Comfort Food Recipes from Around the World
Every culture has its bowl of warmth. These authentic comfort dishes from around the world are the ones people cook when they want to feel at home.
149 recipes · showing 1 to 48
KoshariCairo, Egypt · easy · 1 hCairo’s carb-on-carb street food: lentils, rice, and pasta under spiced tomato sauce and crispy onions.
Koshari Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup)Ashanti, Ghana · easy · 1 h 10 minA silky, gingery peanut soup simmered with chicken and chilies, eaten with soft rice balls.
Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup) BobotieWestern Cape, South Africa · easy · 1 h 10 minCurried spiced mince baked under a golden savory custard, sweet with dried fruit and fragrant with bay, South Africa’s national comfort.
Bobotie Bamia (Sudanese Okra Stew)Khartoum, Sudan · easy · 1 h 10 minTender lamb and okra simmered in a garlicky tomato broth spiced with black lime, Sudan’s everyday comfort, scooped with kisra.
Bamia (Sudanese Okra Stew) MolokhiaCairo, Egypt · easy · 40 minFinely minced jute leaves cooked into a green, garlicky soup finished with a sizzling coriander-garlic ta’leya.
Kefta Mkaouara (Meatball Tagine)Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco · easy · 55 minSpiced meatballs simmered in a cumin-scented tomato sauce with eggs cracked on top, a bubbling tagine eaten with bread.
Kefta Mkaouara (Meatball Tagine) Sweet Mahangu PorridgeWindhoek, Namibia · easy · 30 minNamibian pearl millet simmered soft in sweet vanilla cream and served with stewed fruit, a homely dessert.
Sweet Mahangu Porridge Dovi (Chicken Peanut Stew)Harare, Zimbabwe · medium · 1 h 15 minChicken simmered in a velvety peanut butter and tomato sauce with greens, Zimbabwe's gentle, comforting Sunday stew.
Dovi (Chicken Peanut Stew) Canja de GalinhaSantiago (Praia), Cape Verde · easy · 1 h 15 minA thick, comforting Cape Verdean chicken and rice soup with carrot, potato and a bright squeeze of lime.
Canja de Galinha CambuuloMogadishu, Somalia · easy · 1 h 40 minSlow-cooked adzuki beans finished with butter and a little sugar, a comforting Somali evening dish.
Cambuulo Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth)Nouakchott, Mauritania · medium · 1 h 35 minCoarse hand-rolled millet couscous stirred into a paprika-stained chicken and bean broth until the grain drinks it up and thickens to a savoury porridge.
Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) Mukimo (Mashed Greens, Maize and Potatoes)Nairobi, Kenya · easy · 50 minA soft, earthy Kikuyu mash of potatoes, green peas, maize and pumpkin leaves pounded into one bright green mound.
Mukimo (Mashed Greens, Maize and Potatoes) Nhopi (Pumpkin and Peanut Porridge)Harare, Zimbabwe · easy · 50 minMashed pumpkin cooked into mealie-meal and enriched with peanut butter, a lightly sweet Shona comfort porridge.
Vary Amin'anana (Rice with Greens)Analamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar · easy · 40 minSoft, soupy rice cooked with leafy greens and ginger, the everyday restorative bowl of the Malagasy highlands.
Vary Amin'anana (Rice with Greens) Rishda (Noodles in Onion and Chickpea Sauce)Tripoli, Libya · medium · 1 h 10 minFresh hand-cut noodles steamed and dressed with busla, a sweet onion and chickpea sauce warm with cinnamon and cloves.
Rishda (Noodles in Onion and Chickpea Sauce) Osaka-Style OkonomiyakiOsaka (Kansai), Japan · easy · 40 minA crisp-edged cabbage pancake griddled with pork belly, painted with sweet-savory sauce and mayo.
Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki Imeruli Khachapuri (Cheese-Stuffed Bread)Imereti, Georgia · medium · 45 minA golden, pan-baked flatbread sealed around a molten heart of tangy, salty cheese.
Imeruli Khachapuri (Cheese-Stuffed Bread) Phở Gà (Hanoi Chicken Pho)Hanoi (Red River Delta), Vietnam · medium · 1 h 20 minA clear, star-anise-scented chicken broth over rice noodles, finished with herbs and lime at the table.
Phở Gà (Hanoi Chicken Pho) MujadaraBeirut, Lebanon · easy · 55 minLentils and rice under a deep pile of slow-caramelized onions, the Levant’s humble masterpiece.
Mujadara Dal Bhat TarkariKathmandu Valley, Nepal · easy · 1 hThe Himalayan daily plate: tempered black lentils, rice, and a turmeric-spiced vegetable curry.
Dal Bhat Tarkari Bhuna KhichuriDhaka, Bangladesh · easy · 55 minToasted rice and moong dal cooked rich with ghee, whole spices, and caramelized onion, monsoon comfort from Dhaka.
Bhuna Khichuri Sapporo Miso RamenHokkaido (Sapporo), Japan · medium · 50 minSnow-country ramen: a rich miso broth with wok-seared vegetables, springy noodles, and butter melting on top.
Pav BhajiMaharashtra (Mumbai), India · easy · 50 minMumbai’s beach-stall classic: a buttery mashed vegetable curry with toasted buns, lime, and raw onion.
Pav Bhaji Hongshao Rou (Red-Braised Pork)Shanghai, China · medium · 1 h 45 minPork belly lacquered in caramel, soy, and rice wine until it trembles, Shanghai’s definition of home.
Hongshao Rou (Red-Braised Pork) LobioRacha, Georgia · easy · 55 minKidney beans simmered and half-crushed with walnuts, coriander, and Georgian spice, served in clay with cornbread.
OyakodonTokyo (Kanto), Japan · easy · 22 minChicken and softly-set egg simmered in sweet dashi soy, slid over hot rice, the tender "parent-and-child" bowl.
Zhajiangmian (Fried Sauce Noodles)Beijing, China · easy · 40 minThick wheat noodles under a savory fried soybean-paste pork sauce, ringed by crisp raw vegetables you fold in yourself.
MantiKayseri, Turkey · advanced · 1 h 30 minTiny hand-pinched meat dumplings under garlic yogurt and paprika-mint butter, Kayseri’s legendary labor of love.
Manti Burmese Chicken CurryYangon, Myanmar · medium · 1 h 15 minChicken slow-cooked in an oil-rich onion, garlic, ginger, and turmeric masala until deeply savory.
Burmese Chicken Curry JokBangkok (Central), Thailand · easy · 55 minA silky Thai rice congee topped with ginger, scallion, and a soft egg, the classic Bangkok breakfast.
Jok Hobak-jukSeoul (Gyeonggi), South Korea · easy · 45 minA silky, naturally sweet Korean pumpkin porridge thickened with glutinous rice.
Hobak-juk Khao Piak SenLuang Prabang, Laos · medium · 1 h 10 minA comforting Lao chicken noodle soup with soft, chewy hand-cut rice-tapioca noodles.
Khao Piak Sen OnbanPyongyang, North Korea · medium · 1 h 5 minA Pyongyang bowl of warm rice in chicken broth topped with shredded chicken and a mung-bean pancake.
Onban Sinigang na BaboyCentral Luzon, Philippines · easy · 1 h 35 minThe Philippines’ beloved sour soup: pork simmered tender in a clear tamarind broth, unapologetically tart, loaded with vegetables added in stages.
Sinigang na Baboy MadroubaDoha, Qatar · easy · 2 h 15 minA soft, porridge-like rice and chicken dish beaten smooth with spices and dried lime, comforting Qatari Ramadan fare.
Madrouba NihariLahore (Punjab), Pakistan · advanced · 4 h 30 minA dawn stew of beef shank and marrow slow-cooked in a dozen spices until the gravy turns silky, brightened with ginger, chilli and lemon.
Nihari HaleemLahore (Punjab), Pakistan · advanced · 4 hA thick, slow-pounded porridge of shredded beef, wheat, barley and lentils, crowned with crisp fried onions, ginger and lemon.
Aloo Tama Bodi (Potato, Bamboo Shoot and Black-Eyed Bean Curry)Kathmandu Valley, Nepal · easy · 1 h 5 minA tangy Newari one-pot curry of potatoes, fermented bamboo shoots, and black-eyed beans, soured by the tama and tempered in mustard oil.
Guriltai Shul (Mutton Noodle Soup)Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia · medium · 1 h 45 minA hearty Mongolian soup of fatty mutton and thick hand-cut wheat noodles in a peppery broth with onion and root vegetables.
Guriltai Shul (Mutton Noodle Soup) Shurpa (Lamb and Vegetable Soup)Tashkent, Uzbekistan · easy · 2 h 20 minA slow-simmered Uzbek soup of bone-in lamb and large chunks of vegetables in a clear golden broth, finished with dill and cilantro.
Shurpa (Lamb and Vegetable Soup) Shan Noodles (Shan Khauk Swe)Yangon, Myanmar · easy · 45 minSoft rice noodles tossed with a savoury tomato-chicken sauce and topped with crushed peanuts, pickled mustard greens, and herbs, from Myanmar's Shan State.
Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles)Yangon, Myanmar · medium · 1 hWheat noodles in a pale, gently rich coconut-and-chicken broth thickened with chickpea flour, finished with egg, lime, and crisp fried noodles.
Sini MantiYerevan, Armenia · advanced · 1 h 40 minTiny open Armenian dumplings baked crisp, then bathed in a tomato broth and topped with garlic yogurt and sumac.
Sini Manti Kewa DatshiThimphu, Bhutan · easy · 40 minBhutan comfort food: sliced potatoes simmered with green chilies and melted farmer cheese into a creamy stew.
Kewa Datshi JareeshRiyadh, Saudi Arabia · medium · 2 h 45 minA Najdi Saudi comfort dish of crushed wheat slow-cooked with meat and yogurt into a creamy, savoury porridge.
Jareesh SaleegRiyadh, Saudi Arabia · medium · 1 h 35 minA Hijazi Saudi dish of short-grain rice cooked soft in milk and chicken broth to a creamy porridge, topped with roasted chicken.
Kuwaiti MargoogKuwait City, Kuwait · medium · 1 h 45 minA hearty Kuwaiti one-pot of lamb and vegetables with sheets of hand-rolled dough torn straight into the spiced broth.
Kuwaiti Margoog GaboutKuwait City, Kuwait · advanced · 1 h 45 minKuwaiti stuffed dough dumplings filled with spiced lamb, simmered in a golden saffron and dried-lime broth with vegetables.
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