New Delhi, Nov. 6 -- "Most Greeks have coffee and cigarettes for breakfast," says my guide Katerina Loulou, who is taking me on a food tour around Athens. "What about Greek yoghurt with honey?" I enquire. She finds the very notion hilarious; "we will think of ten other things before considering yoghurt for breakfast," she says. And one of those things is bougatsa, a filo pastry stuffed with mildly sweet semolina custard that I grew obsessed with during my week-long Greek holiday.

Before visiting Greece, I was only aware of spanakopita, the spinach and feta stuffed filo pie that is perhaps one of the most well-known Greek foods. But I discovered very quickly that the Greeks have taken the art of stuffed filo pastry pies to another level. ...