Every Bengali halwai and household has at least one or two favourite recipes for plain rasgoolas. Most recipes follow a similar procedure, but subtle variations are endless. Though experts agree that raw milk yields the best rasgoola, it is not available to most cooks. This recipe is especially composed for store-bought whole milk.

Here’s a recipe for crisp, urad dal-based and cabbage-laced finger foods. The ingredients are few but the taste is stunning. They are served with fabulous coconut chutney, seasoned with, among other things, fried urad dal.

Preparation time: about 10 minutes

Makes about 2½ cups

Pumpkin soup is a great winter favourite. Milk and a simple seasoning of black pepper and nutmeg allow the pumpkin flavour to predominate.

Whenever I make this tea at home, I use a naturally caffeine-free tea from the plant Aspalathus linearis called Rooibos, that is grown on the slopes of South Africa's Cedarberg mountains.

It is available at well-stocked supermarkets as Rooi tea (pronounced "Roy"). The tea lends itself well to this version of the ubiquitous spicy chai available all over the Indian Subcontinent.

Here are three different recipes for eggless mayonnaise, lifted from my first cookbook 'Great Vegetarian Dishes'.

The first recipe uses condensed milk as the base and is a sweet mayonnaise. The second recipe calls for evaporated milk, and the third is a dairy-free variety featuring pureed tofu.

The Middle East has a long tradition of delicious sweets. Whereas some are time-consuming, this delectable one is a breeze to prepare, and is especially suited to cooking in big quantities. In some ways basbousa reminds me of Indian halava, but it’s easier to make, and according to some friends who recently dropped by our test kitchen, even better. Basbousa is at the peak of perfection if it’s left to soak overnight.

Although it may seem an unlikely combination, herbed potato mixed with feta cheese and fried in crispy spring roll wrappers really does work incredibly well. And as far as the super-quick, super-quirky green pea chutney goes, that's also surprisingly delicious.

Known as moong ki chat, this very popular salad is eaten as a road-side snack in India, especially in Delhi. The chili, lemon, and tongue-tingling spice combination chat masala give it a pleasant bite. Home sprouted mung beans taste best.

Polenta is a yellow maize or cornmeal popular in northern Italy. Regarded there as a staple food, it can be used in many ways after it has been prepared as a rather thick porridge. Here in Australia, polenta is prepared from a special strain of corn grown in Queensland known as Yellow Dent.

Plain boiled polenta can be grilled, baked, or, as in this recipe, fried. Served with a homemade tomato sauce and sprinkled with parmesan cheese, it makes a delicious side dish.

Koftas are succulent, Indian style vegetable balls that can be served soaking in sauce or smothered in gravy. A number of vegetables are suitable for making kofta – potato, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and radish are the most popular.

My favourite kofta are made from a mixture of cauliflower and cabbage and served on a bed of steaming hot rice, or as illustrated, couscous. Try these succulent delights either as part of a main meal or as an accompanying savoury.

Apple strudel is popular all over Eastern Europe, and traditionally uses a wafer-thin pastry that is painstakingly made from scratch. Apparently this pastry originated in the Middle East and was brought to Europe in the Ottoman invasions of the 15th century. The quickest way to make strudel these days outside of Europe is with bought puff pastry or filo pastry. We tested strudel made from both, and the results were so good we couldn’t make up our mind which one was better.

Great finger food! Makes about 40 bite-sized puffs.

Here's a famous Australian cookie recipe. Guaranteed to give you an Aussie accent.

The original recipe has something called golden syrup, which I know is unknown in the US. So I have adjusted accordingly. Beaut baking!

This popular leavened bread, especially enjoyed in Punjab in north-west India and Pakistan, is cooked in a traditional coal or wood-fired clay oven called a tandoor. Many versions of this flat bread are found throughout central Asia, from Iran in the East to the Soviet countries in the North.

The breads, enriched with milk, yogurt and butter, are slapped onto the inner walls of the hot oven where they cook quickly, partially puffing, and taking on a smoky flavour. The occasional charred spot from where the flames lick them adds a delightful crisp textured crust. This recipe calls for a household griller, which does a pretty good job.

If you have a tandoor oven, all the better. Naan are traditionally sprinkled with kalonji seeds that are also known as nigella seeds and occasionally misnamed as onion seeds. Kalonji seeds are available at Indian and specialty grocers.

The annual plant is one to two metres high with large seed clusters at the end of the stalk, similar to millet. In fact, the most popular strain of Quinoa is pale yellow in appearance, and does resemble millet in colour and size, although quinoa is more flattened than spherical.

So far as its food value is concerned, one researcher has said, “ while no single food can supply all of the essential life-sustaining nutrients, it (quinoa) comes as close as any other in the vegetable or animal kingdoms.” It contains more protein than any other grain: an average of 16.2 %, compared with 7.5 % for rice, 9.9 % for millet, 8.2 % for barley, and 14 % for wheat. It has a good balance of the amino acids that make up the protein and is high in lycine, an amino acid not overly abundant in the vegetarian diet.

Quinoa is easy to cook, and like rice, blends well with other grains or whole-grain pilafs. The cooked consistency is light, with a texture resembling caviar.

Sak (pronounced 'shak') is a very special vegetable dish. Literally the name can simply mean 'spinach'. But in India, and especially in Bengal, where there are many dozens of varieties of green leafy vegetables, Sak is far from ordinary. It has a special place in temple kitchens and the home cooking repertoires of devotees of Krishna and his most recent incarnation, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakur, esteemed 19th century Vaisnava saint and profuse author, writes in a song glorifying the relishing of food offered to Krishna before partaking (prasada):

heno sak-asvadane, krsna-prema aise mane, sei preme koro asvadana jada-buddhi pari-hari', prasada bhojana kori', 'hari hari' bolo sarva-jan

"O brothers! One day at Santipura, in Sri Advaita's house, Lord Caitanya and Nityananda were seated at prasada. When Lord Caitanya tasted the green vegetables, He said, 'My devotees, this sak is so delicious! Lord Krsna has definitely tasted it. At the taste of such sak as this, love of Krsna arises in the heart. In such love of God you should take this prasada. Giving up all materialistic conceptions and taking the Lord's prasada, all of you just chant 'Hari! Hari!'"

Furthermore, Chaitanya Bhagavata, a much loved and respected Medieval devotional text composed in classical literary Bengali states:

"Mother Saci knows that Lord Caitanya is greatly satisfied with sak, therefore she cooked twenty different varieties. The vegetable known as sak is more fortunate that any other preparation, for the Lord eats it again and again. Slightly smiling the Lord takes His meal, speaking, the glories of sak to everyone.

The Lord says "this sak is called Acyuta, by eating the sak attraction for Krsna develops (at the time of eating, Lord Caitanya would call different kinds of sak different names of Krishna) by eating patala, bastuka and kala sak, one gains the association of the vaisnava's life after life. If one eats salinca or helanca sak, he remain free from disease and gets devotion to Krishna". (CB Antya 4.279, 293, 295, 298)

Yes I know this is rather elevated material, and I won't hazard to write much about it. Anyway, I received a letter recently which inspired me to share it with you, and the following recipe. It's based on a recipe by Yamuna Devi from her award-winning and wonderful cookbook 'Lord Krishna's Cuisine'.

Yogurt is an indispensable ingredient in vegetarian cuisine, being nutritious, tasty, and easily digestible.

It is a source of calcium, protein, fat, carbohydrates, phosphorus, vitamin A, the B-complex vitamins, and vitamin D. The lactic acid content of yogurt aids in the digestion of calcium. Yogurt encourages the growth of "friendly" bacteria in the intestines that help destroy harmful strains. And yogurt is quickly assimilated into the body.

Khichari (pronounced "kitch-eri") is such an important dish for vegetarians that I have included a different recipe for it in each of my cookbooks. The flavoursome, juicy stew of mung beans, rice and vegetables is both nutritious and sustaining. You can practically live on khichari, and in fact, some people do.

There are two main varieties: thin (geeli khichari) and thick (sookha khichari). Whichever way you prepare khichari, it will soon become a delicious favourite. The following recipe is for the thicker variety. Khichari is an ideal breakfast food, wonderful when accompanied by yogurt and fresh hot puffed fried breads (pooris) or toast.

I always serve khichari with a wedge of lemon or lime. Not only does this add a delightful nuance of flavour, but it lends nutritional advantage also: there are good sources of iron in the dal and vegetables in khichari, and the lemon juice, rich in vitamin C, helps your body absorb it. I eat it accompanied by a little yogurt, some whole-wheat toast and topped with a drizzle of melted ghee. This recipe is mildly spiced. Adjust your own spicing as required. Serves 6-8.

Here's a last minute Christmas menu idea - especially good for non-vegetarians!

This is an opulent dish that showcases the incredible meatiness of fried panir cheese. Serve with plenty of rice or bread to mop up the rich juices. Serves 6

Semolina halava is the most popular dessert served at any of the Hare Krishna restaurants worldwide. This version of the famous hot, fluffy pudding with juicy raisins, raw sugar, and walnut pieces rates high in the "halava-top-ten". I have cooked halava for 4 or 5 persons and for 1500 persons; either way, following the same basic steps yields equally stunning results.

The secret of good halava is to roast the semolina very slowly for at least 20 minutes, with enough butter so as not to scorch the grains. Steam the finished halava over very low heat with a tight-fitting lid for 5 minutes to fully plump the semolina grains; then allow it to sit covered for another 5 minutes. Fluffy, plump grained halava is best served hot, on its own, or with a spoonful of cream or custard. Serves 6 - 8 persons, or a couple of halava addicts.

This simple and sublime dessert is popular, in one form or another, all over South East Asia. Various fruits can go with it - typically mango, jackfruit, or durian. It is also sometimes eaten with palm sugar syrup, with thick coconut milk and a pinch of salt, sprinkled with sesame, or served with a type of coconut milk custard called sankhaya.

You can even serve it with sweetened or unsweetened cream. In Thailand, where it is known as Khao Neow Mamuang it is eaten not just as a dessert, but as a sweet afternoon snack, or any time. Serves 4.

Spinach Filo Triangles feature the salty white Greek sheep's cheese feta and wafer-thin continental filo pastry. If you are not partial to the rather strong taste of feta, substitute ricotta cheese or home-made curd cheese (panir) or a combination of both. Include the optional cheddar cheese if you're using a substitute for feta. I have omitted salt from the recipe because feta cheese and spinach are both naturally salty. Add 1 teaspoon salt if you are not using feta. Makes 24 triangles.