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Bread is soaked in milk; mince is browned with onions; curry powder, turmeric and Cape Malay spices bloom. Apricot jam, mango chutney, vinegar and lemon balance the spice with sweet-sour notes. Raisins, toasted almonds and the soaked bread are folded through. The mixture is pressed into a baking dish; eggs are whisked with the leftover milk and poured over; bay leaves are stuck into the surface; the lot is baked until the topping is just-set with a faint wobble.
Chicken thighs cube small; marinate for 1 hour in yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri chilli, garam masala and cornflour. Deep-fried in two stages, first to cook through, second to crisp. While the chicken rests, a hot tempering of curry leaves, garlic, dried chillies, soy and vinegar sputters in a wok. The fried chicken tosses through the tempering for 30 seconds and goes straight to the plate.
Chicken inasal is the pride of Bacolod City on Negros Occidental, where streetside grill houses serve nothing else: trays of chicken parts skewered on bamboo, smoking over long coal pits, with the cook brushing on bright orange annatto oil every few turns. The marinade is what marks it as Filipino: calamansi (a small, sour citrus halfway between lime and tangerine), cane vinegar, ginger, lemongrass, garlic and a generous slug of black pepper. The annatto oil (atsuete) is just neutral oil warmed gently with annatto seeds until it stains a vivid orange-red; this is the dish's signature look and a mild peppery flavour. Basting starts halfway through cooking so the colour goes onto skin that's already partly cooked, and continues right up to the moment the chicken leaves the grill. Difficulty for a home cook is low; the only special ingredients are calamansi (lime juice plus a touch of orange juice substitutes well) and annatto seeds (sometimes sold as achiote, found in any Filipino or Latin American shop). The flavour profile is sharp, herbal, slightly smoky, with a peppery edge from black pepper rather than chilli, and ribbon-thin lemongrass perfume running through everything. Service is non-negotiable: a heap of garlic rice (sinangag), a saucer of toyomansi (soy-calamansi-vinegar dipping sauce with sliced chillies), and the cook's pot of warm annatto oil for the table.
A British-Indian pathia curry with a sweet-and-sour profile, tuned for balanced acidity and a hint of chilli warmth. The recipe uses lemon, mango chutney and sugar for tang/sweetness, with optional red food colouring for the classic curry-house appearance.
Lamb and chicken poach slowly in a saffron-tomato broth with chunks of root vegetables and chickpeas. Merguez sausages grill or fry separately. Couscous steams (or is rehydrated quickly with hot broth and butter). Everything plates separately on a vast platter; diners build their own bowls and slick with harissa.
Cracked wheat (daleya), pearl barley, chana dal, masoor dal, moong dal and urad dal soak overnight together. Mutton on the bone (or beef shin) simmers separately with ginger-garlic paste, ground spices, onion and salt for 2 hours until tender. The drained grains and lentils join; everything simmers 2 more hours, beating periodically with a wooden masher (or blitzing in batches with a stick blender) until the meat strands break apart and integrate with the grain. The base goes intensely smooth, almost the texture of porridge. Off heat, fried onions, ghee-and-cumin tarka, julienned ginger, lemon, chilli and herbs finish each bowl.
Saudi Arabia's national dish, the one platter you'll meet at almost every gathering from family lunch through wedding banquet. You brown chicken pieces or lamb shoulder hard in a heavy pot, then build a base of onion, garlic and ginger softened in the same fat, with tomato and a spoonful of baharat (or a dedicated kabsa spice mix) blooming until the kitchen fills with cardamom and cinnamon. The protein simmers in tomato and stock until it's tender and pulling away from the bone, then long-grain rice goes in to cook absorption-style in the same liquid, drinking up every layer of flavour the broth carries. You finish with almonds toasted in butter, raisins plumped briefly, and a fresh salsa of tomato, onion, chilli and parsley spooned on the side to cut the richness. Eaten communally from the centre platter, with hands or a long spoon.
Chicken thighs (boneless, skin-on for the best result) are cut into 4 cm pieces and marinated for 30 minutes in a mixture of soy sauce, sake, grated ginger, garlic, mirin and a touch of sesame oil. The marinated chicken pieces are then thoroughly dredged in potato starch (also called katakuriko in Japanese; cornstarch is a workable substitute but not as good). Oil heats to 160°C for the first fry, chicken pieces fry for 4 minutes until just cooked but not deeply coloured. Removed; rested for 5 minutes. Oil temperature increases to 190°C for the second fry, chicken returns for 60-90 seconds until amber-golden, crisp, and the outside shatters when bitten. Seasoned and served immediately.
Lamb mince fries with onion, garlic, ginger and a spice mix of garam masala, cumin, coriander and chilli. Frozen peas thaw into the dry filling at the end; lemon juice and chopped coriander finish it. Left to cool. Spring-roll pastry strips fold around a generous tablespoon of filling into triangular packets (flag-fold) and seal with flour paste. Deep-fried 175°C until deep gold.
Beef tenderloin or fillet is cut into 3 cm cubes and marinated in two stages. A first short rub with raw papaya, ginger-garlic, salt and a splash of vinegar tenderises the meat (papaya enzymes break down the muscle fibre). After 30 minutes the second marinade goes in: yogurt, Kashmiri chilli, garam masala, kasuri methi, mustard oil and a touch of besan. The beef sits for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight. Threaded onto skewers and grilled hot until charred at the edges; the inside should stay pink and juicy.
Whole chickpeas are soaked overnight and simmered until tender (or pressure-cooked). The chickpea cooking liquor is measured and reserved as part of the rice cooking liquid. A fried-onion base is built in ghee with whole spices, ginger-garlic paste and ground spices, and the cooked chickpeas are folded in. Soaked basmati is toasted in the base, then the measured cooking liquor goes in for the steam. A scatter of fried onion and coriander finishes.
Minced beef is mixed with crushed coriander seed, anardana (pomegranate seed) for sourness, finely chopped onion, green chilli, ginger and a generous handful of chopped fresh coriander. Egg, gram flour and a small amount of cornflour bind the mixture loosely. The patties are pressed paper-thin (chapli means slipper, after the shape) and shallow-fried hot in beef fat or oil until the edges crisp and the centre stays juicy.
A whole chicken is slashed to the bone and rubbed with a yogurt-based marinade thick with chaat masala, Kashmiri chilli, garam masala, ginger-garlic paste and a splash of vinegar. After at least 4 hours in the fridge, the bird is steamed over a deep tray of water for 30 minutes to cook through. Once dried briefly, it's deep-fried in hot oil until the skin shatters and the flesh stays juicy. The two-stage cook is the signature; only a deep-fry could leave a Lahori chargha undercooked at the bone, only a steam could give it the colour.
A chicken yakhni (broth) is built first by simmering chicken pieces with onion, ginger, garlic, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cardamom and bay until the meat is just tender. The broth is strained and measured; the chicken is reserved. Basmati is soaked, fried briefly with cinnamon, cumin and clove in ghee, then cooked in exactly the right amount of strained yakhni. The chicken is folded back in for the steam. Finished with fried onions and fresh coriander.
Firm white fish is scored, rubbed with a spice paste of ginger-garlic, Kashmiri chilli, ajwain (carom), turmeric and lemon, and rested for ½ hour. A separate gram-flour batter (besan, rice flour, ajwain and a pinch of bicarb for crispness) is whisked to a thick coating consistency. Each fillet is dipped in the batter and shallow-fried in mustard oil until the crust deep-gold-crackles. Eaten with a heavy dusting of chaat masala and a squeeze of lemon.
Bone-in lamb is browned in ghee with a small handful of whole spices, then ginger-garlic paste and tomato are added in two stages: first chopped, to break down into a base sauce, then sliced, to give texture at the end. The dish cooks uncovered the entire time, which is what defines Lahori karahi (the gravy reduces by half and concentrates). Green chilli, fresh ginger and coriander finish; a tablespoon of butter or ghee makes the slick on top.