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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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DerereOkra relish

Derere is the slippery okra relish that Zimbabwean families, especially in Mashonaland, eat with sadza (maize porridge) at weekday dinners; the stretchy texture is the point, because it helps each pinch of sadza slide up a little relish. Grated or finely sliced okra is boiled briefly with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda, which makes it extra smooth and keeps it bright green, then finished with tomato and onion. It is vegan and very light, with about 3 g of protein per portion; serve it with beans or peanut-butter greens for a full meal. The common mistake is too much bicarbonate: more than a pinch gives a soapy taste. Chef's tip: stir with a whisk or a fork for the last minute; it builds the classic stretchy, glossy texture.

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TopfengolatschenSweet quark puff pastry squares

A Topfengolatsche is what Viennese office workers grab from the bakery on the way in, and what grandparents order with a Melange in a coffee house on a Sunday afternoon. The corners of a puff pastry square are folded over a lemony, vanilla-scented filling of Topfen (Austrian quark) with plump raisins, and the top gets a thin white glaze. It is flaky, light and not too sweet. Raisins are sometimes soaked in rum; warm water or orange juice works just as well, and the recipe below is alcohol-free. Wet quark is the classic problem, because it turns the filling runny and it leaks out in the oven. Chef's tip: hang the quark in a sieve lined with a clean cloth for an hour, or squeeze it, until it is as thick as soft cream cheese.

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Kärntner ReindlingCinnamon raisin yeast cake

Carinthia's Easter loaf takes its name from the Reindl, the round, deep pan it is baked in, and in southern Austria no Easter basket goes to church without one. Inside the golden yeast crust is a spiral of butter, cinnamon sugar and plump raisins, so every slice shows a dark swirl. Locals eat it two ways: sweet with coffee on Easter morning, or alongside the savoury Easter platter with horseradish. Many bakers soak the raisins in rum overnight; warm water or tea works just as well and keeps it alcohol-free. A dry, crumbly Reindling usually means too much flour went in during kneading, so keep the dough soft and only lightly floured. Chef's tip: butter the pan well and dust it with sugar, which caramelises into a thin crunchy shell.

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ErdäpfelstrudelSavoury potato strudel

Austrians, especially in the Mühlviertel of Upper Austria and the Waldviertel, make savoury strudels as often as sweet ones, and Erdäpfelstrudel is a farmhouse favourite for a meatless Friday or a cold evening. Thin pastry wraps a filling of potatoes, fried onion, sour cream, marjoram and parsley, baked until crisp and golden and sliced with a green salad or a dill and sour-cream dip. Bought filo makes it easy at home. The mistake to avoid is a wet filling, which turns the pastry soggy underneath. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before rolling; warm filling makes the layers stick and tear.

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BusecaTripe and white bean stew

Buseca arrived in Montevideo with Italian immigrants from Lombardy and became a classic winter dish of Uruguayan bodegones and family kitchens, eaten on cold June and July days. Honeycomb tripe is simmered until tender, then stewed with white beans, pork chorizo, bacon, peppers, tomato and paprika into a thick, warming stew served with crusty bread. Buy tripe that is already cleaned and blanched (dressed). The usual mistake is undercooking the tripe: it needs a full 2 hours, until it's soft enough to cut with a spoon. Slow-cooker option: after step 4, cook on low for 8 hours. Chef's tip: a little grated lemon zest and parsley stirred in at the end lifts the rich, gelatinous sauce.

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MutakuraBeans, cowpeas and maize

Mutakura is old Zimbabwean country food, cooked in rural Mashonaland after harvest from the store of dried beans, cowpeas, groundnuts and maize kernels, and eaten as a filling lunch or snack, often at gatherings and ceremonies. Everything is soaked, boiled for hours until tender, then simply seasoned with salt, so the beans are creamy, the maize chewy and the groundnuts soft and rich. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 340 kcal and 45 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is cooking everything together from the start: the maize needs a long head start, and the dried red beans must be boiled hard for 10 minutes to be safe. A pressure cooker cuts the maize time to about 40 minutes. Chef's tip: soak everything overnight in separate bowls; the maize and groundnuts need it most.

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Bogobe jwa lerotseSorghum and melon porridge

When the lerotse melons ripen on the lands around Serowe and Mahalapye after the summer rains, households stir their pale flesh into the evening pot of sorghum, and the porridge turns soft, smooth and quietly sweet. Lerotse is a hard-skinned field melon, closer to a mild marrow than a dessert melon, so it melts into the bogobe and gives it a light, fresh taste against the sour, nutty grain. It is eaten as a side with seswaa, beans or morogo, or on its own for supper with a sprinkle of sugar. Outside Botswana, look for lerotse at African grocers; otherwise a firm cooking melon or a winter melon gives a very close result. Chef's tip: the mistake people make is dumping the sorghum in at once, which gives lumps; rain it in slowly while you whisk.

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SerobeChopped tripe and offal

At a Tswana wedding or a funeral gathering, the men tending the three-legged pots will make serobe from the insides of the slaughtered goat or ox while the seswaa cooks alongside, and it is served first to the elders. Tripe, heart and liver are boiled until tender, chopped very fine and seasoned simply with salt, onion and a little of the rich broth, so it comes out soft, chewy in places and deeply savoury. Eat it with bogobe, pap or samp and a spoonful of morogo. Buy dressed (cleaned and scalded) tripe from a butcher, and cook everything right through. Chef's tip: chopping it fine by hand is the whole point; a food processor turns it into paste, so take your time with a heavy knife.

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Feijão de óleo de palmaPalm oil beans

No Saturday table in Luanda feels complete without a pot of these beans next to the funge, and the deep orange colour of the dende oil tells you they are ready. Soft, creamy beans are simmered with onion, garlic, tomato and a generous pour of red palm oil until the broth thickens and every bean is coated, earthy, faintly smoky and rich. Serve them with funge de bombó (cassava) or funge de milho, with fried plantain, or with rice and greens. Buy unrefined red palm oil from an African grocer, ideally certified sustainable; it is not the same as the pale refined kind. Chef's tip: hold back the salt and tomato until the beans are truly soft, because both firm up the skins and are the usual reason a bean pot never gets creamy.

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LampreadoCassava starch cheese fritters

Paraguayan grandmothers fry lampreado on Sunday evenings to eat with a mug of cocido, the toasted yerba mate drink: small pan-fried cakes of cassava starch, egg, milk and grated cheese with a little onion, crisp at the edges and stretchy inside. Some families also make it with leftover meat, but this version is all cheese. Queso Paraguay is set with animal rennet; a vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese plus mozzarella works well. The trap is a batter that is too thick, which gives heavy, gluey cakes. Chef's tip: the batter should drop slowly off a spoon like thick pancake batter; add milk a spoonful at a time until it does.

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MufeteGrilled fish with beans and plantain

On the Ilha de Luanda and at the beach restaurants of Mussulo, mufete is the weekend feast: a whole grilled cacusso (tilapia) laid across a platter heaped with beans in palm oil, boiled plantain, sweet potato and cassava, with a sharp sauce of raw onion, vinegar and oil spooned over everything. The fish is smoky and juicy, the roots soft and sweet, and the onion sauce cuts through the richness of the beans. It is eaten slowly, with cold drinks and plenty of conversation. Ask the fishmonger to gut and scale the fish. Cassava must always be peeled, cored and boiled until fully soft, never eaten raw. Chef's tip: oil the grill bars and the fish well and don't try to turn it until the skin releases on its own, or it will tear.

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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.

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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.

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Mandi'o chyryryFried cassava with onion and egg

Mandi'o chyryry means 'fried cassava' in Guaraní, and it is what rural Paraguayan families make from yesterday's boiled mandi'o: chunks crushed and fried in a big pan with onion until crisp in places, then scrambled with eggs. It comes out for breakfast with cocido or for a quick supper, and costs next to nothing. Use sweet cassava, the kind sold in supermarkets. The mistake is stirring constantly, which turns it to mush; let the cassava sit and brown. Chef's tip: the best chyryry starts with cold, day-old boiled cassava, which fries crisper than freshly boiled.

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CaluluDried and fresh fish stew

Calulu is what Luanda families cook when the whole family comes for Sunday lunch, and the Ilha's fish sellers know the order by heart: a piece of dried fish for depth, a firm fresh fish for sweetness. The two are layered in a pot with onion, tomato, okra, aubergine and sweet potato leaves, then simmered in red palm oil until the sauce turns silky from the okra and tastes of the sea, smoke and greens all at once. It is served with funge, feijão de óleo de palma and a little hot sauce. Salted dried fish needs a long soak to draw out the salt, so start it the day before; skipping that step is the classic way to ruin the pot. Chef's tip: lay the fresh fish on top and leave it alone, shaking the pot rather than stirring, so the pieces stay whole.

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MotohoFermented sorghum porridge

Highland mornings in Lesotho can be bitterly cold, and a mug or bowl of warm motoho, thin enough to sip and pleasantly tangy, is how many Basotho families in Maseru and the mountain villages start the day. Sorghum meal is mixed with warm water and a spoonful of starter from the last batch, left overnight by the stove to sour, then cooked into a smooth, pourable porridge with a yoghurt-like tang and a nutty, toasty flavour. Some sweeten it with sugar; others drink it plain with bread. If you have no starter, make one two days ahead with sorghum and water, as below. Chef's tip: keep the ferment warm but not hot; a pot left right on the stove gets too sour and too thin, so a spot nearby is perfect.

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Buñuelos de algasSea lettuce fritters

On the beaches of Rocha, from La Paloma to Punta del Diablo, vendors walk the sand with baskets of hot buñuelos de algas: puffy, salty fritters speckled green with sea lettuce, eaten with a squeeze of lemon. Use dried sea lettuce or mixed seaweed flakes from a shop, or fresh sea lettuce only from a seller who harvests clean water; never pick it from a harbour or near drains. The usual mistake is frying in oil that isn't hot enough, so the fritters soak it up and turn greasy. Chef's tip: rest the batter for 15 minutes so the seaweed softens and the fritters puff more.

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