Dinner Ideas • Recipes from 193 Countries

Dinner Ideas from 193 Countries — What to Cook Tonight

Stuck on what to cook for dinner? Dinner Ideas brings easy dinner recipes from 193 countries — signature dishes with ingredients, steps, nutrition and pairings.

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 469–480 of 2290 dinner recipes

Beef nihari — tender beef shank in a thick glossy reddish-brown gravy, garnished with ginger, lemon and coriander

Pakistan 5h 30m

Dinner •Lahore Heritage

Nihari

This nihari recipe is Pakistan's great slow-cooked beef stew: beef shank on the bone, simmered for hours in ghee and spices until the meat falls apart and the marrow melts into a thick, glossy gravy. A spoonful of toasted wheat flour gives the sauce its silk, and the classic garnish — ginger matchsticks, green chillies, coriander and lemon — lifts the whole bowl. It is traditionally a breakfast dish in Lahore and Karachi, and it is just as good for dinner. One serving is about 380 g.

Slow Food, Worth the Wait

Beef shank simmered for hours with ginger, fennel and warm spices until it falls off the bone, the gravy thickened with a wheat-flour slurry and finished with ginger, lemon and green chillies — Pakistan's slow-cooked nihari.

Pairs Well With
Hot naan & ginger-lemon garnish

High Protein

Chapli kebab — wide flat spiced beef patties, dark and crisp at the edges, with tomato and green chilli

Pakistan 45m

Dinner •Peshawar Heritage

Chapli Kebab

This chapli kebab recipe is Peshawar's famous street food: ground beef mixed with crushed coriander seed, dried pomegranate, tomato, onion and green chilli, pressed into wide, flat patties — the shape of a chapli sandal, which is where the name comes from — and shallow-fried in a hot pan until the edges turn crisp and dark. The outside crackles, the inside stays juicy, and every bite carries the sour pop of pomegranate and the warmth of whole spices. One serving is about 280 g.

Peshawar's Street-Food Icon

Coarsely ground beef mixed with crushed coriander seed, pomegranate, tomato and green chilli, pressed flat as a sandal and shallow-fried until crisp at the edges — Peshawar's chapli kebab.

Pairs Well With
Naan, raita & kachumber salad

High Protein

Pakistani chicken karahi — bone-in chicken in a thick red tomato sauce in a karahi wok, garnished with green chillies and coriander

Pakistan 55m

Dinner •Lahore Heritage

Pakistani Chicken Karahi

This Pakistani chicken karahi recipe is the Lahore street-stall classic: bone-in chicken seared hard in a karahi wok with ghee, then cooked down in a sauce made of tomatoes alone — no onion, no yoghurt, no stock — until the tomatoes melt into a thick, rust-red masala that clings to the meat. It finishes with a shower of raw julienned ginger, green chillies and fresh coriander, and it is served still sizzling in the wok. One serving is about 360 g.

High-Heat Wok Cooking

Bone-in chicken seared in a karahi wok with ghee, then simmered in a tomato-only sauce — no onion, no yoghurt — and finished with raw julienned ginger, green chillies and coriander.

Pairs Well With
Hot naan & ginger-chilli garnish

A whole fish cooked in an opened banana-leaf parcel, coated in spice paste

Palau 55m

Dinner •Koror's Banana-Leaf Grill

Palauan Grilled Fish

This palau grilled fish recipe glazes a whole red snapper with dark mushroom soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and kaffir lime leaf, wraps it in a banana leaf and grills it in the parcel over coals. The fish steams in its own juices inside the leaf — soft and fragrant, with no crisp skin — and it is served with mashed taro enriched with coconut cream. One serving is about 350 g.

Smoky & Tender

A whole snapper glazed with dark soy, sesame and ginger, steamed inside a banana leaf over coals, served with mashed taro.

Pairs Well With
Mashed taro, lime wedges and a cucumber salad

High Protein

A plate of golden Panamanian arroz con pollo with a chicken leg on yellow rice with red peppers

Panama 1h 15m

Dinner •Panamanian Heritage

Panamanian Arroz con Pollo

This panamanian arroz con pollo recipe browns bone-in chicken, then cooks long-grain rice in the same pot with a sofrito of onion, peppers, garlic and tomato, coloured golden with annatto and studded with carrots, sweet peas, green olives, capers and raisins. The chicken goes back on top to finish, so the rice drinks up every bit of flavour. One serving is about 465 g.

Family Comfort

Golden one-pot chicken and rice with peppers, carrots, peas, olives, capers and raisins — the everyday family dinner of Panama.

Pairs Well With
Green salad, fried plantains & lime

A Panamanian chicken tamal unwrapped from its banana leaf, showing pale corn masa and shredded chicken

Panama 2h 30m

Lunch •Panamanian Heritage

Panamanian Tamales

This panamanian tamales recipe beats raw corn masa with lard and broth until fluffy, spreads it on softened banana leaves, and wraps it around a cooked filling of chicken and pork with capers, raisins and prunes. No rice, no potato and no pre-cooked masa: the parcels steam in their leaves until the masa sets soft and fragrant. One serving is two tamales, about 340 g.

Festive & Hearty

Small banana-leaf parcels of raw beaten corn masa around a cooked chicken-and-pork filling with capers, raisins and prunes — Panama's holiday tamale.

Pairs Well With
Green salad, hot sauce & lime

Three golden carimañolas (stuffed yuca fritters) photographed in Barranquilla, Colombia

Panama 1h 10m

Snack & Tea •Panamanian Street-Food Classic

Panamanian Carimañolas

Carimañolas are torpedo-shaped fritters made from boiled, mashed yuca wrapped around a filling of ground beef sautéed with onion, sweet pepper, garlic and culantro, then deep-fried until the outside turns crisp and golden while the inside stays soft and steamy. They are a breakfast and street-food staple across Panama and Colombia's Caribbean coast, sold warm from fondas and street carts. One serving (2 carimañolas) is about 250 g.

Hearty Snack & Street Food

Crisp golden yuca fritters wrapped around seasoned ground beef — the fried snack Panama eats for breakfast and on the street.

Pairs Well With
Ají picante (hot sauce) & a cold beer or fresh juice

A traditional mumu earth oven in Papua New Guinea — banana-leaf parcels and hot stones steaming in a pit dug in the ground

Papua New Guinea 3h 45m

Dinner •PNG Earth-Oven Feast

Papua New Guinea Mumu

This mumu recipe brings Papua New Guinea's earth-oven feast into a home kitchen: pork shoulder and chicken thighs rubbed with garlic, ginger and salt, layered with taro, sweet potato, green cooking banana and leafy greens in banana-leaf parcels, with coconut milk poured over the top, then slow-roasted until everything is tender and smoky. Traditionally the parcels go onto white-hot stones in a pit dug in the ground and are buried under leaves and earth; here a low oven and a covered Dutch oven do the same job, and the recipe says so plainly. One serving is about 595 g.

Hearty & Communal

Pork and chicken slow-cooked with taro, sweet potato and cooking banana in banana leaves, with coconut milk poured over the layers.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice and lime wedges on the side, with the coconut cooking juices spooned over

High Protein

A plate of thin, crisp Papua New Guinea sago pancakes made from sago starch and water, lightly browned in spots, on a cream enamel plate

Papua New Guinea 30m

Breakfast •East Sepik Flatbread

Papua New Guinea Sago Pancake

This sago pancake recipe is Papua New Guinea's simplest breakfast: white sago starch mixed with water into a thick batter, spread thin on a hot plate and cooked until dry, crisp and lightly speckled. It has no banana, no coconut milk and no filling — just the clean, mild taste of sago itself, with a crackle that softens as it cools. In the Sepik River lowlands, where the sago palm is the staple food, flatbreads like this are cooked fresh every morning. One serving is about 160 g.

Simple & Filling

Two ingredients — sago starch and water — griddle-cooked into a crisp, naturally gluten-free flatbread.

Pairs Well With
Hot tea and sliced tropical fruit, with the warm pancakes broken into pieces at the table

A bowl of translucent sago jelly (nangu) in coconut milk topped with cooked leafy greens and carrot, with a piece of what appears to be cooked fish at the side

Papua New Guinea 35m

Dinner •PNG Sago Jelly Bowl

Papua New Guinea Nangu

This nangu recipe is Papua New Guinea's soft sago dish: white sago starch stirred with hot water until it turns into a smooth, translucent jelly, spooned into a bowl and served with warm coconut milk, wilted leafy greens and carrot. It is mild, soft and comforting — the opposite of the crisp sago pancake — and in the sago-palm lowlands it is an everyday dinner, often with a piece of cooked fish laid at the side of the bowl. The recipe as written is plant-based; the fish is an optional accompaniment. One serving is about 440 g.

Gentle & Comforting

Soft sago jelly in warm coconut milk with leafy greens and carrot — mild, filling and easy to eat.

Pairs Well With
Warm coconut milk with greens, and — as in Papua New Guinea — a piece of grilled or boiled fish at the side

A golden baked sopa paraguaya cornmeal and cheese cake in a glass baking dish with one square cut out

Paraguay 1h 5m

Lunch •Asunción Heritage

Sopa Paraguaya

This sopa paraguaya recipe turns cornmeal, salty Paraguay cheese, onion, milk and eggs into a golden, spongy cake that slices like bread. Despite the name — sopa means soup — there is no broth here: the dish is solid, rich and meant to be cut into squares. One serving is about 180 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A golden, spongy cornmeal and cheese cake — Paraguay’s national dish, baked until the top is crisp and the inside stays soft.

Pairs Well With
Warm squares with grilled meat or a bowl of soup

A pile of golden baked chipa cheese bread rings, one broken open to show the soft crumb

Paraguay 50m

Snack & Tea •Paraguayan Heritage

Chipa

This chipa recipe makes 12 golden Paraguayan cheese bread rings from cassava starch, salty cheese, eggs and a pinch of anise. The dough is rolled into ropes, closed into rings and baked until puffed and lightly cracked — crisp on the outside, soft and chewy inside. One serving is about 185 g (two rings).

Snack & Sharing

Small baked cheese bread rings made from cassava starch — crisp outside, chewy inside, best eaten warm.

Pairs Well With
Warm rings with a cup of cocido (mate cocido)

Find Dinner Ideas by Country

Every one of the world's 193 countries has a signature dish — browse the full directory to find tonight's dinner, or jump straight to a cuisine with recipes.

Afghanistan

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Zimbabwe Browse all 193 countries →

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The Dinner GazetteFresh Dinner Ideas from the Journal

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A bowl of tagliatelle with rich ragù sauce

Ingredient Guides

The Pantry Staples Every World Kitchen Shares

From a market in Bangkok to a farmhouse in Tuscany, cooks reach for the same handful of staples: rice, dried beans, good oil, salt, garlic, chillies and something sour. Stock these, and dinner in any cuisine is suddenly within reach.

November 5, 2026 • 725 words

A hearty autumn stew served in a rustic bowl

Seasonal Cooking

Autumn’s Best: Cooking with Squash and Root Vegetables

When the air turns cool, the garden answers with squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and beets. Roasted low and slow, these autumn vegetables turn sweet, caramelised and deeply satisfying — here is how to cook them well.

November 5, 2026 • 597 words

Fresh herbs rolled into Vietnamese spring rolls

Kitchen Techniques

How to Store Fresh Herbs So They Last Two Weeks

Fresh herbs wilt in days when they are tossed loose into the fridge. The jar method — a little water, a loose bag, and the right shelf — keeps parsley, cilantro, mint and dill bright and fragrant for up to two weeks.

November 5, 2026 • 658 words

Food Pairing Guide

What to Eat With What

Some foods taste better — and do you more good — together. Here is what to serve with each dish, and what to skip, with the science in plain words.

Tested in the Dinner Ideas kitchen

Phở Bò (Vietnamese Beef Broth)

Iron & Collagen Dynamics

EAT TOGETHER: Fresh Lime & Sawtooth Coriander

The ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in freshly squeezed lime converts the non-heme and heme iron from thinly shaved beef into its bioavailable ferrous form (Fe²⁺), escalating iron assimilation by up to 300%. Fresh culantro supplies carotenes that ignite digestive bile acids.

AVOID IMMEDIATELY AFTER: Condensed Milk Iced Coffee

Drinking condensed milk coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá) directly following Phở binds active polyphenolic chlorogenic acids and milk casein directly to the beef iron molecules, forming unabsorbable insoluble complexes that severely stunt nutrient uptake. Wait at least 90 minutes.

Metabolic window: Breakfast (07:00 – 09:30) • Optimal Gut Transition: 3.5 Hours

Tomatoes & Wild Summer Greens

Carotenoid Unlocking

EAT TOGETHER: Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Aged Feta

Lycopene is an intrinsically lipophilic (fat-soluble) antioxidant compound bound tight inside tomato skin cells. Pairing ripe heirloom tomatoes with the monounsaturated fats of raw cold-pressed olive oil boosts vascular lycopene absorption by nearly 4.4-fold.

AVOID TOGETHER: Fat-Free Industrial Dressings

Consuming vine tomatoes with zero-fat or high-sugar artificial vinaigrettes prevents the body from emulsifying fat-soluble Vitamins A, E, and K, passing essential restorative nutrients unabsorbed through the gastrointestinal tract.

Metabolic window: Lunch or Aperitivo • Lycopene Uptake: +440%

Turmeric + Black Pepper

Piperine in coarse crushed pepper amplifies active curcumin bioavailability by 2000%.

Green Tea + Lemon Twist

Citric acid preserves delicate EGCG catechins through acidic stomach transit intact.

Calcium Rich + Iron Stews

Heavy dairy cheese interferes with non-heme iron absorption channels if consumed simultaneously.

Dinner Ideas from 193 Countries — What to Cook Tonight

What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Find Dinner Ideas by Country

Dinner Ideas by Category

Dinner Ideas by Meal

Dinner Ideas by Region

The Dinner GazetteFresh Dinner Ideas from the Journal

What to Eat With What

Iron & Collagen Dynamics

Carotenoid Unlocking

Never wonder what’s for dinner again