Yuletide Cheer with Christmas Treats on the table

When November sets in, it does feel Christmas is just around the corner. It is the celebratory time of the year to get ready with plans and budgets, begin refreshing the décor by hanging up pretty Christmas chains and ornaments and decking the Christmas tree. Then, there are gifts to buy along with ingredients for the all-important Christmas dinner.

But did you know that this favourite festival that has evolved seamlessly from a religious event (the birth of Lord Jesus Christ) to a full-fledged cultural celebration, cuts right across countries, cultures, and religious lines? Turns out, it varies hugely in different nations but everywhere it comes with the same high degree of fun involving family and friends.

In Germany, for instance, charming Christmas markets spring up everywhere with artisans selling gifts that you can buy for everyone – from your grandparent to the office boy – on your list. In the Philippines, there are Nochebuena parties on Christmas eve with the lighted star lantern everywhere. In England, stockings hung up for kids are filled with little gifts and goodies while they are fast asleep, so they wake up to sweet surprises on Christmas day.

Singapore’s Orchard Road Shopping District puts up the most spectacular light displays during Christmas season. In Iceland, that celebrates Christmas 13 days before the rest of the world does, Yule Lads leave little gifts for “good children” if they place their boots on the windowsill. In China, many young Chinese celebrate the day like Valentine’s Day by going on dates and exchanging gifts. There is also the interesting tradition of gifting apples for Christmas in China.    

We, at Chapter 2, are naturally keener on the “feasting” bit that is intrinsically tied with Christmas when some well-loved Christmas dishes make an appearance adding oodles of festive flavour to the celebrations. Here are 5 that we picked –

1. Christmas Turkey – It is perhaps the most iconic dish of any Christmas dinner. Some families would even declare that their Christmas is incomplete without it. It became ‘fashionable’ to eat turkeys for Christmas in the UK in the 1840s and 1850s. In ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens published in 1843, the Cratchit family first had a goose, but at the end of the book Ebenezer Scrooge gives them a turkey, because it was bigger and more ‘important’. Interestingly, Dickens’s family are also recorded having a turkey for Christmas in 1843! Turkey for Christmas is a tradition just as intrinsic to the festival as opening a gift. Emblematic of the festival, the turkey is a roast dish in which the bird is steamed with aromatics and then roasted whole. The skin remains brown and crisp, and the meat is wonderfully tender, moist, and bursting with flavour. It is served on a special Christmas Turkey Serving Platter usually garnished with slices of pineapple or kiwi, gummy candy, grapefruit, mashed potatoes, a variety of roast vegetables including crisp green beans.
2. Christmas Pudding – Did you know the traditional Christmas Pudding is also known as the Figgy Pudding? Originally made of flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, suet, brandy, eggs, candied citrus peel, lemon zest, spices, and lots of dried fruits (raisins – regular and golden, and currants), this traditional English steamed, cake-like dessert dates to the 14^th century. Of course, it was in a different form back then. These days, plum pudding too has been given the ‘honour’ of being Christmas Pudding.  It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert as the flavours only get better over time.  A household favorite for centuries, no traditional Christmas is complete without a Christmas Pudding.
3. Christmas Cake – A derivative of the traditional Christmas Pudding, richer families who had ovens at home took to baking a full-fledged cake and thus evolved the Christmas Cake. These cakes are truly a labour of love, and many bakers will take hours to “feed the cake”. The longer the feeding process, the richer the flavour. Some home chefs may well start the process 6 months in advance! Once baked, the cake goes in for decoration on top with marzipan, holly or figurines of Santa Claus and Rudolph, the reindeer with his team.
4. Christmas Cookies – Oh-so-appealing is a platter of Christmas cookies in their classic shapes and red, green, and white colour flourish! For many, baking them at home is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, of hanging around in the kitchen as a child and soaking in the heavenly smell of cookies being baked. From Peanut Butter Chocolate to Cake Mix and Red Velvet, the options are truly many as www.thepioneerwoman.com lists a delectable 75 varieties when you want the Best Christmas Cookies to try.
5. Eggnog – A holiday drink, this is believed to have originated in the British Isles hundreds of years ago and has come to be typically served during Christmas now. It’s ultra-creamy, perfectly spiced, and spiked just right for a good time. At its core, an eggnog is an emulsion of milk and/or cream, sugar, and eggs. In our times, there are more than 50 ways to enjoy an eggnog having undergone creative innovations like eggnog punches and lattes.

Looking for some delish Christmas fare right in Kolkata?

Welcome to Chapter 2 with its special Christmas menu to get into the spirit of the festival. Celebrate with an assortment of themed drinks and eats. Finish with some special Christmas desserts.

Time to get merry this winter!