The Christmas Table: Writers Share Their Christmas Day Meals
Merry Christmas! We asked writers to share what their Christmas feast looked like this year. Many in India celebrate the season irrespective of religion, and the food is a wonderful representation of this diversity of experience. If you have a picture of what Christmas looked like at your table this year, send it us on Instagram!
Nitin Sumitran, Mumbai: Tharavu Curry (Duck Curry) & Achappam (Rose Cookies) are something that is a must-do ritual during Christmas. Though Duck meat is now freely available in Mumbai, for some strange reason we only tend to cook & take it to our friends Sandra & Ashwin during our Christmas dinner. This is definitely on our Christmas takeaway menu this year.
Zoya Naaz Rehman, Bangalore: Grilled pear halves with cookie crumble, coconut flakes, roasted hazelnuts and a java plum (jamun) compote, for dessert.
Anubhuti Krishna, Delhi: Christmas is always special to us. Even though we don’t celebrate as a religious festival, it’s an occasion to get together and be grateful for everything the year has given us.
This year we put together a table with our friends and decided a light snacky meal — so we have more of hummus and dips and pita, some old fashioned Monaco canapés, homemade namakpara, some sausages and very classic boozy cake and cookies from Delhis oldest bakery. There was mulled wine too and a motichoor laddoo, gulab jamun and Rabri parfait.
The mains had matar paneer and mutton with pulav — after all, we are in Delhi.
Ruth D’Souza Prabhu, Bangalore: We did a Kerala-Mangalore fusion this year to represent my husband's home state and my home town. The menu was beef ularthiyathu, pork peralan, mutton jeera-meeri, chicken roast with trimmings of truffle butter potatoes, french beans and buttered carrots, Mangalorean sweet pulao with raisin chutney. The platter of sweets are all from Kerala.
Joanna Lobo, Goa: This is our Christmas table from Goa. Us Lobos always celebrate occasions with plenty of food, good food. On the table is batat bhaji, samarachim kodi, sorpotel, chicken xacuti, fish curry, chhole, and pulao.
Anisha Rachel Oommen, Bangalore: My husband’s mother typically spends Christmas eve baking cakes for the extended family and a few dear friends. By Christmas morning, her table is creaking under the weight of 30+ cakes. The house is heavy with the aroma of boozy fruit cake, and we start the day spooning into freshly baked cake.
Aysha Tanya, Bangalore: Christmas Eve dinner was murgh musallam — whole chicken stuffed with boiled eggs and mince meat, spicy mutton chops and soft, pillowy sheermal. Lots of plum cake and stollen for dessert, of course
Karen Martin: Our table has a honey baked ham with carrots sautéed in butter and garlic, roasted chicken with oranges and rosemary, Christmas potato salad with rocket and cranberries, confit mashed potatoes, herb baked bread with black olives and fresh rosemary, Christmas fruit cake, stollen, vanilla butter cookies, mince pies and Christmas pudding.
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