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439 recipes

Pheni (layered fried vermicelli nests in sweet milk)

In Lahore and Karachi during Ramadan, sweet shops stack golden nests of pheni in towers, and families buy them to eat at sehri, the meal before dawn. The fine, brittle strands are crumbled into a bowl and drenched with hot sweetened milk, which softens them in a minute into something like a silky vermicelli pudding; it keeps you full through the fasting day. Shop pheni is pulled into hair-thin threads by skilled hands, so at home this recipe uses the layered method: thin sheets of dough are brushed with a ghee and rice-flour paste, rolled and sliced, and the paste makes the layers fan out into fine flaky rings when fried. They are crisp, buttery and delicate. It is naturally egg-free: the dough is just flour, ghee and water, and the rice-flour paste keeps the layers separate. Chef's tip: fry the nests in oil that is only moderately hot, about 160°C; oil that is too hot is the common mistake that browns the outside while the inner layers stay soft and doughy.

90 min

Pakistani Indian Sweets

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پشاوری آئس کریم (Peshawari ice cream)Cardamom pistachio ice cream

In the Qissa Khwani bazaar of Peshawar, ice-cream sellers spin a tall metal drum inside a tub of crushed ice and salt, scraping the freezing milk off the walls with a long paddle until it turns thick, stretchy and pale. It is a summer evening treat, eaten from small bowls after dinner or late at night when the streets cool down, and often topped with a spoonful of falooda vermicelli or more chopped pistachio. The flavour is simple: slowly reduced milk, green cardamom and a little rose. This version has no eggs and no custard: a cornflour slurry cooked into the milk thickens it the way yolks would, and the starch holds on to water so ice crystals stay small and the texture stays smooth, while milk powder adds body without extra fat. You can churn it in a machine or still-freeze it in a tray and stir it every 45 minutes. Chef's tip: the common mistake is churning a warm base; chill it until it is fridge-cold right through, or it will turn icy instead of silky.

300 min

Pakistani Desserts

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Mâncare de mazăreStewed green peas

In Romanian homes from Bucharest to the villages of Moldavia, mâncare de mazăre is a weekday lunch all year and a mainstay of the Orthodox fasting days, when the table is meat-free; it is eaten with mămăligă (polenta) or bread and a pickle or two. Peas simmer gently with soft onion and carrot in a light tomato sauce, and a handful of dill goes in at the end. A portion gives about 14 g of protein from the peas, so it isn't a high-protein dish on its own; serve it with polenta and a chunk of bread, or a fried egg on top if you eat eggs. The most common mistake is boiling the peas for too long, which turns them khaki and mushy. Chef's tip: thicken the sauce with a teaspoon of flour fried in the oil before the tomato goes in, as Romanian cooks do, or leave it out to keep the dish gluten free.

40 min

Romanian Vegetarian

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Helado de dulce de leche (Buenos Aires dulce de leche ice cream)

Dulce de leche is the flavour Buenos Aires heladerías are judged by, and on a summer night the queues at neighbourhood ice-cream shops stretch out onto the pavement well after dinner. Locals order it plain, with a ripple of extra dulce de leche (dulce de leche granizado adds chocolate flakes), often by the kilo to take home. It is dense, chewy and deeply caramel. This home version is egg-free with no custard: a little cornflour cooked into the milk thickens it the way yolks would, and the dulce de leche itself is milk and sugar cooked down, its sugar and milk solids keeping crystals tiny so it stays smooth and scoopable. Churn it, or still-freeze and stir it every 45 minutes. Chef's tip: chill the extra dulce de leche before rippling it in; the common mistake is folding in a warm one, which melts into the ice cream instead of leaving ribbons.

295 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Aloo palakPotato and spinach

In Lahore and the villages of Pakistani Punjab, aloo palak is the dish that turns up on a weekday when the spinach at the sabzi stall looks good and nobody has time for a long curry. Small cubes of potato cook in a garlicky cumin masala, then a mountain of chopped spinach wilts down over them into a soft, dark green coat. Eat it with hot chapati or plain rice and a spoon of yogurt on the side. The usual mistake is cutting the potatoes too big: they are still hard when the spinach is done, and by the time they soften the greens have gone grey. Chef's tip: keep the lid off once the spinach goes in, so the water cooks away and the leaves stay bright.

30 min

Pakistani Vegetarian

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TopfengolatschenSweet quark puff pastry squares

A Topfengolatsche is what Viennese office workers grab from the bakery on the way in, and what grandparents order with a Melange in a coffee house on a Sunday afternoon. The corners of a puff pastry square are folded over a lemony, vanilla-scented filling of Topfen (Austrian quark) with plump raisins, and the top gets a thin white glaze. It is flaky, light and not too sweet. Raisins are sometimes soaked in rum; warm water or orange juice works just as well, and the recipe below is alcohol-free. Wet quark is the classic problem, because it turns the filling runny and it leaks out in the oven. Chef's tip: hang the quark in a sieve lined with a clean cloth for an hour, or squeeze it, until it is as thick as soft cream cheese.

57 min

Austrian Baking

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Qeema matarMinced meat and pea curry

In Lahore and across Pakistani Punjab, qeema matar is the mince dish that appears on a Tuesday when nobody has time for a slow salan: minced mutton or beef browned hard, cooked down with tomato, ginger and garlic, then studded with sweet green peas. It is dry enough to scoop with a hot roti or paratha, with a little sliced onion and lemon on the side. The usual mistake is adding the tomatoes before the mince has lost its raw, wet look, which leaves it boiled and grey instead of rich and brown. Chef's tip: break the mince up with the back of a spoon while it fries, so it cooks into fine crumbs rather than lumps.

30 min

Pakistani Meat

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Fideos con mantecaButtered noodles with cheese

Ask anyone from Buenos Aires to Córdoba what they ate when they came home late or felt poorly as a child, and the answer is often fideos con manteca: short pasta tossed with butter and a snowfall of grated queso rallado. It is the plainest dish in the Argentine home kitchen and the one people cook for themselves on a tired weeknight. The mistake that ruins it is draining the pasta bone-dry and adding cold cheese to a hot empty pan, which leaves greasy strands and clumps; a splash of cooking water makes a light, creamy coating instead. Argentine reggianito and Parmesan are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese if needed. Chef's tip: grate the cheese very finely, like dust, so it melts on contact.

15 min

Argentinian Pasta & Noodles

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Tarta de coco y dulce de lecheCoconut and dulce de leche tart

Ask Argentinians for their favourite tart at a family birthday and this one often wins: a crisp shortcrust spread thickly with dulce de leche, then covered with a coconut, sugar and egg topping that bakes into a golden, chewy crust. Bakeries from Córdoba to Mar del Plata sell it by the slice for the merienda with mate or a café con leche. It is very sweet, so the slices are thin, and it is a good keeper for a few days. Ordinary spreading dulce de leche is the mistake: it runs and bubbles out at the edges. Use the thicker pastry-style kind, sold in Argentina as 'repostero'. Chef's tip: chill the case with the dulce de leche spread on it for 15 minutes before adding the coconut, so the two layers stay distinct.

75 min

Argentinian Baking

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Torta de ricotaLemon ricotta tart

Italian families brought ricotta tarts to Buenos Aires and Rosario, and torta de ricota is now as Argentinian as mate: every panadería has one in the window, with a lattice of sweet, crumbly masa frola over a pale, lemon-scented ricotta filling. It is cut into wedges for the merienda, the late-afternoon snack, or for a birthday where nobody wants a heavy cake. The texture is light and slightly grainy rather than silky, and the pastry tastes of butter and vanilla. Wet ricotta is the biggest risk, giving a weeping, soggy tart. Chef's tip: drain the ricotta overnight in the fridge in a sieve lined with a cloth, and add a few raisins only if they have been soaked, or they draw moisture from the filling.

90 min

Argentinian Baking

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Salpicón de aveCold chicken salad

Salpicón de ave is the cold supper of Argentine summers, made in Buenos Aires flats and on estancias alike when it is too hot to cook much, and a favourite way to use the chicken from a puchero or Sunday roast. Shredded chicken is mixed with diced pepper, tomato, spring onion, sweetcorn and boiled egg, bound with mayonnaise sharpened with lemon and mustard, and served chilled with crusty bread or on lettuce. The common mistake is dressing it while the chicken is still hot, which melts the mayonnaise into an oily puddle; let everything cool first. Chef's tip: dress the chicken with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt before the mayonnaise goes in, so the meat itself is seasoned, not just its coating.

30 min

Argentinian Salads

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Aloo bainganPotato and aubergine

From Multan to Hyderabad in Sindh, aloo baingan is the humble pairing that makes a summer glut of aubergines go a long way: potatoes give body, aubergine melts into a jammy, smoky-sweet tomato masala. It is eaten with chapati at dinner, often next to a bowl of daal and some sliced onion. The most common mistake is stirring hard once the aubergine softens, which mashes everything into a grey purée; fold it gently and let the pan do the work. Chef's tip: give the aubergine a few minutes on its own in the hot oil before the masala goes in, so its edges catch and brown.

30 min

Pakistani Vegetarian

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SaleuriCheese pastry sticks

Set out on a platter at Romanian name-day parties, christenings and New Year's Eve, saleuri are the salty sticks people nibble with a glass of something before the sarmale arrive. The pastry is short and flaky from cold butter and sour cream, with grated cheese worked through it and more cheese, caraway and sesame pressed on top. Older village recipes were often made with lard; this version uses butter. They are best the day they are baked but keep crisp in a tin for three or four days, and they go well with a bowl of olives or a cold beer. The top is brushed with beaten egg; milk works instead if you want them egg-free on the outside. Chef's tip: cut the strips with a pizza wheel and leave them lying where they are on the tray, rather than lifting each one, so they stay straight; warm, overworked dough is the usual mistake, and it bakes up tough instead of flaky.

45 min

Romanian Baking

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Shimla mirch alooPepper and potato stir-fry

Shimla mirch aloo is everyday Punjabi home cooking from both sides of the border, the sabzi that fills a lunchbox paratha or sits next to dal on a weeknight in Rawalpindi. Potato cubes go soft and golden first, then strips of green pepper are tossed in just long enough to soften while keeping a little bite, all held together by a dry tomato-chilli masala. The classic mistake is adding the peppers with the potatoes: they collapse, turn khaki and lose their fresh, slightly bitter flavour. Chef's tip: a pinch of amchur at the end lifts the whole pan without adding any extra liquid.

25 min

Pakistani Vegetarian

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BizcochueloPlain whisked sponge cake

Nearly every Argentine birthday torta starts life as a bizcochuelo: a tall, plain sponge of eggs, sugar, flour and cornflour, with no butter and no baking powder, lifted only by long whisking. Grandmothers bake it on Sunday to split into three and fill with dulce de leche and whipped cream, or eat it plain in the afternoon with mate. The crumb is fine, dry-ish and airy, made to soak up syrup. Opening the oven in the first 20 minutes is the classic way to flatten it, so leave the door shut. Chef's tip: whisk until the mixture reaches 'punto letra', thick enough that a ribbon drawn on the surface holds its shape for a few seconds; that takes a good 8–10 minutes with an electric mixer, and warm eggs get there faster.

55 min

Argentinian Baking

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Mucenici moldoveneștiHoney and walnut sweet breads

On 9 March, the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, households in Romanian Moldavia bake forty of these little figure-eight breads, take some to church and give the rest to neighbours; the day also marks the start of the farming year. The shape is read as a stylised human figure, or as the number eight. They come out soft and golden, then are brushed while hot with honey syrup and rolled in chopped walnuts, so they turn sticky and fragrant. Serve them with tea or a glass of milk. Some cooks add a few drops of rum essence to the syrup; vanilla does the job here. Glazing them once they have cooled is a common slip: the syrup only soaks in properly while the breads are hot. Chef's tip: twist each rope loosely before shaping the eight, so the bread has ridges to catch the walnuts.

147 min

Romanian Baking

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Kärntner ReindlingCinnamon raisin yeast cake

Carinthia's Easter loaf takes its name from the Reindl, the round, deep pan it is baked in, and in southern Austria no Easter basket goes to church without one. Inside the golden yeast crust is a spiral of butter, cinnamon sugar and plump raisins, so every slice shows a dark swirl. Locals eat it two ways: sweet with coffee on Easter morning, or alongside the savoury Easter platter with horseradish. Many bakers soak the raisins in rum overnight; warm water or tea works just as well and keeps it alcohol-free. A dry, crumbly Reindling usually means too much flour went in during kneading, so keep the dough soft and only lightly floured. Chef's tip: butter the pan well and dust it with sugar, which caramelises into a thin crunchy shell.

180 min

Austrian Baking

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Anday wala burgerEgg and beef burger

After dark, Karachi's burger carts on Burns Road, Tariq Road and outside every college fire up their griddles for the anday wala burger: a thin, spicy beef patty and a fried egg in a soft buttered bun, with shredded cabbage, onion, ketchup and a sharp green chutney. It is cheap, messy and the city's favourite late snack. A cousin of the anda bun kebab, which uses a lentil and potato patty, this version is all about the meat. The common slip is pressing the egg too thin until it is leathery; cook it in the patty's fat just until the white sets. Contains egg, wheat and milk. Chef's tip: dip each patty in beaten egg before it hits the griddle, as the cart cooks do, so a thin egg jacket forms and keeps it juicy.

35 min

Pakistani Fast Food

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Tawa chickenGriddle-fried chicken

At night on the motorway service roads and Lahore's Gawalmandi, cooks drum their metal spatulas on huge round tawas as they chop and fry chicken to order: boneless pieces scraped about the hot iron with tomato, onion, green chilli and spice until dry, smoky and coated. The noise is half the show, and the chicken is eaten straight off the griddle with naan or paratha. The mistake at home is using a small non-stick pan over a timid flame, which stews the chicken; use your widest heavy pan or griddle and keep the heat high. Chef's tip: chop the chicken into small pieces with the edge of your spatula as it cooks, the way the stalls do, so every bit picks up the charred masala.

60 min

Pakistani Chicken

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ErdäpfelstrudelSavoury potato strudel

Austrians, especially in the Mühlviertel of Upper Austria and the Waldviertel, make savoury strudels as often as sweet ones, and Erdäpfelstrudel is a farmhouse favourite for a meatless Friday or a cold evening. Thin pastry wraps a filling of potatoes, fried onion, sour cream, marjoram and parsley, baked until crisp and golden and sliced with a green salad or a dill and sour-cream dip. Bought filo makes it easy at home. The mistake to avoid is a wet filling, which turns the pastry soggy underneath. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before rolling; warm filling makes the layers stick and tear.

90 min

Austrian Vegetarian

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Doodh pattiStrong milk tea

Doodh patti is poured from a dented pan at every truck stop, university canteen and street-corner dhaba in Pakistan, from Karachi's Saddar to the Murree road, and it is drunk at all hours: before work, after cricket, at midnight with a paratha. The tea is made without any water at all, boiling loose black tea and sugar in milk until it turns a deep caramel colour and tastes rich, malty and strong. The mistake is simmering too gently and pulling it off too soon, giving a weak, milky drink; it needs a proper rolling boil, more than once. Contains milk. Chef's tip: lift the pan off the heat each time the tea froths to the top and return it, three times; each rise deepens the colour and flavour.

11 min

Pakistani Drinks

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Chicken handi

Chicken handi is the dish families order at Lahore's M.M. Alam Road restaurants and Karachi's Do Darya when everyone wants something rich but not fiery; it arrives bubbling in its clay pot with a swirl of cream, and disappears with garlic naan. Boneless thigh is marinated in yogurt, then cooked in a tomato masala that is finished with cream and crushed fenugreek, giving a velvety, gently tangy sauce. A sauce that splits into grains usually means the yogurt went into a fiercely boiling pan; lower the heat first and stir it in. Contains milk. Chef's tip: let the gravy 'bhuno' (fry) until the oil comes to the surface before you add the cream: that is where the deep, roasted flavour comes from.

70 min

Pakistani Chicken

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Sabzi handiCreamy vegetable curry

Lahore and Islamabad restaurants send sabzi handi to the table in its own little clay or copper pot, the vegetarian partner to chicken handi on any family dinner order, scooped up with hot naan. Potato, carrot, beans, cauliflower and peas cook in a gently spiced tomato and yogurt masala, then a spoon of cream turns it silky and pale orange. Vegetables thrown in all together go to mush in places and stay hard in others; add them in stages, the slow ones first. Contains milk. Chef's tip: crush a pinch of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) between your palms over the handi right at the end for the authentic restaurant aroma.

50 min

Pakistani Vegetarian

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Prawn karahi

Karachi's fishing harbour supplies the city's seafood restaurants on Sea View and in Clifton, and prawn karahi is the quick, fiery dish people order there for a Saturday dinner by the sea: prawns tossed through a tomato, garlic and green chilli masala in a blazing wok, eaten with naan or plain rice. The tomato breaks down into a thick, tangy coating that clings to each prawn, sharpened with lemon and coriander. Prawns that are rubbery and tight are the usual let-down; they need only 3–4 minutes once the sauce is ready, so add them last. Contains shellfish. Chef's tip: fry the prawn shells in the oil first for 2 minutes, then lift them out: the oil takes on a rich, sweet prawn flavour.

28 min

Pakistani Fish

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