Christmas Drinks From Around The World

 

(This article first appeared online on 13th December 2023 on Live Mint and in print on 14th December in Mint newspaper India https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/drink/christmas-warm-drinks-recipes-111702454917451.html)

Poland's Christmas Markets and Festive Food and Drink

 

(This article first appeared online on 6th December 2023 on Live Mint, India https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/discover/christmas-winter-food-drink-poland-111701796198786.html)

The Goa-Brazil Christmas Food Connection

 

(This article first appeared online on 12th November 2022 in Mint Lounge, India https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/discover/how-goa-and-brazil-are-united-by-christmas-recipes-111670815157415.html)

Around the globe for Christmas

 

(This article appeared in the 20th November 2021 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India on page 17 https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/mumbai-food/article/around-the-globe-for-christmas-23205822 )

 

Xmas goes international!

Bringing an eclectic flare to your Christmas fare are a host of home chefs and small businesses dishing out everything from Swedish meatballs to Portuguese festive delicacies and a whole lot more.

By Raul Dias

Rummy’s Kitchen

With over a hundred varieties of vegetarian and meat pickles in her repertoire, Andheri West-based Inderpreet 'Rummy' Nagpal of the eponymous Rummy’s Kitchen decided to shake things up a bit this festive week with her rather 'well-travelled' Christmas special menu. “Having relatives all over the world, I thought it best to come up with a range of international festive dishes that I learnt to make on my visits abroad,” says Nagpal. On her a la carte Christmas menu that’s available from Wednesday to Sunday this week are dishes from America like a lemon herb roast chicken with cranberry meatballs (Rs 850) and braised pork ribs (Rs 850) with a side of the Italian staple of polenta. Accompanying these are her German stollen fruit bread (Rs 200), bacon bread (Rs 550) and a very unique Christmas tree pull apart bread (Rs 550). Desserts take the form of a Christmas cupcake with a rum and cream cheese frosting (Rs 150 for two) and a Christmas jar dessert (Rs 350) layered with spiced plum cake bits, cheesecake and piped chocolate ganache.

Call: 9769211608

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CAS

Egged on by friends who couldn’t get enough of his all-vegetarian lockdown dinners, fashion designer turned home chef Chintan Shah decided to start a small, luxury catering outfit called CAS (Culinary, Artisanal, Sensory) in earnest a couple of months ago. Operating out of his Peddar Road home’s kitchen, Shah bases his weekly vegetarian meal menus on his past travels to 101 countries. “My current Winter Wonderland Christmas menu is an ode to my trips to Switzerland where the food is hearty and warming,” says Shah. Packed for two, the three-course meal (Rs 1,900) available from Thursday to Saturday this week consists of a creamy asparagus soup, a Swiss chard, walnut and feta salad and a French baguette topped with the typically Swiss melted raclette cheese. Shah also sends in his wine and craft cocktail pairing suggestions with the meal. For an additional Rs 600, you can even get two servings of a traditional, boozy zuger kirschtorte cake with a nut meringue.

Call: 9969999699

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Cozinha Amorosa

“A loving kitchen” is what former lawyer and passionate home chef Anisha Andrade's three-month-old food business Cozinha Amorosa means in Portuguese. “I learnt the nuances of Portuguese cuisine from my mother-in-law, who, although Goan, has a strong Portuguese heritage,” says the Santacruz West-based Andrade. While her regular menu is full of traditional Goan dishes, she’s doing a number of Portuguese-style delicacies for this festive week. One can expect to relish dishes like a pork and bean stew called feijoada, an arroz con chorizo (sausage rice), a rare-to-find prawn cake called apa de camaro and a creamy tuna moulded salad which are all priced between Rs 450 to Rs 500 a portion, that Andrade says is enough to feed two. Desserts like the biscuit crumb serradura pudding and the tender coconut soufflé (both Rs 150 a portion) are just some of the sweet treats she has on offer. Andrade requires at least 48 hours advance notice for all orders.

Call: 9821399414

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Global Foodie

Taking the home diner on a whirlwind tour of cuisines from around the world is the Christmas menu by Global Foodie. Started a few years ago by advertising professional Prashant Pradhan, this Powai-based kitchen stays true to its name. “Our entire festive menu is made up of dishes from places as diverse as Brazil and Scandinavia to Korea and Italy,” says Pradhan who makes interesting dishes like Swedish meatballs served with mashed potatoes and blueberry jam (Rs 1,250 for a five-person portion). The menu, that’s available all this week, also has a Spanish seafood paella (Rs 1,600 for 1.5kgs), Italian porchetta pork roll (Rs 1,850 for 1.5kgs), Korean fried chicken wings (Rs 450 for a dozen) and Brazilian chicken croquettes called coxinas (Rs 1,400 for two dozen). To finish the feast off is the rich and decadent French chocolate terrine (Rs 400 for 300gms).

Call: 9967353332

(An edited version of this review appeared in the 23rd December 2020 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India on page 19 https://m.mid-day.com/articles/christmas-meals-from-around-the-world-by-mumbai-based-home-chefs/23156210)

Christmas around India!

(This article appeared in the 21st December 2019 issue of the Mint Lounge newspaper, India on page 14 https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/where-to-find-the-perfect-yuletide-spirit-11576857488372.html)

The Magical Christmas Quintet!

From a traditional white Christmas in Finland to an Aussie one where having a beach barbeque is the norm and a whole lot more exotic experiences in between, Raul Dias celebrates the diversity in Yuletide festivities from five unique parts of the world. 

By Raul Dias 

Celebrating with Santa
Rovaniemi in Finland
There is probably no other place in the world than Rovaniemi, Finland to spend the ultimate Christmas Day of your life. For it is this snow-blanketed, tiny town, neatly tucked away in the far north of the country’s Lapland that is considered the ‘Official Hometown of Santa Claus’. A month before Christmas, the festivities are put into full throttle here as Santa Claus declares the Christmas season open in Santa Claus Village. Another highlight of the year is December 23rd, when Santa departs on his mission to hand out presents to children all around the globe. And not to forget good old Rudolf, for Rovaniemi is also home to countless reindeer that one can interact with and even go on a sledge ride with. For those travelling with children, SantaPark is a must visit. It is at this underground toy factory where Santa’s elves create all the presents for children around the world. It’s a wonderful place for children to explore and a fantastic place to get in the spirit of Christmas in Lapland.

Tacos, Tamales, Tequila, anyone?
Mexico City in Mexico
It is in mid-November each year, when the Christmas festivities are kickstarted in bustling, colourful Mexico City. This takes place with the lighting of the Christmas tree in the Liverpool Insurgentes mega store on the third Saturday in November. It is THE most visited store during Yuletide season by Mexican families, for its Christmas village is one of the most spectacular and entertaining of the city. Besides the impressive Christmas tree, it features an ice slide and activities for children to write their letters to the Three Wise Men. From then on, families begin to prepare for the holidays where plenty of food, fun and colour define the fiesta. Think copious amounts of traditional Christmas delicacies like a large fritter known as a buñuelo, ponche navideño (a Christmas fruit punch) along with the usual Mexican cuisine staples of tacos and tamales stuffed with turkey—all washed down with some tequila. Christmas markets like the one organised in the Coyoacan Market or the Grand Christmas Bazaar in the Lázaro Cardenas Market are also wonderful places to get the festive vibe going. Another magical place in Mexico City during Christmas is the Zocalo square in the heart of the city where a giant ice rink is set up for people to skate and make merry.

Christmas in January
Lalibela in Ethiopia
Probably the most unique Christmas celebrations, and not just on this list, but in the world, Lalibela in Ethiopia does its version of the festivities very, very differently. For starters, Ethiopia celebrates Christmas on January 7th, not December 25th. Called Ganna, Christmas here is preceded by a special Advent fast for 43 days before Christmas. It starts on 25th November and is known as the ‘Fast of the Prophets’ or Tsome Nebiyat. During this time, traditionally only one vegan meal is eaten each day. On the day of Ganna, people get dressed in white, wearing a traditional shawl-like garment called a netela. It is a thin white cotton piece of cloth with brightly coloured stripes across the ends. People go to mass on Christmas Eve (called the Gahad of Christmas) at 6.00 pm and the service finishes about 3.00 am on Christmas Day, making it one of the longest and yes, most fascinating Christmas services! This is followed by a traditional Christmas feast that includes a thick stew called wat which can be made with meat, vegetables and eggs. The stew is eaten with roll of injera which is a flat fermented bread made from an indigenous Ethiopian grain called teff.

Joyeaux Noël
Montreal in Canada
Infused with a deliciously French flavour, given the city’s deep French conection, Christmas in Montreal is celebrated very differently than it is in other parts of Canada. Simply called ‘Noël’, it begins with the Défilé du Père Noël, aka the Montreal Santa Claus Parade that has been a tradition since 1925 with about 15 to 20 floats proceeding along the downtown artery and top shopping destination, Ste. Catherine Street, from Fort to St. Urbain. Another beautiful way that Christmas is celebrated here is with the Montreal Christmas Parade (Marche de Noël aux flambeaux) where one can join in the candlelight procession with over 10,000 other people to celebrate the season along with Christmas carolers who walk along the route from the city’s L’Avenue du Mont-Royal. As for those all-important Yuletide treats, you can indulge in an array of goodies like the ‘Bûche de Noël’ Yule log, pork pies called tourtières and yummy gruyère gougères, bursting with the goodness of cheese.

Beaches, BBQs and Bikinis
Sydney in Australia
Surprising as it may sound, but some of the best Christmas Day feasts in Sydney involve going to the city’s many beaches, donning bikinis, board shorts, thongs (as flip-flops are called in Australia) and indulging in a grand barbeque feast with family and friends, where plenty of grilled turkey, burgers and ice-cold beer take center stage. Iconic beaches like Bondi, Tamarama and Manly are the most popular ones to hang out at and enjoy the blazing Christmas summer sun while working on that festive tan. But this is not to say that some of the more typical trappings of a ‘traditional’ Christmas are totally ignored by our friends down under. In fact, the Yuletide festivities are kicked off on the last Saturday of November when Santa Claus and Sydney’s Lord Mayor light the giant Christmas Tree at a family concert in Martin Place. Another popular thing to do during the season is to check out the beautifully decorated Christmas window display dioramas at the David Jones store opposite St James Station, which each year tell a different Yuletide story.

(A shorter, edited version of this article first appeared in the Oct-Nov-Dec 2019 issue of HDFC Imperia magazine)

Christmas with a Difference

Christmas isn’t always about genial Santas, mistletoes and mugs of mulled wine. Raul Dias introduces you to a few alternative and decidedly wacky Christmas traditions around the world.   

By Raul Dias

In a little under two days’ time, most of the world will celebrate Christmas Day as we know it. Replete with all the Advent accoutrements pat in place. Read: carol singing, steaming mugs of mulled wine, nativity pageants and portly, white-bearded Santas frolicking about the place. But before we get carried away with all the above mentioned—and dare-we-say, cliched—merriment montages, it is pertinent to note that that’s not necessarily how the season’s festivities are represented everywhere. Remember we said ‘most’ and not ‘all over’ the world!

Here are a few such interesting, out-of-the-box and downright bizarre ways in which the world celebrates the birthday of Lord Jesus:  

The ‘anti-Santa’

This scary Austrian version of Santa, aka. Krampus really knows how to show those kids who’ve been bad, his…well, bad side! The ghoulish, hooved and horned creature that stems from Alpine folklore is believed to be the evil accomplice of St Nicholas and is said to wander the streets in search of badly-behaved children. During the month of December, you can expect to see terrifying masked figures out and about scaring kids and adults alike with ghastly pranks. The Krampus myth is so popular in Austria that there is even an annual Krampus parade in the capital Vienna. 

In a finger lickin’ mood, anyone?

Forget the Japanese language version of the “Merry Christmas!” greeting. For nearly five decades the refrain on Christmas Eve in Japan has been “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” (Kentucky for Christmas!). Yes, eating Colonel Sanders’ fried poultry pieces have become a sort of ritual for a true-blue Japanese Christmas Eve. Back in 1974, the American fast-food restaurant giant released a festive marketing campaign in Japan that spawned this rather strange national tradition that still thrives to this day. Families from all over the country head to their local KFC for a special Christmas Eve meal with table reservations being made weeks in advance.

Get, set…skate

There’s a very unique tradition that takes place in Caracas, Venezuela from the 16th to the 24th of December every year, where the city’s streets are closed off for heavy traffic before 8am so that people can go skating. And come Christmas Eve, the streets are closed off the whole day. Local residents then roller skate to church to attend the early morning mass called misa de aguinaldo, shooting off fireworks and shouting out “Jesus is born!” as they skate way.

In a mighty pickle! 

Forget those shiny buntings and kiss those cute turtle doves goodbye. In Germany, the must-have Christmas tree ornament has got to be a big green dill pickle. Confused? Well, in this Teutonic nation—where many believe the Christmas tree originated—it is customary to hide a pickle shaped ornament somewhere within the branches of the tree and give a gift to whichever child in the household finds it. According to a legend, two young boys were held captive inside a pickle barrel when the jolly St Nicholas rescued them, bringing them back (and a new tradition) to life.

Barbie and thongs

Do pardon the above sub-header, but this unique Christmas tradition maintained by our antipodean friends from down under in Australia has got nothing whatsoever to do with dolls or underwear! With Australia enjoying sunny Christmas days—what with December being peak summer time—the festivities here are kicked off with family-style barbecues that are affectionately called ‘barbies’ where people come dressed ultra-casually in shorts and sporting ‘thongs’ or flip flops on their feet. Very often, after a typically Aussie Christmas barbie, the action shifts to the local beach for a swim in the waters or simply to lounge about on the sand.  

Duck off!

We’ve probably saved the wackiest (and cutest!) of all Christmas traditions for the last, all the way from Sweden. The story goes back to the 1960s when televisions which were relatively new in Sweden aired only two channels. Now, one of these played Disney cartoons at Christmas, and in particular a 1958 Christmas special called “Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul” or “Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas”. Very soon the tradition of watching this particular special took root. So much so that till this day, every Christmas, families around Sweden gather in front of the television set at 3pm sharp, all to watch the antics of a duck named Donald. Interestingly, everything on Christmas Day is planned around the television special that enjoys a viewership of more than 40 per cent of Sweden’s population.

(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 23rd December 2018 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/christmas-2018-wacky-christmas-traditions-you-may-not-know-about/1420469)

Around the World in Six Christmas Trees!

As the most beautiful harbinger of the Yuletide season, the Christmas tree is more than just a mere festive ornament and one that has come to be recognised as the de facto symbol of all things Christmas. We bring you a few iconic interpretations of the Christmas tree from around the world, each with its own story to tell…   

By Raul Dias

The Galeries Lafayette Christmas Tree, Paris
It is safe to say that come early December one of the main reasons people visit Paris’s hallowed Galeries Lafayette department store—that sits pretty along the city’s chic Boulevard Haussmann—is not only for the rather expensive Christmas gifts one can pick up there. It is to get an eyeful of the legendary themed Christmas tree that rises 43 metres up the store’s Art Nouveau wrought iron and glass dome. One of the most memorable themes of this annual tree hosting tradition is the ‘Frozen’ one of 2016. That year, artist Lorenzo Papace came up with a tree that was made entirely of recycled paper with a tableau representation of bears and cubs that showed them abandoning their crib on the North Pole in search of a new ice pack that has not melted yet. But it was the 2017 tree last year themed ‘Spectacular, Spectacular’ that literally took the cake. What with it being created entirely from giant candy pieces and other edible goodies!

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, New York City
Images of people bundled up in woollies, ice skating under a giant Christmas tree, sipping hot chocolate and eating roasted chestnuts (though not all at the same time!) are montages that come to mind when one thinks of this iconic tree that has featured in countless movies over the years. Usually a Norway spruce tree ranging from 21 to 30 meters in height, this one has been a national tradition in the US for almost a century. Interestingly, the tree is older than the building it is housed in! It was way back in 1931, when a group of demolition workers working during the holidays put up their own Christmas tree on the construction site of the Rockefeller Center with a 20-foot tall balsam fir that saw tradition take shape. And ever since then, both locals and tourists alike have been staring up in gob-smacked wonder at one of the most beautiful Christmas trees of all time.

The Pope’s Christmas Tree, Vatican City
At advent every year a majestic spruce or fir Christmas tree is the chosen one to grace the very heart of St. Peter’s Square with themes that reflect important social messages ranging from migration to the refugee issue. Interestingly, this Christmas tree hosting tradition is a rather recent one. It was only in 1982 during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II that the tree as well as the life-size Nativity Scene was started. There is also one other tradition that is followed religiously (do pardon the pun!). Ever since the first tree in 1982 came from Italy, every year the Vatican accepts a tree donated by a different European country or region. Ironically the tree last year in 2017 was a 21-meter spruce tree donated by Masuria, Poland in honour of the Polish-born late Pope John Paul II. Considered one of the most beautiful Pope’s Christmas Tree ever, the 2016 one was illuminated by 18,000 LED lights and decorated with the ceramic ornaments, made by children in hospitals across Italy who were receiving treatment for cancer and other illnesses.

The Palace Square Christmas Tree, St. Petersburg
As one of the world’s most beautiful cities, stunning St Petersburg ups the ante with the wondrous spectacle that the Palace Square Christmas Tree affords all who visit it. Set against the backdrop of the baroque Winter Palace, the former official residence of Russian monarchs on the banks of the Neva River, this Christmas tree comprises green boughs attached to a wire frame. Decorated with traditional Russian Christmas ornaments including large replica Fabergé eggs, floral wreaths and other baubles, it truly mirrors the former imperial Russian grandeur at its finest. So magical and historical is this one that one can almost expect an Anna Karenina-esque character to come whirling by in a haze of powdery snow, riding a troika of silver white horses!

The Floating Christmas Tree, Rio de Janeiro
Though loathe to pick a favourite from a list such as this, we simply have got to give the crown to Rio’s Floating Christmas Tree, which interestingly is the newest of the lot having been started a little over two decades ago in 1996. Floating on a barge in the city’s Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, this stunning, 279-foot high mammoth tree is bedecked with 3.3 million micro light bulbs, each reflecting brilliantly in the waters of the South American lagoon. In order to view it from close quarters families hire out small boats shaped like geese for a spin on the lagoon. As the world’s largest floating Christmas tree, as certified by The Guinness World Records, this one is a big draw in Brazil with the lighting ceremony nationally televised and packed with celebrities. It is so big that it ranks only behind New Year’s Eve and Carnival on the city’s list of most-watched events.

The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree, London
Besides all its myriad year-round attractions, come winter and London plays host to one of the world’s most celebrated Christmas trees. Standing mighty next to the statue of the rather diminutive Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square, the 20-meter tall spruce tree has been an annual gift from the Norwegian capital city of Oslo since 1947. All this as a gesture of the Norwegian people’s gratitude for Britain’s support during World War II. And as with most icons, the tree comes with its own set of traditions. Chief among them being the tree lighting ceremony that takes place on the first Thursday in December and is attended by thousands of people. Led by the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the ceremony includes a blessing of the crib ceremony, which features a torchlit procession and music from St Martin-in-the-Fields church followed by the switching on of the Christmas lights. And the rest? Pure, undiluted wonder!

(An edited version of this article first appeared in the October-November- December 2018 issue of HDFC Imperia magazine)