. Grated white ash gourd cooks down in its own juice with sugar and ghee until it turns glassy and golden, with saffron for colour and cashews for crunch; it tastes delicate and buttery, not vegetal. The mistake most people make is skipping the squeeze: grate the gourd and leave the water in, and the halwa takes an hour to thicken and goes mushy. Squeeze it well, then cook the gourd in that juice. Chef's tip: add the sugar only after the gourd is soft and translucent; sugar added early firms the shreds and they never turn tender.

60 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Meethe pudeJaggery fennel pancakes

Teeyan, Punjab's monsoon festival of Teej, is when married daughters visit their parents, girls swing from neem trees and dance giddha, and the food that comes out on rainy afternoons is kheer with meethe pude: thin wheat-flour pancakes sweetened with jaggery and fennel, shallow-fried in ghee until lacy at the edges. They are soft in the middle and crisp round the rim. Common mistake: a thick batter, which gives heavy, doughy pude; it should pour like single cream, and each pancake is ready to flip when the edges brown and lift from the pan. Chef's tip: rest the batter for 20 minutes so the flour hydrates; the pude spread thinner and crisp better.

50 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Chhanar murkiSugar-coated chhena cubes

In Bangladesh and West Bengal, Hindu families mark Bijoya Dashami at the end of Durga Puja by visiting neighbours with plates of sweets, and chhanar murki is one of the simplest to make at home. Fresh chhena is pressed firm, cut into tiny cubes and cooked in sugar syrup, which is then boiled down until it crystallises and clings to each cube as a white, crunchy coat; inside they stay soft and milky. Common mistake: using soft, wet chhena, which dissolves in the syrup. Press it under a weight until it is firm enough to slice cleanly. When the syrup turns cloudy and grainy, it is about to crystallise onto the cubes, so lower the heat and keep tossing. Chef's tip: toss the cubes off the heat for a full minute as the syrup dries; constant gentle movement gives an even, snowy coating instead of clumps.

85 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

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Then mittaiSyrup-soaked rice and urad balls

Then mittai, 'honey sweets', were sold from glass jars at the petti kadai outside every Tamil village school in the 1980s and 90s, glossy red balls that crunch and then squirt sweet syrup. They're nostalgic now and great fun to make at home for children's parties. The mistake is frying too hot, which browns the outside before the centre cooks; they should fry slowly to a crisp shell. Chef's tip: let the fried balls cool for a minute before dropping them into warm, not hot, syrup so they stay crisp instead of going soggy.

60 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Ugadi pachadiSix-taste new year relish

On Ugadi morning in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, the first thing anyone eats after the oil bath and prayers is a spoonful of this pachadi, handed round in a small steel cup. Each ingredient stands for a feeling the coming year will bring: jaggery for joy, bitter neem flowers for sorrow, sour tamarind for disgust, raw mango for surprise, pepper for anger and salt for fear, so tasting them together is a quiet promise to accept whatever comes. In Maharashtra, Gudi Padwa begins with a close cousin, tender neem leaves ground with jaggery, cumin and tamarind. The finished pachadi is thin, sweet first, then sharp and faintly bitter. The common mistake is a heavy hand with neem: half a spoon too much and bitterness drowns every other taste. Stir until the jaggery has dissolved completely and no grains crunch against the spoon. Chef's tip: make it on the morning itself, as the cut mango softens and the neem turns muddy if it sits overnight.

15 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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BhakraFried yogurt semolina cakes

Bhakra are the thick, sweet fried cakes that Parsi families of Navsari and Udvada make for the Navjote and wedding days, for Jamshedi Navroz and to pack for long journeys, because they keep for a couple of weeks. The old recipe rises with toddy; this alcohol-free version uses sour yogurt and a little baking soda, which gives the same faint tang and a close, cakey crumb. Outside they fry to a deep mahogany crust, inside they are firm, buttery and fragrant with cardamom and nutmeg. The most common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot: the outside browns in a minute while the centre stays raw and doughy. Chef's tip: fry them low and slow, and break one open before you do the rest of the batch.

65 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Mangodi ki sabziMoong dal nuggets in yogurt gravy

Mangodi are little sun-dried nuggets of ground moong dal that Rajasthani women make in summer and store for months; during Paryushan, when Marwari Jain homes give up green vegetables, they become the sabzi itself. Here they are fried golden, then simmered in a spiced yoghurt gravy with no onion, garlic, fresh ginger or tomato, so the dish is fully Jain. The nuggets soak up the tangy gravy and turn soft but still a little chewy; serve with phulka or bajra roti. Use freshly set curd, as many Jains avoid curd kept overnight. Common mistake: pouring yoghurt straight into a hot pan, which makes it split into grainy curds; whisk it with gram flour first and keep stirring until it comes to the boil. Chef's tip: fry the mangodi until deep golden; pale ones stay hard in the middle however long they simmer.

40 min

Indian Curries

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Rajkoti lili chutneyGreen chilli and peanut chutney

Rajkot is known across Gujarat for its green chutney, sold in little pouches by farsan shops and carried home by every visitor: a hot, smooth paste of green chillies and roasted peanuts with lemon, sugar and a pinch of turmeric, and no coriander at all, which is why it keeps a week in the fridge without turning dark. It is spread in sandwiches, spooned over khichiya papad and served with gathiya, dhokla and bhajiya. The common mistake is adding too much water, which dilutes the heat and makes it spoil faster. Chef's tip: grind it in short bursts so the blender doesn't heat the peanuts and turn the chutney oily.

When Divali comes to Trinidad, Hindu families light rows of clay deyas along bamboo frames, and the kitchen fills up with sweets to share with neighbours of every faith: kurma, parsad, barfi and gojha. Gojha are the Caribbean cousin of the North Indian gujiya: a short dough rolled thin, filled with grated coconut cooked with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, folded into half-moons, crimped and fried golden; the same tray reappears at Phagwah, the spring colour festival. Common mistake: frying in oil that is too hot, which browns the outside while the pastry stays raw; keep the oil at about 170 °C and fry until the bubbles slow and the gojha are evenly golden. Chef's tip: seal the edges with a dab of water and crimp them tightly, or the filling leaks and spits in the oil.

60 min

Trinidadian Indian Sweets

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Kholasapori pithaRice pancakes with coconut and jaggery

Kholasapori means 'pressed in the khola', the shallow clay pan that every Assamese kitchen brings out for Magh Bihu, when guests are offered a plate of pitha before anything else. These are thicker and softer than the crisp til pitha: a loose batter of sticky rice flour is spread on the hot pan, filled with coconut and jaggery and folded over, so the outside is lightly speckled and the inside chewy and sweet. A heavy cast-iron pan stands in well for the khola. Common mistake: a pan that is too hot; the batter should set slowly with no browning in the first minute, and it is ready to fold when the edges lift and the top no longer looks wet. Chef's tip: wipe the pan with a cloth dipped in oil between each pitha rather than pouring oil in, so they stay pale and even.

50 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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PaapeTwice-baked tea rusks

No Punjabi kitchen is without a tin of paape. They are dunked in the first cup of tea at dawn and again at four o'clock, carried to the fields, and offered to every guest who drops in. Bakeries across Punjab bake a sweet, light loaf, slice it and dry it slowly until it snaps, and this home version does exactly the same. The common mistake is slicing the loaf while it is still warm: it squashes, and the rusks dry out dense and gummy. Let it cool completely, ideally overnight. Chef's tip: dry the slices at a low temperature until the centre snaps cleanly; any softness in the middle and they go stale within days.

90 min

Indian Baking

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Thiruvathirai kaliRice and moong dal with jaggery

On Arudra Darshan in the Tamil month of Margazhi, temples across Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram above all, celebrate Shiva as Nataraja, and homes offer him kali with ezhu kari kootu at dawn. The rice and a little moong dal are dry-roasted until fragrant, ground to a coarse rava and then cooked in jaggery water until soft and set, a loose, grainy sweet rather than a smooth halwa. Grated coconut, cardamom and plenty of ghee finish it. Common mistake: grinding the roasted rice to a fine flour, which cooks into a sticky paste; you want grains like fine semolina, and the kali is done when it leaves the sides of the pan and the ghee glistens on top. Chef's tip: roast the rice only until it smells like popcorn and turns faintly golden; any darker and the kali tastes bitter.

50 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Thunka puriGiant puffed puris

Every Kartik Purnima, Cuttack holds Bali Jatra on the banks of the Mahanadi, a huge open-air fair that remembers the Odia sailors who once set off for Bali and Java; families float little paper and banana-bark boats at dawn and spend the day eating at the stalls. Thunka puri is the fair's famous snack: puris rolled as big as a plate, which balloon into hollow golden domes in the oil and are torn open over a bowl of hot ghugni (yellow pea curry), onion and tamarind chutney. Common mistake: oil that is not hot enough or dough that is too soft; the puri then drinks oil and stays flat. Get the oil to about 190 °C, so a pinch of dough rises at once, and it is done when it is puffed and pale gold on both sides. Chef's tip: slide the puri in, then gently press the centre with a slotted spoon and splash hot oil over the top; it will puff fully within seconds.

45 min

Indian Breads & Parathas

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When the astrologers' auspicious hour for Aluth Avurudu, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, arrives in April, Sri Lankan families light the hearth, boil kiribath and lay out a table of sweets, and small dark aggala balls are one of the easiest to make. Roasted rice flour and toasted coconut are bound with hot kithul treacle and a surprising amount of black pepper, which gives a warm bite after the sweetness. They are dense, soft and slightly crumbly. The common mistake is under-roasting the flour, which leaves a raw, pasty taste; roast it until it smells like biscuits and flows loosely off the spoon. The treacle is ready when it bubbles all over and thickens slightly. Chef's tip: shape them while the mixture is still warm, with lightly oiled palms, because they harden and crack as they cool.

Kavuni arisi is the deep purple-black sweet that every Chettiar wedding feast in Karaikudi begins with, a nod to the trading families' old links with Burma, where the black rice came from. The rice is soaked overnight, cooked until soft but still chewy, then mixed with sugar, plenty of fresh grated coconut and a spoon of ghee, so it is nutty, gently sweet and pleasantly sticky. It is eaten warm or at room temperature in small portions. The usual mistake is cooking black rice like white rice; it needs a long soak and a long cook, or the grains stay hard at the centre. Chef's tip: mash a quarter of the cooked rice lightly with the back of a spoon before adding sugar, which makes it hold together the way it does in Chettinad.

55 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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ApfelkrautApple syrup

In the Rhineland, apples from the autumn harvest are pressed and boiled for hours in copper cauldrons into Apfelkraut, a dark, glossy, sweet-sour syrup that is spread on Schwarzbrot with butter and quark, and that families bring to the Erntedank harvest thanksgiving in October. It needs no added sugar at all: the apples' own sugar and pectin concentrate until the juice is as thick as treacle and tastes like baked apple and caramel. Eat it on rye bread, with potato pancakes (Reibekuchen) or in a sauce for Sauerbraten. Chef's tip: use a mix of sweet and tart apples; the tart ones give the tang and the pectin that makes it set.

450 min

German Chutneys & Dips

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PflaumenmusOven-baked plum butter

When the late damson plums (Zwetschgen) ripen in September, German kitchens fill trays with them for Pflaumenmus, and jars of it stand on the decorated altar at Erntedank, the harvest thanksgiving in early October. Unlike jam, it uses little sugar and no pectin: the halved plums are baked slowly, uncovered, until they collapse and darken into a thick, almost black spread that tastes of plums and spice rather than sugar. Spread it on rye bread with butter, fill Dampfnudeln with it or stir a spoonful into quark. Chef's tip: bake it in the widest roasting tin you have, because the more surface, the faster the water steams off.

330 min

German Chutneys & Dips

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VornGreen gram and coconut milk sweet

On 8 September, Mangalorean Catholics celebrate Monti Fest, the feast of Mary's Nativity, which is also a harvest festival: new ears of grain are blessed at church and shared at home, and the family eats a vegetarian feast of new-season vegetables. Vorn, a pudding of split green gram (moong) cooked with coconut milk, jaggery and cardamom, is the sweet that ends it. It is like a gentle payasam, vegan and gluten free. Chef's tip: dry-roast the moong dal until fragrant before cooking it, which gives vorn its nutty flavour.

60 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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SkābputraSoured barley porridge drink

Skābputra, 'sour porridge', is one of the oldest Latvian foods, and at Jāņi, Midsummer on 23–24 June, it is served cold alongside caraway cheese, pīrāgi and wreaths of flowers. Pearl barley is cooked soft, then soured with buttermilk or kefir for a day or two until it is tangy and fresh-tasting, and it is thinned with milk into a thick, cooling drink sipped or eaten with a spoon on hot summer days. This home version uses bought live buttermilk to start the souring safely. Chef's tip: use clean jars and utensils, and taste it each day; once it is pleasantly sour, chill it so it stops souring.

60 minBaltic Drinks

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Chirov plavRice pilaf with dried fruit

Chirov plav, rice pilaf with dried fruit ('chir'), is the Armenian Easter dish: after the long Lenten fast, families gather on Easter Sunday to eat this glossy, buttery pilaf, often served beside fried or baked fish and red-dyed eggs. The rice is cooked separately so every grain stays loose, then layered with dried apricots, raisins and prunes warmed in butter, with a golden crust (tahdig-style) at the bottom. Chef's tip: rinse the rice until the water runs clear, and parboil it in plenty of salted water, as that keeps the grains separate.

65 min

Armenian Rice & Grains

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ZhavoronkiLark-shaped buns

On 22 March (9 March in the old calendar), the Orthodox feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste falls during Lent, and in Russian villages it was the day the larks were said to return. Children were given zhavoronki, little bread larks, and ran outside to toss them in the air and call the spring. The dough is a lightly sweet yeast dough, and because it is Lent it was made without eggs or butter, so this version is vegan. Raisins or peppercorns make the eyes. Chef's tip: tie a simple knot from a dough rope for each bird and snip the tail; it is quicker than sculpting and keeps the shape.

60 min

Russian Baking

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BurasaCoconut rice cakes in banana leaf

Burasa is the Lebaran rice cake of the Bugis and Makassar people of South Sulawesi: rice half-cooked in salted coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves, tied in pairs and boiled for hours until it sets firm and rich. On Eid morning it is sliced and eaten with coto Makassar, opor or a spicy beef dish, and it travels well for visits to relatives. Chef's tip: wrap the parcels only half full and tie them firmly, because the rice swells and a full parcel bursts open in the pot.

240 min

Indonesian Rice & Grains

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Kuih makmurGhee and peanut cookies

Kuih makmur is one of the oldest Malay Hari Raya cookies, its name meaning 'prosperity', and its tiny ridged domes are baked by the tray-load before Aidilfitri to fill the cookie jars for open houses. Soft, crumbly ghee pastry wraps a filling of roasted ground peanuts and sugar, and the cookies are rolled in icing sugar while still warm, so they melt in the mouth. Chef's tip: bake them pale; makmur should stay white, and browned cookies taste of scorched ghee.

60 min

Malaysian Baking

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MämmiRye and malt Easter pudding

Mämmi is Finland's Easter dessert, a dark, almost black pudding of rye flour and malted rye, sweetened slowly by the malt's own enzymes and by a little molasses, then baked for hours in birch-bark boxes or small dishes. It looks unusual but tastes mild, malty and gently sweet, and is eaten cold with cream and sugar on Easter Sunday. It is vegan, and it was once eaten through Lent. You need powdered rye malt from a baking supplier or Nordic shop. Chef's tip: keep the porridge warm (around 60 °C) for two hours before baking so the malt can sweeten it; skip this and mämmi tastes bitter.

330 minScandinavian Desserts

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Slavski kolačDecorated ceremonial bread

The slava is a uniquely Serbian Orthodox custom: each family honours its own patron saint on that saint's feast day, passed from father to son, with a lit candle, boiled wheat (žito) and the slavski kolač, a round, decorated bread. The priest blesses it; the family turns it, cuts a cross into its base, pours a little wine into the cuts, and breaks it together. It is decorated with dough crosses, the seal 'IC XC NI KA', doves, wheat ears and grapes. It is a plain, vegan bread. Chef's tip: keep the decorations' dough a little stiffer than the loaf, so they hold their shape.

110 minBalkan Baking

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Aloo bukhara chutneyDried plum chutney

Wherever a Pakistani wedding serves biryani and qorma, a little bowl of glossy aloo bukhara chutney sits alongside to cut the richness. Dried sour plums are softened, then cooked with sugar, a touch of vinegar, ginger, chilli and warm spices into a jammy, sweet-sour relish, dark and shining. It keeps for weeks and is made in big jars before the shaadi. Chef's tip: stop cooking while it still looks a little loose; it thickens a lot as it cools.

35 min

Pakistani Chutneys & Dips

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Shir berenjRose water rice pudding

Shir berenj, 'milk rice', is one of the gentle sweets of the Iranian Nowruz season, made at home to share with visiting relatives and often given as nazri on special days. Short-grain rice is softened in water first, then cooked slowly in milk until the grains melt into a thick, creamy pudding scented with rose water. It is chilled and served plain, with the sweetness added at the table from a drizzle of grape molasses, date syrup or jam. The common mistake is adding all the milk at once over a high heat, which scorches the bottom and leaves the grains firm. Chef's tip: stir with a wooden spoon in a figure of eight, which reaches the corners where rice likes to stick.

70 min

Persian Desserts

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PepitadaToasted melon seed milk

Greek and Turkish Jews end the Yom Kippur fast with a glass of pepitada, a pale, gentle 'milk' made from melon seeds that were saved, washed and dried through the summer. The seeds are toasted, ground, soaked overnight in water wrapped in muslin, then squeezed to give a mild, nutty drink sweetened with a little sugar and scented with rose or orange-blossom water. It is soothing on an empty stomach after a day without food or water. The common mistake is toasting the seeds too dark, which makes the drink bitter. Chef's tip: start the night before; the long soak is what draws out the creamy flavour.

750 min

Israeli Drinks

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CaldarrosteRoasted chestnuts

From October to St Martin's Day on 11 November, Italian towns hold chestnut festivals, the sagre delle castagne, and the smoke of caldarroste drifts from street braziers where chestnuts are shaken in long-handled pans with holes. At home they are roasted in the same way on the hob or in the oven and eaten hot from a paper cone, sweet, floury and smoky, with a glass of new wine for adults or warm milk for children. Chef's tip: wrap the hot chestnuts in a damp tea towel for 5 minutes; the steam loosens the inner skin so they peel cleanly.

35 min

Italian Snacks & Starters

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LepetSticky rice and peanut logs

Lepet is the companion of ketupat on a Javanese Lebaran morning: glutinous rice and peanuts mixed with grated coconut, rolled in spiralled young coconut leaves and boiled for hours into dense, savoury logs. In Javanese tradition the sticky rice is a reminder to forgive and hold together after Ramadan, so it is shared with neighbours and family. It tastes nutty, salty and rich and is eaten with opor or simply on its own. Banana leaves and string work well where coconut leaves are hard to find. Chef's tip: roll each log loosely, about three-quarters full, so the swelling rice turns soft rather than hard and chalky.

285 min

Indonesian Rice & Grains

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Sabeel sharbatRose milk with basil seeds

180 min

Italian Breads & Parathas

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Es timun suriIced cucumber melon drink

Timun suri, a large cucumber-melon, appears in Indonesian markets only during Ramadan, piled high at roadside stalls for families to buy before iftar. Scraped into strands and floated in iced syrup with basil seeds and lime, it makes es timun suri, one of the most refreshing ways to break the fast. It tastes gently sweet, melony and cool. Cantaloupe or galia melon is a good stand-in outside Indonesia. Chef's tip: soak the basil seeds fully before adding them, as dry seeds clump into hard lumps in cold syrup.

20 min

Indonesian Drinks

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KaguyjyWhite corn pudding

On the night of 23–24 June, Paraguayans celebrate San Juan with bonfires, games like walking over hot coals and the 'paso de fuego', and a table of traditional foods, and kaguyjy (also mazamorra) is one of them. It is a soft, creamy pudding of cracked white corn (locro) simmered slowly in water and then milk with sugar or honey, sometimes with orange peel. It is eaten warm or cold. It is gluten free. Chef's tip: soak the corn overnight and cook it until each kernel is tender before adding the milk, or it never turns creamy.

130 min

Paraguayan Desserts

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FasaliLayered butter pastry with honey

Fasali is a festive breakfast in Azerbaijan, made on Novruz mornings and other holidays when the house is full: a thin dough is brushed with melted butter, folded again and again into many layers, then cooked slowly in a covered pan until crisp outside and flaky within. It comes to the table cut in wedges with honey, syrup or a glass of sweet tea. The common mistake is cooking over a high heat, which burns the outside before the inner layers have cooked through. Chef's tip: chill the folded parcel for 10 minutes between folds and the butter stays in clean layers.

70 min

Azerbaijani Baking

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Persian halvaSaffron rose flour halva

Iranian halva is not the sesame sweet of the Levant but a dense paste of flour toasted slowly in butter and cooked with a saffron and rose-water syrup. It is spread on plates and patterned with a spoon for Ramadan iftars, for mourning gatherings and as nazri, food made and shared with neighbours to fulfil a vow in Muharram. It tastes deeply nutty, floral and not too sweet. Chef's tip: patience with the flour is everything; toast it until it is the colour of peanut butter, never rushing on a high heat.

40 min

Persian Desserts

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Torrone dei mortiChocolate hazelnut bar

In Naples, the weeks around All Souls' Day on 2 November are 'torrone time': pastry shops pile up the torrone dei morti, a soft bar of white or dark chocolate filled with a creamy hazelnut or chocolate centre and studded with whole toasted hazelnuts, which friends bring as a gift when visiting. Despite its name it contains no nougat. This homemade version layers dark chocolate around a white-chocolate and hazelnut-paste filling. It is gluten free; some versions add liqueur, this one doesn't. Chef's tip: let the chocolate shell set fully in the fridge before filling, so it doesn't melt through.

40 min

Italian Desserts

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Pesaha paalCoconut milk and jaggery drink

Pesaha paal ('Passover milk') is the sweet dip served with Pesaha appam at the Maundy Thursday supper in Kerala's Syrian Christian homes. Coconut milk is simmered with melted jaggery, a little roasted rice flour to thicken it, cardamom and dried ginger until it becomes a warm, silky drink. The family dips pieces of the blessed appam into it after the evening prayers. It is vegan and gluten free, and ready in half an hour. Chef's tip: strain the jaggery syrup before adding the coconut milk, as jaggery often carries grit.

30 min

Indian Drinks

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BorstplaatSugar fondant sweets

Borstplaat is the sweet of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands: small, melt-in-the-mouth discs or hearts of boiled sugar and cream or milk with a little butter, flavoured with coffee, vanilla or strawberry. Children find them in their shoes on the morning of 5 December alongside pepernoten and a chocolate letter. They need only a few ingredients and a little care, and are gluten free. Chef's tip: stir the cooled syrup until it turns cloudy and starts to thicken, then pour at once; that stirring forms the fine crystals that make borstplaat creamy.

35 min

Dutch Desserts

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KipingLeaf-shaped rice wafers

Every 15 May, the town of Lucban in Quezon province celebrates San Isidro Labrador, patron of farmers, with the Pahiyas festival, when houses are covered in rice, vegetables and kiping: bright, translucent wafers of ground rice dough pressed onto leaves so they take the leaf's shape and veins, then dried. After the procession, the kiping are taken down and grilled or fried and eaten crisp, sometimes with sugar. This home version presses the dough thinly onto baking paper with a leaf-shaped cutter and the back of a clean banana leaf for texture. It is vegan and gluten free. Chef's tip: spread the dough as thin as you can, almost see-through, so it dries crisp.

60 min

Filipino Snacks & Starters

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KinnathappamSteamed rice and coconut milk squares

Kinnathappam is named after the kinnam, the round steel plate it sets in, and it is one of the soft, wobbly sweets Mappila cooks in Malabar make for iftar and Eid. Rice flour, coconut milk and sugar are stirred into a smooth batter, steamed until just set and cut into glossy diamonds that taste of coconut and cardamom. Chef's tip: strain the batter before steaming; any lumps of rice flour show as white specks in the finished squares.

55 min

Indian Desserts

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Manisan kolang-kalingSugar palm fruit in pandan syrup

Kolang-kaling are the chewy, translucent seeds of the sugar palm, and in Indonesia they are a sure sign of Ramadan, piled in buckets at markets and simmered in syrup to go into iftar drinks, kolak and es buah. They have a soft, jelly-like bite and soak up whatever colour and flavour they are cooked in: green for pandan, red for rose syrup. Chef's tip: simmer them slowly and leave them in the syrup overnight; rushing gives pale fruit with a watery middle.

60 min

Indonesian Desserts

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Tire Sainte-CatherinePulled molasses taffy

On 25 November, Quebec celebrates St Catherine, patron of unmarried women, with tire Sainte-Catherine, a pulled molasses taffy. The custom goes back to Marguerite Bourgeoys, who is said to have made taffy in the 1600s to draw children to her school in Ville-Marie, and today schools and families still 'pull the tire' together. Hot molasses and sugar syrup is cooled, then pulled with buttered hands until it turns golden and satiny, twisted into ropes and cut into pieces. It is gluten free. Chef's tip: pull it as soon as it is cool enough to handle, as it sets fast; work in pairs.

55 min

Canadian Desserts

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KinkélibaKinkéliba leaf tea with mint

Kinkéliba is an herbal tea brewed from the dried leaves of a West African shrub, and in Senegal it is the drink families reach for at the moment of breaking the fast in Ramadan, served hot with bread or dates. The brew is amber, gently bitter and woody, softened with sugar and lifted with fresh mint. Many households also drink it at breakfast all year. Chef's tip: simmer it gently rather than boiling it hard; a fierce boil brings out too much bitterness.

15 min

Senegalese Drinks

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RužiceWalnut pastry roses in syrup

Ružice, meaning 'little roses', are baked for Bajram in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Eid holidays when trays of syrup-soaked sweets are set out for every guest. Thin sheets of pastry are brushed with butter, scattered with walnuts and rolled up, then sliced so each piece opens like a rose in the oven. The baked roses drink up a cold lemon syrup and turn sticky, crisp on top and soft underneath. Chef's tip: pour cold syrup over hot pastry (or hot over cold), never both the same temperature, or the roses go soggy.

90 minBalkan Desserts

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Umphokoqo is the dry, crumbly pap of the Eastern Cape, beloved at Xhosa family gatherings and often brought out on Heritage Day as a taste of home. Instead of the stiff pap stirred into a smooth mound, the maize meal is steamed in a little water and broken up with a fork until it falls into fine, fluffy crumbs. It is served cold or at room temperature, with chilled amasi (thick soured milk) poured over, sour, cool and filling, or warm beside braai meat and chakalaka. Chef's tip: don't stir in circles like ordinary pap; cut and fluff with a fork so it stays crumbly.

40 min

South African Rice & Grains

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Bread halwaFried bread halwa

At Tamil Muslim weddings and Eid feasts in Chennai and Madurai, the biryani is followed by a spoonful of bread halwa, sticky, golden and glistening with ghee. Cubes of white bread are fried until crisp, then cooked down with milk, sugar and cardamom until they melt into a soft, jammy halwa studded with cashews. Chef's tip: day-old bread fries crisper and soaks up the milk more evenly than fresh.

40 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Malaysian Rice & Grains

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Pan co' santiWalnut and raisin loaf

In Siena and the Tuscan countryside, pan co' santi ('bread with the saints') is baked for All Saints' Day on 1 November, when the new walnuts and the late grapes come in. It is a dark, lightly sweet bread dough rich with olive oil, walnuts, raisins and a surprising amount of black pepper, which gives a warm bite. It is eaten with the new wine by adults, or with roasted chestnuts. It is vegan. Chef's tip: fry the raisins and walnuts briefly in the olive oil before adding them, as Sienese bakers do; it brings out their flavour.

80 min

Italian Baking

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Rosero is a festive drink of Quito in Ecuador, made for Corpus Christi in June, when the city once filled with processions and dancers. It is thick and refreshing: whole hominy (mote) and a thin purée of naranjilla (lulo) and pineapple, sweetened with sugar, spiced with cinnamon, cloves and allspice, and perfumed with orange-blossom water and rose petals, then served chilled in tall glasses with diced fruit. Frozen naranjilla pulp is sold in Latin shops. It is vegan. Chef's tip: simmer the pineapple peel with the spices for the syrup, as Quiteño cooks do; it adds a lot of flavour.

70 minAndean Drinks

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Nerikiri (hand-shaped bean paste flowers)

Nerikiri are the jewel-like sweets of the tea ceremony in Kyoto and Tokyo, shaped by hand into the flower, leaf or fruit of the season: cherry blossom in April, hydrangea in June, chrysanthemum in autumn. Each is served alone on a small plate before thick matcha, cut with a pick. The dough is white bean paste kneaded with gyuhi, a soft paste of glutinous rice flour and sugar, and it feels like fine modelling clay, smooth and gently sweet, wrapped around a centre of red bean paste. They are naturally egg-free: the gyuhi gives the bean paste stretch and holds the carved shapes, so no other binder is needed. This simple five-petal flower is a good first shape. Chef's tip: dry the white bean paste well before adding the gyuhi; the common mistake is a soft, wet dough that slumps and loses its petals within minutes.

90 min

Japanese Desserts

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Alfeñique (Toluca Day of the Dead sugar-paste figures)

Each October the arcades of Toluca, in the State of Mexico, fill with the Feria del Alfeñique: stalls of little skulls, lambs, coffins, baskets and fruit, all modelled from sugar paste and painted bright colours for the Day of the Dead altars of 1 and 2 November. Children buy a skull with their own name on it; families place them on the ofrenda beside marigolds, candles and pan de muerto. The paste is snow-white, smooth and brittle once dry, with a clean sugar and lime taste. The old Toluca paste is egg-free, kneaded with chautle, a gum from an orchid bulb; here gum tragacanth plays that part, making the paste stretchy enough to model and helping it dry hard. The decorating icing is egg-free too, made from icing sugar, lime juice and a pinch of the same gum. Chef's tip: work the syrup while it is warm and keep the paste wrapped; the common mistake is letting it sit uncovered, so it dries out and cracks as you shape it.

180 min

Mexican Desserts

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Quinotos en almíbar (Argentine kumquats in syrup)

In Buenos Aires and the river provinces of the Litoral, kumquat trees ripen in the middle of winter, between June and August, and the fruit goes straight into jars of syrup. Grandmothers' pantries held quinotos for the whole year, brought out for birthdays and long Sunday lunches. Each little fruit turns glossy orange and translucent, with a soft, bittersweet skin and a sharp, juicy centre. Spoon them over vanilla ice cream, serve them with a slice of fresh cheese in the style of postre vigilante, or eat them straight from the jar. Many bar menus offer them steeped in spirits; this version keeps only the syrup. Naturally egg-free, the quinotos rely on sugar syrup to preserve them, while pectin from the peel gives the syrup a light, jammy body. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit three times from cold water; the common mistake is skipping this, which leaves the skins tough and bitter.

120 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Bananada (Brazilian banana paste bars)

Bananada comes from the banana country of Minas Gerais and the Vale do Ribeira in São Paulo state, where roadside stalls stack it in wrapped bars beside rapadura and goiabada. Children find it in lunchboxes and it turns up on the sweet tables of the June festivals. Cooked slowly, ripe bananas and sugar darken to a reddish brown and set into a dense, chewy paste with a caramel and baked-banana flavour, finished with a sugary crust. Serve the bars with coffee or a piece of fresh cheese. It is naturally egg-free: the starch and pectin in the bananas, concentrated with sugar over a long, slow cook, set the paste firm enough to slice. Very ripe bananas give the sweetest, darkest result. Chef's tip: keep going until you can see the base of the pan for a second when you drag the spoon through; the common mistake is stopping early, which gives a soft jam that won't cut.

125 min

Brazilian Desserts

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KokadCoconut, jaggery and semolina squares

Kokad is one of the sweets in the Goan Christmas kuswar, the tray of homemade sweets Catholic families swap with neighbours in the days around 25 December. Freshly grated coconut is cooked with jaggery, semolina and ghee until it pulls together into a dark, fudgy mass, then pressed into a tray, scored into diamonds and topped with cashews. It is chewy, caramel-sweet and fragrant with cardamom. Chef's tip: roast the semolina in ghee first, until it smells nutty, as raw semolina makes kokad pasty.

75 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Dulce de papayuelaMountain papaya in spiced syrup

Papayuela is the small, fragrant mountain papaya that grows in the cool highlands of Boyacá in Colombia. Cooked slowly in panela syrup with cloves and cinnamon, it becomes a glossy, amber dulce that Boyacá families set out during Holy Week and again at Christmas, often with a slice of fresh white cheese or cuajada. It is vegan and gluten free. Firm, slightly underripe ordinary papaya, or babaco, makes a good stand-in. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit briefly first, then drain it; this removes the bitter latex and lets it soak up the syrup.

90 min

Colombian Desserts

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VörtbrödDark Christmas rye bread

In Sweden the Christmas smörgåsbord (julbord) is never without vörtbröd, a dark, soft, slightly sticky rye loaf flavoured with wort, the sweet malty liquid brewers start beer from, plus dark syrup, orange peel, clove and ginger. It is sliced, buttered and eaten with the Christmas ham or with cheese. Many home bakers use dark beer, which contains alcohol; this recipe uses a non-alcoholic dark malt drink, which gives the same malty depth. It keeps for 4 days, and freezes well. Chef's tip: rye dough is sticky and never feels smooth like wheat; resist adding lots of extra flour or the loaf will be dry.

70 minScandinavian Baking

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Asham (Jamaican parched-corn sweet)

Asham is one of rural Jamaica's oldest treats, a sweet carried over from West African parched-grain foods and still made in country districts of St Elizabeth, Clarendon and St Ann. Children ate it after school from a twist of paper, and it reappears at heritage fairs around Emancipation Day and Independence in early August. Dried corn is parched until toasty and golden, ground to a fine, sandy powder and mixed with dark sugar: nutty, faintly smoky and melting slowly on the tongue. Eat it by the pinch, press it into little balls, or stir a spoonful into warm milk or water as a drink. It is naturally egg-free; the powder needs no binder at all, and for balls a sprinkle of water and the sticky brown sugar hold it together. Chef's tip: eat the loose powder in small pinches and don't breathe in as you eat it; it is famous for making people cough. In the pot, keep the corn moving, as scorching is the common mistake and turns it bitter.

Konpeito came to Japan with Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century and became a treasured gift; Kyoto confectioners still make them the old way, rolling them in a tilted, heated pan for two weeks or more. Today the tiny pastel stars are given as wedding and birth favours, slipped into tins of emergency hardtack biscuits, and nibbled with green tea. They crunch like a sugar cube and taste purely of sugar, sometimes with a hint of fruit. This home version uses a wok over the lowest heat and a few patient hours, which gives smaller, knobbly stars rather than the perfect shop ones. They are naturally egg-free: they are made of nothing but sugar, and the setting comes from thin layers of syrup crystallising one after another. Chef's tip: add the syrup a teaspoon at a time and keep the crystals rolling until dry. The common mistake is pouring in too much, which glues everything into one clump.

240 min

Japanese Desserts

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Mont let saung (Burmese sago in coconut milk and jaggery)

During Thingyan, the Burmese water festival that ends the old year in mid-April, stalls across Myanmar hand out free food and cold drinks as a way of making merit, and mont let saung is one of the best loved. Chewy, glassy sago pearls (or short white rice-flour threads in some towns) sit on crushed ice, soaked in dark jaggery syrup and lightly salted coconut milk, with toasted sesame on top. It is cool, sweet and gently smoky from the jaggery, exactly what you want after a day of being splashed with water. Serve it in glasses or bowls as soon as it is assembled. Chef's tip: a pinch of salt in the coconut milk is what makes the jaggery taste rounder, so don't skip it.

45 min

Burmese Desserts

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Sekihan (red bean rice)

Sekihan, "red rice", is Japan's celebration dish, cooked nationwide for birthdays, weddings and especially Shichi-Go-San in November, when girls aged three and seven and boys aged five visit the shrine in their best clothes. Red has long been thought to drive away bad luck, so rice tinted with adzuki beans is a wish for the children's health and growth. Steamed glutinous rice gives a chewy, slightly springy texture and a nutty bean flavour, finished with black sesame salt. Some cooks sprinkle the rice with a spoonful of sake while it steams; this is optional, and the bean liquid alone gives an alcohol-free version. Serve it warm or at room temperature with tai no shioyaki and clear soup. Chef's tip: ladle the bean cooking liquid high in the air and pour it back several times; the contact with air deepens its red, and the rice turns a stronger pink.

120 min

Japanese Rice & Grains

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SchlorzifladenDried pear tart

Schlorzifladen comes from the Toggenburg valley in the canton of St Gallen in eastern Switzerland, where dried pears (schlorzi) were a winter staple. The thin, crisp tart is filled with a thick, dark purée of cooked dried pears spiced with cinnamon, and baked for Christmas and village feast days. Some versions have a rice or cream layer on top; this is the simple pear one. Pear brandy is sometimes added, but this version uses lemon juice instead and is alcohol-free. Chef's tip: cook the pear purée until it is stiff enough to hold a spoon upright, or it soaks the pastry.

120 min

Swiss Baking

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Pâte de fruits (Auvergne apricot fruit jellies)

Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of the Auvergne, built a name for pâtes de fruits in the nineteenth century using apricots from the Limagne plain, and the jewel-bright squares remain a favourite in Christmas boxes and with coffee at the end of a meal. Good pâte de fruits tastes more of fruit than of sugar: dense, tender and clean-cutting, with a sparkle of sugar crust and a sharp edge of acid. Serve them on a plate of petits fours, or pack them as a gift. They are naturally egg-free: pectin, the fruit's own setting agent, does all the work once the purée is boiled with sugar to 106°C and the acid is added. Use yellow pectin for pâte de fruits if you can find it; it sets slowly enough to pour. Chef's tip: stir in the citric acid only off the heat, right before pouring; the common mistake is adding it early, so the jelly sets in the pan.

90 min

French Desserts

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Jiaodong hua bobo (festive flower buns)

On the Jiaodong peninsula in Shandong, the days before the Spring Festival are spent shaping hua bobo: large steamed wheat buns twisted into fish, flowers and lucky knots and dotted with red jujubes. A fish bun stands for surplus in the year ahead, the dates for sweetness and a prosperous red, and a tall bun stacked high for a family that keeps rising. The crumb is dense, springy and faintly sweet, a world away from fluffy bao, because the dough is worked stiff and kneaded long. Set them on the reunion table, give them to neighbours, then slice and re-steam the rest with soups and braises through the holiday. Chef's tip: keep the dough firm, more like modelling clay than bread dough, or the shapes slump in the steamer.

240 min

Chinese Breads & Parathas

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Mứt sen (candied lotus seeds)

No Tết candy tray in Hanoi or Huế looks complete without a mound of mứt sen, the ivory lotus seeds that stand for purity and, because a lotus pod holds so many seeds, for a family blessed with many descendants. Done well, each seed is soft and floury inside, almost like chestnut, under a dry, sparkling shell of sugar. Guests nibble them with a pot of hot green or lotus tea while they swap New Year wishes. Fresh seeds are best; dried ones from Asian grocers work if soaked overnight first. Chef's tip: pull out every green germ in the centre, because a single bitter heart spoils the sweet mouthful.

90 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Tang gua (malt sugar candy)

On Xiaonian, the 'little New Year' a week before the Spring Festival, families across northern China offer tang gua to the Kitchen God before he flies up to report on the household: the sticky sweets are meant to glue his mouth shut, or at least sweeten his words. The name means 'sugar melons', after their round, ribbed shape. Pulling the hot maltose over and over turns it from amber glass to a pale, airy candy that shatters and then turns chewy, with a toasty malt flavour and plenty of sesame. Serve them with tea on Xiaonian and keep the rest in a tin for New Year guests. Chef's tip: wear clean rubber or silicone gloves and work on an oiled tray; hot sugar sticks to skin and burns.

180 min

Chinese Desserts

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Jaja begina (Balinese sun-dried rice crackers)

Jaja begina are the round rice crackers that fill Balinese offering towers for Galungan; once the prayers are said, the crackers come home as a crunchy snack for everyone. Steamed glutinous rice is pressed into thin discs and dried in the sun for days until rock hard, and then a quick fry makes them puff up, turn pale gold and become light and crisp. A thread of warm palm sugar syrup over the top makes them sweet and sticky. Without strong sun, a low oven does the drying in an afternoon. Chef's tip: make a big batch of the dried discs; stored airtight they keep for months, and you can fry a few whenever you like.

120 min

Indonesian Snacks & Starters

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Bay ben (Pchum Ben sticky rice balls)

Bay ben are made across Cambodia for Pchum Ben, the fifteen-day festival of the ancestors: before dawn, families carry them to the pagoda and toss them onto the ground around the temple for hungry, wandering spirits who have no relatives to feed them, a gift of kindness and merit for the dead. At home the same rice balls are eaten as a snack. Sticky rice is steamed, folded with salted coconut milk, toasted sesame and fresh coconut, then rolled while warm, so each ball is soft, chewy, nutty and lightly salty-sweet. Serve them with fruit or a cup of tea. Chef's tip: roll with hands dipped in lightly salted water so the rice doesn't stick and the balls get a neat, shiny finish.

60 min

Cambodian Rice & Grains

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Ginataang mais (sweet corn coconut porridge)

Across the Philippines, ginataang mais turns up on the quiet, meatless days of Holy Week, when many families keep Good Friday as a day of fasting and abstinence and want something warm and simple to share in the afternoon. Glutinous rice swells in coconut milk until the pot turns thick and glossy, and sweet corn kernels pop through it with little bursts of sweetness. It is eaten warm from small bowls, sometimes with a swirl of extra coconut cream or crunchy toasted pinipig, and is just as good cold from the fridge the next day. Chef's tip: save the sugar until the rice is fully soft; added too early it slows the grains and they stay chalky in the middle.

40 min

Filipino Desserts

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Khailmag (cream and raisin sweet)

Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year, means 'White Month', and white dairy foods stand for purity, plenty and a clean start to the year, so homes across the country set out cream, curds and sweets beside the steaming buuz. Khailmag is one of the most luxurious: clotted cream (or Mongolian öröm, the thick skin skimmed from boiled milk) is cooked with butter-toasted flour, sugar and raisins until it turns into a golden, fudgy porridge. It is very rich, so serve small spoonfuls with salty milk tea, or alongside ul boov biscuits and boortsog. There is no alcohol in it. Chef's tip: toast the flour slowly until it smells nutty; that toasting gives khailmag its caramel flavour.

In Batangas and Laguna, south of Manila, panutsa is the rustic peanut candy made from roasted peanuts and dark, unrefined cane sugar, traditionally poured into halved coconut shells to set into domes. It is sold at roadside stalls and town markets and eaten as a snack with the strong local barako coffee, often in the morning or mid-afternoon. It is hard and crunchy, with a deep molasses flavour and lots of nuts. Break it into pieces to serve, or grate it over rice cakes as a sweetener. Panutsa is naturally egg-free: the cane sugar, boiled to the soft-crack stage, sets hard as it cools and holds the peanuts in place. Chef's tip: have the moulds oiled and ready before the syrup goes on. The common mistake is pulling the syrup too early, which gives a sticky, bendy candy that never sets properly.

30 min

Filipino Desserts

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Kalamae is the Songkran sweet of Central Thailand: in villages, neighbours take turns at a huge wok for hours, and the finished trays go to monks and elders at the New Year, the long shared stirring standing for a community pulling together and the sweetness for a sweet year ahead. Glutinous rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar slowly turn from milky beige to a deep mahogany paste that is chewy, a little smoky and rich with coconut. Cut it into small squares and serve with jasmine tea, or wrap the pieces in banana leaf to give away. A home batch takes about two and a half hours at the stove, so put on some music and keep a wooden spoon moving. Chef's tip: use the widest heavy pan you own; more surface means faster thickening and less risk of scorching.

Every Hungarian Christmas tree carries szaloncukor: sweets wrapped in shiny foil and fringed paper, hung from the branches in December and quietly eaten, one by one, by everyone in the house until Epiphany. The classic is soft white fondant, but the centres vary: tart fruit jelly, coconut, marzipan or nut. Here there are two fillings, raspberry jelly and coconut fondant, both coated in dark chocolate, so each bite gives a snap of chocolate and then a tender, melting middle. They are lovely with coffee or as a small gift. These are egg-free with no animal setting agent: the fondant is just sugar syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage and worked until it crystallises into a smooth, white paste, so no egg white is needed, and the jelly is set with agar-agar, which gives clean cubes that hold their shape at room temperature. Chef's tip: let the syrup cool to about 45°C before working it; the common mistake is starting while it is still hot, which grows coarse crystals and a gritty fondant.

180 min

Hungarian Desserts

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PinacaRice flour, jaggery and coconut cakes

Pinaca is one of the oldest Goan Christmas sweets in the kuswar tray, made in the weeks before Christmas from three things: rice flour roasted until golden and nutty, jaggery and freshly grated coconut. They are pressed into small cakes or squares and have a soft, crumbly, toffee-like bite. They are vegan and gluten free. Chef's tip: take your time roasting the rice flour, as it is the roasting that gives pinaca its flavour, but stir constantly because it burns at the edges.

60 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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Sanzi (fried dough threads)

Sanzi are lacy coils of fried dough threads, made across Jiangsu and Shandong and by Hui and Uyghur cooks in Xinjiang. They belong to Hanshi, Cold Food Day, just before Qingming, when old custom forbade lighting the stove, so families fried them in advance to eat cold; the shatteringly crisp coils keep well for days and stand for the care taken to prepare for the remembrance. The dough is lightly salted and the strands snap like thin crackers, with a nutty note from sesame. Break them over congee or soy milk, or eat them on their own with tea. Chef's tip: rest the oiled ropes properly; relaxed dough stretches to thread-thin without snapping.

120 min

Chinese Snacks & Starters

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Malban (Egyptian rose and nut jelly sweets)

Malban is the Egyptian cousin of Turkish delight, sold by weight in Cairo sweet shops all year but piled highest for Ramadan nights and the Mawlid sweets of the Prophet's birthday. A syrup of sugar and lemon is cooked with cornflour for the best part of an hour into a thick, clear jelly, scented with rose water and a little mastic and studded with pistachios or hazelnuts. Cut into cubes and rolled in icing sugar, it is soft, springy and chewy, sweet and floral. Serve it with mint tea or Turkish-style coffee. It is naturally egg-free: cornflour, cooked slowly in the syrup, sets it into a firm jelly, with no other setting agent. Chef's tip: whisk the cornflour mixture into the syrup in a thin stream and keep stirring. The common mistake is stopping too early, which gives a soft jelly that weeps and won't hold a cube.

320 min

Egyptian Desserts

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Qiaoguo (Qixi fried pastries)Sesame sugar fried dough knots

Qiaoguo, 'skill fruits', are fried for Qixi on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month in Zhejiang and Jiangsu. The festival celebrates the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd, the star-crossed lovers who meet once a year, and girls once set out these pastries and asked the Weaver Girl to make them clever with their hands; the neat twists and cut-out shapes show off that skill. They are crunchy, lightly sweet and toasty with sesame, like a delicate biscuit. Serve a plate under the evening sky with tea, melon and fruit. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin, about 2 mm; thicker pieces stay hard in the middle instead of crisp.

60 min

Chinese Baking

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PaimeSteamed cornmeal and pumpkin parcels

Paime (or pime) is a Trinidad and Tobago Christmas sweet, a cousin of the Venezuelan hallaca brought by the parang tradition, when singers go from house to house at Christmas and are fed at every stop. Cornmeal, grated pumpkin and fresh coconut are mixed with sugar, butter, raisins and warm spices, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until firm. Paime are eaten warm or cold, and keep for days in the fridge. Chef's tip: soften the banana leaves over a flame or in hot water first, so they fold without splitting.

100 min

Trinidadian Desserts

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Omija hwachae (five-flavour berry punch)

Across Korea, Dano marks the start of the hot season, and a bowl of hwachae is the old way to cool down. Omija means 'five flavours': the dried schisandra berries are sour, sweet, salty, bitter and pungent at once, and steeping them gives a ruby-pink drink that is tart and bright, said to refresh the body against summer fatigue. Honey is the traditional sweetener; sugar syrup keeps this version vegan and entirely alcohol-free. Float thin pear flowers and a few pine nuts on top and serve it beside tteok or yakgwa. Chef's tip: steep the berries in cold water only, because hot water pulls out their bitterness and the colour turns murky.

30 min

Korean Drinks

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Ma lao (puffed rice sticks)

Ma lao are a Lunar New Year sweet from Yilan on Taiwan's northeast coast, stacked on family altars as offerings and handed to guests through the holiday. The sticks swell to many times their size in the oil, a picture of a family and fortune growing bigger in the new year, and their sticky coating stands for staying close together. They are light and crunchy, almost hollow, with a sweet malt glaze and a nutty crust of toasted sesame or crisp puffed rice. Serve on the New Year candy tray with tea. Chef's tip: start frying in barely warm oil and raise the heat slowly; that gentle start is what makes the sticks puff.

Pustakari is the toffee of the Newar community in the Kathmandu Valley, sold in small squares in the old bazaars of Asan and Bhaktapur and made at home for festivals such as Tihar and Yomari Punhi, and on winter afternoons. Jaggery is cooked to a syrup, then khuwa and ghee are stirred in and cooked until the mixture turns into a thick, glossy, deep brown mass that sets into a chewy toffee. It tastes of caramel and milk, a little like fudge but with more chew. Serve a few pieces with tea or as a small sweet after a meal. It is naturally egg-free: the jaggery syrup, cooked to the firm-ball stage, sets the khuwa, so no other binder is needed. Chef's tip: watch the temperature of the syrup; cooking it past 125°C is the common mistake that makes the toffee hard enough to hurt your teeth.

70 min

Nepali Indian Sweets

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Berlingots de Carpentras (striped Provençal hard candies)

Carpentras, the market town below Mont Ventoux, has made berlingots since the nineteenth century, using the fruit syrups left over from its candied-fruit trade. The little four-sided pyramids are clear and glassy with fine white stripes, and they are sold year round at the Friday market and in paper cones for the Christmas sweet table. They crunch cleanly and dissolve slowly, here with a cool mint flavour; a fruit syrup can take its place. Offer them after a meal with coffee or herbal tea. Hard candy is naturally egg-free: the sugar, cooked to the hard-crack stage, sets glass-hard by itself, and glucose syrup keeps it clear instead of grainy. You will need heatproof gloves, oiled scissors and a warm place to keep the sugar soft while you shape it. Chef's tip: make these on a dry day; the common mistake is cooking sugar in a steamy kitchen, which leaves the berlingots sticky within hours.

85 min

French Desserts

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Halawa tahiniya (Egyptian tahini halva)

In Egypt halawa tahiniya is a breakfast and suhoor food more than a dessert: it is eaten in Ramadan before dawn, on Coptic fasting days when animal foods are avoided, and spread in warm aish baladi bread at any time of year. Tahini is mixed with sugar syrup at the firm-ball stage, and the syrup crystallises through the sesame paste to give the halva its fibrous, crumbly strands. It tastes nutty, sweet and toasty, and pairs well with sweet tea. Factory halva often uses soapwort root, whose foam whips the syrup and gives longer strands; this home version offers it as an option, and never uses egg white. It is naturally egg-free: the hot syrup, crystallising as it is folded into the tahini, is what sets it. Chef's tip: stir only until the mixture turns matte and starts to look stringy. The common mistake is over-mixing, which makes the oil separate and the halva greasy.

150 min

Egyptian Desserts

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Boxes of chocolate prunes are a classic Polish gift: brought to grandmothers at Christmas, set out on the Wigilia table among the twelve dishes, and passed round on name days. Plump smoked or soft prunes from the south of the country are best. Each one hides a walnut half, so you get chewy, slightly tart fruit, a crunchy bitter nut and a snap of dark chocolate in one bite. Serve them with coffee or tea after a big meal. Nothing here ever needed egg: the prune itself holds the nut, and chocolate sets around it as it cools. Older recipes soak the prunes in spirits; here they are alcohol-free, plumped in warm orange juice instead, which also brightens the flavour. Use a dark chocolate made without milk and the sweets are vegan. Chef's tip: dry the soaked prunes very well before dipping; the common mistake is leaving them damp, and even a few drops of juice will make melted chocolate seize and turn grainy.

55 min

Polish Desserts

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Isobeyaki (grilled mochi with soy and nori)

In the first days of the year, Japanese kitchens are full of mochi, the rice cakes pounded or bought for Shōgatsu, and isobeyaki is the easiest, most loved way to eat them. The name means 'grilled on the rocky shore', after the sea flavour of nori, and mochi itself stands for strength and long life because it stretches without breaking. Each cake puffs and blisters in the pan, then gets a lacquer of sweet soy and a crisp sheet of seaweed; the outside crackles while the inside turns stretchy and molten. Serve as a snack with green tea, or alongside a bowl of miso soup. Chef's tip: brush the soy on only once the mochi has puffed, or it will burn before the middle is soft.

15 min

Japanese Snacks & Starters

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Podsolnechnaya khalva (sunflower seed halva)

In Russia and Ukraine, where sunflowers cover the southern steppe, halva means sunflower halva rather than the sesame kind: grey-brown, crumbly slabs sold by weight at markets and eaten with tea at any time of day, especially through the long winter. It tastes deeply of toasted seeds, with a sandy, flaky texture that breaks into strands and melts on the tongue. Serve it in small pieces with black tea, crumble it over porridge, or eat it with fresh apple slices. Factory halva is lightened with a foam of soapwort root, and some old recipes use whipped egg white; this home version needs neither. Sugar syrup cooked to the firm-ball stage is beaten straight into warm, finely ground seeds, and as the syrup cools it crystallises and binds the oily seed paste into a sliceable block, naturally egg-free. Chef's tip: grind the seeds until they just start to clump and look oily, not into smooth butter; the common mistake is over-grinding, which gives a dense, fudgy slab instead of crumbly halva.

230 min

Russian Desserts

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Sucre à la crèmeBrown sugar fudge

In Quebec, sucre à la crème is the sweet that comes out at Christmas: a soft, melting brown-sugar fudge made from brown sugar, cream and butter, cut into squares and shared at the réveillon after midnight Mass and through the Fêtes. Every grandmother's recipe differs a little; this one is the classic stovetop method, gluten free and ready in under an hour. Chef's tip: beat the cooled mixture until it loses its gloss and starts to thicken, then pour it at once; that beating is what makes it creamy rather than toffee-like.

40 min

Canadian Desserts

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Arrowhead chips (nga gu chips)

Arrowhead (nga gu, or ngaku) is a small aquatic tuber that only shows up in Malaysian markets in the weeks before Chinese New Year, and frying it into chips is a family job. Its curved sprout looks like a shoot rising from the root, so it stands for growth and many descendants in the year ahead. Sliced thin and fried, the chips are crisp and nutty like potato crisps, with a gentle bitterness that keeps you reaching for more. Put them out in jars with peanuts and love letters for visitors. Chef's tip: soak the slices and dry them very well; wet slices make the oil spit and fry up chewy instead of crisp.

40 min

Malaysian Snacks & Starters

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Tmar mehchi is the stuffed date of Fez and Marrakech, piled high on silver trays at weddings, engagements and Eid, and offered to guests with mint tea. Soft dates are filled with a homemade almond paste perfumed with orange-blossom water, often tinted pale green or pink to match the celebration, then scored with a knife so the filling shows. They are soft, rich and caramel-sweet, with a floral, nutty middle. The paste here is mixed from ground almonds and icing sugar, so there is no shop marzipan, which can contain egg white. It is naturally egg-free: the dates' sticky flesh and a few spoonfuls of orange-blossom water bind the almond filling. Chef's tip: add the orange-blossom water a little at a time and stop when the paste is firm like play dough. The common mistake is a wet paste, which oozes out and makes the dates slippery.

Bhapa doi means steamed yogurt, and it's the dessert Kolkata households make when there's no time to visit the sweet shop for mishti doi. It's especially popular on Jamai Shashthi and at Poila Baisakh, the Bengali New Year, but it appears at Sunday lunches all year. Thick hung yogurt is mixed with condensed milk and a little milk, scented with cardamom, then gently steamed until it sets like a soft cheesecake without a crust. Chilled, it's dense, smooth and tangy-sweet. Serve it plain in small bowls, topped with pistachios, or with ripe mango in summer. There is no egg here: the milk proteins in the yogurt and condensed milk set with gentle heat, just as eggs would set a baked custard, and the condensed milk adds body and sweetness. Chef's tip: steam it on a low, gentle simmer; the common mistake is a fierce boil, which makes the yogurt weep whey and turn grainy.

285 min

Indian Indian Sweets

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