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Salt cod soaks for 24 hours with several water changes to draw out the salt. Once desalted, it's poached, flaked and folded into hot mashed potato with onion, parsley, egg and a pinch of pepper. The mix is shaped between two tablespoons into the classic oval (two-spoon quenelle shape) and deep-fried.
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.
Beetroots roast in foil until tender (or boil for the quicker route), then peel and grate coarsely. The grated beetroot warms gently in butter with finely chopped onion, a splash of vinegar or lemon juice, sugar and a generous spoon of horseradish. Tastes of earth and warmth. Eaten warm in winter, room temperature in summer.
Cooked chickpeas (tinned for speed, OR overnight-soaked and home-cooked for the best texture) toss with diced red onion, finely chopped tomato, small-diced boiled potato and chopped fresh coriander. The dressing: lemon juice, chaat masala (a salty-sour spice mix sold at Pakistani shops), roasted ground cumin, Kashmiri chilli powder and a pinch of salt. Hot chilli sauce and tamarind chutney drizzle on; the chaat tosses; crushed papri tops; eat immediately.
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.
The Azerbaijani version of the shepherd's salad that turns up in some form on every table from the Balkans to Persia, the bright herby counter to anything rich coming out of the kitchen. You dice tomatoes, cucumber and red onion to five-millimetre cubes (smaller than a typical chopped salad, almost a relish) and chop the herbs fine: dill, mint and tarragon, the tarragon being the move that distinguishes the Azeri version from its neighbours. Everything tosses together with olive oil, lemon juice and salt about fifteen minutes before serving, so the salt draws the tomato juice out and the salad relaxes into itself. Best the same day; the salad weeps if held overnight. Eat with grilled meat, with plov, with lavash, with whatever the main is.
Spinach is wilted briefly with salt, drained, squeezed dry. Mixed with onion, sumac, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and lemon juice. A simple yeasted dough is rolled into 11 cm rounds; a heaped tablespoon of filling sits in the centre; the dough is folded into a three-cornered pyramid and pinched tightly closed. Baked at 200°C for 18 minutes until deep gold.
Chicken poaches with onion, cardamom and bay 35 minutes; shredded off the bone. Chickpeas warm in the strained chicken stock. Pita pieces toast crisp under the grill. Yogurt-tahini-garlic sauce whisks together. Plated with pita on the bottom, chickpeas and chicken on top, yogurt sauce poured over, taqliya (butter, cumin and sliced garlic sizzled hot) drizzled on top, and pine nuts scattered.
Pita breads are torn into pieces and toasted (or fried) until crisp and crunchy. Chopped vegetables, mint, parsley and a sumac-lemon-olive-oil dressing are tossed together; the toasted pita goes in last so it stays crunchy. Eaten immediately before the bread goes soft.
A torn pita is brushed with olive oil and grilled or fried until golden and crisp. Cucumber, tomato, radish, romaine, spring onion, parsley and mint are roughly chopped into a wide bowl. A dressing of lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, sumac, garlic, olive oil and salt is whisked. The salad is tossed with the dressing just before serving; the pita is scattered on top so it stays crisp.
The Saudi take on foul medames, somewhere between the Egyptian original and the Yemeni daal-like versions. You soak dried fava beans overnight, then simmer them with a chickpea or two and a garlic clove for six hours low and slow (or pressure-cook for forty-five minutes if you don't have the day) until they're so soft they fall apart at a glance. Once drained, the beans go back into a hot pan with olive oil and garlic, cumin and a hit of chilli; you crush them roughly with a fork (chunky, not smooth) and finish with lemon and a handful of chopped parsley. Eaten warm for breakfast across the Gulf, scooped with flatbread, with a side of pickles or salata hara, and a glass of mint tea.
Firm green tomatoes slice 8 mm thick. Salt 10 minutes to draw water. Dredge: seasoned flour → beaten egg + buttermilk → seasoned cornmeal + breadcrumbs (this triple-dredge gives the crispiest coat). Shallow-fry in oil at 180°C until deep gold. Drain; salt; serve with rémoulade.
Herb salsa is uniquely French despite the Spanish name: it's essentially a warm salsa based on creamy, newly cooked potato and fine herbs. Unlike the fresh salsas of Mexico and Mediterranean regions, this version relies on cooked potato for texture and structure, with sherry vinegar providing acid, and a combination of mustard and lemon juice offering complexity. The blend of fines herbes (parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil) creates aromatic brightness without the intensity of larger basil-based sauces. This is best served warm or at room temperature, never chilled; cold dulls the delicate herb character.
Vegetables are diced into uniform 5 mm cubes, knife work matters. Lemon juice, olive oil and salt are the only dressing; sometimes a teaspoon of sumac or a clove of crushed garlic. Eaten freshly made; doesn't keep, the cucumbers weep.
Vegetables dice into 5 mm cubes, uniform size matters for both look and dressing. Lime juice, salt, chaat masala and a finely-chopped chilli toss through. Coriander on top. Eat within an hour or the salad goes watery.
Aubergines roast or pan-fry until soft and silky. The flesh mashes with caramelised onion and garlic into a soft paste. Kashk thins with a splash of water and folds through. The dish plates in a wide bowl, scored with the back of a spoon. Topped with crispy fried shallots, dried mint sizzled in oil, swirls of kashk, and chopped toasted walnut.*