Timorese Recipes

Timorese cooking is simple, hearty and built on what grows on the island. Rice is the preferred staple, but maize, cassava, sweet potato, taro, pumpkin and beans fill many plates, especially in the mountains. Tamarind, lime, garlic, shallots and fresh chilies season grilled fish, stews and curries, and few tables are complete without ai-manas, a fiery chili relish. Coconut milk turns up in curries and cakes. Portuguese influence is visible in feijoada, bread and the habit of strong coffee, while neighboring islands share skewers, rice steamed in woven coconut leaves and spice pastes. Cooking over an open fire is still common, and special meals may be wrapped in banana leaf or cooked in bamboo. Everyday food means rice or maize with a vegetable stew and a small saucer of chili. Larger gatherings such as weddings, Christmas and family celebrations call for grilled meat, curry, feijoada and coconut cake, served with coffee grown in the highlands.

Staple ingredients

• rice
• maize
• cassava and sweet potato
• pumpkin
• mung beans and red beans
• coconut
• tamarind
• fresh chilies

• Main Dishes 3
• Side Dishes 1
• Sauces, Dips and Condiments 1

Main Dishes

• Batar Da'an (Timorese Corn, Mung Bean and Pumpkin Stew)TL1 h 10 minEasy
• Ikan Sabuko (Timorese Tamarind and Lime Grilled Fish)TL32 minEasy
• Caril de Peixe (Timorese Fish Curry with Coconut Milk)TL1 hEasy

Side Dishes

• Katupa (Timorese Coconut Rice in Leaf Parcels)TL1 h 55 minMedium

Sauces, Dips and Condiments

• Ai-manas (Timorese Chili and Lime Sauce)TL23 minEasy