Budget
48 recipes
Jeera Aloo Cumin Potatoes
Boiled potato cubes tossed in cumin seeds bloomed in hot oil with turmeric and green chile, pan-fried until the edges crisp and finished with amchur and lemon. Dry-textured, meant to go alongside dal and roti.
Harira Chickpea and Lentil Soup
A tomato-based Moroccan soup of chickpeas and brown lentils spiced with ginger, cinnamon and turmeric, thickened at the end with a flour-and-water slurry that gives it a velvety body.
Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes
Potato wedges braised in the oven in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and oregano, then roasted uncovered until the liquid reduces to a syrupy glaze and the edges brown.
French Baguette
Flour, water, salt and a pinch of yeast fermented overnight, then shaped, slashed and baked with steam. The long rise is what gives the open crumb and blistered crust.
Focaccia
A high-hydration dough given an overnight cold rise, then dimpled under olive oil and baked in a pan so the base fries crisp while the crumb stays open and custardy.
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Bone-in chicken thighs braised in cane vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and bay leaves until the sauce reduces to a dark, tangy glaze. A pantry braise that tastes even better the day after.
Fattoush
A Levantine chopped salad of romaine, tomato, cucumber, and radish in a lemon and sumac dressing, tossed with toasted flatbread that softens at the edges as it sits.
Falafel Pita with Tahini Sauce
Fried patties ground from soaked dried chickpeas, parsley and cumin, stuffed into pita with tomato, cucumber and lemony tahini sauce. Dried chickpeas are essential; canned ones fall apart in the oil.
Ethiopian Misir Wot
Red lentils cooked down with berbere and onions caramelized dry before any oil goes in, which is what gives the stew its body. Thick, deeply red, and cheap to make.
Ethiopian Gomen Collard Greens
Collard greens stewed down with onion, garlic, ginger and green chile until silky and barely wet, warmed with a little cardamom. Cooked in oil rather than spiced butter, so it stays vegan.
Ethiopian Firfir
Torn injera folded into a berbere, onion, and tomato sauce until the bread swells and softens. A fasting-style version made with oil rather than spiced butter, sharp with chili and warm with ginger.
Doenjang Jjigae
A fast Korean stew of fermented soybean paste with potato, zucchini, tofu, and green chile in a kelp and shiitake broth. Deeply savory and salty, built to be eaten with rice.
Dabo Kolo Spiced Crunchy Bites
Ethiopian snack of stiff berbere-spiced dough rolled into thin ropes, cut into pellets and baked dry until hard and crunchy. Keeps for weeks in a sealed jar.
Congee with Ginger and Scallion
Rice simmered far past done in ten times its volume of water until the grains collapse into a thick, savory porridge, scented with ginger and finished at the table.
Chilaquiles Verdes
Tortilla chips folded into fried tomatillo salsa for barely a minute, so the edges soften while the centers keep their crunch. Finished with crema, queso fresco, and raw onion.
Che Chuoi Banana Coconut Pudding
Ripe bananas simmered in sweetened coconut milk with tapioca pearls until the pearls turn clear and the liquid thickens. Served warm with toasted peanuts and sesame for crunch.
Chana Masala
Chickpeas simmered in a deeply cooked tomato-onion masala with ginger, garam masala, and amchur for a sour finish. Canned chickpeas keep it on a weeknight timeline.
Caribbean Sweet Potato Pudding
Hand-grated sweet potato baked slowly with coconut milk, dark brown sugar and warm spice into a dense, moist pudding. Fine cornmeal stands in for wheat flour and gives it a sliceable body.
Caribbean Rice and Peas
Long-grain rice steamed in coconut milk with kidney beans, thyme, scallion and allspice. A whole Scotch bonnet rides on top for perfume, left unpierced so its heat stays out of the pot.
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Black-eyed peas tossed with diced bell pepper and celery in a sharp sweet-sour vinegar dressing. It improves in the refrigerator, so it is worth making the day before.
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Corn tortillas rolled around roasted sweet potato and black beans, baked under a chile-spiced tomato sauce and Monterey Jack. Mashing the filling keeps the rolls from falling apart.
Azifa Green Lentil Salad
An Ethiopian cold lentil salad: green lentils simmered just to tender, then dressed while warm with mustard, lemon, green chile and red onion so the flavor soaks in as it chills.
Atchara Pickled Green Papaya
Shredded green papaya drawn down with salt, then packed with ginger, carrot and garlic in a cold sweet-sour cane vinegar brine. A refrigerator pickle meant to cut through fried and grilled food.
Akara Black-Eyed Pea Fritters
West African fritters of black-eyed peas soaked and skinned, blended to a smooth paste and beaten until light, then spooned into hot oil so they puff crisp outside and stay fluffy within.