Sacred food and offerings
Food offered in worship, shared at a temple, church, mosque or shrine, or eaten as a rite.
Fisherman's soupFish or seafood
🇭🇺 Hungary and 2 moreSpicy paprika-rich fish soup from Hungary and the Pannonian Plain
Soup, Dinner
Wat
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreEthiopian and Eritrean stew thickened with onions and spiced butter
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
Saag
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLeafy greens cooked with spices, eaten with bread or rice across the Indian subcontinent
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Chicken paprikashMeatpaprikás csirke
🇭🇺 Hungary and 2 moreChicken simmered in paprika sauce, often finished with sour cream
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
MaultaschenMeat
🇩🇪 GermanyStuffed pasta squares from Swabia with a savory meat and vegetable filling
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Pickled herringFish or seafood
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreHerring preserved in salt and vinegar, eaten across Northern and Eastern Europe
Sausage or cured food, Snacks, Lunch
BotamochiVeganぼたもち or 牡丹餅
🇯🇵 JapanSweet rice balls covered with red bean paste, eaten during spring and autumn in Japan
Sweet or dessert, Snacks, Tea time
Hot cross bunVegetarian
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreA sweet, spiced bun with a cross on top, eaten at Easter
Bread, Breakfast, Snacks
ChipaVegetarian
🇵🇾 Paraguay and 1 moreCheese-flavored rolls made with cassava starch, eaten as a snack or breakfast
Bread, Breakfast, Snacks
CharosetVegan
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreA sweet fruit and nut paste for the Passover table
Sweet or dessert
Buddha's delightVegan羅漢齋
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreA Chinese vegetarian medley of vegetables, fungi and tofu simmered in soy sauce
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
MalpuaVegetarian
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreSweet deep-fried pancakes from the Indian subcontinent, often dipped in syrup
Sweet or dessert, Breakfast, Snacks
Tumpengꦠꦸꦩ꧀ꦥꦼꦁ
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreCone-shaped rice surrounded by assorted Indonesian side dishes
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Gulai
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreSpiced Southeast Asian stew with coconut milk and a blend of local herbs
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Umm AliVegetarianأم علي
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreEgyptian dessert of soaked pastry, milk, nuts and sugar, baked until golden
Sweet or dessert, Dinner, Snacks
MagiritsaMeatμαγειρίτσα
🇬🇷 GreeceGreek lamb offal soup eaten to break the Easter fast
Soup, Dinner
Tej
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreEthiopian and Eritrean honey wine fermented with gesho leaves
Drink
CalissonVegetarian
🇫🇷 FranceFrench confection with candied fruit, almond paste, and a sugar glaze
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
PaskhaVegetarianпа́сха
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMolded sweet cheese made for Orthodox Easter celebrations
Sweet or dessert
Nasi udukꦤꦱꦶꦮꦸꦢꦸꦏ꧀
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreSteamed coconut rice with spices, served with assorted side dishes
Main dish, Breakfast, Lunch
PedaVegetarian
🇮🇳 IndiaThick, sweet milk fudge balls flavoured with cardamom
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
Pongal
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRice cooked in milk, central to the Tamil harvest festival
Main dish, Breakfast, Lunch
Christmas waferVegan
🇵🇱 Poland and 2 moreThin, embossed wheat wafers shared at Christmas in Poland and Lithuania
Bread
Onde-ondeVegan
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 3 moreSweet rice flour balls with palm sugar and coconut, common in Southeast Asia
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
Pan de muertoVegetarian
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreSweet, decorated bread made for Mexico’s Day of the Dead
Sweet or dessert, Snacks, Tea time
Pancit
🇵🇭 PhilippinesA family of Filipino noodle dishes with many local styles and toppings
Noodle or pasta dish, Lunch, Dinner
Zeppole
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreItalian deep-fried dough balls, sweet or savory, often filled or topped
Pie or savoury pastry, Snacks, Tea time
Jeon전
🇰🇷 South KoreaKorean fritters of fish, meat, vegetables or flowers, coated and pan-fried
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Kreplachקרעפּלעך
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreAshkenazi Jewish dumplings filled with meat or potato, often served in soup
Dumpling, Lunch, Dinner
KadhiVegetarian
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreYogurt and gram flour soup, often with fritters, from Rajasthan
Soup, Lunch, Dinner
Curd riceVegetarian
🇮🇳 IndiaSteamed rice mixed with yogurt and seasoned with spices
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
KiribathVeganකිරිබත්
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSticky rice cooked in coconut milk, served for celebrations in Sri Lanka
Main dish, Breakfast, Lunch
ImartiVegetarian
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDeep-fried black gram batter shaped into spirals and soaked in scented sugar syrup
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
Tharidثريد
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreFlatbread soaked in broth or stew, a staple of Arab cooking
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
ChebakiaVegetarianشباكية
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreMaghrebi fried pastry shaped like a flower and glazed with honey syrup
Pie or savoury pastry, Snacks, Tea time
Coca
🇪🇸 Spain and 3 moreCatalan pastry with sweet or savoury toppings, eaten open or filled
Pie or savoury pastry
Briouatبريوات
🇲🇦 MoroccoMoroccan turnovers with sweet or savory fillings, wrapped in thin pastry
Pie or savoury pastry, Snacks
Tahchinتهچین
🇮🇷 IranIranian rice baked with yogurt, saffron, egg and meat in a golden crust
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
KozhukattaVegetarianകൊഴുക്കട്ട (Malayalam), கொழுகட்டை (Tamil)
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreSteamed rice flour dumplings filled with sweet coconut and jaggery
Sweet or dessert, Breakfast, Snacks
YakgwaVegetarian약과
🇰🇷 South KoreaDeep-fried Korean sweet made with wheat flour, honey, and sesame oil
Sweet or dessert, Tea time, Snacks
Pitha
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreRice or wheat cakes, sweet or savoury, steamed, fried or griddled in eastern South Asia
Sweet or dessert, Breakfast, Snacks
LahpetVeganလက်ဖက်
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 1 moreFermented tea leaves served as a salad or ceremonial snack in Myanmar
Salad or side, Snacks, Lunch
ShiroVegan
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreChickpea or broad bean stew, a staple in Ethiopian and Eritrean meals
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
GüllaçVegetarian
🇹🇷 TurkeyA Turkish dessert of milk-soaked pastry with walnuts and pomegranate, served at Ramadan
Sweet or dessert, Dinner
VatapáMeat
🇧🇷 BrazilA creamy Brazilian dish of bread, shrimp, coconut milk, peanuts and palm oil
Main dish
Serabi
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 1 moreRice flour pancake from Java and Bali, often served with coconut sugar syrup
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
Potica
🇸🇮 Slovenia and 4 moreSlovenian rolled pastry with sweet or savoury fillings, baked in a ring-shaped mould
Pie or savoury pastry, Tea time, Snacks
Fattehفتّة
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreBread layered with yogurt, chickpeas and toppings, served warm across the Arab world
Main dish, Breakfast, Lunch
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tharid: Miansari66, CC0, source
- Tumpeng: brother-harahap, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chebakia: Indif, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pancit: bingbing, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pan de muerto: Fluence, Public domain, source
- Shiro: Temesgen Woldezion; edited by Merhawie Woldezion, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Chipa: Ekem at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coca: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tej: A.Savin, FAL, source
- Vatapá: Elingunnur, CC BY 3.0, source
- Briouat: Christian Muise, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fatteh: Eaeeae, CC BY 3.0, source
- Serabi: Ivan Lanin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fisherman's soup: User:Themightyquill, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Botamochi: Tomomarusan, CC BY 2.5, source
- Chicken paprikash: Kobako, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Buddha's delight: FotoosVanRobin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Malpua: Senjuti Dey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maultaschen: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gulai: Midori, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Paskha: Mitrius, Public domain, source
- Hot cross bun: Cjorsch, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Magiritsa: Andrew Dalby, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nasi uduk: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Peda: Prashant Sahu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pongal: Jennifer Kumar, Public domain, source
- Calisson: Mathsci, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas wafer: No machine-readable author provided. Julo assumed (based on copyright, Public domain, source
- Onde-onde: Yun Huang Yong, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kadhi: Mowglee, Public domain, source
- Kiribath: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curd rice: Sudharshan Shanmugasundaram, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zeppole: I, Calcagnile Floriano, Florixc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kozhukatta: Jayashree Govindarajan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Imarti: TAPAS KUMAR HALDER, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Potica: Michael R Perry, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lahpet: Wagaung ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Güllaç: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saag: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Pickled herring: MOs810, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Charoset: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Umm Ali: روتانا, CC BY 4.0, source
- Jeon: by 南宮博士, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kreplach: Zlerman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yakgwa: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pitha: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 3.0, source