10 centrespread centrespread 11 DECEMBER 20-26, 2020 DECEMBER 20-26, 2020 MUMBAI Swig of Khimad, Bite of Guava Cheese Mumbai’s East Indian Christians have a rich The fondest memories are indeed those gathered around a table. While praying and giving are synonymous with Christmas, so is feasting. Families Nagaland spread for Christmas. Sorpotel is a must-have and they use their bottle masala — 25 spices whip up once-a-year delicacies and pull out family recipes. While cake and marzipan are familiar treats, every region in pounded together once a year. Khimad, an 20122020_ETSU_ India has its own extraordinary spread. Here’s a taste of Christmas feasts from across the country: Axone All the Way equivalent of mulled wine, is made from coun- Journalist Rita Krocha remembers visiting try liquor. Duck or chicken moilee, roasted MP_00_1_COL_ Text: Nupur Amarnath; Illustrations: Anirban Bora her grandparents in their village for Christ- suckling pig with stuffing, potato chops (potato mas. It meant indulging in the traditional stuffed with mince), fugias (fried dough balls) R1 Christmas meal that comprised of steamed and a simple salad are all part of the feast. For rice and pork, “without which any celebra- dessert, there’s the thali sweet, made with but- tion is incomplete in Nagaland”. While pork ter, coconut, almonds and semolina, and guava with axone (fermented soyabeans) or bam- cheese, a chewy, fudge-like sweet made from Allahabad boo shoots is well-known, in the village, it’s guava and sugar. prepared using very few ingredients. Wild apple juice, sometimes called Christmas Courtesy: Dinelle Lobo, home baker, Mumbai; Arun D'Souza, chef, The Allahabadi Cake drink, is special, as is sticky rice tea. Perch, Mumbai; and Sasha Miranda, PR professional, Mumbai A rich fruitcake made with ghee and a pinch of spices — that is the Allahabadi cake made by East Indian Christians. The ghee adds a different flavour to the cake. Manipur Pork & Rice Cakes GOA Nenem Misao, a freelance research analyst based in Kangpokpi in Manipur and hailing Goan With the Vindaloo from the Kuki tribe, says Christmas in his vil- lage is a community celebration. At home, the The bustle of Christmas starts early in a Goan feast has dishes like sizou-changal me (meat house. Pork sorpotel is a festival favourite. Vin- cooked with sizou leaf). Rice is used to thicken daloo is also a must, along with green masala the gravy. Another festive dish is changlong, chicken cafreal, meat roast and rolls. Goans love pork cooked with tender banana stem, and their festive sweets, says homemaker Sharon malcha me, chutney made from the chilli mal- Correia. Christmas sweets include bebinca, pina- chapom, jonglha or tree beans and mixed with gr (made from rice, jaggery and coconut) and ngathu (fermented fish) and eaten with boiled dodol (made with coconut milk, jaggery and greens (me tam). nuts). Sweet dish serradura has layers of Delhi-based stylist Rin Jajo, a Tangkhul crushed Marie biscuits and whipped cream, Naga from Ukhrul, says pork is a staple and drizzled with chocolate. they make blood sausages and a variety of dishes, with bamboo shoots or Sirarakhong chillies (red chillies grown in Sirarakhong vil- lage). Pork is slow-cooked with only chilli powder and salt for flavour. “Sometimes a pig’s head is cooked overnight and it’s a real treat,” he says. An integral part of the feast are rice cakes made from sticky rice flour, wrapped in leaves of banana or arrowroot, and steamed. They can be eaten like this or pan-fried with a bit of oil. MANGALURU Know Your Kusuwar KERALA As food writer Ruth Dsouza Prabhu shares Christmas God’s Own Pantry recipes from her mother’s book, Jane DSouza’s Cook Jharkhand Book, she talks about kuswar, a blanket term for The typical Christmas breakfast, especially among Syrian Christians, Anglo-Indians Christmas sweets. There are kalkals (dough curls fried is appam and mutton stew. The feasting continues through the day Dhuska, Arsa, Lakra in butter and sugar-coated), guliyos (deep-fried rice with vattayappam (soft, pillowy cakes made with fermented rice) and balls), kokkisan (rose cookies). There are also nevrio duck mappas (a slow-cooked curry made with coriander and coconut Meats, including pork and chicken, are part of the festive Get the Roasts (crescent-shaped sweet dish) and thandlache laadu or milk). Then there’s kozhi pidi — bite-sized rice dumplings, gently sim- feast and served with dhuska — deep-fried, batter-based Author of several cookbooks on Anglo-Indian cuisine, Bengaluru- rice laddoos. There are also savoury kuswar like tukdi mered in coconut milk — eaten with mildly spiced chicken curry as a bread made with peas, coriander and rice flour. Arsa is a based Bridget White-Kumar says Christmas dinner has roasts (deep-fried, salted maida crisps) and karakaddi, literal- one-bowl meal. Other common foods are kudampuli fish curry (where deep-fried rice snack. The rice flour, mixed with dried taking centrestage. Some common dishes are mutton stew, quite ly spicy sticks in Konkani. Traditionally, a platter of the pot tamarind and the fish are the heroes) and mutton or banana fruits, coconut and sesame in sugar syrup, is shaped into like an Irish stew, turkey roast, pork pot roast, homemade salted kuswar is covered with a decorative cloth and distrib- flower cutlets. The traditional sweet is pazham nanachathu — sun- balls and fried. Lakra is a traditional cold meat — basical- pork, pepper pork short ribs and mince pies. Kalkals and rose cook- uted to friends and family. For Christmas lunch, there’s dried ripe bananas or just ripe bananas, served with palm toddy, ly a sun-dried, preserved meat preparation typical to ies are fried sweet treats; kalkals are a variant of filhoses enrola- chicken roast — chicken stuffed with a mix of bread, reduced to the consistency of honey, and fresh coconut. tribal Christian homes. das, a Portuguese Christmas sweet. onions, potatoes, raisins and offal. Courtesy: Chef Regi Mathew, culinary director & co-owner, Kappa Chakka Kandhari.