Our collection of 31 recipes to cook in May includes a combination of recipes for Orthodox Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mothers Day, Memorial Day, and the last month of spring and autumn. We’ve got recipes for everything from traditional Russian and Ukrainian dishes for Pasha to Mexican, Mexican-American and Tex-Mex recipes we love to make for Mexican holidays. Any excuse!
For this round-up of 31 recipes to cook in May we’re sharing recipes for Orthodox Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mothers Day, Memorial Day, and recipes for the last month of autumn in the southern hemisphere and spring in the northern hemisphere, from warm salads to hearty meatballs.
If you don’t find cooking inspiration in this compilation, then please browse our recipe archives, which is brimming with 14 years of recipes we’ve collected from around the world. Or peruse our compilation of the most popular recipes of April, which are the recipes our readers searched for, spent time on, and hopefully cooked.
Before you scroll down to our 31 recipes to cook in May, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting our work by supporting our epic Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon; by buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; or by buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers, classic cookbooks for serious cooks, or gifts for Asian food lovers and picnic lovers. We may earn a small commission but you won’t pay any extra.
31 Recipes to Cook in May for Orthodox Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mothers Day and Memorial Day
These are the 31 recipes we think you should cook in May whether you’re celebrating a holiday, cooking for family or friends, or making yourself a meal in.
Russian Recipes for Orthodox Easter from Kulich to Cabbage Rolls
Topping our list of 31 recipes to cook in May are my family’s traditional Russian recipes, which make an appearance every Orthodox Easter. I can usually be found in our Siem Reap kitchen baking kulich, making cabbage rolls, rolling out dough for pelmeni and vareniki, and preparing baboushka’s pink beetroot potato salad, while I recollect the family feasts of my childhood.
This year I’m cooking up an Easter feast with my mother in Australia – for the second time this year. That’s because many Orthodox churches adopted the modern Gregorian calendar while other Orthodox churches still follow the old Julian calendar.
I’m preparing zakuski (Russian hors d’oeuvres), including rollmops (pickled herrings), salamis and cured meats, dill pickles, and boiled eggs with caviar, as well as golubtsi, plump cabbage rolls in a rich tomato sauce; kotleti, Russian chicken cutlets; and Russian dumplings, pelmeni and vareniki (similar to Polish pierogi). You’ll find recipes for those on the link below.
Russian Recipes for Orthodox Easter from Kulich to Cabbage Rolls
Mexican Recipes for Cinco de Mayo from Sopa de Tortilla to Tacos al Pastor
Next on our list of 31 recipes to cook in May are these Mexican recipes if you’re cooking up a feast for Mexico‘s Cinco de Mayo. Do browse this compilation of our favourite Mexican recipes – which also include recipes for Mexican dishes from north of the border, because Mexican-American cuisine and Tex-Mex cuisine are the hijos of the mother cuisine after all.
That means we have authentic Mexican recipes that we learnt to cook and made in our kitchens in Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende (try the sopa de tortilla!), as well as recipes for Mexican dishes that we became enamoured with on our very first trip to Mexico in our late 20s when we backpacked all over the country.
But we also have recipes for Mexican dishes from the USA, from a Tex-Mex chilli con carne that Terence has been making since we first moved in together to my ultimate nachos, which is my take on the ‘loaded’ American iteration of the far simpler Northern Mexican dish invented in the 1940s. Whatever you make, wash it all down with classic margaritas or micheladas.
Best Mexican Recipes for Cinco de Mayo from Sopa de Tortilla to Tacos al Pastor
Mothers Day Breakfast Recipes
Our collection of Mothers Day breakfast recipes include ideas for Mother’s Day breakfast for mums who appreciate the luxury of breakfast in bed. They include breakfast dishes that are a bit special, that are manageable on a breakfast tray, and aren’t so filling that they’ll spoil brunch.
If you’re looking for Mother’s Day breakfast ideas, we have lots here, from recipes for a classic eggs Benedict and creamy scrambled eggs with truffles to Terence’s poached eggs with asparagus, pancetta and parmesan and my jammy soft-boiled eggs on sourdough with dill cream cheese and homemade pickles.
We’ve also pulled together compilations of our best Mothers Day brunch recipes, Mothers Day lunch ideas, and Mothers Day dinner recipes. If you don’t find any Mothers Day cooking inspiration in those collections, do browse our Weekend Eggs archive of breakfast dishes from around the world that we’ve learnt to cook in places on our travels.
Mothers Day Breakfast Recipes for Mums Who Love Breakfast in Bed
Japanese Tonkatsu Recipe
This tonkatsu recipe is another of our 31 recipes to cook in May and it makes the most tender, juicy Japanese deep fried pork cutlet you’ll ever taste. This simple but revered deep-fried Japanese pork dish has an amazing crunch from the golden panko crust, melt-in-your-mouth moist pork, and the tangy taste of the tonkatsu sauce.
When we need a break from Southeast Asian cooking, this Japanese favourite is one of the first dishes we’ll make. It turned out so well when Terence first made it for the shoot for the recipe, I remember asking Terence to make it again the next night. He didn’t need much persuading.
While store-bought tonkatsu sauces can be just fine, many brands tend to be very expensive, and this tonkatsu sauce recipe can be made with ingredients that you’ll probably have at home.
Tonkatsu Recipe for Crunchy Japanese Deep Fried Pork Cutlet and Tonkatsu Sauce
Cambodian Grilled Corn Recipe
Our deliciously-charred Cambodian grilled corn recipe for poat dot makes a Cambodian street food snack, that’s hugely popular during corn season, but you could also make this recipe with frozen corn cobs. It’s one of our best coconut milk recipes.
Corn on the cob is continually brushed with a delightfully creamy salty-sweet coconut sauce as it’s being barbecued. It drips with umami and is deliciously addictive and it’s one of our best coconut milk recipes.
When you make this street food favourite yourself, you can not only cook the corn to your liking – we prefer our corn cobs more charred than it’s sold on the street – but you can also make sure you get the sauce balanced to your taste (it’s often too sweet for me when done on the street) and you can serve extra sauce on the side.
Cambodian Grilled Corn Recipe for Poat Dot with a Delicious Coconut Milk Sauce
Spanish Meatballs Recipe for Albondigas
Our classic Spanish meatballs recipe for albondigas will make you juicy meatballs simmered in a rich tomato sauce spiced with smoky paprika and a slight kick of chilli. We recommend serving up a dish of these juicy morsels with slices of crusty bread to mop up the sauce, as part of a tapas spread.
This traditional albondigas recipe for Spanish meatballs is another of the 31 recipes to cook in May and it was the first in a series of our best Spanish tapas recipes. We’ve also got recipes for chorizo and potato croquettes, Spanish chorizo in red wine for chorizo al vino tinto, Spanish style garlic shrimp, smoky squid done on a griddle, and more.
A tip: remove the meatballs from the fry-pan or skillet as soon as they brown, and don’t continue to cook them, and they won’t dry out and will remain deliciously moist and tender. Buying fatty pork mince will also help in that respect.
Spanish Meatballs Recipe for Albondigas – A Traditional Spanish Tapas Recipes
Cambodian Pork and Rice Recipe
This Cambodian pork and rice recipe for bai sach chrouk makes one of Cambodia’s most popular breakfasts, along with the noodle soups kuy teav and nom banh chok, and the rice porridge borbor. It’s one of the easiest Cambodian recipes to make and another of our 31 recipes to cook in May.
Rise early with the locals and you’ll spot a pork and rice stall on almost every block of nearly every town and city in Cambodia. In fact you’ll spot the plumes of smoke, hear the pork fat sizzling, and smell the sweet aromas first.
This recipe is part of a series on the best Cambodian barbecue recipes, following recipes for smoky grilled pork ribs, marinated beef skewers, grilled eggplant with stir-fried minced pork and fermented soya beans, and pork spare ribs with star anise.
Cambodian Pork and Rice Recipe for Bai Sach Chrouk, Cambodia’s Popular Breakfast Dish
Garlicky Lebanese Grilled Chicken Skewers
This easy shish tawook recipe will make you one of our favourite Middle Eastern dishes – smoky, succulent, garlicky, grilled chicken skewers or chicken kebabs. You can prep the skewers ahead of time and marinate them in the fridge, then cook them on the kitchen stove in a griddle pan for nice char marks or grill them on an outdoor barbecue, as the locals do.
We love serving these succulent Middle Eastern chicken skewers with hummus, tabbouleh and this Middle Eastern rice with spices, nuts and raisins the first night, and then the second night eating them wrapped in Lebanese bread or any Arabic flat bread.
But if you’re feeding a crowd, you could also make some Middle Eastern mezze dishes such as baba ganoush, salads such as fatoush and more Arabic grills, such as kofta kebabs, for a proper Middle Eastern feast.
Easy Shish Tawook Recipe for Garlicky Lebanese Grilled Chicken Skewers
Grilled Baby Corn Recipe
This recipe for grilled baby corn with creamy butter beans, caramelised shallots and crispy pistachios is inspired by those deliciously addictive dishes from the Middle East that marry different textures and flavours, such as this warm chickpea salad recipe for hummus balila.
Charred in a griddle pan, the baby corn is tossed with caramelised shallots and crispy pistachios in a cumin-spiced extra virgin olive oil, before being piled onto a creamy butter bean spread, and sprinkled with fresh dill.
While not strictly Middle Eastern (I don’t recall seeing baby corn used during our many years living in and travelling the MidEast), it’s Middle Eastern in flavour and texture and would be a fantastic accompaniment to an Arabic mixed grilled or grilled dishes such as this beef kofta and other starters, sides and salads, such as fattoush and baba ganoush and the like.
Grilled Baby Corn Recipe with Creamy Butter Beans, Caramelised Shallots and Crispy Pistachios
Thai Meatball Curry Recipe
This Thai meatball curry recipe makes a Thai red curry with tender meatballs flavoured with Thai spices and fresh herbs, and garnished with fresh fragrant Thai basil and coriander, red chillies, and crunchy fried shallots. While the red Thai curry is traditional, the soft succulent meatballs are a not-so-traditional addition.
If you’re fond of Thai food and particularly rich curries, and you’re a lover of rustic, succulent European-style meatballs, then I think you’re going to enjoy my Thai meatball curry recipe. It will make you a traditional Thai curry with not-so-traditional melt-in-the-mouth meatballs, so perhaps don’t share this with your Thai friends.
I find that a red curry paste or a Massaman curry paste work best with these meatball curry. We have both a homemade red curry paste recipe (which also includes tips for using a mortar and pestle) and a homemade Massaman curry paste recipe, both of which you can pound from scratch in a mortar and pestle. But you can also use your favourite store-bought Thai red curry paste or store-bought Massaman curry paste.
Thai Meatball Curry Recipe for a Thai Red Curry with Tender Meatballs and Fragrant Basil
Sticky Asian Pork Ribs Recipe
This sticky Asian pork ribs recipe makes deliciously addictive Chinese style baked ribs that are a whole lot faster to make than most Asian roast pork ribs recipes. Terence brines the pork ribs first, which helps tenderise the meat and keeps the pork succulent, while also making the cooking time over a grill quite short.
Here in Cambodia we often eat the pork ribs simply with stir-fried morning glory and steamed rice but traditionally they’d be eaten as one of an array of dishes as part of a shared family-style meal.
That might include fried spring rolls, dumplings, fried rice, Chinese leafy greens, and a stir-fry or braise, such as Cambodian cashew chicken or Vietnamese braised pork belly. The ribs can also be reheated and will remain moist.
Sticky Asian Pork Ribs Recipe for Chinese Style Baked Ribs with Sesame
Stir Fried Morning Glory Recipe
This stir-fried morning glory or water spinach recipe makes the Cambodian dish char trokuon. It’s generally eaten family-style as one element of a spread of dishes, centred around rice, that would typically include a soup, perhaps a grilled fish, a salad, and maybe a curry.
‘Trokuon’ means morning glory (Ipomoea aquatic), also known as water spinach, river spinach, Chinese spinach, Chinese watercress, and swamp cabbage. It tastes more delicious than it sounds!
This is so good, we are very happy eating it just with a bowl of rice, but you could enjoy it with the pork ribs, above, or this slow-cooked pork stew with ginger and star anise.
Stir Fried Morning Glory or Water Spinach Recipe for Cambodia’s Char Trokuon
Juicy Meatball Noodle Soup Recipe
My juicy meatball noodle soup recipe with jammy soft boiled eggs, aromatic herbs, crunchy fried onions, chillies, and chives makes a Southeast Asian style noodle soup with deliciously rustic homemade pork meatballs. This is another of our 31 recipes to cook in May.
This meatball noodle soup recipe will make you succulent pork meatballs that swim in the kind of savoury noodle soup that you’ll find all over mainland Southeast Asia, but is closest in style to the traditional Cambodian noodle soup called kuy teav, which we eat here for breakfast in Cambodia‘s northern city of Siem Reap.
I use traditional Cambodian toppings such as sliced carrots and bok choy and provide an array of beloved Southeast Asian condiments and garnishes typically served with noodle soups so diners can customise their own broths: fresh fragrant herbs, crunchy fried shallots, fish sauce, chilli oil, chilli flakes, and chives or spring onions.
Juicy Meatball Noodle Soup Recipe with Jammy Soft Boiled Eggs and Aromatic Herbs
Broccoli and Potato Soup Recipe with Cheddar
This broccoli and potato soup recipe with cheddar cheese, crispy bacon and crunchy croutons. It makes a deliciously creamy broccoli potato soup without cream, but with loads of flavour and texture thanks to the cheese, bacon, croutons, and toppings such as fragrant fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil, sour cream, and chilli flakes.
Melted cheddar cheese will give your broccoli potato soup a richness and denser texture if you use enough of it – and there’s a long tradition of using cheddar in broccoli soups. I prefer to sprinkle a little quality vintage cheddar cheese at the end (or a little Parmigiano Reggiano), along with a handful of other toppings, rather than turn my broccoli and potato soup into a soupy green fondue. But that’s just me. You do as you prefer.
And as for that colour: broccoli is green, so I’ve never understood why so many broccoli potato soups look yellow, even when the greater proportion of the vegetables on the ingredient list is broccoli. If you have that problem, toss a few fresh green veggie leaves or handful of herbs into the blender and give it a quick blitz.
Broccoli and Potato Soup Recipe with Cheddar Cheese, Crispy Bacon, Crunchy Croutons
Cambodian Green Papaya Salad Recipe
This green papaya salad recipe makes Cambodia’s Bok Lahong or Nhoam Lahong, a fragrant, crunchy salad that’s a little funky, spicy, sour, salty, and a tad sweet. We love to serve it with fried chicken or grilled skewers or any Southeast Asian barbecue favourites.
Typically eaten as a late afternoon snack, this bespoke Cambodian salad is made to order, and has cousins in Laos (Tum Som), Thailand (Som Tum), and Vietnam (Gỏi Đủ Đủ). It’s fantastic for lunch or dinner, and it’s another of our 31 recipes to cook in May.
A tip: while you can use a stone or granite mortar and pestle, these are typically used for making curry pastes and Cambodian kroeungs, the herb and spice pastes that form the basis for so many Cambodian dishes. Wooden mortar and pestles are best for pounded salads, as you want to soften them or bruise them, not pound them to a paste.
Cambodian Green Papaya Salad Recipe for Cambodia’s Bok Lahong
Cape Malay Chicken Curry Recipe
This Cape Malay chicken curry recipe makes a richly spiced curry from Cape Town, South Africa. Eaten with aromatic Cape Malay yellow rice, buttery roti, and simple tomato, onion and cucumber sambals, it’s an incredibly delicious curry that you’ll be sorry to finish.
Our recipe is inspired by a chicken curry we learnt to make many years ago in a Cape Malay cooking class in colourful Bo-Kaap, the heart of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town. Gently spiced, the Cape Malay chicken curry is a cousin of the classic Cape Town lamb stew called tomato bredie, below. Make double: it tastes even better as leftovers the next day.
Cape Malay Chicken Curry Recipe for a Richly Spiced Curry from Cape Town, South Africa
Classic Hasselback Potatoes Recipe
This classic Hasselback potatoes recipe for crispy Hasselback potatoes with spiced butter and fresh herbs calls for baby potatoes, also known as new potatoes, which cook faster. It’s one of our best recipes with potatoes and another of top 31 recipes to cook in May.
Brushed with the spiced butter at fifteen-minute intervals, these mini Hasselback potatoes are crunchy on the outside and soft within, making a potato side dish that’s both elegant and comforting. They make a fantastic side for braised chicken, roast lamb or an Italian porchetta.
Classic Hasselback Potatoes Recipe with Baby Potatoes, Spiced Butter and Herbs
Spice Rubbed Roast Pork Stuffed with Garlic, Herbs and Spices
This pork roast recipe makes a spice rubbed roast pork stuffed with garlic, herbs and spices that is as rich and delicious as it looks. The slow cooked pork belly roast has a crunchy skin and moist pork belly infused with spices and herbs.
My pork roast recipe is inspired by a traditional Russian roast pork called buzhenina. In fact, it’s a medieval Russian pork roast recipe, dating to the 1550s. The first written reference to buzhenina is in a book called Domostroi: Rules for Russian Households in the Time of Ivan the Terrible.
The spice mix I’ve chosen includes spices that are typically used to marinate shasliks – Russian barbecued meat skewers – but feel free to adjust the spice blend to your own taste. Serve with baked vegetables and a big bowl of creamy mashed potatoes. It’s an easy set-and-forget pork roast and another one of our recipes for you to cook in May.
Pork Roast Recipe for Spice Rubbed Pork Belly Roast Stuffed with Herbs and Spices
Braised Cabbage Recipe with Bacon for a Rich Savoury Cabbage Side
This braised cabbage recipe with bacon makes a rich savoury side to almost any main course. My baboushka served braised cabbage with meatballs, kotleti (chicken meat patties), and roast chicken, and used it to fill Ukrainian-style varenyky.
Easy to make, it comes together quickly, though the lower and slower you cook it, the richer it tastes. This is even richer than my grandmother’s and it’s one of my favourite cabbage recipes.
Braised cabbage always featured as one of an array of plates that were shared family-style for Easter and Christmas meals and Sunday lunches, which at a bare minimum included piroshki (hand pies), beetroot and potato salad, a classic garden salad, and casserole pots brimming with Russian pelmeni and potato vareniki.
Braised Cabbage Recipe with Bacon for a Rich Savoury Side Dish to Almost Any Main
Chorizo Cabbage and Three Bean Stew Recipe
Our hearty chorizo cabbage and three bean stew recipe makes my spicy take on a traditional Eastern European style stew inspired by one of my family recipes my Russian-Ukrainian grandmother cooked called kapustniak, kapustnyak or kapusniak in Russia, Ukraine and Poland.
Originally made with kielbasa and sauerkraut, I use chorizo to add warmth and deep flavours, and three types of beans to add texture. It’s one of my favourite winter soup recipes and one of my best cabbage recipes. Like all good Russian grandmas, my baboushka had an impressive repertoire of hearty soups and stews.
In autumn and winter, there seemed to always be a big pot of something bubbling on the stove, steaming up the windows in a kitchen that was always cold, and filling the house with mouthwatering aromas. This is another of our 31 recipes to cook in May.
Chorizo Cabbage and Three Bean Stew Recipe for a Spicy Take on a Traditional Eastern European Stew
Italian Potato Salad Recipe with Olives, Capers, Anchovies and Rucola
Our Italian potato salad recipe with olives, capers, anchovies and rucola makes a fantastic year-round potato salad made with quintessential Mediterranean ingredients. It’s one of our best potato salads, and one of many Italian potato salads we fell in love with during our travels in Italy.
Although I adore eating this Italian potato salad while it’s still warm – and who doesn’t love a warm potato salad? They’re a fantastic accompaniment to so many winter mains and this German potato salad recipe makes one of my favourite warm potato salads – it’s really a great year-round salad.
Like the Italian green beans recipe, above, this Italian potato salad is the perfect accompaniment to Mediterranean style braised chicken, juicy pan-roasted brined pork chops, chicken cacciatore, or even chicken schnitzel or chicken parma. It would also be fab with côte de bœuf.
Italian Potato Salad Recipe with Olives, Capers, Anchovies and Rucola
Irish Beef and Guinness Stew Recipe with Cheese Dumplings
This traditional Irish beef and Guinness stew recipe with cheese dumplings delivers a hearty beef stew made with Ireland’s beloved stout beer, with meat so tender you can pull it apart with a spoon and fork.
It also includes a recipe within a recipe for savoury cheddar cheese dumplings that cook with the stew. Though you could serve it with mashed potatoes or greens if you prefer.
If you enjoy this, also try our best Irish stew recipe, which makes an incredibly rich and deeply flavoured traditional Irish stew, arguably the national dish of Ireland.
Traditional Irish Beef and Guinness Stew Recipe with Cheese Dumplings
Pork Stroganoff Recipe Using the Chinese Velveting Method
My pork Stroganoff recipe makes an umami-rich, melt-in-the-mouth pork Stroganoff. The silky, tender-soft texture of the pork comes courtesy of the Chinese velveting technique, a method that calls for marinating and pre-cooking the pork before stir-frying it.
Braised with mushrooms in a richly spiced sour cream-based sauce, my pork Stroganoff takes inspiration from Shanghai’s East-West Haipai cuisine. Serve it with shoestring fries or creamy mashed potatoes and a Russian garden salad. More Stroganoff recipes here, including our classic beef Stroganoff recipe.
Pork Stroganoff Recipe for Tender Pork Made with the Chinese Velveting Technique
Thai Pad Kra Pao Recipe
This Thai pad kra pao recipe for stir fried pork and holy basil with fried egg is a breakfast staple of street food stalls all over Thailand. A paste of chilli and garlic is combined with ground pork, a rich sauce and holy basil.
Topped with a fried egg and served with prik nam pla and jasmine rice, it’s a filling breakfast dish and a Thai street food favourite with Thais (in contrast to pad Thai which is a favourite of tourists). It’s one of our favourite Thai dishes and another of our 31 recipes to cook in May.
Thai Pad Kra Pao Recipe for Stir Fried Ground Pork and Holy Basil with Fried Egg
Korean Japchae Recipe for Stir Fried Glass Noodles
This classic Korean japchae recipe makes a delicious Korean noodle dish of stir fried glass noodles with mixed vegetables. Called dangmyeon in Korean, the sweet potato starch noodles are doused in sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds, then combined with stir-fried carrot sticks, onion, mushrooms, and spinach.
An old Korean specialty long before it was popular Korean restaurant fare and a takeout favourite, japchae was a centuries-old Korean royal dish served at palace banquets. The original japchae consisted of thinly sliced mixed vegetables with a special sauce – hence the name: ‘jap’ means mixed and ‘chae’ is vegetables.
This recipe makes a vegetarian japchae, but you can add strips of beef, something like rib eye, marinated in soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil.
Classic Korean Japchae Recipe for Stir Fried Glass Noodles with Mixed Vegetables
Cape Malay Chicken Curry Recipe
This Cape Malay chicken curry recipe makes a richly spiced curry from Cape Town, South Africa. Eaten with aromatic Cape Malay yellow rice, buttery roti, and simple tomato, onion and cucumber sambals, it’s an incredibly delicious curry that you’ll be sorry to finish.
Our recipe is inspired by a chicken curry we learnt to make many years ago in a Cape Malay cooking class in colourful Bo-Kaap, the heart of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town. Gently spiced, the Cape Malay chicken curry is a cousin of the classic Cape Town lamb stew called tomato bredie, below. Make double: it tastes even better as leftovers the next day.
Cape Malay Chicken Curry Recipe for a Richly Spiced Curry from Cape Town, South Africa
Tamarind Eggplant Recipe from Rajasthan
Our tamarind eggplant recipe from Rajasthan is from the cookbook Indian Cooking Class by Australian chef Christine Manfield, who has a deep love of India, Indian cuisines and spices, having travelled to India 40 times and published four books on Indian food.
If you cooked and loved Christine Manfield’s chole bhatura recipe for a Punjabi chole or chickpea curry, which we also published, then you’re also going to love this tamarind eggplant recipe from neighbouring region of Rajasthan.
This tamarind eggplant dish is sweet and sour, savoury and saucy, and it comes together quickly. We serve it with a delicious ribs dish from the cookbook, along with raita, paratha, and a Rajasthani kabuli, a festive rice dish studded with dried fruit, cashews, almonds, and pistachios.
Tamarind Eggplant Recipe from Rajasthan from Indian Cooking Class by Christine Manfield
German Meatballs Recipe
Hold your tongues until you taste these melt-in-the-mouth meatballs. While they may not be the most attractive meatballs – they’re not seared brown from pan-frying, nor smothered in a luscious tomato sauce, nor swimming in a creamy mushroom gravy – but the term ‘flavour bomb’ was obviously invented for this meatball.
This classic German meatballs recipe makes a meatball that’s so tender it will melt in your mouth, with subtle umami flavours thanks to the anchovies, a tanginess courtesy of the capers, and zingy citrus due to the lemon zest, all balanced out by the sweetness of the onions and creaminess of the light onion gravy.
Popular in Germany to this day, as well as in Kaliningrad, where they’re from, these meatballs are called Königsberger klopse. Klopse meant meatballs or ‘little dumplings’ in Prussian, and Königsberg meant ‘king’s mountain’. Königsberg was the East Prussian city where these meatballs originated, which was renamed Kaliningrad after World War II. If you’re a meatball lover, we’ve got more meatball recipes here.
German Meatballs Recipe for Melt-in-the-Mouth Meatballs in a Creamy Caper Gravy
Burmese Indian Style Chicken Curry Recipe
This Burmese Indian style chicken curry recipe makes a rich curry fragrant with ginger, turmeric, garlic and chilli that has a homemade Burmese curry powder on its concise list of ingredients, and it’s another of our 31 recipes to cook in May.
It’s the perfect accompaniment to Burmese coconut rice and the refreshing salads of Myanmar that provide contrasting textures and flavours, such as the Burmese raw cabbage salad. This is another recipe I’ve adapted from Mi Mi Khaing.
Mi Mi Khaing uses a homemade curry powder blend, as most Burmese women do. Her blend includes cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, coriander, peppercorns, bay leaf, and poppy seeds. We’ve shared her full curry powder recipe, but you could certainly use a store-bought curry powder.
Burmese Indian Style Chicken Curry Recipe for a Rich Curry Fragrant with Ginger, Turmeric and Garlic
46 Memorial Day Weekend Recipes for Backyard Barbecues and Picnics
Our collection of 46 Memorial Day weekend recipes includes plenty of nibbles and snacks, such as homemade dips and chips, spring rolls and fritters, along with salads – from classics such as potato salads and coleslaw to Southeast Asian salads – plus barbecue favourites, from fried chicken and burgers to homemade fries and barbecued ribs.
We’ve also got plenty of recipes for picnic favourites, from dips and crackers to summer salads and potato salads, as well as recipes for spring rolls, both fresh and fried (egg rolls to our American friends), burgers, tacos and skewers. I’ve also added some home-cooked comfort dishes that are made for sharing, just in case the weather is not on your side.
46 Memorial Day Weekend Recipes for Backyard Barbecues and Picnics
Easy Vegetarian Chilli Recipe
This easy vegetarian chilli recipe is the last of our 31 recipes to cook in May. It makes a chilli con carne sin carne (without meat) and it’s vegan if you eat it without dairy accompaniments such as sour cream and cheese. While this bean chilli is a cinch to make and comes together quickly, it’s full of so much flavour thanks to the spices that even meat-lovers won’t miss the beef mince.
If we want a big ol’ bowl of chilli, then Terence makes his heavenly chilli con carne, which has a depth of flavour and complexity that my little ol’ vegetarian chilli, while still incredibly delicious, can’t match due to his use of a variety of chillies, bacon, beer, roasted dried spices, and multiple hours simmering on the stove. But now I add this veg chilli to the rotation.
Easy Vegetarian Chilli Recipe for Chilli Con Carne Sin Carne (Without Meat) and It’s Vegan Too
Please do let us know if you make any of our 31 recipes to cook in May as we’d love to hear how they turned out for you.





