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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Kapr na černoCarp in dark sweet-sour sauce

Before fried breaded carp took over the Czech Christmas Eve table, families in Bohemia served kapr na černo, 'black carp': fish simmered in a dark, glossy, sweet-sour sauce of root vegetables, gingerbread, prunes, nuts and dark beer. It is rich and spiced, closer to a medieval feast dish than to the modern menu, and served with bread dumplings or potatoes. This version uses a non-alcoholic dark malt drink so the sauce is alcohol-free; adults may use dark beer. Chef's tip: grate the gingerbread finely, so it melts into a smooth sauce rather than leaving soggy crumbs.

105 minCzechFish
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Shirini danmarkiCinnamon cardamom pastry swirls

In Tehran, nobody arrives empty-handed on a Nowruz visit: the custom is a cardboard box of shirini from the neighbourhood bakery, and soft, glazed shirini danmarki swirls are always tucked in among the cookies. This home version uses an enriched yeast dough rolled thin, spread with cinnamon-cardamom butter, rolled up and sliced into spirals that bake tender and flaky-edged. Serve them with tea in small glasses while the haft-sin table is laid. The common mistake is rushing the rise in a hot spot, which makes the buns dense and yeasty; a warm kitchen and patience give the lightest crumb. Chef's tip: chill the filled roll for 15 minutes before slicing, so the spirals stay round instead of squashing flat.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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PastelsFish-filled pastries

Pastels are the party pastries of Dakar and Saint-Louis, half-moons of soft dough filled with spiced fish, parsley and onion and fried until puffed and golden. They are made by the trayful for Korité, the Senegalese Eid al-Fitr, and for baptisms and family gatherings, and come with a peppery tomato-onion sauce for dipping. Tuna or mackerel are classic fillings. Chef's tip: let the filling cool completely and squeeze it dry before filling; wet, warm filling makes the dough tear and leak in the oil.

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Rybí polévkaCarp soup

In Czechia the Christmas Eve supper begins with rybí polévka, a soup made from the trimmings of the Christmas carp, which is often bought live at street stalls in the days before; here you simply ask the fishmonger for prepared carp trimmings and a fillet. The bones and trimmings make a clear stock that is simmered with carrot, celeriac and parsley root, then filled with flakes of carp and served with croutons fried in butter. Many families add the carp roe. Chef's tip: strain the stock carefully through muslin, as carp has many fine bones.

105 minCzechSoups
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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.

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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.

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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.

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MazanecEaster raisin and almond bread

Mazanec is the round Easter bread of Bohemia, baked on Holy Saturday and eaten on Easter Sunday and Monday. The sweet yeast dough is rich with butter, egg yolks and lemon, studded with raisins and almonds, and scored with a deep cross before baking so it opens like a flower. Old recipes soak the raisins in rum; here they are soaked in warm tea, so the bread is alcohol-free. Slice it and spread with butter and honey. Chef's tip: give mazanec a long, slow bake at a moderate heat, because the rich dough browns quickly and the centre needs time.

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HrudkaEgg and milk cheese

Hrudka (also called sirok or egg cheese) is made in eastern Slovakia and among Rusyn and Slovak families abroad for Easter. Eggs and milk are stirred over a low heat until they separate into soft curds, then the curds are tied tightly in a cloth into a ball and hung to drain overnight. The pale-yellow, mild, slightly sweet 'cheese' is taken to church in the Easter basket on Holy Saturday and sliced at Easter breakfast with ham, bread and horseradish. It needs no rennet, so it is naturally vegetarian. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and stir constantly; high heat makes rubbery curds.

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Velikonoční nádivkaBread, egg and smoked pork bake

Velikonoční nádivka ('Easter stuffing', also called hlavička) is a Czech and Moravian Easter dish, baked on Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday. Cubes of bread rolls are soaked in milk and eggs, then mixed with smoked pork and a big handful of young nettles, spinach or spring herbs, and baked until golden and puffy. It's eaten warm or cold, sliced, often beside roast lamb or chicken. For a vegetarian version, leave out the smoked pork and add 250 g fried mushrooms. Chef's tip: pick nettles wearing gloves and blanch them for 30 seconds, which takes away the sting.

75 minCzechMeat
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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.

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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.

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Poolaki (Isfahan saffron sugar discs)Saffron caramel discs

Poolaki are the glassy, coin-thin sugar discs of Isfahan, sold in tins in the bazaar near Naqsh-e Jahan square and served with tea in Iranian homes, especially at Nowruz and when guests drop by. Instead of stirring sugar into the glass, you hold a disc on your tongue and sip strong black tea through it. They snap cleanly, then melt into a light caramel scented with saffron, sometimes with cardamom or a scatter of pistachio. They are naturally egg-free: sugar syrup cooked to the hard-crack stage sets as clear as glass the moment it is spread thin, and a little vinegar stops it from turning grainy. Chef's tip: do not stir once the syrup boils; swirl the pan instead and wash down the sides with a wet pastry brush. The common mistake is stirring, which makes the syrup crystallise and turn cloudy.

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Včelí úlkyNo-bake beehive biscuits

Včelí úlky ('little beehives') are a classic of the Czech Christmas cookie plate (cukroví), which families build up through Advent with a dozen or more kinds. They need no oven: crushed biscuits, ground walnuts, cocoa and butter are pressed into beehive moulds, filled with a smooth egg-yolk cream and sealed with a disc of biscuit. Traditionally a little rum is added to the dough; this version uses milk, and adults may add 1 tbsp rum. The cream is cooked to 71 °C so the yolks are safe, though anyone pregnant or vulnerable may prefer pasteurised yolks. Chef's tip: chill the filled hives before unmoulding, or they collapse.

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OblátkyChristmas wafers with honey

In Slovakia the Christmas Eve supper (Štedrá večera) opens with oblátky: large, paper-thin wafers stamped with a nativity pattern. The head of the household marks each person's forehead with a cross of honey, and everyone eats a wafer spread with honey, often with a sliver of garlic for health, before the cabbage soup. Families buy them from the church or bake them on a patterned wafer iron; this recipe also gives a pan method for thin, crisp wafers. Chef's tip: the batter must be thin like single cream, as a thicker batter gives a soft pancake instead of a wafer.

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Aguadito de polloCoriander chicken rice soup

Aguadito is the soup Lima serves in the small hours: at the end of a wedding, after New Year's Eve and at weekend family lunches, it is ladled out thick and steaming to revive everyone. Rice simmers in chicken broth coloured deep green with blended coriander and warmed with yellow ají amarillo, along with peas, carrot, pepper, sweetcorn and potato. A portion gives about 24 g of protein, from the chicken with a little from the rice and peas, for around 480 kcal. The common mistake is adding the coriander purée too early: cooked for long it turns khaki and loses its fresh taste, so stir it in for the last 10 minutes. The chicken must reach 74 °C at the bone. Chef's tip: blend a handful of spinach with the coriander; it keeps the colour vivid green without changing the flavour.

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ParihuelaSpicy seafood soup

Parihuela is the big weekend seafood soup of Callao and the Peruvian coast, eaten at long Sunday lunches in cevicherías and praised as a cure for tiredness and late nights. A deep red broth of ají panca, ají amarillo, tomato and fish stock is loaded with chunks of fish, prawns, squid and mussels. A portion gives about 30 g of protein, from the fish and shellfish, for roughly 300 kcal. Some cooks add chicha de jora or beer; this version has none. The common mistake is adding all the seafood at once: squid and prawns turn rubbery while the fish cooks, so they go in last. Before cooking, discard any mussels that stay open when tapped, and after cooking discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: fry the chilli pastes in the oil until they darken and smell sweet; that toasted ají is what gives parihuela its depth.

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