Purely Recipes
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The world's food, made easy

Cook the season,
not the rules.

Dishes from every corner of the world, written so anyone can cook them tonight, with the story of where each one comes from.

Find a recipeCook around the world

Cook around the world

13 kitchens, from Bangkok to Beirut.

Start with Indian
IndianBiryani, Butter chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala ThaiPad Thai, Green Curry, Tom Yum ChineseDumplings, Kung Pao Chicken, Fried Rice JapaneseSushi, Ramen, Tempura KoreanBibimbap, Kimchi VietnamesePho, Bánh mì Malaysian & IndonesianLaksa, Nasi Goreng, Satay FilipinoAdobo MexicanTacos, Enchiladas, Guacamole ItalianPizza, Lasagna, Risotto GreekMoussaka, Souvlaki, Greek Salad Middle EasternHummus, Falafel, Tabbouleh North AfricanTagine

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Filter by the way you like to eat.

27 minvegetarian Pasta Salad Italian pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, olives, capsicum, bocconcini and basil in a shake-in-a-jar dressing. Ready in 25 minutes, feeds 8. 2 h 20 min Sticky Ribs Chinese-style pork spare ribs, braised under foil until tender, then roasted bare until the soy, honey and hoisin marinade turns to a glossy glaze. 55 minvegetarianvegan Winter Vegetable Soup Chunky winter vegetable soup with sweet potato, potato, carrot, parsnip and peas, a quarter of it blended so it's creamy without cream. Vegan as written. 15 min Fig and Prosciutto Bruschetta Chargrilled garlic toast, seasoned ricotta, ripe torn figs and prosciutto draped on while the toast is hot, finished with honey. A 15-minute starter for fig season. 35 minvegetariangluten free Creamy Mashed Potatoes Fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes with no lumps and no glue. Dry the potatoes, beat in the butter first, then the warm milk. Easy vegan swaps. 1 h 10 minvegangluten free Flourless Seed Bread A dense, sliceable seed and nut loaf with no flour, no yeast and no kneading. Stir it in the tin, let it rest until it holds its shape, then bake it twice. Vegan and gluten-free. 1 h 25 min Biryani Chicken biryani in one pot. Bone-in chicken marinated in spiced yoghurt goes in raw, under golden fried onions, mint and rice boiled just 4 minutes, then saffron and ghee on top, lid on, and the steam cooks both together. 1 h 10 min Butter chicken Restaurant-style butter chicken at home. Chicken marinated overnight in yoghurt and spices, charred hard under the grill, then simmered in a smooth tomato, cashew and butter sauce finished with cream and kasuri methi. 1 h 5 min Chicken Tikka Masala Curry-house chicken tikka masala at home. Yoghurt-marinated chicken charred in a smoking-hot pan, then simmered in a smooth sauce of deep golden onions, tomato, garam masala and cream. 30 min Chocolate Liqueur Creamy homemade chocolate liqueur with whisky, milk chocolate and condensed milk, made in 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate in a splash of whisky, cool it, and pour the rest of the cold whisky in last so it never splits. Plus a clear cacao-nib version. 45 minvegetarian Cucumber Sandwich Loaf A whole loaf of cucumber and dill cream cheese sandwiches, stacked, frosted like a cake and sliced at the table. No oven, make-ahead party food, with vegan swaps. 45 min Green Curry Thai green chicken curry in 30 minutes. Crack the thick coconut cream until its oil splits, fry the paste in that oil, then simmer briefly so the sauce stays thin, fragrant and green. 20 min Mulled Wine Mulled wine with orange, cinnamon, star anise and cloves. Boil the spices into a syrup with a splash of wine first, then warm the rest gently so it stays smooth and keeps its kick. 50 min Pad Thai Pad thai at home, two plates at a time. Rice noodles soaked in cold water, never boiled, then finished in the wok with tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce, with prawns, tofu, egg, bean sprouts and peanuts. 4 h 30 min Pho Beef pho from bones. Brisket and bones boiled clean, then simmered 3½ hours with charred onion, charred ginger and toasted star anise, cinnamon and cloves, seasoned with fish sauce, poured boiling over paper-thin raw beef. 1 h Ramen Weeknight shoyu chicken ramen. Supermarket chicken stock simmered with ginger, kombu and shiitake, a quick soy tare in the bowl, spring onion oil, poached chicken thigh and a jammy marinated egg. 2 h 5 minvegetarian Apple Pie A double-crust apple pie with flaky butter pastry and a filling cooked first on the stove, so the lid sits on the apples, the base stays crisp and every slice holds. 55 minvegetariangluten free option Baked Apples Halved apples baked under a buttery oat, walnut and cinnamon crumble until soft and golden, sitting in a caramel sauce the oven makes for you. 2 h 15 minvegetarian Cherry Pie A lattice-topped cherry pie with flaky butter pastry and a filling thickened on the stove first, so every slice stands up glossy and red. Fresh, frozen or jarred sour cherries. 32 min Chocolate Lava Cake Individual chocolate puddings with a set outside and a molten, runny middle. Five ingredients, 12 minutes in the oven, and they can be made ahead. 40 min Healthy Cookies Thick, chewy oat cookies sweetened mostly with soaked, mashed dates and a little maple syrup, packed with almonds, coconut and raisins. One bowl, 20 minutes in the oven. 35 minvegan Homemade Bounty Bars Chewy coconut bars dipped in dark chocolate, like the classic Bounty. No baking, five ingredients in the filling, vegan as written. The trick is a frozen slab and fork-dipped fingers. 1 h 5 min Homemade Snickers Bars Layers of chocolate, peanut butter nougat, salted peanuts and condensed-milk caramel. A no-bake homemade Snickers slice for a 20 cm tin, with a nougat that holds its shape. 25 min No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake No-bake chocolate biscuit cake with golden syrup, dried fruit and nuts. Crumbs and chunks, a poured chocolate top, chilled firm. No oven, 16 squares, ready in 2 hours. 20 minvegetarian White Chocolate Cream Whipped white chocolate cream that holds its shape for hours. Make it as a ganache the night before, chill, then whisk for one minute. For pavlova, berries, cakes and tarts.

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From Tia's kitchen

When I was 15, a friend and I ran a business together: Morning Fresh Cookies Co. One of our products was baklava, the European kind with hazelnuts, honey and flaky filo pastry, and it was sooooo good. My job was to get the customers.

Read about baklava

Ready in 30 minutes

Prep plus cooking, by each recipe’s own times.

15 min Fig and Prosciutto Bruschetta Chargrilled garlic toast, seasoned ricotta, ripe torn figs and prosciutto draped on while the toast is hot, finished with honey. A 15-minute starter for fig season. 20 min Mulled Wine Mulled wine with orange, cinnamon, star anise and cloves. Boil the spices into a syrup with a splash of wine first, then warm the rest gently so it stays smooth and keeps its kick. 27 minvegetarian Pasta Salad Italian pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, olives, capsicum, bocconcini and basil in a shake-in-a-jar dressing. Ready in 25 minutes, feeds 8. 30 min Chocolate Liqueur Creamy homemade chocolate liqueur with whisky, milk chocolate and condensed milk, made in 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate in a splash of whisky, cool it, and pour the rest of the cold whisky in last so it never splits. Plus a clear cacao-nib version.

Sweet things

Pies, bars, puddings and one very old pastry.

2 h 5 minvegetarian Apple Pie A double-crust apple pie with flaky butter pastry and a filling cooked first on the stove, so the lid sits on the apples, the base stays crisp and every slice holds. 55 minvegetariangluten free option Baked Apples Halved apples baked under a buttery oat, walnut and cinnamon crumble until soft and golden, sitting in a caramel sauce the oven makes for you. 2 h 15 minvegetarian Cherry Pie A lattice-topped cherry pie with flaky butter pastry and a filling thickened on the stove first, so every slice stands up glossy and red. Fresh, frozen or jarred sour cherries. 32 min Chocolate Lava Cake Individual chocolate puddings with a set outside and a molten, runny middle. Five ingredients, 12 minutes in the oven, and they can be made ahead. 40 min Healthy Cookies Thick, chewy oat cookies sweetened mostly with soaked, mashed dates and a little maple syrup, packed with almonds, coconut and raisins. One bowl, 20 minutes in the oven. 35 minvegan Homemade Bounty Bars Chewy coconut bars dipped in dark chocolate, like the classic Bounty. No baking, five ingredients in the filling, vegan as written. The trick is a frozen slab and fork-dipped fingers. 1 h 5 min Homemade Snickers Bars Layers of chocolate, peanut butter nougat, salted peanuts and condensed-milk caramel. A no-bake homemade Snickers slice for a 20 cm tin, with a nougat that holds its shape. 25 min No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake No-bake chocolate biscuit cake with golden syrup, dried fruit and nuts. Crumbs and chunks, a poured chocolate top, chilled firm. No oven, 16 squares, ready in 2 hours. 20 minvegetarian White Chocolate Cream Whipped white chocolate cream that holds its shape for hours. Make it as a ganache the night before, chill, then whisk for one minute. For pavlova, berries, cakes and tarts. Recipe Baklava Listen to a fresh tray of baklava when the cold syrup hits the hot pastry: it crackles and hisses like rain on a tin roof. Then comes the bite, dozens of…

Your pantry,
decoded.

59 ingredients explained: where they come from, how to buy and store them, and what to cook with them.

Browse ingredients

Ingredients worth knowing

The ones our recipes reach for most.

All ingredients
AlmondsAlmonds: not really nuts, buried with Tutankhamun and grown by the tonne along the Murray. History, customs and how to buy and store them. CheeseCheese: 7,500 years of curds, from Polish clay strainers to a wheel chased down an English hill, plus how to buy, store and swap it. ChickpeasNutty, buttery and cheerfully lumpy, the chickpea has been in human kitchens for about 10,000 years, longer than almost anything else in your pantry .… Chilli PeppersThai curries, Sichuan hotpot, Hungarian paprika, Korean gochujang, Indian vindaloo, Ethiopian berbere: it's hard to imagine any of them without chillies.… ChocolateChocolate: from bitter frothy cacao drinks and bean money to bars, bilbies and Easter eggs, plus how to buy, store and cook with it. CoffeeCoffee: from Sufi night prayers in Yemen and bans in Mecca to Melbourne espresso bars and the flat white, plus how to buy and store it. Coriander LeavesFew herbs start fights at the dinner table like coriander. To most of the world, a handful of the fresh green leaves is bright, citrusy and essential:… EggsEggs: from jungle fowl in Southeast Asia to Easter red eggs and the Seder plate, plus Aussie labels, sizes, storage and vegan swaps. Fresh HerbsA handful of fresh herbs is the cheapest magic trick in the kitchen. Tear some basil over pasta, scatter coriander on a curry, stir dill through rice, and… GarlicCrush a clove and the kitchen changes. That sharp, sulphury hit is garlic (Allium sativum), a cousin of onions and leeks, and it has followed people for…

Learn a technique

The skills behind the recipes.

All techniques
Chopping VegetablesBefore the pan gets hot, there's the board. The tap-tap-tap of a knife through an onion is probably the most familiar sound in any kitchen on earth, and… Frying PanA frying pan is just a shallow pan with a handle, and it might be the hardest-working object in your kitchen. Eggs, pancakes, a steak, a quick stir of… GrillingGrilling is the oldest trick in the kitchen: food, fire, and nothing much in between. Every continent has its version, from Korean tabletop galbi to… Kneading DoughPush with the heel of your hand, fold the dough back over, give it a quarter turn, and do it again. Before long, a shaggy lump of flour and water turns… Knife Skills for Home CooksBasic knife skills for home cooks: choosing a knife, the pinch grip and claw, the main cuts, sharpening, and how to cut safely without slowing down. Mortar and PestleA bowl, a club, and a bit of elbow grease. That's the whole kit, and people have used it for at least 35,000 years . Stone Age foragers crushed grain in… SteamingLift the lid on a bamboo basket and a cloud rolls out, carrying the smell of pork buns or prawn dumplings. Steaming is about as simple as cooking gets:… Stir-fryA stir-fry is over almost before it starts: a roaring flame, a smoking wok, a splash of oil, a clatter of the spatula, and dinner is on the plate. The… Wok CookingA wok is a deep, round-bottomed pan, and few pieces of kitchen kit work harder. Its name comes from Cantonese (wohk, 鑊); in Mandarin it is often called…

Cook for the moment

Recipes grouped by mood, meal and occasion.

Guides

Longer reads for the kitchen.

All guides
Drinking Water: How Much You NeedHow much water you really need, why Australian tap water is a great choice, and easy ways to drink more, from Australian health guidance. Food and MoodWhat research really says about food and mood: the promising studies, their limits, and simple, kind ways to eat that support how you feel. Food Safety at HomeSimple food safety for home cooks: the 5–60°C danger zone, the 2-hour/4-hour rule, safe cooking temperatures, leftovers, rice and raw eggs. Organic Food in AustraliaWhat "organic" means on an Australian label, how to spot real certification, what research says it does and doesn't do, and how to buy it on a budget. Pantry Staples ListThe pantry staples worth keeping, what they unlock, and how to store them safely, from rice, lentils and tins to spices, sauces and oils. The PantryOpen any cupboard where a family keeps its flour, rice, spices and the jar of something nobody remembers buying, and you're looking at one of humanity's… The Spice MarketStep into a spice market and your nose gets there first: cumin and cardamom, dried chillies that make you sneeze, cinnamon bark stacked like firewood,…