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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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DouaraLamb tripe and chickpea stew

Douara is the dish that fills Algerian kitchens on the second day of Eid al-Adha, when the tripe, intestines and lung from the family's sacrifice are cleaned, cut small and stewed slowly with chickpeas, plenty of garlic, cumin and paprika. The sauce is deep red and peppery and the offal turns tender and rich. At home, cleaned lamb or beef tripe and lamb heart from a halal butcher make an easy start; lung can be added if your butcher sells it. Chef's tip: blanch the tripe first in water with a squeeze of lemon to freshen the flavour before it goes into the stew.

180 minAlgerianMeatGluten freeSpicy
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MatazizLamb stew with dough discs

Mataziz is a hearty one-pot supper from Najd in central Saudi Arabia, often cooked for iftar during Ramadan: a tomato stew of lamb, courgette, aubergine and dried black lime in which thumb-thick discs of whole-wheat dough are poached until soft and dumpling-like. The dough soaks up the tangy, gently spiced gravy, so a bowl is filling after a long day of fasting. Ask the butcher for halal lamb if that matters to your table. Chef's tip: add the dough discs only when the lamb is tender, and keep the stew at a gentle simmer so they don't break up.

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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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KesraSemolina pan bread

Kesra is the flat semolina bread of Algerian homes, and in Ramadan a fresh round sits on almost every iftar table, cooked on a clay tajine and torn into pieces to dip into hot chorba frik. This unleavened version is a thin, crumbly-edged galette, golden in patches and slightly chewy in the middle, with a nutty taste from the olive oil. It is made in minutes before sunset so it reaches the table still warm. Chef's tip: work the dough only until it holds together; kneading it like a yeast bread makes kesra tough instead of tender.

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Karp w galarecieCarp in aspic

Carp in aspic is one of the cold dishes of the Polish Wigilia. Carp steaks are poached gently in a stock of root vegetables and the fish's own bones, then laid in a dish with carrot slices, lemon and parsley and covered in the clarified stock, which sets into a clear, shimmering jelly overnight. Serve it chilled with lemon and horseradish. A little powdered gelatine helps the aspic set reliably at home. Chef's tip: simmer the fish bones and vegetables slowly and never boil the stock hard; boiling makes it cloudy.

120 minPolishFishGluten free
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ArsiyaRice and chicken porridge

Arsiya is a festive dish from Oman, cooked in big pots on Eid mornings and at weddings, when rice and chicken are simmered together until they collapse, then beaten with ghee into a smooth, savoury porridge. It is mild and comforting, with warm cumin and a rich buttery finish, and it is often served alongside spicier dishes such as shuwa. Many families make it with lamb instead. Chef's tip: beat the pot hard with a wooden spoon or a potato masher at the end; that beating is what turns it from rice stew into proper arsiya.

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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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OponkiQuark ring doughnuts

On Tłusty Czwartek, Fat Thursday, Poles queue at bakeries for pączki, but at home many families make oponki instead: little ring doughnuts from a quick twaróg (curd cheese) dough with no yeast and no waiting. They fry in minutes into light, tender 'tyres' that are rolled in sugar or glazed and eaten warm by the plateful. The common mistake is kneading the dough too much, which makes them tough; mix only until it holds together. Chef's tip: press the twaróg through a sieve first, or blend it, so the dough is smooth and the rings puff evenly.

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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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Biała kiełbasa z cebuląWhite sausage baked with onions

Biała kiełbasa is a fresh, unsmoked white sausage of pork seasoned with garlic and marjoram, and on Easter Sunday morning in Poland it is the star of the breakfast after the blessed basket (święconka) is shared. It is also the sausage that goes into żurek, the sour rye soup. Buy it raw from a Polish butcher, then poach it gently and bake it with onions until golden. Serve with horseradish, mustard, rye bread and Easter eggs. Chef's tip: never boil it, as the casing bursts; keep the water just below a simmer.

60 minPolishMeatGluten free
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Śledzie w śmietanieHerring in soured cream

Herring is a must at the Polish Wigilia, the meatless Christmas Eve supper, and śledzie w śmietanie, salted herring fillets in soured cream with crisp apple, onion and dill, is the favourite way to serve it, with boiled potatoes or rye bread. The herring is cured, not cooked: use good-quality salted or matjes fillets from a shop, which have been frozen to kill parasites, and keep the dish chilled. Cured fish is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; for them, make the safer version in the last step with hot-smoked mackerel or herring fillets baked until opaque. Chef's tip: dress the herring a few hours ahead so the cream picks up the flavour.

20 minPolishFishGluten free
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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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Piernik staropolskiHoney spice cake with plum jam

Piernik staropolski is the grand Polish Christmas gingerbread, and the old tradition is to mix the honey dough in November (once even at a child's birth) and leave it to mature for weeks in a cool place, which deepens the spice and makes the cake tender. It is baked a few weeks before Christmas, split into layers with powidła (thick plum butter), glazed with chocolate and left to soften again. This home version rests the dough for at least 3 days. Chef's tip: wrap the baked layers and let them sit for 3 days before filling; fresh piernik is hard, and it softens as it absorbs moisture from the jam.

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Krówki (Polish milk fudge)

Krówki, 'little cows', are the sweets Polish children grow up with: wrapped in paper with a cow on it, handed out at name days and school parties, and bought by the bag all year round. Fresh ones have a thin, sugary crust that crumbles at the edges while the middle stays soft and almost runny, with a deep taste of cooked milk and butter, close to dulce de leche. Eat them with black tea or coffee, or chop them into ice cream. They are naturally egg-free: milk and cream are boiled with sugar until the milk solids caramelise and the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, then beating it as it cools starts fine sugar crystals that set the fudge and give that crumbly crust. A spoonful of honey adds its own flavour and keeps the centre soft. Chef's tip: stop beating as soon as the mixture loses its shine and starts to thicken; beating too long is the common mistake, and the fudge then sets in the pan before you can pour it.

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Uszka z grzybamiMushroom dumplings

Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve supper, starts when the first star appears and is traditionally meatless, and its first course is clear red barszcz with uszka floating in it. These are tiny dumplings folded into 'little ears' and filled with dried forest mushrooms (usually ceps) and fried onion. They are fiddly, so families make them together in the days before and freeze them. Serve 6–8 in each bowl of hot beetroot broth. Chef's tip: save the mushroom soaking water and add it to the barszcz, as it carries much of the forest flavour.

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Omani halwa (saffron and rose water halwa)

No Omani welcome is complete without a dish of halwa and a cup of cardamom coffee, and in Muscat and Nizwa it is stirred for hours in huge copper pots for Eid, weddings and every family gathering. Sugar is caramelised, then cooked with a cornflour slurry and ghee until it turns dark, glossy and set. It is wobbly and sticky like a very soft fruit jelly, rich with ghee, and fragrant with saffron, cardamom and rose water, with toasted nuts through it. Serve small spoonfuls in little bowls with qahwa, the lightly roasted cardamom coffee. It is naturally egg-free: the starch, cooked slowly with the sugar until it turns clear and thick, does all the setting. Chef's tip: keep stirring and add the ghee a little at a time. The common mistake is stopping, even for a minute, so the halwa catches and burns on the base.

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MoczkaGingerbread in dried fruit compote

Moczka is the Christmas Eve dessert of Upper Silesia in southern Poland, a thick, dark, spiced mixture of honey gingerbread dissolved in dried-fruit compote, then loaded with almonds, walnuts, raisins, figs and prunes. Each family has its own version; many add dark beer to the base, which this one leaves out, but adults may stir 100 ml dark beer into the compote while it simmers. It is eaten cold from small bowls and keeps for several days. Chef's tip: use dry, slightly stale gingerbread, which dissolves into a smooth sauce, while fresh cake turns to lumps.

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Śliwki w czekoladzie (chocolate-coated prunes with walnuts)

Boxes of chocolate prunes are a classic Polish gift: brought to grandmothers at Christmas, set out on the Wigilia table among the twelve dishes, and passed round on name days. Plump smoked or soft prunes from the south of the country are best. Each one hides a walnut half, so you get chewy, slightly tart fruit, a crunchy bitter nut and a snap of dark chocolate in one bite. Serve them with coffee or tea after a big meal. Nothing here ever needed egg: the prune itself holds the nut, and chocolate sets around it as it cools. Older recipes soak the prunes in spirits; here they are alcohol-free, plumped in warm orange juice instead, which also brightens the flavour. Use a dark chocolate made without milk and the sweets are vegan. Chef's tip: dry the soaked prunes very well before dipping; the common mistake is leaving them damp, and even a few drops of juice will make melted chocolate seize and turn grainy.

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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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Chilcano de pescadoClear fish broth

In the fishermen's terminals of Chorrillos and Callao, chilcano is what you drink on a Sunday morning after a long night: a clear, gingery broth made from the heads and bones left over from cleaning fish for ceviche, with chunks of fish, red onion, chilli and a squeeze of lime in the bowl. It is light and warming, around 160 kcal a bowl, and still gives about 24 g of protein from the fish fillet and the broth. The common mistake is squeezing the lime into the pot while it boils, which turns it bitter; add it to each bowl at the table. Don't boil the bones for more than 30 minutes either, or the broth turns cloudy and harsh. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger for heads and frames from mild white fish like sea bass or cod, and leave out oily fish such as mackerel, which makes the broth strong and fishy.

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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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Łamańce z makiem (wafers in sweet poppy-seed milk)

In Podlasie and across eastern Poland, Christmas Eve supper, Wigilia, is meatless, and among the twelve dishes on the table is a bowl of łamańce: thin, crisp wafers broken into milk that has been turned grey-blue with ground poppy seed and sweetened with honey. Poppy seed stands for plenty in the coming year. The wafers soften at the edges but stay crunchy in the middle, and the milk tastes nutty and gently sweet. Serve it at room temperature or slightly warm, at the end of the meal. Bakery łamańce are not always egg-free; these are, a simple dough of flour, water and oil with a pinch of baking powder that bakes crisp without any binding. Chef's tip: roll the dough paper-thin, almost see-through; the common mistake is leaving it thick, which bakes into hard crackers that never soak up the poppy milk.

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