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Amok Trey

Cambodia's national dish, the centrepiece of any Khmer feast and the proper-occasion food across the country. You start by pounding kroeung fresh in a mortar (the paste of lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime zest and coriander root that defines Khmer cooking, and that no shop-bought paste comes close to matching). The kroeung fries briefly to bloom its aromatics, coconut cream and stock loosen it, and eggs whisk in to set the eventual custard. Chunks of firm white fish fold through with chopped greens (traditionally noni leaves, with spinach or chard standing in), and the whole mix spoons into banana-leaf cups (or small ramekins). Twenty minutes in a steamer turns the custard just-set around the soft fish, and the banana leaves perfume everything. Served from the parcels with steamed rice and a wedge of lime.

Cambodian 55 minutes Serves4

Andhra Chicken Curry

Chicken thighs are marinated briefly with turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, yogurt and a pinch of red chilli. A dry-roast of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coconut, fennel, coriander and dried red chillies is ground with a splash of water into a coarse paste. The base is built with shallots, curry leaves and tomato; the chicken is browned in stages; and the masala paste is folded in for the long, gentle simmer. Tamarind and a curry-leaf temper finish.

Indian 1 hour 35 minutes Serves4-6

Asun (Spicy Smoky Goat Meat)

Goat meat (bone-in pieces, ideally) simmers in water with onion, garlic, bay, salt and bouillon till tender (45 min). Lifts out; pats dry; grills over high heat (or under a hot grill / on a griddle pan) till charred (8-10 min). Pepper base: scotch bonnet, red pepper, onion, garlic blitz to paste; sautés in oil with curry powder, thyme, ginger till fragrant. Charred meat tosses in the pepper paste; cooks for 5 minutes more; tops with fresh chopped onion. Eats hot.

Snacks 1 hour 35 minutes Serves4

Authentic Jamaican Curry Chicken

Jamaican curry sits in its own corner of the global curry map: heavier on turmeric and allspice than Indian Madras, lighter on cumin, and built on a technique called "burning the curry" that gives the dish its character. The technique is exactly what it sounds like, dry curry powder hits hot oil and is stirred for 30 seconds until it darkens from yellow to deep gold and smells like toasted spice. That move concentrates the flavours and removes any raw edge. The finished stew is bright yellow stained slightly orange, savoury and aromatic rather than searingly hot, with thyme and a whole pierced Scotch bonnet scenting the gravy without flooring it. Smell: bloomed curry powder, allspice, browned chicken fat. Not difficult, but requires confidence in the 30-second bloom (under-do it and the dish is flat; over-do it and you have to start over). A Sunday-dinner staple across Jamaica and the diaspora, served over white rice with the gravy spooned generously over.

Jamaican 2 hours 30 minutes Serves4

Avial

A handful of vegetables (drumstick, ash gourd, carrot, runner beans, green plantain) are cut into uniform 5 cm batons and cooked separately to keep their textures. Coconut is ground with cumin, green chilli and shallot into a paste, which is added to the cooked vegetables with thinned yogurt. The dish is warmed gently (never simmered) so the yogurt doesn't split, and finished with raw coconut oil and curry leaves.

Sides 45 minutes Serves4-6

Balti Masala

Balti masala is a mild, balanced spice blend designed as the foundation for British-Indian curries. Unlike hot masalas, this blend emphasizes warmth over fire. The whole spices are dry-roasted to develop their individual characters before grinding, creating depth of flavor that pre-ground blends can't match. The cinnamon provides sweetness, coriander seeds contribute earthiness, and cardamom adds aromatics. This is a curry powder that improves with age; it develops better flavor after 1-2 weeks of storage.

Curry Powder 10 minutes Serves200

Balti Masala Paste

Balti masala paste is a one-of-a-kind category: it's made from pre-ground spice powder (Balti masala) rehydrated with vinegar and oil, creating a consistent base for curries. The vinegar preservation technique allows this paste to be made in large batches and jarred for months of storage. The paste's mild spice profile makes it a foundation that cooks build on with additional ingredients. This is British-Indian cooking at its most practical and efficient.

Curry Paste 15 minutes Serves675-700

Base Curry Powder

A balanced, all-purpose curry powder used as the foundation for most BIR-style dishes.

Spices 5 minutes Serves50

Beef Panang Curry

A thick, sweet Panang curry with peanuts, served over jasmine rice. Similar to red curry but sweeter and thicker; add vegetables for extra nutrition or keep traditional.

Thai 30 minutes Serves4

Bobotie

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.

South African 1 hour 25 minutes Serves6

Bombay Potatoes

Bombay Potatoes is comfort food at its finest. Small potatoes are partially cooked, then coated in a richly spiced oil infused with seeds and aromatics. Some potatoes are mashed to create a creamy base, while others remain whole for texture. The result is a warm, golden, deeply spiced side dish that's utterly satisfying. This is a vegetarian staple of Indian home cooking.

Sides 22 minutes Serves4-6

Bunjay-Style Curry Chicken

A dry curry rather than a saucy one, "bunjay" is Trinidadian patois for "fry-down", the technique of cooking meat in its own juices until the gravy completely disappears and the spices coat the surface of the meat in a sticky, glaze-like crust. The flavour is concentrated rather than diluted; nothing's been thinned with water or coconut milk, so what you taste is bone-in chicken, rendered chicken fat, and toasted spice. The spice mix is the East Indian Trinidadian signature: turmeric for colour and earth, roasted geera (toasted cumin, ground) for nuttiness, anchar masala for tang, regular curry powder for breadth. The pan oil splits and separates around the chicken at the end, which is the visual cue you're looking for. Smell when the curry powder hits hot oil is deeply aromatic, almost incense-like. Not difficult but it requires attention during the cook-down phase; if you walk away the curry burns onto the bottom of the pan. A Trinidadian household staple, eaten across the country with white rice and dhal, and a clean example of how Indian indentured labourers' descendants in the Caribbean evolved a distinct curry tradition over 150 years.

Trinidadian 2 hours 50 minutes Serves6

Buss-Up-Shut Roti with Curry

Buss-up-shut, also called paratha roti, is the flaky-layered Trinidadian roti that takes its English name from "burst-up shirt", a buss-up-shut roti is one that has been beaten the moment it comes off the tawa until it explodes into soft, irregular shreds. It is descended from the South Asian paratha, brought by indentured Indian labourers in the 19th century and rebuilt in Trinidad with a softer, more elastic dough and a finishing technique that is uniquely local. The recipe here covers the roti itself, which is the demanding part, with a short Trini channa-aloo curry on the side so you have a proper plate to scoop with. The layering technique (rolling, brushing with oil, coiling, resting, rolling out) is what creates the laminated, flaky structure. The beating step uses two wooden spatulas (called "klappers" in some roti shops) and looks dramatic but is straightforward. Difficulty is moderate; the dough is forgiving but the rolling-and-coiling step needs a little practice. Once you have a feel for it, you will make this every fortnight.

Trinidadian 2 hours 15 minutes Serves4

Cabbage Foogath

A foogath is the Goan version of a coconut-stir-fry vegetable: a temper of mustard seeds, dried red chilli, urad dal and curry leaves in coconut oil, sliced onion and garlic cooked briefly, then the vegetable tossed in over high heat. Fresh grated coconut is folded through at the end. The cabbage keeps a slight crunch and gets a nutty-sweet finish.

Sides 25 minutes Serves4

Cabbage Thoran

Cabbage is finely shredded into ribbons. A temper of mustard seeds, urad dal, dried red chilli and curry leaves is bloomed in coconut oil, the shredded cabbage tossed in over high heat, and a coconut paste of fresh coconut, green chilli, garlic and cumin folded through. The dish stays dry and the cabbage retains a slight crunch.

Sides 25 minutes Serves4

Cari Poulet Et Pomme de Terre

Mauritian cuisine is a layered conversation between Indian, African, Chinese and French traditions, and cari poulet is one of its clearest expressions. The Creole community took the Indian template of a wet curry and rebuilt it with local fresh herbs, particularly thyme and curry leaves grown in the yard, plus tomato, and a masala that is gentler and more aromatic than its mainland Indian cousins. Chicken on the bone is browned for fond, then potatoes are added and the whole pot is simmered in a curry-leaf and tomato gravy until the meat is falling off the bone and the potatoes are creamy on the outside but holding shape. The colour leans red-brown from paprika and turmeric rather than the bright yellow of a Punjabi-style curry. Heat is moderate, intended to complement rice and a chilli-based satini, not overwhelm them. For a home cook the difficulty is low to moderate; the only real demand is patience while the masala blooms in the oil at the start, which is what gives the dish its depth. Serve over plain steamed rice with a coriander satini and a spoon of green chilli pickle, the classic Mauritian Sunday plate.

Mauritian 1 hour 5 minutes Serves4

Caribbean Chicken Curry Stew

In many Caribbean stew dishes there is an initial step of burning sugar in oil which is used to brown the meat in. This adds a very unique sweetness to the stews from this region and this sweetness paired with the unmistakable flavour (and heat) from the wonderful scotch bonnet chilli is simply astounding. This curry uses curry powder for a fragrant and delicious result that captures the essence of Caribbean cooking.

Jamaican 10 minutes Serves4

Caribbean Chicken Soup

Saturday-soup in Trinidad, Guyana and Jamaica is a category rather than a single recipe; the structure is always the same (curry-and-allspice-seasoned chicken, root vegetables, hand-rolled dumplings, a thickened broth), and the specifics vary household by household. This is the Jamaican lean: pumpkin in the broth as the thickening agent (Grace pumpkin soup mix is the household shortcut), coconut milk for richness, allspice and thyme for the Caribbean signature, and a single pot that's a complete meal. The dumplings are the soul, small hand-rolled cornmeal-and-flour batons that go in last and cook in the broth, slightly bouncy, slightly chewy, picking up the surrounding flavour. The broth is golden-orange from pumpkin and curry, rich without being heavy, with corn-on-the-cob rounds and chunks of Yukon Gold potato giving substance. Smell when you lift the lid is curry, allspice and sweet pumpkin. Easy if you've made stews before, with two hours of mostly-passive simmering. Eaten year-round in Caribbean households as the dependable one-pot meal; nominally a Saturday dish but no Caribbean grandmother would refuse you a bowl on a Tuesday.

Jamaican 2 hours 35 minutes Serves8

Chakalaka

Onion is softened in oil; garlic, ginger and curry powder bloom. Carrots cook briefly to tender-crisp. Peppers (red and green) and chillies join. Tomatoes simmer everything down. Tinned baked beans go in last with a splash of vinegar to balance. Eaten warm or at room temperature; tastes better the next day.

South African 45 minutes Serves6

Chamucas

Mince browns with onion, garlic, curry powder, ginger and a small chopped chilli; the filling is cooled. Spring-roll pastry strips are folded into triangular pouches around a teaspoon of filling, sealed with a flour-water paste, and deep-fried 170°C until deep gold. Crisp shell, hot savoury inside.

Sides 1 hour Serves6

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