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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.

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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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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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Siete cielos (seven heavens bread)

Pan de siete cielos, 'seven heavens bread', is a Sephardic Shavuot tradition from Thessaloniki and Turkey, kept alive by Ladino-speaking families in Israel. A large round loaf of soft, slightly sweet bread is topped with a spiral and small dough shapes, often a ladder, tablets, birds and a hand, each a symbol from the festival story, then glazed and baked. It is the centrepiece of the dairy holiday meal and is broken and shared at the table. The common mistake is attaching the shapes with no water, so they lift off in the oven; brush underneath each one. Chef's tip: keep a fifth of the dough back for the decorations and keep it covered so it doesn't dry out while you shape.

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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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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.

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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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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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Malai (Romanian-Jewish cornmeal cake)

Romanian Jews brought malai to Israel, and it is a much-loved bake for Shavuot, the early-summer festival when dairy foods fill the table. Coarse cornmeal is mixed with sour cream, soft cheese, eggs and a little sugar, then baked into a golden cake that is moist and slightly crumbly, somewhere between cornbread and cheesecake. Eat it warm with a spoonful of sour cream or jam. Traditional soft white cheeses are sometimes set with animal rennet; choose a cheese labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. The common mistake is using fine polenta that hasn't soaked, which leaves the cake gritty. Chef's tip: let the batter stand for 15 minutes before baking so the cornmeal softens.

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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.

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Tu BiShvat dried fruit and nut cake

Tu BiShvat, the New Year of the Trees, falls in late winter, and in Israel it is celebrated with plates of dried fruit and nuts, the fruits of the land, and with cakes made from them. This loaf is almost all fruit: chopped dates, figs, apricots and raisins with walnuts, held together by just enough egg and flour, so every slice shows a mosaic of colour. Serve it thinly sliced with tea. The common mistake is cutting it hot, when it crumbles; it slices neatly once completely cold. Chef's tip: toss the chopped fruit in the flour first, which keeps it from sinking and clumping.

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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.

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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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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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Etrog marmaladeCitron preserve

After Sukkot ends, many Israeli families keep the fragrant etrog (citron) used during the festival and turn it into marmalade, so its scent lasts into the winter. The thick pith is bitter, so the sliced fruit is soaked overnight and blanched in fresh water before it is simmered with sugar into a golden, bitter-sweet preserve, lovely on challah or with soft cheese. If your etrog was treated with sprays because it was grown only for ritual use, buy an unwaxed one sold for eating. The common mistake is skipping the soaking and changes of water, which leaves the marmalade harsh. Chef's tip: add a lemon for pectin and brightness, since etrogs are dry and set softly on their own.

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PepitadaToasted melon seed milk

Greek and Turkish Jews end the Yom Kippur fast with a glass of pepitada, a pale, gentle 'milk' made from melon seeds that were saved, washed and dried through the summer. The seeds are toasted, ground, soaked overnight in water wrapped in muslin, then squeezed to give a mild, nutty drink sweetened with a little sugar and scented with rose or orange-blossom water. It is soothing on an empty stomach after a day without food or water. The common mistake is toasting the seeds too dark, which makes the drink bitter. Chef's tip: start the night before; the long soak is what draws out the creamy flavour.

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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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Yeot-gangjeong (nut and sesame bars in rice syrup)

Yeot-gangjeong is a traditional Korean hangwa made all over the country, especially in the weeks before Seollal and Chuseok, when trays of these bars are given as gifts and set out for visitors. Toasted nuts, sesame seeds and puffed rice are folded into hot rice syrup, pressed flat and cut into bars that are crunchy, nutty and only gently sweet, with a faint malty flavour from the syrup. Serve them with green tea or sikhye, the sweet rice drink, or pack them for a lunchbox. They are naturally egg-free: rice syrup, heated until it bubbles, acts as the glue and sets firm as it cools. Chef's tip: cut the slab while it is still warm. The common mistake is waiting until it is cold, when the bars shatter instead of slicing cleanly.

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Surichwi-tteok (Dano wheel rice cakes)

Dano, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, was once called surit-nal, and the green surichwi-tteok of Gangwon and the rest of Korea carries that name: the cakes are pounded with surichwi (Korean mountain aster) and pressed with a cartwheel stamp, since 'suri' was read as 'wheel', a wish for the year to roll on smoothly and for good health as summer heat sets in. The leaves give a grassy, faintly bitter scent and a deep green fleck, and the steamed rice is pounded until it turns chewy and bouncy. If you can't find surichwi, mugwort (ssuk) powder or dried mugwort works well; the flavour is a little more herbal and the cakes are just as traditional in spirit. Serve at room temperature with cold omija hwachae or barley tea. Chef's tip: pound the rice while it is still steaming hot; once it cools it tightens and will never go smooth.

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Gotgam-ssam (walnut-stuffed dried persimmon rounds)

Sangju in North Gyeongsang is Korea's dried-persimmon capital, and in Andong and across the region gotgam-ssam is a sweet for Seollal and Chuseok tables and for welcoming guests in winter. Soft dried persimmons are opened out flat, rolled tightly around a row of walnut halves and sliced, so each round shows a pattern like a flower. They are chewy and honeyed from the fruit, with crunchy, slightly bitter walnuts in the middle. Serve them with sujeonggwa, the cinnamon-ginger punch, or with a cup of roasted barley tea. It is naturally egg-free: the sticky dried fruit is its own glue, and a short chill firms the roll so it slices neatly. Chef's tip: wrap the roll tightly in cling film and chill it before slicing; the common mistake is slicing it straight away, which squashes the rounds and lets the walnuts fall out.

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Dasik (Korean pressed tea cakes)

Dasik are small pressed tea cakes stamped with patterns of flowers, characters for long life and good fortune, made across Korea for Chuseok, weddings and the tables set for ancestral rites. Powders of roasted grain, black sesame or yellow pine pollen are kneaded with honey and pressed into carved wooden moulds, so a single plate shows contrasting colours. They are dense and melt slowly, tasting of toasted nuts and honey, and they are always served with tea: green tea, or a tea of jujube or citron. This version makes two colours, roasted soybean and black sesame. They are naturally egg-free: honey binds the powders and lets them hold the fine pattern of the mould. Chef's tip: add the honey a teaspoon at a time; the common mistake is too much, which makes a sticky dough that blurs the pattern and won't leave the mould.

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Saeu jeon (shrimp pancakes)Prawn pancakes

Saeu jeon are a celebratory addition to the jeon platter for Seollal and Chuseok in homes all over Korea; prawns, with their bent backs, have long stood for a wish to live until you are old and stooped. Butterflied and pressed flat, each prawn turns into a neat golden fan with a pink tail, sweet and tender inside a soft egg coat. Children love them, and they disappear faster than anything else on the table. Serve with a soy-vinegar dip, japchae and rice. Chef's tip: make a few shallow cuts across the inner belly before flattening; it stops the prawns curling up in the pan.

25 minKoreanFish
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Hwayangjeok (colourful skewers)

Hwayangjeok, made across Korea for Chuseok and Seollal, means something like 'flower-bright skewers': strips of seasoned beef, shiitake, carrot, yellow pickled radish, cucumber and egg are cooked separately and threaded side by side, so each skewer shows the five traditional colours (obangsaek) that stand for balance and good fortune on the ancestral table. Every bite mixes savoury, sweet soy beef with crunchy, tangy radish and soft egg. They are served at room temperature as part of the holiday spread, with rice, soup and other jeon. Chef's tip: cut every ingredient to the same length and thickness before you start; that is what makes the stripes look sharp.

60 minKoreanMeat
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Pyogo jeon (stuffed shiitake pancakes)

No Seollal or Chuseok table in Korea is complete without a platter of jeon, and pyogo jeon are among the prettiest: shiitake caps packed with a filling of minced pork and tofu, then fried in a thin egg coat so the dark mushroom edge frames a golden centre. Mushrooms were prized offerings on the ancestral (charye) table, and stuffed jeon show the care put into the holiday meal. They are juicy and savoury, with the shiitake giving an earthy, meaty bite. Serve warm or at room temperature with a soy and vinegar dip, alongside other jeon and a bowl of tteokguk; the last step gives an all-tofu vegetarian filling. Chef's tip: dust the gills with flour before stuffing; it acts as glue and stops the filling popping out in the pan.

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