From Gurgaon to Amsterdam, what the world eats for dinner on a weeknight

Gurgaon, India

From left: Radha and Tara Osan eat dinner with their parents in Gurgaon. The meal consisted of palak paneer, raita, Kadai aloo, cucumber salad and chapatis. (Saumya Khandelwal/The New York Times)

The Oceans — Radha, Tara, Gurinder and Shikha — get dinner on the table at their home in Gurgaon, southwest of New Delhi, with help from a cook. The family eats around 9 p.m., and on this night, the meal consisted of palak paneer (spinach with cheese), raita, Kadai aloo (potatoes with onions and spices), cucumber salad and roasted chapatis.

Rome, Italy

Claudia Bellucci prepares baked tomatoes au gratin as part of a family meal in Rome. (Valeria Scrilatti/The New York Times)

Claudia Bellucci does most of the cooking for her family in Rome, and this night she was assisted by her daughter, Fiamma. For this meal, she picked herbs from her terrace for saltimbocca alla Romana (veal rolled with ham and sage). She also served homemade pesto with trofie pasta, a salad and baked tomatoes au gratin.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Khojandi family eat a weeknight meal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Tasneem Alsultan/The New York Times)

Basmah, Mazin, Abdulmalik and Abdulrahman Khojandi eat their meals — a mix of prepared and homemade foods — at home most nights during the week. Dinner on this evening was smashed beans, shakshuka and masoob, a mixture of banana, bread, dates, cream and honey.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Some of the ingredients that Youvelyne Rosier Charles will use to prepare a meal of lalo with sos pwa nwa, a black bean sauce served with rice, for her family in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Jessica Obert/The New York Times)

While many Haitian families eat their main meal at midday, the Charles family takes theirs in the evening, usually around 7 p.m. Youvelyne Rosier Charles prepares the meal: On this night, she made lalo with sos pwa nwa, a black bean sauce served with rice. Oranges and limes from the yard were used to marinate the meat and crab for the lalo. Charles’ 4-year-old daughter, Meghan, led the family in a short prayer.

Rehovot, Israel

The Levy family takes a meal of Yemeni soup, chicken schnitzel, spicy Moroccan-style fish, bread and rice, at home in Rehovot, Israel. (Ilia Yefimovich/The New York Times)

Typically the Levy family eats at around 7 p.m., but on the Sabbath, the meal begins around 8. On this evening, they ate Yemeni soup, chicken schnitzel and chraime, a spicy Moroccan fish dish, with bread and rice. Tal Levy held the challah as he said a prayer.

Paris, France

Marina Pajovic Devouge and her children have a meal of leftover chicken, couscous, broccoli, mushrooms and grape tomatoes, at home in Paris, Sept. 13, 2019. (Dmitry Kostyukov/The New York Times)

Marina Pajovic Devouge prepared an early meal for her two children, Klara and Maxime, in the family’s apartment in Paris before her husband got home. That night, the children ate some leftover roasted chicken from the butcher around the corner, paired with couscous from Picard Surgelés, a frozen-food store popular in France. They finished their meals with a Petit Suisse cheese and two slices of Comté for Maxime, and a slice each of Comté and Emmental for Klara.

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Siviwe Mbatha prepares a meal of braised oxtail, steamed bread and chakalaka, a relish made with peppers, grated carrots and baked beans, at home in Richards Bay, South Africa. (Rogan Ward/The New York Times)

Siviwe Mbatha cooks dinner for her family — her husband, Sphiwe Mbatha, their three children, her mother, a friend and a cousin — at home in the town of Richards Bay, in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal. On this night they ate braised oxtail, with a steamed bread called ujeqe in Zulu (Sphiwe Mbatha’s tribe) and umkhupha in Xhosa (Siviwe Mbatha’s tribe). Chakalaka, a relish made with fried peppers, grated carrots and baked beans, is a South African favorite, she said.

Western Australia

A youth’s meal of pan-fried red snapper, broccolini, sweet potato fries, raw veggies and a fruit salad, at the home of Jarrod and Susie Opie in Yallingup, Australia. (Guy Calaf/The New York Times)

Jarrod and Susie Opie and their three children live in Yallingup, on the Indian Ocean. On weeknights like this one, she cleans and he cooks: pan-fried nannygai, a local red snapper, with broccolini and sweet potato fries. The kids got extra fruits and vegetables.

Lima, Peru

Corn is prepared, to be served alongside grilled steak, potatoes and salad at Jesus and Margot Guevara’s home in Lima, Peru. (Angela Ponce/The New York Times)

On weeknights at their apartment, the Guevaras — Jesus and Margot, and their children, Eva and Dana — eat a dinner prepared by their housekeeper, who also does cleanup. Grilled steak was the centerpiece of this meal, paired with corn, potatoes and a salad.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Fleure Henket, who cooks for her family four nights a week, prepares salmon with basmati rice and broccoli, at their home in Amsterdam. (Herman Wouters/The New York Times)

Fleure Henket cooks for her family four nights a week, limiting meat consumption to two nights a week. This evening, she served salmon with basmati rice and broccoli; dessert was a homemade custard with fresh raspberries and berry jam.

Texas, United States

Spaghetti with meat sauce, along with a green salad and garlic bread, eaten by the Garzas for dinner at their home in Austin, Texas. (Dimitri Staszewski/The New York Times)

The Garzas get weeknight dinner on their table in Laredo with help from an Instant Pot. On this evening, they ate spaghetti with meat sauce, along with a green salad and garlic bread. They eat at home six nights a week; they’ll sometimes order takeout if they have prayer group or baseball practice for Grayson, 4.

Lagos, Nigeria

Ozoz Sokoh, left, a food writer, eats a meal of chicken soya with condiments galore, including peanut butter sauce, papaya chutney, zobo or hibiscus green chile sauce, mint and spring onion oil, tamarind ginger sauce, and beet and carrot sauerkraut, with her children at their home in Lagos, Nigeria. (Andrew Esiebo/The New York Times)

Wednesday nights are for wraps at the Sokoh home in Lagos. Ozoz Sokoh, a food writer, with her daughter Riobo, flipped freshly made plantain flatbreads, which were served with chicken suya, lime-pickled onions and a tomato and eggplant salsa thawed from the freezer. Dinner included condiments galore, including peanut butter sauce, papaya chutney, hibiscus green chile sauce, mint and spring onion oil, tamarind ginger sauce, and beet and carrot sauerkraut.

Monterrey, Mexico

Katia Barragan makes huevos revueltos, a scrambled egg dish, for her family at their home in Monterrey, Mexico. (Source: The New York Times)

Luis Leduc and Katia Barragán take turns making dinner at their home in northeastern Mexico, but on this night it was Barragán’s turn. She made huevos revueltos, a scrambled egg dish, with chorizo and onions, and served the eggs with flour tortillas. Their daughter, Emma, 4, insisted that the family eat strawberries, her favourite, while Polly the dog lingered nearby. “All the important things are discussed, celebrated and mourned around food,” Barragán said.

Moscow, Russia

The Lunins eat a dinner of kotleti — patties made with ground beef, bread, eggs and onions — alongside rice, green salad and a salad of roasted eggplant, red peppers and basil, at their home in Moscow. (James Hill/The New York Times)

Liza Lunin makes dinner most nights at her family’s apartment in the Russian capital. She and her husband, Viktor, have six children, who are in charge of setting the table. On this night, they ate kotleti — patties made with ground beef, bread, eggs and onions — alongside rice, green salad and a salad of roasted eggplant, red peppers and basil.

Tokyo, Japan

Yasuko Iguchi serves mebaru, a rockfish, with avocado, okra and tomatoes, sunomono (a cucumber and wakame dish), miso soup, rice, and kiwi and pineapple, at her home in Tokyo. (Julie Glassberg/The New York Times)

Yasuko Iguchi picked okra from her garden to cook for her son, Masahiro Iguchi, a divorced father of three who comes with his children to eat dinner five or six nights a week. On this evening they ate mebaru, a rockfish, with rice, miso soup and fresh fruit for dessert.

Istanbul, Turkey

Umut, Nevin, Deniz and Meral Terzi ate homemade kofte (meatballs), lentil soup and bulgur pilaf with grated tomatoes and bell peppers, along with dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) and red beans in olive oil. They ended the meal with a rice pudding called sutlac and pumpkin with tahini and walnuts.

São Paulo, Brazil

Carmem Massad Curi and her husband, Luis Felippe prepare a meal of picadinho, a traditional Brazilian stew made with beef, carrots and potatoes, with rice and salad, at their home in São Paulo. (Gabriela Portilho/The New York Times)

Carmem Massad Curi made picadinho, a traditional Brazilian stew made with beef, carrots and potatoes, which they ate with rice and a salad as they watched TV. Her husband, Luis Felippe, sets the table, and her children, Lucas and Giovanna, clear the plates.