Turmeric

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from chef Neil Perry's book Rockpool. Neil also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. For your convenience, we've converted the measures — with as much accuracy as possible — from Australian to American. For those who have metric equipment and wish to follow Neil's recipe to the milliliter, we've included the original measures too. To read more about Neil and Australian cuisine, click here. In this dish, the combination of pastry, fish, sauce, yoghurt and spinach makes a complete dish. The cardamom and tomato are a perfect match, and the fish steams gently inside as the outside of the pastry crisps up. This dish also works beautifully with the flat fish of Europe and America. It is important that the vegetables are well-seasoned and cooked until they caramelise to impart their flavour to the sauce. The depth of flavour of aromatics is so often lost when they are not allowed to do their job properly. The Tomato and Cardamom Sauce goes nicely with all seafood; its deep, rich flavour enlivens the taste buds. The tomatoes are cut up, skin, seeds and all. Slice into thin rounds, then into julienne and chop the julienne to give a uniform dice. Don't chop them as if cutting for concassé, they lose too much juice that way.

Ask the butcher to halve the Cornish game hens for you.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

Cardamom is a spice not commonly used in the United States. A member of the ginger family, this warm, sweet spice is traditionally found in Indian cooking, flavoring a wide variety of curries, rice dishes, and Indian-style desserts. It is best to purchase the pod and grind the seeds yourself; once ground, cardamom begins to lose its essential oils. You can also crush the pods lightly, then add them hearty stews and lentil or other bean soups. The outer pods will dissolve, but the little black seeds within will pleasantly spice the mix. [This mix in used in the recipe for Carrot Cardamom Soup.]

Turmeric add color and chilies add heat to this superb side dish. Mound it in the middle of the Vegetable Stir-fry.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This Cambodian curry is traditionally made with beef, but Mao Sokhen says his American friends prefer the chicken variation. Though you can use any brand of Thai red curry paste and Asian fish sauce for this recipe, Mao likes the brands recommended below because he finds they produce a dish that is closer to classic Cambodian flavor.

Unlike most tamal recipes, which use dried corn (masa harina), this one is Cuban-style, made with fresh corn kernels. I've also added a different touch by replacing the traditional pork filling with conch. The flavor and texture proved very popular at Yuca, and it remained on the menu as a fixture. These tamales are very convenient for entertaining. They can be made ahead of time and frozen, or kept in the refrigerator and then popped in the microwave. In fact, it's not worth making a smaller batch, so you'll probably want to freeze some of them. Likewise, the pesto can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated.

A versatile side dish that goes well with chicken, fish or pork. The recipe doubles or triples easily to feed a family, guests, or to freeze for use another time.

Nancy Scott of Cranston, Rhode Island, writes: "I attended a wine tasting festival in Newport a while ago and enjoyed a shrimp ceviche prepared by Andrew Dicataldo, the executive chef of Patria, in New York City. Can you get the recipe?" In this recipe, the shrimp are cooked by quickly boiling them, whereas in a traditional ceviche the seafood, marinated in a spicy mixture of lemon or lemon-lime juice, appears cooked but isn't. Active time: 2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

The mangoes must be completely unripe in order to achieve the firm, chunky texture desired for this chutney. This recipe was created to accompany Lamb Stew with Black Mustard Seeds. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

On the eastern side of the Indian peninsula, fronting the Bay of Bengal, is Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. This recipe from that cosmopolitan city is typically made with sardines, mackerel, and crab, but we have substituted orange roughy for a more delicately flavored dish.

Almost any type of seafood, meat, or vegetable is superb cooked in a sambal, the fiery spice mixture that is a mainstay of Malay cooking. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

South of Goa, the coastline of Karnataka state is scalloped with palm, mango, and jackfruit trees. This recipe comes from the city of Mangalore, where it is usually made with bangade, a small fish resembling smelt. We used salmon for this curry. And, when we can find them, we toss in about 10 fresh curry leaves along with the onion, garlic, and gingerroot.