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166 recipes

Mismas tarkariMixed vegetable curry

Mismas means 'mixed up', and this is the vegetable dish that fills the second bowl of almost every Nepali dal-bhat, from Terai farmhouses to Kathmandu flats. Potato, cauliflower, green beans and peas are cooked together in one pan with turmeric, cumin and a dark fenugreek-seed tempering, then softened with tomato until everything is tender but still holds its shape. The usual mistake is putting all the vegetables in at once: cauliflower and peas turn to mush before the potatoes are done, so start the potatoes first. Chef's tip: a pinch of jimbu or a few crushed timur grains in the tempering gives the authentic Himalayan aroma.

35 min

Nepali Vegetarian

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Ka'i ladrilloPeanut molasses bricks

Ka'i ladrillo — 'monkey brick' in Guaraní — is the sweet sold by vendors on Asunción buses and at country fiestas: roasted peanuts bound in boiled cane molasses and set in brick-shaped blocks, crunchy and dark with a slightly smoky toffee taste. It contains peanuts, so keep it away from anyone with a peanut allergy. The common mistake is taking the syrup off too soon, so the bricks stay sticky and never set. Chef's tip: test the syrup by dropping a little into cold water; it is ready when it sets into a brittle thread that snaps.

40 min

Paraguayan Desserts

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Mula ko tarkariRadish curry

In the hills around Kathmandu and Pokhara, long white winter radishes are pulled with their leaves still on, and both go into this simple tarkari served beside dal-bhat. The radish is cut into thin batons and cooked down in mustard oil with a sizzle of fenugreek seed, turmeric and tingly timur pepper until it turns sweet and translucent, while the greens wilt in at the end. The usual mistake is adding too much water: radish releases plenty of its own juice, and extra water turns it into a bland soup. Chef's tip: let the fenugreek seeds turn dark brown, almost black, before the radish goes in; that toasty bitterness is what makes Nepali radish taste right.

30 min

Nepali Vegetarian

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Jwano ko jholCarom seed broth

Jwano ko jhol is the soup Nepali families make for a mother in the weeks after a birth, and for anyone in the house who has a cold during the Kathmandu winter. Carom seeds are fried in ghee with a spoon of flour until nutty, then whisked with water, garlic and ginger into a thin, peppery, slightly thyme-like broth that is sipped hot from a bowl or poured over rice. The usual mistake is burning the jwano: it turns bitter in seconds, so take it off the heat as soon as it darkens a shade. Chef's tip: whisk the water in a little at a time, as with gravy, so the flour never forms lumps.

25 min

Nepali Soups

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Simi ko tarkariGreen bean stir-fry

Simi ko tarkari is cooked all summer in Nepal, when runner and French beans climb the bamboo poles of every hill farm, and it is one of the dry sides on the plate with dal, rice and achar. The beans are stir-fried in mustard oil with cumin, garlic and tomato, and finished with crushed timur, Nepal's citrusy, tingling pepper. Suitable as part of a balanced diet, it is a high-fibre vegetable side: about 110 kcal and 10 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is covering the pan for too long, which steams the beans grey; keep the heat high and the lid off for most of the cooking. Chef's tip: toast the timur briefly in a dry pan before crushing; its lemony scent doubles.

25 min

Nepali Sides

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Tibetan fried breadPuffed fried bread

Trekkers in the Everest and Annapurna regions, and early risers in Kathmandu's Boudha neighbourhood, know this bread: rounds of dough slashed down the middle and fried until they puff, golden outside and soft inside. Tibetan families eat it with honey or jam, with a bowl of potato or chickpea curry, and with salty butter tea. The mistake is rolling the dough too thin; at about 1 cm thick it stays tender, while thin dough fries into a hard cracker. Chef's tip: let the shaped rounds rest for 10 minutes before frying so the gluten relaxes and the bread balloons evenly.

60 min

Nepali Breads & Parathas

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Mate de muñaAndean mint tea

Muña is the minty shrub that grows wild on the slopes around Cusco, Puno and the Sacred Valley, and highland cooks reach for it after a heavy meal of chicharrón or when visitors are struggling with the altitude. Market herb sellers sell it in fresh bunches, and hotels and homes leave it in a flask for anyone coming in from the cold evenings. Steeped simply in hot water, it smells somewhere between spearmint, oregano and pennyroyal, with a cooling, slightly peppery taste and a pale green-gold colour. It is traditionally drunk to settle the stomach. The usual mistake is boiling the leaves hard for a long time, which turns the tea brown and bitter. Pour water just off the boil over the sprigs, cover, and let it steep. It is ready when the cup is pale gold and the aroma rises as soon as you lift the lid. Outside Peru, look for dried muña in Latin shops; failing that, use mostly spearmint with a little fresh oregano. Muña is strong: avoid large amounts in pregnancy, and check with a doctor if you take regular medication. Chef's tip: cover the cup while it steeps so the scented oils stay in the tea.

8 min

Peruvian Drinks

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Kerau ko tarkariGreen pea and potato curry

Kerau ko tarkari turns up on Nepali tables in winter, when fresh peas are cheap in Kathmandu's Asan market, and it is a favourite in children's tiffin boxes with beaten rice or roti. Potatoes and peas are simmered with cumin, tomato and a little timur pepper until the potatoes start to break and thicken a soft, golden gravy. It is mild enough for children and goes with rice, roti or sel roti. The usual mistake is adding the peas with the potatoes: fresh peas go grey and mushy, so add them once the potatoes are half cooked. Chef's tip: crush a few potato pieces with the back of the spoon at the end; it gives the gravy body without cream.

30 min

Nepali Vegetarian

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Aloo sadekoSpiced potato salad

Sadeko means marinated, and aloo sadeko is the sharp, tingly potato salad served in every khaja ghar, the little snack houses round Asan Tole and New Road, as afternoon khaja beside beaten rice and a cup of tea. Cool boiled potatoes are dressed with mustard oil heated with fenugreek seeds until they turn dark and nutty, then timur (Nepal's numbing Sichuan pepper), green chilli, toasted sesame and lots of lime. Contains sesame and mustard. Chef's tip: fry the fenugreek seeds until reddish-brown, not black; burnt fenugreek makes the whole bowl bitter.

30 min

Nepali Snacks & Starters

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Jaulo for babiesRice porridge for babies

Jaulo is the soft rice and lentil porridge Nepali families in Kathmandu and the hills turn to for anyone small, tired or getting over a cold. After a baby's pasni, the rice-feeding ceremony held at five or six months, it soon becomes a regular lunch, and from about nine months it is mashed lumpy rather than smooth. This version keeps the ghee, cumin and turmeric for gentle flavour but leaves out the usual salt, garlic and ginger. It is warm, buttery and comforting. It contains milk (ghee) and is free of gluten, egg, nuts, soya and sesame. Chef's tip: fry the cumin only until it smells toasty and is a shade darker; burnt cumin turns the whole pot bitter.

35 min

Nepali Rice & Grains

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ThenthukHand-pulled noodle soup

In the Tibetan restaurants around Boudha stupa in Kathmandu, thenthuk is what people order on cold evenings and winter mornings: pieces of dough are pulled flat and pinched straight into a light broth with mutton or buffalo, tomato, radish and spinach. The noodles are thick, soft and slightly uneven, and the soup is gentle and warming, with a little soy and spring onion. This home version uses mutton or lamb. Contains wheat and soya. Chef's tip: pull the dough so thin you can almost see your fingers through it; thick pieces stay doughy in the middle.

50 min

Nepali Soups

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Pharsi ko tarkariPumpkin curry

When the big ridged pumpkins are harvested in the Nepali hills in autumn, pharsi ko tarkari appears at every Dashain and Tihar family meal and on ordinary weekday plates of dal-bhat. Cubes of pumpkin are tempered with fenugreek seed and cooked slowly in their own steam until soft, sweet and lightly caramelised in places, with just a hint of chilli. Children love it with rice or roti. The usual mistake is stirring too often: the pumpkin breaks into puree, so turn it gently only two or three times. Chef's tip: leave the skin on young pumpkin; it holds the cubes together and turns tender as it cooks.

35 min

Nepali Vegetarian

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Escabeche de pescadoFried fish in sweet-sour onion sauce

In Lima, escabeche de pescado belongs to the criollo kitchen of the old city: it turns up on Friday lunch menus, on buffet tables, and above all in Lent and Holy Week, when families eat fish and this dish can be made the day before. Fish is fried until golden, then covered in a warm sauce of thick-cut red onion softened in oil with garlic, ají amarillo, ají panca, cumin and vinegar, and left to cool so the flavours soak in. It is served cold or at room temperature with boiled sweet potato, hard-boiled egg and purple botija olives. It tastes tangy, sweet and gently fruity-hot, with crunchy onion over tender fish. The fish here is fully cooked, but because it is a cold seafood dish, pregnant people, babies, older people and anyone with weak immunity should eat it well chilled and within 2 days. Common mistake: stewing the onions until limp; they should only lose their raw bite. It is ready when the sauce has soaked a little into the fish and smells of vinegar and toasted chilli. Chef's tip: use thick fillets of corvina or bonito; thin fillets break under the sauce.

50 min

Peruvian Fish

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Pisco sour

Lima drinks its pisco sour as the aperitif before a long ceviche lunch, and celebrates it every year on the first Saturday of February; the recipe took shape in the city's bars in the 1920s. It is for adults only and stronger than its pillowy look suggests. Underneath a thick white foam you get sharp Peruvian lime, a clean sweetness and the floral, grapey warmth of quebranta pisco, with the bitters adding a spicy smell to every sip. The texture should be silky, almost creamy, never thin. The classic mistake is squeezing the limes too hard or too early: the oil from the pith turns the drink bitter within half an hour. Halve the limes, press each half gently by hand just before mixing and stop when the juice slows. The egg white is raw, so use pasteurised egg white for anyone pregnant, for babies, older people or anyone unwell, or swap in 30 ml aquafaba. It is ready when the foam stands about 1 cm high and is firm enough to hold the drops of bitters on its surface. Sip one slowly and drink responsibly. Chef's tip: shake once without ice first to whip the egg white, then again with ice; the foam will be twice as thick.

5 min

Peruvian Drinks

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Jugo de macaWarm maca drink

Before dawn at markets in Huancayo, Cusco and Lima, juice ladies ladle hot jugo de maca from big pots for workers on their way in: maca root, a turnip relative grown above 4,000 metres in the Junín highlands, simmered with milk, cinnamon and cloves and sweetened with honey or sugar. It tastes malty and toasty, a bit like butterscotch. The common mistake is stirring the powder straight into hot milk, which leaves gritty lumps; whisk it into a little cold milk first. Maca is not usually advised in pregnancy, so ask your doctor first if you are pregnant. Chef's tip: use gelatinised (cooked) maca powder if you can find it; it dissolves smoothly and is gentler on the stomach.

10 min

Peruvian Drinks

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Locro de zapallo for toddlersPumpkin stew for toddlers

Locro de zapallo is the golden pumpkin stew of Lima's home kitchens and menú lunch spots, eaten on weekdays with white rice and, for adults, a fried egg and ají on the side. For toddlers from 12 months it is cooked without any ají, the pumpkin is simmered until it melts into a sauce, and just a little crumbled fresh cheese is stirred in, so it is sweet, creamy and easy to mash. It contains milk; there is no gluten, egg, nuts or soya. Queso fresco is often made with animal rennet, so for a vegetarian bowl choose one labelled vegetarian, or use a little paneer, and always a pasteurised cheese. Chef's tip: cut half the pumpkin small so it dissolves into the sauce and the rest larger so it keeps some shape.

45 min

Peruvian Curries

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Ají amarillo pasteYellow chilli paste

In Lima's markets ají amarillo is sold fresh all year, and most Peruvian cooks keep a tub of this paste in the fridge the way others keep tomato purée: it is the golden base of causa limeña, ají de gallina, papa a la huancaína, chupe and the sauce for tiraditos. The chillies are seeded, de-veined and blanched in three changes of water, which tames the heat and the raw grassiness, then peeled and blended with oil into a thick, silky, saffron-orange paste. It tastes fruity and sunny, almost like apricot and passion fruit, with a rounded, medium heat. Abroad, buy whole frozen ají amarillo from Latin grocers; dried ají mirasol, soaked, gives a darker, earthier paste. Common mistake: skipping the peeling; the thin skins leave papery flecks and a bitter edge. It is ready when it is completely smooth and holds a soft peak like thick hummus. This is a low-acid paste: keep it in the fridge for a week or freeze it, never on the shelf. Chef's tip: freeze it in an ice-cube tray; one cube is about a tablespoon, just right for a pot of ají de gallina.

40 min

Peruvian Basics

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Refresco de coconaCocona cooler

In Iquitos, Pucallpa and the river towns of Loreto, heat and humidity make a cold refresco part of every lunch, and cocona is one of the favourites sold from plastic jugs at the Belén market. The fruit looks like a fuzzy orange tomato and tastes between tomato, lemon and apricot: very sour, aromatic and juicy. Blended with water and sugar it makes a tangy, golden drink with a light pulp, served with juane or tacacho con cecina. The usual mistake is skipping the fuzz: cocona skin is covered in fine hairs that make the drink scratchy, so rub them off under running water before you start. Blend only briefly, too, so the many seeds do not crack. It is ready when the refresco is opaque orange, sour first and sweet after, with no grit. Outside the Amazon, look for frozen cocona pulp in Latin American shops; naranjilla (lulo) pulp is the closest substitute. Chef's tip: a pinch of salt makes the fruit taste sweeter and fruitier without more sugar.

10 min

Peruvian Drinks

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ChhwelaGrilled chicken with mustard oil

Chhwela (also called choila) is a Newar dish from the Kathmandu Valley, served at festivals, feasts and family gatherings, and today in every bar and snack house as a spicy side. Meat is grilled until smoky, cut small and tossed with a dressing of spices and fenugreek seeds fried in smoking mustard oil, plus raw garlic, ginger, chilli, timur pepper and lime. Buffalo is traditional; this version uses chicken, and lean beef works too. It is high in protein and suitable as part of a balanced diet; eat it with a salad of cucumber and radish rather than a big pile of beaten rice. About 290 kcal and 5 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is pouring the mustard oil on before it smokes, which leaves a raw, harsh taste. Chef's tip: grill the meat until well charred at the edges, because the smokiness is the point.

45 min

Nepali Chicken

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Lito (sarbottam pitho porridge)

Ask a mother in Kathmandu, Pokhara or a hill village what her baby eats after the pasni rice-feeding ceremony, and the answer is often lito: porridge made from sarbottam pitho, a 'super flour' that families roast and grind themselves from two parts soybean to one part each of maize and wheat. Cooked with water it becomes a smooth, nutty, toast-coloured porridge with more protein than plain rice. For babies there is no salt, sugar, jaggery, honey or ghee needed. It contains soya and wheat (gluten). Chef's tip: roast the grains separately, each until it smells nutty and cracks between your teeth, then grind and sieve; the beans need longest.

12 min

Nepali Breakfast & Brunch

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GundrukFermented leafy greens

After the rice harvest in October and November, hill families from Ilam to Gorkha cut the leaves of mustard greens, radish and cauliflower, leave them to wilt in the yard, then pound them into clay pots or pits to ferment. A week later the greens come out olive-brown and sour, and they are dried on bamboo mats in the bright Dashain-Tihar sun. That dried gundruk carries families through the lean winter: soaked and simmered into gundruk ko jhol with tomato and soybeans beside dal-bhat, or tossed into gundruk sadeko with onion, chilli and mustard oil to eat with chiura. The flavour is deeply sour, earthy and a little smoky, the dried leaves chewy-crisp, softening when cooked. Common mistake: packing the leaves loosely; air left in the jar lets mould grow instead of the sour lactic ferment, so press until juice rises over the greens. It is ready to dry when it smells sharply sour like good sauerkraut and the leaves have lost all their green. Chef's tip: if your greens are from a supermarket, mix mustard greens with radish tops or kale for the closest flavour, and ferment in a big jar with a weight.

45 min

Nepali Basics

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Chilcano de piscoPisco and ginger ale highball

When Lima's grey winter finally lifts and summer reaches the beaches south of the city, the chilcano takes over from the pisco sour: lighter, longer and made for an afternoon. Peru even gives it a Semana del Chilcano each January, and it is poured at weekend lunches with chifa or fried fish. This is a highball for adults only: pisco poured over a tall glass of ice with fresh lime and ginger ale, finished with a few drops of bitters. It should taste crisp and fizzy, with the ginger and lime lifting the floral grape notes of the pisco rather than hiding them. The common mistake is using too little ice and warm ginger ale, which gives a sweet, diluted drink that goes flat in minutes. Fill the glass to the top with ice and keep the ginger ale in the fridge until the last second. It is ready when the glass is frosty, the bubbles race up the sides and the bitters drift through the top as a pink haze. Light it may be, but drink responsibly. Chef's tip: try a fruit-infused pisco, made by steeping passion fruit or mandarin peel in the bottle for a few days; Limeños love a chilcano de maracuyá.

10 min

Peruvian Drinks

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Jugo surtidoMixed fruit juice

Step up to any juguería in Lima's Mercado de Surquillo or a barrio market at breakfast time and order a surtido: the juicer drops papaya, banana, pineapple and freshly squeezed orange into a tall blender, sometimes a slice of cooked beetroot for colour or a splash of milk, and pours you a big glass with the rest left in the jug for your 'yapa', the free refill. It is thick but still pourable, sweet from ripe fruit with a sharp orange edge, the kind of drink that stands in for breakfast before a long day. The common mistake is adding lots of ice and water, which makes it thin and frothy rather than velvety. Use cold fruit and freshly squeezed orange juice as the liquid. It is ready when it coats the glass and no lumps of banana are left. This version is fruit only; stalls also make it with milk if you prefer. Drink it straight away: papaya and banana go brown and bitter within half an hour. Chef's tip: use very ripe papaya with orange flesh; under-ripe papaya tastes of nothing and gives a faintly bitter aftertaste.

10 min

Peruvian Drinks

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Capeletis a la CarusoStuffed pasta in cream sauce

Capeletis a la Caruso were created in a Montevideo restaurant in the 1950s and named after the great tenor, and they are still a Sunday lunch favourite in Uruguayan homes: little stuffed pasta hats in a rich sauce of cream, cooked ham (pork), mushrooms and onion, finished with grated cheese. Buy good fresh capeletis or tortellini; the sauce is what you make. The usual mistake is boiling the cream sauce hard, which makes it oily and grainy. Chef's tip: cook the mushrooms in a dry hot pan first until they squeak and brown, before any butter goes in, for a deeper taste.

35 min

Paraguayan Pasta & Noodles

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