Much like regional languages, Indian Christmas feasts to celebrate Advent—which marks the beginning of the Christmas season—are distinct, drawing from local cooking techniques, foods, and even the colonial influence on the region.
While the Christmas feasts in erstwhile Portuguese and British colonies have been informed by the culinary influences of their past colonial rulers, Northeastern tribes have taken references from their tribal roots. The dishes and recipes, inherited by generations, evoke nostalgia and memories within the communities.
Syrian Christians, Kerala
Seafood and meat, particularly beef, dominate the Syrian Christian feast table. But surprisingly, during the Advent period, which lasts for 24 days till Christmas, the community turns vegetarian. On Christmas day, the community feasts on appams and beef or chicken curry.
The meal begins with beef and chicken cutlets, moves to appam and curry, and ends with Christmas cake, which is as traditional as it gets: Dates, raisins, chopped cashews, tutti frutti, and berries stuffed delights. The drink is Paani, a syrup made from toddy, which is downed with bananas.
The feast meal also includes Vattayappam (soft, pillowy cakes made with fermented rice) and Duck Mappas (a slow-cooked curry made with coriander and coconut milk). Kozhi pidi or bite-sized rice dumplings are simmered in coconut milk and eaten with mildly spiced chicken curry.
Goa
The cuisine of this tiny state on the southwestern coast has been shaped by local food traditions as well as the 450-years-long Portuguese reign.
A traditional Goan Christmas spread spans roast pork, tuna canapés, and beef roulade drawn from the Portuguese rulers. And then there is pulao and Pork Vindaloo, which come from native culinary traditions, besides the traditional bread, Poee.
The centrepiece on the feast table is a grand roast—a whole roasted pig generally, coated with masalas and vinegar, must-have ingredients in most Goan meat dishes. Goan sausage pulao or Chorizo, Prawn Pulao, Beef Rolls and Croquettes, and the spicy tangy pork dish, Sorpotel (a Portuguese-origin pork dish that was adapted by Goans by discarding the ears, tail, and limbs of the pig, and adding spices and vinegar), are the stars of the feast.
In some homes, you may find a coconut-laden gravy dish, Chicken or Prawn Xacuti, and Fish Fillets served during the family feast, though the focus is largely on pork and beef dishes. There are some sides, of course: Prawn or Chicken Rissois, a half-moon pastry-shaped snack from the Portuguese culinary traditions, and Liver Pate on Toast.
No Goan Christmas meal is complete without a dessert. The multi-layered Bebinca is a traditional 7-to-10-layered cake made with coconut milk, eggs, and sugar, which has Portuguese roots. My favourite Bebinca maker, Jacqueline Fernandes of Jacques Bakes in Merces, adds tweaks to traditions that have made her an icon. Her Ombre Bebinca recipe has gradient layers formed by caramel batter, egg yolks, vanilla nutmeg, sugar, and cardamom.
Goa’s Christmas platter of sweets, called Kuswar or Consoada, a lovely little tray stacked with sugary confections and treats, is a tradition that is seeing a revival. For some years now, Goans had moved away from treating themselves, or others, to Kuswar because of the amount of work involved in making the various sweets. In recent years, bakers and home chefs have ensured that it is easier to buy homemade Kuswars with sweets such as Bathk (moist coconut and semolina cake), diamond shaped Doce, Dodol, a rich pudding, and Gons or Teias de Aranhas, a candied sweet that looks like a spiderweb.
Taj Fort Aguada, Goa has helped to revives some dishes like the Dedos de Dama, natively called ‘Ladies fingers’, first invented by the nuns at Santa Monica in Old Goa. This mix of cooked cashew nuts and coconut is shaped into small cylindrical fingers and coated with caramel, pierced with decorated skewers, and stuck on fruits such as watermelon or pineapple.
Bolo sans Rivals is a cake with French buttercream sandwiched between layers of meringue, cooked using egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, chopped cashew nuts, and vanilla extract. The making of French buttercream is an art in itself: Egg yolks are whipped until they are thick and pale yellow and then, hot sugar syrup, which has reached the soft ball stage, is folded in. Butter and flavourings (rum, vanilla, or almond extract) are then whipped in. Buttercream tends to melt fast due to the high content of fat from egg yolks and butter, so the dessert is refrigerated till it is firm, whipped again, and topped with chopped cashew nuts or slivered almonds and cherries.
Nagaland and Manipur
The two states are too large a geographical area to coalesce under one subhead, but some Christmas dishes stand out amongst others. Nagaland, with 18 tribes, has a tradition of large Christmas feasts organised by the local church in the finest example of community dining. Among the dishes that find themselves on the feast tables is the Naga classic, Axone, a fermented soybean dish that is served with Naga Smoked Pork and bamboo shoots.
Anishi, a delicacy made with fermented leaves cooked into cakes or patties and then fire-smoked, wild apple juice (also called the Christmas drink), sticky rice tea, and Zutho, a rice beer, complete the meal.
Like Nagaland, Manipur’s Christmas meal is centred around pork. Sizou-Changal Mein, or pork cooked in Sizou leaves which are native to Manipur; Changlong, or pork wrapped in the tender banana stem; and Ngathu or fermented fish which is eaten with boiled greens are some of the Christmas specials. The Meiteis of Manipur cook Nga Atoiba Thongba, a local fish that is diced into bite-sized pieces, mashed a little to make it crumble, and then seasoned. Eromba, another popular fermented fish dish for Christmas is cooked with Ngari, a dried fish, vegetables, and hot peppers.
East Indian, Mumbai
The city has a sizeable East Indian population, said to be descendants of the original inhabitants of the seven islands. While they share much of the Goan food traditions, some Christmas desserts are part of just the East Indian tradition.
Home chef Riva Fernandes mentions Milk Cream or cashews cooked with milk and sugar, which is reduced to a very thick consistency and set in star-shaped moulds.
The East Indian feast table also heaves under Guava Cheese, or Goibada, as it is known in Portuguese, a textured sweet which is cooked and pureed with sugar and then set in trays. Marzipans are essentially cashews and almonds cooked with milk, sugar, and edible food colouring.
East Indians make sorpotel with East Indian bottle masala, a blend of 25 spices that are pounded together. In traditional homes, the drink is Khimad, a mulled liquor sort of beverage. The other dishes on the feast table are roasted suckling pig with stuffing, potato chops that are stuffed with mince, and Fugias or fried dough balls.
Anglo Indians, Kolkata
Much like the Goans, Anglo-Indians love vinegar. Kosha Mangsho or Mutton Kosha with a hint of vinegar; Chicken roast made with desi masalas; and Pork Pepper Fry or the Pork Vindaloo are Christmas feast specials.
Desserts such as kalkals, bread pudding, and rose cookies evoke nostalgia. Snacking while drinking is common, and meatballs and beef slices are served up as drink accompaniments. The Christmas breakfast has bread, cold cuts, and sausages laid out on the table. Christmas meals end with bowls of apricot custard and marzipan. Among the other common dishes are Mutton stew, turkey roast, and homemade salted pork.
Christmas celebration among Kolkata’s Anglo-Indians is never complete without a big dessert party at restaurants such as Nahoum and Flury’s on Park Street and feasting on street snacks such as Koriashutir Kochuri with aloo (green peas stuffed puffed bread) and mince pies.
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