Sacred food and offerings
Food offered in worship, shared at a temple, church, mosque or shrine, or eaten as a rite.
ZerdeVeganزرده
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreA golden rice pudding with saffron, rose water and dried fruit, served cold
Sweet or dessert
Kibbeh nayyehMeatكبّه نيّه
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 2 moreRaw lamb or beef mixed with bulgur and spices, served as a Levantine mezze
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
MarorVeganמָרוֹר
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBitter herbs eaten at the Passover Seder to recall the hardship of slavery in Egypt
Main dish
MazurekVegetarian
🇵🇱 PolandA sweet, flat Polish pastry decorated for Easter with fruit and nuts
Pie or savoury pastry, Tea time, Snacks
Simnel cakeVegetarian
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreFruitcake with a marzipan layer and marzipan balls, linked to Easter and Lent
Sweet or dessert, Tea time, Snacks
Panta bhatVegan
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreCooked rice soaked overnight in water and eaten cold, often with salt and onion
Main dish, Breakfast
KolakVegan
🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian dessert of fruit simmered in coconut milk and palm sugar
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
Lūʻau
🇼🇸 Samoa and 2 morePolynesian stew or parcel of taro leaves, often with coconut milk and meat or fish
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
ThekuaVegetarian
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreFried sweet made from wheat flour, ghee and sugar or jaggery
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
JachnunVegetarianגַ'חְנוּן
🇾🇪 Yemen and 1 moreSlow-baked Yemenite Jewish bread for Shabbat mornings
Bread, Breakfast
HarchaVegetarianحرشة
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreCrumbly semolina flatbread cooked on a griddle or pan
Bread, Breakfast, Snacks
Café ToubaVegan
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreSpiced coffee with grains of Selim, named for the city of Touba in Senegal
Drink, Breakfast, Snacks
Mì Quảng
🇻🇳 VietnamCentral Vietnamese rice noodles with meat, herbs, and a little turmeric broth
Main dish, Breakfast, Lunch
Siu yukMeat燒肉
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreCantonese roast pork with crisp skin and tender meat
Main dish
PanjiriVegetarian
🇮🇳 IndiaSweet roasted wheat flour with ghee, sugar and dry fruits, made for Hindu festivals
Sweet or dessert
BeguniVeganবেগুনী
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreEggplant slices dipped in gram flour batter and deep-fried
Street food, Snacks
PathiriVegan
🇮🇳 IndiaThin rice flour flatbread from Kerala, often paired with curries
Bread, Lunch, Dinner
BakarkhaniVegetarianباقرخانی
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 2 moreA thick, layered flatbread with a crisp crust from South Asia
Bread, Breakfast, Snacks
FanescaFish or seafood
🇪🇨 EcuadorEcuadorian soup with grains, pumpkin, and salt cod, served at Easter
Soup, Lunch
Semur
🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian stew of meat or vegetables braised in sweet soy sauce and spices
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
MrouziaMeatالمروزية
🇲🇦 MoroccoLamb tagine with honey, almonds, cinnamon and ras el hanout
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
WatalappamVegetarian
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSri Lankan coconut custard pudding with jaggery, spices and cashew nuts
Sweet or dessert
Sayur lodeh
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreJavanese vegetable soup simmered in coconut milk
Soup, Lunch, Dinner
Zalabiyehزلابية
🇵🇸 Palestine and 5 moreA deep-fried fritter made from batter, found across the Middle East and beyond
Sweet or dessert, Snacks, Tea time
Shirin poloVegetarian
🇮🇷 IranPersian rice pilaf with saffron, nuts, and dried fruits for festive occasions
Main dish, Dinner, Lunch
LekachVegetarianלעקעך
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreDense honey-sweetened cake served for Jewish New Year and other occasions
Sweet or dessert, Tea time, Snacks
AraVeganཨ་རག་
🇧🇹 Bhutan and 2 moreA homemade alcoholic drink from Bhutan and Tibet, made by fermenting or distilling grains
Drink
Mona de PascuaVegetarian
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreA sweet cake with eggs, given at Easter in Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
Rice and peas
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreRice cooked with beans or peas, herbs, spices, and sometimes coconut milk
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
BacalhauFish or seafood
🇵🇹 Portugal and 5 moreDried and salted cod, a staple of Portuguese cooking
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
ChraimeFish or seafoodحرايمي
🇱🇾 Libya and 1 moreNorth African fish stew simmered with tomatoes and spices
Main dish, Dinner
BsisaVeganبسيسة
🇹🇳 Tunisia and 2 moreRoasted grain powder from North Africa, mixed as a paste or drink
Main dish, Breakfast, Snacks
Babi panggangMeat
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 1 moreGrilled or roasted pork dishes from Indonesia, with regional and Dutch-Indonesian versions
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Curry GoatMeat
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGoat meat simmered in spiced curry, enjoyed across Asia and the Caribbean
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
GhevarVegetarian
🇮🇳 IndiaCrisp disc-shaped Rajasthani sweet with a honeycomb texture, soaked in sugar syrup
Sweet or dessert
GheimehMeatقیمه
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 morePersian stew of lamb, split peas, tomato and dried lime, topped with crispy potatoes
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
HoşafVegan
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreDried fruit stewed with sugar and spices, served cold
Sweet or dessert, Dinner
AkhniMeatআখনী
🇧🇩 BangladeshSpiced rice cooked with meat, vegetables and yoghurt from eastern Bangladesh
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Chicha de joraVegan
🇵🇪 Peru and 4 moreAndean fermented drink made from germinated maize
Drink
Litti ChokhaVegetarian
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWheat flour balls filled with spiced roasted gram flour, served with mashed vegetables
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Xôi
🇻🇳 VietnamVietnamese sticky rice, eaten plain or with sweet or savory toppings
Rice dish, Breakfast, Lunch
Calulu
🇦🇴 Angola and 1 moreA layered stew of fish or meat with vegetables and palm oil from Angola and São Tomé
Stew or curry
Sticky rice in bambooVegan
🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreGlutinous rice roasted inside bamboo tubes, eaten sweet or savory across Southeast Asia
Rice dish, Snacks
LuchiVegetarian
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCrisp, deep-fried flatbread made with white flour and ghee
Bread, Breakfast, Lunch
Thong yipVegetarianทองหยิบ
🇹🇭 ThailandA flower-shaped Thai sweet made from egg yolks, served at ceremonies
Sweet or dessert, Snacks
Karah ParshadVegetarianਕੜਾਹ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦ
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreA sacred Sikh sweet made from whole-wheat flour, ghee, and sugar, shared in Gurdwaras
Sweet or dessert
KarpasVeganכַּרְפַּס
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreA green vegetable dipped and eaten early in the Passover Seder
Main dish
Bun kebabبَن کباب
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 1 moreSpiced kebab patty in a bun, sold hot at street stalls in Pakistan and India
Sandwich or wrap, Lunch, Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Siu yuk: avlxyz of Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Xôi: Khương Việt Hà, Public domain, source
- Bsisa: Kamelgazzah, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bun kebab: LunaticFringe97, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mrouzia: Iron Bishop, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Karpas: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Semur: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ghevar: Onef9day, CC BY 3.0, source
- Fanesca: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Karah Parshad: Jasleen Kaur, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mazurek: Anwar2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Simnel cake: No machine-readable author provided. Edward assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain, source
- Panta bhat: TAPAS KUMAR HALDER, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolak: Nurhafizah at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thekua: Magadhkingdom, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jachnun: Joshua Herzig-Marx, CC BY 2.5, source
- Zerde: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bacalhau: No machine-readable author provided. Glum~commonswiki assumed (based o, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Beguni: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mona de Pascua: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mì Quảng: Gary Stevens, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pathiri: cl3m, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Watalappam: Ankur P, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sayur lodeh: Midori, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shirin polo: Yallayallaletsgo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curry Goat: Leon Brocard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hoşaf: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Babi panggang: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gheimeh: Diako1971, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Litti Chokha: Sumit Surai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maror: Yoninah, Public domain, source
- Kibbeh nayyeh: منال شحادة, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lūʻau: Neeta Lind, CC BY 2.0, source
- Harcha: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panjiri: Miansari66, CC0, source
- Café Touba: George D Manta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bakarkhani: Wasiul Bahar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lekach: Gran, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zalabiyeh: Sankeerth, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chraime: Bar.levy141, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akhni: এম আবু সাঈদ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rice and peas: Lili, CC BY 2.0, source
- Luchi: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sticky rice in bamboo: Wagaung at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calulu: elingunnur, CC BY 3.0, source