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704 recipes

Hath maaluwaSeven vegetable coconut curry

Hath maaluwa, literally 'seven curries', is cooked in Sinhala homes for the Avurudu New Year in April and for dana, the meal offered to monks when a family gives alms. Unlike the sept cari of Mauritius or Trinidad's seven curry, which are seven separate dishes, this is one pot: pumpkin, long beans, aubergine, ash plantain, sweet potato and two pulses simmered together in turmeric-yellow coconut milk with curry leaves, pandan and cinnamon. It is mild, creamy and gently spiced, and it stretches to feed a crowd with rice. The common mistake is adding everything at once, so the pumpkin dissolves while the beans stay hard; the vegetables go in by how long they take. It is ready when a knife slides through the sweet potato and the gravy coats the vegetables. Chef's tip: fry the aubergine first; it stops it soaking up the gravy and falling apart.

60 minSri LankanCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AggalaRice flour and coconut balls

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.

35 minSri LankanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Huauzontles capeadosBattered cheese-stuffed greens

In central Mexico, Lent and Holy Week bring meatless Fridays, and huauzontles capeados are a beloved vigil dish. Huauzontle is a leafy, broccoli-like green with tiny seed buds; little bundles of the blanched sprigs are pressed around a piece of fresh cheese, dipped in fluffy egg batter, fried and then simmered briefly in a light tomato and chile broth. If you can't find huauzontle, use tenderstem broccoli tips or quelites. Queso fresco is usually made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: squeeze the blanched greens very dry, as wet greens make the batter slide off.

75 minMexicanVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AllerheiligenstriezelBraided sweet loaf

In Bavaria and Austria, godparents give their godchildren an Allerheiligenstriezel on All Saints' Day, 1 November: a large braided loaf of sweet yeast dough, brushed with egg and scattered with almonds or pearl sugar. The braid is said to recall the old custom of cutting a plait of hair in mourning, and the size of the loaf once showed how generous the godparent was. It is lightly sweet, with lemon and vanilla, and is eaten sliced with butter or jam. Some recipes add rum-soaked raisins; these are soaked in warm water instead. Chef's tip: braid four strands for an impressive, high loaf.

85 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gorditas de la VillaSweet corn griddle cakes

Every 12 December, millions of pilgrims walk to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City ('La Villa'), and all around it women cook gorditas de la Villa on clay comales: small, thick, sweet cakes of corn masa with piloncillo, cinnamon and a little anise, wrapped in coloured tissue paper to take home. They are soft and slightly chewy, with toasty spots. They are gluten free. Chef's tip: cook them on a dry, medium-low griddle; too hot and the sugar burns before the middle cooks through.

45 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KalanehWild leek stuffed flatbread

In Kurdistan and Kermanshah, Newroz arrives with the first spring greens on the hillsides, and families gather wild leeks to fold into kalaneh, thin griddle breads cooked over a fire or a hot pan and soaked in melted butter. The dough is plain and soft, rolled very thin around a pile of chopped leek or chives with a little salt and pepper, so the greens steam inside as the bread blisters. Eat it hot, torn into strips, with yogurt and tea at a Newroz picnic. The common mistake is wet greens, which turn the dough soggy and make it tear; dry them well after washing. Chef's tip: brush the butter on the moment the bread leaves the pan so it soaks right in.

65 minMiddle EasternBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sopa teólogaTurkey broth with bread and cheese

Sopa teóloga ('the theologian's soup') goes back to colonial convents in Lima and Arequipa, where it was cooked for feast days, and it is still served at Holy Week and family celebrations. A rich turkey (or chicken) broth is thickened with soaked bread, milk and fresh cheese, with yellow potatoes and shreds of turkey, and finished with a little ají amarillo and chopped huacatay or parsley. It is thick, comforting and filling. Chef's tip: blend part of the soaked bread with broth before adding it, which gives the soup its creamy body without lumps.

115 minPeruvianSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Relleno negroTurkey and pork black chilli stew

Relleno negro, or chilmole, is the great fiesta dish of the Yucatán peninsula, cooked for Christmas, New Year and village saints' days. Turkey is simmered in a jet-black broth coloured by recado negro, a paste of chillies charred until black, and served with a 'but', a meatball of minced pork and spices wrapped around hard-boiled egg. Recado negro paste is sold in Mexican shops; it is very hard to make at home safely because the chillies are burnt outdoors. Serve with corn tortillas or in tortas. Chef's tip: dissolve the recado in some of the warm broth first, so it blends smoothly instead of floating in black lumps.

195 minMexicanChickenGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dowina (Kurdish yogurt soup)

Dowina, called ash-e doogh in Persian, is warming spring food in Kurdish homes around Newroz, when yogurt is plentiful and the first herbs are cut from the garden. Rice and chickpeas simmer in a tangy, lightly thickened yogurt broth, finished with fresh dill, coriander and a sizzle of dried mint in oil. It is eaten warm, never boiling hot, with flatbread. The common mistake is to heat the yogurt too fast without stirring, which makes it split into grainy curds. Chef's tip: whisk an egg yolk and a spoonful of rice flour into the yogurt before it goes on the heat; it holds the soup smooth all the way to the simmer.

75 minMiddle EasternSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chipa so'oCheese bread with spiced beef

In Paraguay, families bake chipa in the clay tatakua ovens on Holy Wednesday so there is food for Thursday and Good Friday, when cooking stops. Chipa so'o ('chipa with meat') is a cassava-starch and cheese bread wrapped around a little filling of minced beef cooked with onion and egg, then baked until crisp outside and chewy within. It is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: knead the dough until it no longer cracks at the edges when pressed; dry dough splits around the filling.

90 minParaguayanBreads & ParathasGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minParaguayanDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tostadas de pataTostadas with pickled cow's foot

On the night of 15 September, when Mexicans gather for the Grito and the Fiestas Patrias, the table fills with antojitos: pozole, sopes and tostadas de pata, a favourite of Mexico City and Puebla. Cow's foot is simmered for hours until it turns soft and gelatinous, then sliced thin and pickled in vinegar with onion, oregano and chilli. Piled on crisp tostadas over beans with lettuce, cream and salsa, it is tangy, rich and crunchy all at once. Chef's tip: slice the foot while it is cold from the fridge; warm, it falls apart.

240 minMexicanMeatSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Empanadas de vigiliaTuna empanadas

During Cuaresma (Lent) and on the Fridays of Holy Week, Mexican kitchens turn to 'vigilia' food without meat, and fish empanadas are a favourite: tender wheat pastry half-moons filled with tuna (or soaked salt cod) cooked with tomato, onion, olives, capers and pickled jalapeños, a cousin of bacalao a la vizcaína. They are baked here, but can be fried. Chef's tip: cook the filling until quite dry, as a wet filling makes soggy empanadas that leak.

85 minMexicanFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pajagua mascadaBeef and cassava patties

Pajagua mascada is a Paraguayan street-food classic that appears on every table for the San Juan festival on 24 June, when bonfires burn and the night is full of games and traditional food. Minced beef is mixed with mashed cassava, onion, garlic and a little egg and flour, shaped into flat patties and fried until crisp. The name comes from Guaraní and refers to the 'chewing' of old Paraguayan cooks, who made it from leftover meat. Chef's tip: dry the boiled cassava well and remove its woody core, which keeps the patties light and crunchy.

60 minParaguayanMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

OsterpinzeEaster anise brioche

Osterpinze is the Easter bread of Styria, Carinthia and the area around Trieste, a soft, golden brioche dome with three deep cuts on top for the Holy Trinity, so that it opens into a crown as it bakes. The dough is rich with egg yolks and butter and flavoured with anise and lemon; old recipes add a splash of white wine, left out here. It is blessed in the Easter basket on Holy Saturday and eaten on Easter morning with ham, horseradish and eggs, or with butter and jam. Chef's tip: make the three cuts with scissors just before baking, deep enough to reach halfway down, so the crown opens wide.

75 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Australian rissoles

On Australia Day, 26 January, backyards fill with the smell of the barbie, and rissoles are as much a part of it as sausages: thick, homely patties of beef mince, grated onion, breadcrumbs and a splash of sauce, fried or grilled until browned. They are served with gravy and mash in winter, or in a bread roll with tomato sauce and salad on a summer afternoon. Some families now mark the day as a quieter long weekend, but the rissoles stay. Chef's tip: squeeze the grated onion dry, or the patties go soft and break on the grill.

35 minAustralianMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Puhul dosi (Sri Lankan candied ash pumpkin)

Puhul dosi is one of the sweets that crowd the Sri Lankan Avurudu table in April, when Sinhala and Tamil households mark the New Year with kokis, kavum and trays of homemade confectionery for visiting neighbours. Cubes of ash pumpkin, the pale winter melon with a waxy skin, are soaked overnight in lime water, then simmered in a cardamom and clove syrup until the syrup turns back to sugar and frosts each piece. The result is a thin, crunchy shell around a translucent, juicy middle that tastes faintly of spice. Serve a few pieces with plain tea or as part of a sweet platter. It is naturally egg-free: the calcium in the lime water firms the outer layer of the pumpkin so it keeps its shape, and crystallised sugar does the rest of the setting. Chef's tip: rinse the cubes in at least four changes of water after the soak; the common mistake is rushing this, which leaves a chalky, bitter aftertaste.

705 minSri LankanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minMexicanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Quelites guisadosSautéed wild greens

Quelites is the Nahuatl-rooted word for the edible wild greens of central Mexico, such as quintoniles (amaranth), verdolagas (purslane) and huauzontle, and in the markets of Mexico City, Puebla and Tlaxcala they are sold by the bunch in the rainy season and cooked this way for everyday lunches. The greens are blanched, then sautéed with onion, garlic, tomato and serrano chilli until soft and savoury, and piled into hot corn tortillas with salsa and, if you like, crumbled fresh cheese. Without cheese it is vegan, with about 6 g of protein per portion including two tortillas. The common mistake is leaving the greens wet: they steam and turn watery instead of frying. Spinach, chard or amaranth leaves work if you can't find quelites. Chef's tip: cut the serrano in half lengthways and fry it with the onion; it flavours the oil gently and you can lift it out if it's too hot.

25 minMexicanVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Wandu appa (වංඩු ආප්ප, fermented rice cakes steamed in leaf cones)Steamed rice treacle cakes

Wandu appa are sold in morning markets and at roadside kades all over the island, and they are one of the sweets that appear on the table for Avurudu. A batter of rice flour, coconut milk and kithul treacle is left to ferment for a few hours, then poured into small cones of kenda or jak leaf and steamed. They puff into tender, spongy domes with a gentle sourness, a caramel note from the treacle and the leafy aroma of their wrappers. Eat them warm for breakfast or with afternoon tea. They are naturally egg-free: yeast does the lifting that whisked eggs would do in a sponge, and the rice starch sets the bubbles in place as it steams. Banana-leaf cones or small paper-lined cups work too. Chef's tip: the common mistake is filling the cones to the brim; fill them two-thirds full so they rise into a dome instead of spilling over.

240 minSri LankanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pescado empapeladoFish baked in paper parcel

Along the Gulf coast of Veracruz, pescado empapelado is a weekday lunch and a Lenten Friday favourite: a fillet of snapper or other white fish is sealed in paper or foil with tomato, onion, peppers, olives, capers and herbs, then baked so it steams in its own juices. Each person opens their own fragrant parcel at the table. A portion gives about 32 g of protein, from the fish, for around 250 kcal. The common mistake is a loose parcel: if the edges aren't crimped tightly the steam escapes and the fish bakes dry, so fold and pinch the edges all the way round. The fish is done when it is opaque and flakes easily at the thickest point (63 °C). Chef's tip: slice the vegetables thinly and lay them under the fish as well as on top; they cook in the same 15 minutes and keep the fillet off the hot paper.

30 minMexicanFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Halape (හලපේ, finger-millet and jaggery parcels steamed in leaves)Finger millet and jaggery leaf parcels

In village homes in the south and the hill country, halape is an afternoon snack and a temple-day treat, steamed in the large, heart-shaped leaves of the kenda tree, which leave a faint grassy perfume. The dough is kurakkan, finger-millet flour, which is brick-brown, slightly bitter and very filling; it wraps a sweet layer of grated coconut and dark kithul jaggery. Once steamed, the parcels are dense, moist and fudgy, a little like a rustic steamed pudding, and they are best warm with a cup of plain tea. Nothing here was ever made with egg: steaming sets the millet starch and the jaggery melts into the coconut and holds it together. Banana leaves work well if you cannot find kenda. Chef's tip: the common mistake is spreading the dough too thick; keep it about 5 mm so the middle steams through before the outside turns hard.

55 minSri LankanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Caldo xóchitlChicken, rice and chickpea broth

Caldo xóchitl, named after the Nahuatl word for flower, is the restorative chicken soup of Mexico City's fondas and markets, eaten at lunch on cool days, after a late night or when someone is unwell. A clear broth with chicken, rice, chickpeas, courgette and carrot is served with a spread of chopped onion, coriander, serrano chilli, avocado and lime so everyone builds their own bowl. A portion gives about 24 g of protein, from the chicken and chickpeas, for around 360 kcal. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which clouds the broth and toughens the chicken; keep it at a lazy simmer and skim the foam. The chicken must reach 74 °C in the thickest part and the meat should pull easily from the bone. Chef's tip: cook the rice in the broth only for the last 18 minutes and serve straight away; left to sit, it drinks up the broth and turns soft.

80 minMexicanSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Caldo de piedraFish and tomato stone soup

Caldo de piedra comes from San Felipe Usila in the Chinantla of northern Oaxaca, where Chinantec men cook it by the river: fish, tomato, chilli and epazote go into a gourd bowl of water and red-hot river stones are dropped in to bring it to a fierce boil in seconds. It is eaten as a celebration and every year at a festival in the village. Heating stones at home is dangerous (wet or porous stones can crack or burst), so this version brings a heavy pot to a hard boil first and cooks the fish just as briefly. A portion gives about 38 g of protein, from the fish and prawns, for roughly 260 kcal. The common mistake is letting the fish boil on: it is done in 3–4 minutes, when it turns opaque and flakes, and after that it falls apart. Chef's tip: blend the tomato, onion and chilli raw; the broth tastes fresh and sharp, closer to the riverside original than a cooked sauce.

40 minMexicanFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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