A dinner-night calendar: one country for every month

A dinner night lands harder when there is a reason for it. "It's Nowruz this week" beats "I felt like Iranian food" every time, especially with kids, who like a date on the calendar as much as a dish on the table. Here is the year as we would plan it. Dates move; the festivals below are the ones that shift, with the months they usually fall in.

January — Georgia

The darkest month wants cheese and bread. Adjaruli khachapuri: a boat of dough, molten cheese, a yolk and a pat of butter stirred in at the table. Georgia celebrates Orthodox Christmas on 7 January, and a supra — the Georgian feast with its toasts — is the model for the whole idea of dinner night. We wrote a beginner's guide to the supra.

February — China or Taiwan, for Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year falls in late January or February. Gong bao chicken is fast, glossy and adjustable on heat; three-cup chicken fills the kitchen with basil and sesame oil. Either one with rice and a plate of oranges on the table is a celebration.

March — Iran, for Nowruz

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, arrives with the spring equinox around 20 March. Saffron, lemon and rice: joojeh kabab-style chicken. Put something green on the table — herbs, cucumbers — because the holiday is about renewal, and because it is good.

April — Japan, for hanami

Cherry-blossom season. Osaka-style okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake everybody can top their own way, which makes it a natural participation dinner. Tea or a zero-proof yuzu-style fizz beside it.

May — Mexico

Cinco de Mayo is a bigger deal in the United States than in most of Mexico, but it is a fine excuse. Oaxacan-inspired tlayudas: big crisp tortillas layered with beans, cheese, cabbage and avocado. Build your own at the table.

June — Portugal, for the Santos Populares

Lisbon and Porto fill with grilled food and paper lanterns in June for the festivals of St Anthony and St John. Chicken piri-piri off a tray, with the heat held back for the kids and poured on for you.

July — France, for Bastille Day

Fourteenth of July. Poulet basquaise — chicken braised with peppers and tomato — is the French Basque country in one pan and about as unfussy as French cooking gets.

August — Jamaica, for Independence Day

Jamaica's independence is 6 August and the weather is right for it. Sheet-pan jerk chicken with peppers and lime. This is one of the hottest dishes on the site as written, so read the heat note and split the pan.

September — Lebanon or Palestine, for the olive harvest

The olive harvest begins in autumn across the Levant. Musakhan-inspired sumac chicken flatbreads are the harvest dish: onions cooked slowly in new olive oil, sumac, pine nuts, bread. The shawarma bowls are the weeknight cousin.

October — India, for Diwali

Diwali falls in October or November. Sheet-pan chicken tikka for a crowd, a tray of sweets from an Indian grocery for dessert, and candles on the table — Diwali is the festival of lights, and children take that instruction seriously.

November — Ethiopia

Not a festival month so much as a weather one: when it is cold, a deep red stew is the answer. Quick doro wat-style chicken with injera if you can find it, flatbread if you cannot. Eating with your hands is part of the lesson.

December — Poland, for Wigilia

Polish families gather on Christmas Eve for Wigilia. Our chicken kotlet with mizeria is a weeknight stand-in — a crisp cutlet and a cool cucumber-dill salad — and the kompot beside it is the real Christmas Eve drink.

Swapping months

None of this is law. If a child comes home asking about Uzbekistan in April, plov in April is correct. The calendar is there for the weeks when nobody has a question, and for the quiet pleasure of a reason.