Skip to content
Recipes

All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

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.

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RabarbrikookRhubarb crumble cake

By Jaanipäev, Estonian Midsummer on 24 June, the rhubarb in every country garden is tall and red, and Estonians take rhubarb cake to the Jaaniõhtu bonfire evening along with grilled sausages, cheese and the beer for the grown-ups. Rabarbrikook is a simple, soft butter cake packed with sharp rhubarb under a thick, sweet crumble that soaks up the juices. Serve it warm with vanilla sauce or cold in squares. Chef's tip: toss the rhubarb in a spoonful of sugar and flour first; the flour thickens the juice so the cake below does not go soggy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

KhajlaFried pastry rounds in sweet milk

In the old lanes of Lahore and Karachi's Burns Road, sweet shops fry khajla through the night in Ramadan so families can buy it fresh for sehri, the meal eaten before dawn. Each round is a stack of paper-thin layers of ghee-rubbed dough that shatter when you press them, and it is crumbled into a bowl of hot sweetened milk, often with fine pheni, to give slow energy for the fasting day. Chef's tip: keep the oil only medium-hot; khajla must fry slowly so every inner layer turns crisp before the outside browns.

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sabeel sharbatRose milk with basil seeds

In the first ten days of Muharram, and above all on Ashura, volunteers in Pakistani towns set up sabeel stalls at the roadside and pour free cups of cold sweet milk for anyone passing, in memory of the thirst of Imam Husain's family at Karbala. The drink is pale pink, lightly rose-scented and dotted with swollen basil seeds, and it is made in huge steel pots at the stalls; this is the home-sized jug. Chef's tip: soak the basil seeds in water first, never straight in the milk, or they stay hard and clump.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lengua a la vinagretaBeef tongue with vinaigrette

Argentina's Nochebuena is a hot summer night, so the table is full of cold dishes, and lengua a la vinagreta is one of the classics: beef tongue simmered until tender, peeled, sliced and covered with a sharp vinaigrette of parsley, garlic, red pepper, onion and chopped hard-boiled egg. It is made a day ahead and served chilled with vitel toné and Russian salad. Chef's tip: peel the tongue while it is still hot, as the skin comes away easily then and clings once it cools.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chana dal halwa

At Punjabi weddings in Lahore and Faisalabad in the cold months, the dessert table often carries a big tray of chana dal halwa beside the gajar halwa. Soaked split chickpeas are ground and fried slowly in ghee until they smell of roasted nuts and turn deep golden, then cooked with milk, sugar and cardamom into a rich, grainy halwa that keeps for days. It takes patience and a strong arm. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and scrape the bottom constantly; the dal catches fast once it starts to brown.

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Turrón de maníPeanut nougat

On an Argentine Christmas Eve, after midnight toasts, the 'mesa dulce' appears with pan dulce, garrapiñadas and turrón de maní: a chewy white nougat of honey, sugar, whipped egg white and roasted peanuts, often set between two sheets of rice paper. Families make it in the days before Nochebuena. The egg white is cooked by the hot syrup. It is gluten free if you use gluten-free wafer paper or none. Chef's tip: work fast once the syrup is in, as the nougat stiffens as it cools and gets hard to spread.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 24 of 458 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 1 of 20