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• Galangal - Siamese ginger

  Galangal belongs to a ginger family. Its rhisomes are used widely in SouthEast Asia, especially in Thai cuisine. It looks very similar to ginger, the colour is usually lighter, skin thinner and more transparent.

• Ginger

  Most countries in South East Asia wouldn`t do without gineger. The root is used both fresh or as a powder. There are more kinds available. Bigger and white roots and smaller and more yellow ones, which are more aromatic and spicy.

• Achcharu - Green papaya pickle

  When I was in Sri Lanka for the first time, I was living in the house with Sri Lankan aunties and a granny too. When I came back in one year, the granny unfortunately was not there any more..... At the time it was just 3 months she passed away, so I witnessed preparation for Almsgiving ceremony, Sanghika dana. The ceremony should bring a beautiful post-mortem life of the person. Loads of special food are prepared for the ceremony and one of them is achcharu, green papaya or carrot pickle.

• Aloo channa masala - Potato and chickpeas masala

  On the suburb of Pushkar, picturesque town in Rajasthan in the North India, is a small restaurant, where I got this masala. It was amazing and even better thank to the fact the chapati served with it was made traditional way, in a clay tandoori oven.

• Aloo jeera fry - Fried potatoes with cumin

  If you love fried potatoes, it is time to tune them up a bit by some great Indian spices :) Great as a side dish, but in India they serve them with rice or local bread.

• Aloo masala - Potato curry

  Another curry, which definitely belongs to Indian classics. You can get it in India whole day, including breakfast. If you have some boiled potatoes leftovers, aloo masala is an option number one ;)

• Aloo roast - Potato roast

  Another from the range of Kerala specials from South India. I have learnt this recipe from a lady, who except all the other delicacies made the best curries in whole South India I had a chance to try!

• Banana curry

  When I got a bowl of banana curry in front of me in India, I was not sure what to think. It didn't look very appealing and banana curry sounded pretty strange to me. But! The smell was amazing! So I gave it a go and believe me, it was something! Such a balanced combination of spices. You could have felt each of them separately and all together it made a perfect harmony. And when I got the secret recipe, I nearly started dancing around the table :)

• Beef biryani

  This beef biryani I have learnt in one muslim village in Kerala, India. When you moved out of the village for just a few kilometers, cows were sacred there because of hinduism.

• Beef tajine with green peas

  This tajine I learned on a traditional Moroccan market in a restaurant made of clothes where they cooked various kinds of tajines not only for shoppers but for vendors as well. Vendors could even cook their own using the kitchen. It was quite fun as I asked for tajine with green peas, so I had to shell them myself. I had to buy the meat too, as there was not meat on the market. The butcher saw a white girl, so he sold me some low quality beef, which I was told buy two local guests who I invited for the lunch as soon as they put the first piece of the meat to their mouths. Next time I have to be more careful.

• Beetroot pachadi

  Gently spiced beetroot salad, which belongs to Kerala specials, state of South India. It can be served both, warm and cold. And it is vegetarian dish as majority in India.

• Beetroot thoran

  Special, typical for South Indian state, Kerala. It is a vegetarian / vegan recipe, where sweetness of beetroot is balanced with chilies, ginger and garlic.

• Black bean fish

  This delicacy I had in a small restaurant on Borneo island. It was so good I couldn't resist and went there again following day. The waiter spoke English a bit, so I mentioned that I love cooking. When I wanted to pay, he brought me three pieces of paper. One of them was the bill, the other one was recipe for the dish I had just finished and the third one was for the fish in a black bean sauce I had yesterday here. I love Asia and approach of local people, who are happy when they make other people happy.

• Bonda - fried banana balls with cardamon

  Bonda and masala chai were my first breakfast in India. The cardamon aroma got to my head forever and when I imagine India, the first that occurs to my mind is this amazing smell and unforgettable breakfast.

• Duck noodle soup Bun Mang Vit

  When imagining Vietnamese cuisine, most probably it is gonna be around the great noodle soups. The most known is probably Pho, which means wide noodles in Vietnamese. This recipe is about soup made of thin noodles, called vermicelli, in Vietnamese Bun. It is an amazing combination of duck meat, bamboo shoots and radish.

• Egg curry

  Egg curry was my very first dish in India. I recall the picture with all the details. The food was delicious, 10 locals where looking at me like at a sacred picture, they were nodding their heads from side to side, smiling and the room was filled with the amazing smell of masala tea.

• Eggplant and tofu curry Indonesian style - Tahu terong santan

  This Indonesian style curry is special not only because of its delicious taste, but it is a typical wedding dish as well. Loads of coconut milk is needed for it. Fortunately men are responsible for wedding feast preparation and they do know how to crack all the coconuts by their unmistakeable original style. Check the video and you will understand.

• Fish tagine

  Because of surfing I spent loads of time on Atlantic coastline of Morocco. That`s why a fresh fish was my daily bread. Grilled, fried or made in traditional Moroccan dish, tagine. This recipe I learned in a restaurant on my favourite beach, Lagzira.

• Ginger beef

  Amazing combination of flavours. And this Malay recipe with Chinese roots is very easy and fast too. I got it even without asking for it. It was enough to mention in the restaurant I was enjoying this dish that it is really delicious and that I love cooking and I got the recipe together with the bill.

• Ginger pepper fish Kerala style

  Kerala is well known for its backwaters. You can find thousands of various rivers and ponds throughout the state. There is no wonder, one of the most desired specials is fresh water fish. My favourite was a ginger pepper recipe. Firstly, when watching the preparation in one street restaurant, I was a bit hesitant as one huge table spoon of black pepper for one fish seemed a little bit too much. But the chef knew only too well what he is doing. It was delicious and very fast and easy too.

• Gobi - Cauliflower without onion and garlic

  There are recipes in Indian cuisine, where you will find no onion and garlic, which are ingredients used very often otherwise. One of the reasons is, that garlic and onion are considered as medicine and thats why they should be used moderately. Very easy and tasty recipe from North India.

• Green papaya salad

  When I was a kid, my mum was always telling me not to eat unripe fruit, that I will be sick. In Vietnam and other Asian countries, their opinion is completely different. Unripe fruit is used as vegetable. Like in case of unripe, green papaya, which is used into various kinds of salads. This recipe is the most frequent and simple one.

• Chammanthi - Coconut red chutney

  Another special from Indian Kerala. Very simple and fast recipe. This red coconut chutney is usually served with rice cakes like dosa, appam or idly. Meanwhile mom from a fishing village family was preparing this chutney, kids couldn`t wait and got their appam with sugar instead. I was more patient and it paid off.

• Channa masala - Chick pea masala

  I cannot imagine India without this dish. This is simply one of the most common dishes you can get across India, usually for breakfast already with various kinds of rotis and then all day long with rice and other kinds of Indian dishes.

• Chicken curry

  I was walking on the train trails, passing a beautiful house made of ground, in front of which kids and dogs were playing. Kids were all smiles and calling at me "hello, what is your name?". So we started chatting, whole family joined us and they were so nice and as a bonus I got invitation for a Sunday lunch. One of the dishes was chicken curry. Most of curries in Sri Lanka are vegetarian. If it is with meat, the most common is the chicken one. And it was amazing!

• Chicken curry

  It was a nice change to have a bit of a meat in India. Very interesting part was buying the chicken already. It was as fresh as it gets. Traditionally there are no fridges in India`s meat shops. There are live chicken instead running around and got "ready" only when a customer comes and buy one or two.

• Indian pachadi - Pineapple with yoghurt

  Combination of pineapple, garlic, chilies and curry leaves? Before my trip to India, I would say "no, thank you". One is learning whole his life. As when I tried this pachadi recipe in Kerala, India, I couldn`t get enough. Every ingredient is very important in this vegetarian recipe and creates a perfect combination of flavours.

• Kaddu rajma - Pumpkin with red beans

  Another delicacy from Norh Indian cuisine. Full of proteins thanks to red kidney beans, which add to the dish nice hardish consistency. On the other hand combined with tender pumpkin with nice orange color. I do miss it! :)

• Kottu roti

  Another recipe from Sri Lankan street food range. Roti again, but chopped this time, as this is the meaning of the word kottu in Sinhala. So the result is something between pasta and risotto, as everything is chopped very fine. Preparation of this dish is accompanied by the very typical metal rhythmic sounds, each restaurant in Sri Lanka has its own.

• Mie goreng ayam - Fried noodles with chicken

  Mie goreng, fried noodles, together with nasi goreng, belong to the most typical Indonesian dishes. There are loads of variants of preparation. This one is great, as it is very simple and has a pleasant sugary taste thanks to kecap manis sauce.

• Mixed rice

  This kind of dish is in Sri Lankan villages considered as a dish served at special occasions. And the fact it was decorated with dates, rosins, prawns and eggs was even more special. As in Sri Lanka, they do appreciate guests, and luckily it was me, as I was invited for a Sunday dinner by a very nice family. So one of the courses was this very nice dish. It is something like fried rice. But the rice was not fried, just mixed aside from fire with other fried ingredients.

• Nasi goreng ayam - Fried rice with chicken Lombok style

  If you are asked by someone what is a typical Indonesian dish, nasi goreng, fried rice, will definitely belong to the top of mind. Indonesia consists of thousands of islands and the same amount of various flavors and recipes of nasi goreng you will find across the country. The recipe with kecap manis sauce belonged to my favorites. Especially in a restaurant, where I filmed the recipe. Not only because of its amazing taste and the super nice family running the restaurant, but as the portion was so huge I always recharged the empty batteries after surfing easily.