Kitchen Superstar: Recipe of the week from Mumbai’s hottest chef

In the 2nd century AD, Romans started heating wine to battle the winds of winter. Eventually, as they travelled across Europe, the warm brew found a flavoured avatar with healing spices, or so the legend goes. And today, far away from Europe, mulled wine is synonymous with winter, and Christmas of course, even in Mumbai. Andheri-based home chef Seema Pinto, who has been making her own brew for five years, shares that the fruity aroma and tang of mulled wine is what makes it such a hit. “I first tasted it about a decade ago, when travelling across Europe. We had mulled wine in various countries at Christmas markets. It is usually served warm or pretty hot, and you sip it slowly, allowing the spices and the wine to warm you up during the cold winters. I love the faint hint of cinnamon and star anise,” shares Pinto, who also makes large batches for orders ahead of Christmas.