African

Any kind of flatbread or crusty roll is perfect with this Moroccan concoction. You could also use the dip as a salad dressing or sauce for fish.

Goes great with: Couscous flavored with chopped mint, toasted slivered almonds, and grated lemon peel. What to drink: Australian Shiraz or red Faugères from the Languedoc in France.

This delicious bread, which has been part of Egyptian cuisine since the time of the Pharaohs, gets beautiful color and vibrant flavor from dukka, a blend of spices and nuts widely used in the Middle East.

This is a traditional homemade drink that's found all across West Africa. It's sometimes called ginger beer, though it's not alcoholic.

This is more of an infusion than a true tea, since it isn't made with tea leaves. You will have leftover spice tea to store.

The spicy North African condiment called harissa is often mixed with olives or served with salads, couscous, or tagines — meat or poultry stews.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Dhall Curry In this recipe, the legacy of Cape Town, South Africa's Indian immigrants is apparent.

Cape Malay Masala This version of masala is a variation of the traditional Indian spice mix known as garam masala.

Cinnamon, cloves, ginger and cayenne pepper enhance this North African-style dish. Serve the stew over the Saffron-Cardamom Rice or plain basmati rice.

A colorful, aromatic rice that is good with the Spicy Lamb Stew with Apricots and Cardamom, or with broiled chicken, fish or vegetables.

This fragrant stew is great over couscous.

This vibrant, aromatic Moroccan spice blend makes an excellent addition to lamb burgers or roasted chicken.

A blend of cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon gives this dish its Moroccan flair.

Chermoula Chermoula is a traditional North African marinade for fish, especially in Morocco where, surprisingly, it's often used with shad. It has become very popular recently with North American restaurant chefs as a quick and easy (and cheap!) way to add lots of flavor to bland fish. Many old-fashioned recipes don't call for cilantro and parsley at all, but the fresh flavor of the green herbs adds a great deal to the preparation. Instead of shad, which is hard to find even when it's in season, and very difficult to bone, I use salmon steaks or fillets. You could substitute many other kinds of fish, including swordfish, halibut, haddock, and even fresh-water fish, such as catfish and perch.

These rolls are based loosely on b'stilla — a phyllo-crusted "pie" of shredded chicken that's been simmered with Moroccan spices and then mixed with egg and nuts. The egg lends the filling an almost custard-like richness.

The African, Caribbean, and Asian populations of New York share a common love of spice and okra, so we've combined the two. If habanero chiles are too spicy for you, use a serrano or jalapeño chile instead. Rinsing your okra gives it a cleaner taste and texture. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

We've substituted Cornish game hens (which are much easier to find) for the squab used at Gary Danko in San Francisco. At the restaurant, the squab is stuffed with a mixed-grain pilaf. We suggest serving this with couscous or rice pilaf.

Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr This recipe, which accompanied our 1954 article on Tunisia, called for what were then two very exotic ingredients. One, the granular pasta called couscous, is now commonplace in supermarkets across America. The other, dried rose petals, is available by mail order.