Durban beef curry has a reputation for fieriness that has made it famous around the world. But, as this slow-cooked authentic recipe proves, it's not entirely about the hot spices and hearty beef that makes this curry a thing of beauty. A plethora of vegetables, herbs and spices are what come together to make it memorable, not to mention its unique history.

A spicy Malaysian seafood noodles dish likely to appeal to anyone who enjoys laksa. But, whereas most laksas are more like a spicy soup with noodles, this dish has a thicker sauce coating the noodles, revealing delicious vegetables and seafood.

This Cajun pot roast chicken with lentils is an easy way to roast a chicken and cook your vegetables at the same time—well most of them anyway. It's a great way to cook a meal for a group without slaving over a hot stove for hours. Though slow-cooked, you'll have time to kick back before impressing everyone with a Louisiana-style dinner.

A riff on the British Sunday roast, this Eastern Mediterranean roast lamb is served with autumnal veggies and spätzle dressed in the fresh flavours of spinach, feta and parsley. It's a nod to the food culture that Turkish immigrants brought with them to Germany. But, don't let the highfalutin concept get in the way: it's a delicious meal and, importantly a slow-cooked treat that won't stress out whoever is cooking the Sunday roast.

This vegan mushroom masala from Durban has become a go-to weekday curry, easy and fairly quick to make. If you love mushrooms and a bit of spice, this should definitely be in your repertoire. It's also easily adapted for non-vegans.

This chicken leftover pie is a great way to make use of roast chicken, a perfect second act for all those households that love roast chicken, but don't have the capacity to devour an entire bird at the Sunday table.

This dish of pasta with celery and basil sauce, served here with broad beans, is an amalgam of a fondly remembered dish from childhood via what happens when you start nosing around in the British Library. Highfalutin bibliographic japes aside, it's also easy to cook.

This celeriac and beef carbonnade from Arras in the north of France is a slow-cooked delight that takes some time, but is actually very easy to cook. A hearty warmer as the nights start to draw in...

Coronation Chicken Korma is my take on a Diasporan curry house favourite; that rich and mild curry beloved of millions around the world who may never experience an authentic version of this dish invented in the kitchens of Mughal palaces in the 16th century. No, not the authentic dish, but most certainly an authentic curry house version that took the world by storm in the 1970s.

This pasta with creamy asparagus and smoked salmon is one of my favourite summer dishes for when you're hungry but want something a little refreshing. It's certainly filling, but it is also light with the flavours of warm weather; citrus and green things. Better still, it takes very little effort to cook.

Durban in South Africa is known for its curries. The first in a colour-coded insider series on the Indian Diasporan traditions of the Durban curry focuses on the background to the fiery, red seafood and fish curries of South Africa's Eastern Seaboard and its iconic standard bearer, Durban king prawn curry

An easily cooked Madagascan squid curry with flavours of tomato, ginger, chilli and peanuts, the building blocks of Madagascan cuisine

A creamy coconut curry, another Indian Diasporan dish from Africa's east coast. It's a dish most often made with chicken

Cajun shrimp cassoulet is a delicious dish from Louisiana. Technically not a cassoulet, don't let that stop you.

A version of a very traditional dish from Cape Town that uses hearty ingredients—lamb, potatoes, onions and tomatoes—with distinctive spices

Another delicious vegan-to-carnivore curry from Southern Africa's Eastern Seaboard, a tomato and peanut curry with mustard greens

Tagliatelle with sausage ragù is an authentic Bolognese favourite; also a hack for those who find it hard to get their hands on salsiccia

Tiger prawn nasi goreng, a version of this Indonesian quick-to-cook crowd pleaser of spiced fried rice, seafood, egg, salad and pickles

Sweet and sour curry with apple and spinach is by default vegan, but its most indulgent versions are lacto-vegggie or include chicken

This Cajun bacon hash is a dish from the Southern USA actually harks back to much older French cuisine traditions