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Jain recipes: no onion, garlic or root vegetables

2,799

2799 Jain recipes with no onion, garlic, potato, carrot, fresh ginger or other root vegetables, and no mushrooms, eggs or honey. Hing, dry ginger and turmeric powder are fine. Each has photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Apfelschorle, takes 2 minutes. Most take around 40 minutes.

Filter these by time, diet or cuisine · Make Jain your diet to see only these recipes everywhere on the site.

Dalia chikkiRoasted chana and jaggery brittle

For Uttarayan, the January kite festival, every Gujarati kitchen turns out trays of chikki, and dalia (roasted split chana, the yellow dal sold for chutneys) is the one that gets forgotten until someone tastes it. It is lighter and crunchier than peanut chikki, with a toasty, slightly savoury edge from the dal. It is all about the jaggery syrup. The common mistake is pulling the jaggery off too early; underdone syrup gives sticky, chewy chikki that never snaps. Chef's tip: drop a little syrup into cold water: when it sets hard and cracks cleanly (hard-crack stage), tip in the dalia straight away.

25 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MandocasCorn and plantain ring fritters

Maracaibo breakfasts often start with mandocas, chewy loops of corn dough sweetened with mashed ripe plantain and dark panela, fried until almost mahogany and eaten with butter, salty white cheese and a cup of coffee. They are sold hot from bakeries and street carts all over Zulia. Venezuelan white cheeses are usually made with animal rennet; feta-style or other vegetarian salty cheeses work. The mistake most people make is frying too hot: the panela darkens and turns bitter before the dough cooks through. Chef's tip: the riper the plantain, with black skin, the softer and sweeter the mandocas.

50 minVenezuelanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

DashmiMilk and jaggery flatbread

Dashmi is the bread Maharashtrian mothers make for pilgrimages, school trips and the first days of a long journey: wholewheat dough kneaded with warm milk instead of water and sweetened with jaggery, cooked on a tawa until soft and spotted. Milk and ghee keep it tender for two or three days without a fridge in cool weather, and children eat it plain or with pickle. The common mistake is rolling it too thin and cooking it on a fierce tawa, which makes it crisp like a khakhra; it should stay soft and pliable. Chef's tip: stack the dashmis in a cloth as they come off the tawa, so the trapped steam softens them further.

40 minIndianBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Badam ka halwaAlmond halwa

In Jaipur, badam ka halwa came out of the royal kitchens and now appears at winter weddings and on cold nights when someone wants a real treat. Soaked, peeled almonds are ground to a coarse paste and cooked slowly in ghee with milk, sugar and saffron until the halwa turns golden, glossy and leaves the sides of the pan. It is very rich, so a small bowl is enough. The common mistake is grinding the almonds too fine, which gives a pasty halwa instead of a soft, grainy one. Chef's tip: stop grinding when the almonds look like wet semolina and add the milk only during grinding, never water.

55 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BabakauFried dough balls

Babakau are the fluffy fried dough balls sold at Fijian market stalls and village canteens at breakfast time, eaten with a mug of milky tea or hot koko before school or work in Suva and Nadi. The dough is lightly sweet and the balls puff up as they fry, golden outside and soft as a bun inside. A common mistake is oil that's too hot, which leaves raw centres; 170 °C is right. Chef's tip: wet your fingers to drop spoonfuls of dough into the oil so it slips off cleanly.

35 minPacific IslanderBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ensalada salvadoreñaChopped fruit apple drink

Order an ensalada at a pupusería in El Salvador and a tall glass arrives: apple juice crowded with tiny cubes of apple, mango and marañón (cashew fruit), drunk through a straw and finished with a spoon. It is the country's favourite cooler for hot afternoons and Sunday lunches. Outside Central America cashew fruit is rare, so pineapple stands in well. Cutting the fruit too big is the mistake people make; pieces should be small enough to come up a wide straw. Chef's tip: chop the apple last and drop it straight into the juice so it stays white.

15 minCentral AmericanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Po'eBaked banana pudding

Po'e is a Tahitian and wider Polynesian fruit pudding, made at home on Sundays across Tahiti and Mo'orea and sold at the Papeete market in thick slices wrapped in banana leaf. Ripe bananas (or papaya, pumpkin or taro) are puréed with sugar and a starch such as arrowroot, then baked until set into a glossy, jelly-like slab and served drenched in fresh coconut milk. A common mistake is pulling it from the oven too early; it should be firm and caramelised on top. Chef's tip: a vanilla pod from Taha'a-style vanilla is the island touch; split it and scrape the seeds in.

75 minPacific IslanderDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mannaya kashaSemolina porridge

Mannaya kasha is the breakfast of every Russian childhood, served in kindergartens and at home: semolina simmered in milk into a smooth, soft porridge, with a melting knob of butter and a spoon of jam or berries in the middle. The famous mistake, joked about by generations of children, is lumps; they form when semolina is tipped in all at once, so rain it in slowly while stirring. Chef's tip: for a thick porridge use 3 tablespoons of semolina per 250 ml of milk, and for the runny kindergarten style use 2; it thickens a lot as it cools, so take it off the heat a little thinner than you want.

12 minRussianBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Harina de maíz dulceSweet cornmeal porridge

In Cuban homes "harina" means cornmeal, and harina dulce is the soft, sweet porridge that grandmothers in Havana and Santiago cooked for children before school, scented with cinnamon and a curl of lime peel the way rice pudding is. It should be smooth and spoonable, like a loose polenta. The usual mistake is pouring the cornmeal into boiling milk, which seizes into lumps at once: start it in cold liquid and whisk as it heats. Chef's tip: take the lime peel out once the porridge thickens, or its oils turn bitter as it sits.

25 minCubanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChikandaOrchid tuber and peanut loaf

In Kasama and across the Bemba country of northern Zambia, chikanda is cooked for weddings, funerals and family gatherings, then sliced and sold on Lusaka street corners as 'African polony' because it looks like a pale sausage. It is made from the dried, pounded tubers of ground orchids mixed with groundnut flour, chilli and a little bicarbonate of soda, stirred over the fire until thick and then baked until firm. The texture is dense and springy, a little like a savoury jelly, with a nutty, earthy flavour and a gentle heat. Use bought dried chikanda powder from Zambian or Southern African grocers; wild orchids are badly over-harvested, so buy only from a trusted supplier. Too little stirring is the usual mistake, and it leaves raw lumps of powder through the loaf. Chef's tip: let the slices cool completely before frying or eating, as the loaf firms up a lot as it sets.

90 minSouthern AfricanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MunkoyoFermented maize drink

Munkoyo is the drink of Zambian village afternoons and long bus rides, sold in reused bottles at roadside stands from Kabwe to Mansa: a thin maize porridge sweetened and loosened by the pounded roots of the munkoyo shrub, then left to ferment lightly for about a day. It tastes gently sweet and sour, a little like a thin, cool maize yoghurt drink, and is drunk by everyone, children included, because it is not meant to be alcoholic. Munkoyo root is hard to find outside Zambia, so this recipe uses ground sorghum malt (sold as sorghum malt flour), which carries the same kind of starch-thinning enzymes; barley diastatic malt powder also works but makes it no longer gluten free. The big mistake is adding the root or malt to boiling-hot porridge, which kills the enzymes so it never thins. Chef's tip: drink it within two days and keep it chilled after fermenting, because if it ferments for longer it keeps souring and can start to develop traces of alcohol.

45 minSouthern AfricanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Biltong

Rugby on the television, a paper bag of biltong passed round the room: few snacks say South Africa so plainly. Thick strips of beef are cured with vinegar, toasted coriander, salt and pepper, then dried until the outside is dark and firm and the inside still a little moist, ready to be sliced thin with a sharp knife. Farmers once hung it in the cold winter wind; this home method first heats the cured strips to 71 °C in a hot oven to make them safe, then dries them low and slow in the oven or a biltong box. Even so, home-dried meat is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The classic mistake is cutting the strips across the grain, so they crumble when you slice them. Chef's tip: toast the coriander seeds until they smell like orange peel before crushing them; that warm, citrusy note is what makes biltong taste right.

525 minSouth AfricanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChorreadasSweet corn pancakes

In the Costa Rican countryside, from the Central Valley to Guanacaste, chorreadas are made when the corn is fresh and milky: kernels are blended into a thick batter with a little sugar and butter and "poured" (chorrear) onto a hot griddle, then eaten with a dollop of natilla, Costa Rica's soured cream, and a cup of coffee. They are soft, sweet and taste purely of corn. The common mistake is a thin batter that spreads and tears; it should drop thickly from a spoon, so add masa harina if your corn is very juicy. Chef's tip: leave a few kernels only half-blended so the pancakes have little pops of whole corn.

30 minCentral AmericanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ghadichi poliLayered chapati

In Maharashtrian homes the everyday poli is not a plain chapati but a ghadichi poli: the dough is oiled, folded into a triangle and rolled again, so it puffs into soft, separate layers that stay tender in a dabba until lunchtime. Mumbai's dabbawalas carry thousands of them every day alongside bhaji and dal. The common mistake is a stiff dough, which makes leathery polis; it should be softer than you think. Chef's tip: as soon as each poli comes off the tawa, clap it between your palms to break open the layers, then stack it in a cloth-lined box.

40 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mămăligă cu laptePolenta with milk

In the villages of Romanian Moldavia, mămăligă cu lapte is the simplest country breakfast or supper: a firm mămăligă (cornmeal mush) is turned out, cut into cubes and dropped into bowls of milk, warm in winter and cold from the cellar in summer. The soft, sweet corn soaks up the milk like a homely cereal. The mistake is making the mămăligă too soft; it has to be firm enough to cut with a thread or knife, or it melts away in the milk. Chef's tip: add the cornmeal in a thin rain while whisking, then switch to a wooden spoon once it thickens, and you will never get lumps.

30 minRomanianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PetullaFried dough fritters

In Albania and Kosovo, petulla are fried on weekend mornings and for family celebrations: a very soft, wet yeast dough is pulled into rough rounds with oiled hands and dropped into hot oil, where it puffs into golden, airy fritters. They are eaten hot with feta-style cheese, jam, honey or a dusting of sugar, alongside tea or coffee. The common mistake is adding flour until the dough is firm and easy to handle; it should be almost too wet to hold, which is what makes petulla light and hollow. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of oil beside the pan and dip your fingers in it before each fritter, so the sticky dough slides off your hand and stretches thin.

35 minBalkanBreakfast & BrunchVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Saffron rijstpapSaffron rice porridge

Flemish rijstpap, rice slowly cooked in milk until thick and creamy, is a breakfast, a pudding and a childhood memory, and in East and West Flanders it is coloured golden with saffron and eaten with a spoonful of brown sugar. Old Flemish sayings even promise that in heaven you eat rijstpap with golden spoons. The mistake is cooking it too fast: the milk catches on the bottom and the rice stays chalky, so keep it at the barest simmer and stir often. Chef's tip: use round pudding rice, not long-grain, because its starch is what makes the porridge thick and silky without any cream.

60 minBelgianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PinoleToasted corn drink

In the canyons of the Sierra Tarahumara in Chihuahua, Rarámuri runners set off at dawn carrying a pouch of pinole, corn kernels toasted on a clay comal and ground fine, to stir into cold water along the trail. Across northern Mexico it is still a breakfast drink, sweetened with piloncillo and cinnamon and stirred into water or warm milk. This version toasts coarse cornmeal at home for the same nutty, popcorn-like flavour. The common mistake is toasting over a high heat: the outside burns and turns bitter before the inside goes golden. Chef's tip: toast a big batch and keep it in a jar, so a morning cup is just two spoonfuls stirred into water.

10 minMexicanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RoosterkoekGrilled bread rolls

Nobody at a South African braai minds waiting for the meat when there is roosterkoek: rounds of simple white bread dough laid on the grid over gentle coals and turned until they puff up, crack open at the sides and blister with dark grill marks. Rooster means grid, and the bread tastes of the fire, smoky and crisp outside, steaming and chewy within. Tear them open hot and fill with butter and apricot jam, or with grated cheese and tomato, or use them to mop up chakalaka. Cooking them over the fierce heat used for steak is the usual error: the crust blackens long before the middle is cooked, so give them the cooler edges of the fire or wait until the coals have died back. A heavy ridged griddle pan or the oven work well when there is no fire. Chef's tip: dust the shaped balls with flour before they go on the grid, and they won't stick to the bars.

90 minSouth AfricanBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MotohoFermented sorghum porridge

Highland mornings in Lesotho can be bitterly cold, and a mug or bowl of warm motoho, thin enough to sip and pleasantly tangy, is how many Basotho families in Maseru and the mountain villages start the day. Sorghum meal is mixed with warm water and a spoonful of starter from the last batch, left overnight by the stove to sour, then cooked into a smooth, pourable porridge with a yoghurt-like tang and a nutty, toasty flavour. Some sweeten it with sugar; others drink it plain with bread. If you have no starter, make one two days ahead with sorghum and water, as below. Chef's tip: keep the ferment warm but not hot; a pot left right on the stove gets too sour and too thin, so a spot nearby is perfect.

30 minSouthern AfricanBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Jugo de macaWarm maca drink

Before dawn at markets in Huancayo, Cusco and Lima, juice ladies ladle hot jugo de maca from big pots for workers on their way in: maca root, a turnip relative grown above 4,000 metres in the Junín highlands, simmered with milk, cinnamon and cloves and sweetened with honey or sugar. It tastes malty and toasty, a bit like butterscotch. The common mistake is stirring the powder straight into hot milk, which leaves gritty lumps; whisk it into a little cold milk first. Maca is not usually advised in pregnancy, so ask your doctor first if you are pregnant. Chef's tip: use gelatinised (cooked) maca powder if you can find it; it dissolves smoothly and is gentler on the stomach.

10 minPeruvianDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SaksakSago and banana dumplings

Saksak is a dish of the Sepik and coastal lowlands of Papua New Guinea, where sago palm starch is the staple food. Sago flour is mixed with mashed ripe banana, wrapped in leaves and boiled in coconut milk until it turns into soft, chewy, translucent dumplings. It is eaten as a snack or a sweet side with fish. Sago palm starch (sometimes sold as sago flour) is found in Asian shops. A common mistake is using too little banana or coconut, which makes it rubbery. Chef's tip: if you can't get banana leaves, form the mix into balls and drop them straight into the simmering coconut milk.

50 minPacific IslanderDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Marquesa de chocolateNo-bake chocolate icebox cake

In Caracas homes the marquesa is the cake you make for a birthday when nobody wants to switch on the oven: plain tea biscuits dipped in vanilla milk and stacked with a rich chocolate cream, then chilled until it slices like a torte. Older recipes fold in raw egg yolks; this one uses whipped cream instead, so it is safe for everyone. The usual mistake is soaking the biscuits too long, so the cake slumps. Chef's tip: dip each biscuit for one second, then let the cream do the softening overnight.

35 minVenezuelanDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ZitumbuwaBanana and maize flour fritters

Along the roads of Lilongwe, Blantyre and the lakeshore, women fry zitumbuwa in big pots of oil early in the morning and sell them warm in paper twists: soft, sweet fritters of very ripe banana mashed with maize flour and a little sugar. They are crisp at the edges and custardy inside, perfect with sweet tea. The common mistake is using bananas that are only just yellow; you want them heavily speckled with brown for sweetness and a loose, droppable batter. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the maize flour swells, and the fritters hold their shape in the oil.

30 minSouthern AfricanBreakfast & BrunchVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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