Christmas 2021: Mumbai's Catholic families share traditional recipes

Kitchen Superstar Recipes of the week from Mumbairsquos hottest chefsA sugarlaced welcomePrashanth PereiraFor Kandivalibased Prashanth Pereira it begins to look a lot like Christmas from Advent when his entire family including his sixyearold son gets into a chatty huddle to dish out kuswar Itrsquos a tradition that he grew up with his earliest memories dating back to when he was six or seven ldquoAunties from the neighbourhood would come to our house in the afternoon to help my mother make sweets and savouries which would then be distributed It was a wonderful experience and a noisy one too with all the women chatting awayrdquo he recallsThe Pereiras dole out kulkuls ahead of ChristmasPereirarsquos is among the dwindling population of Mangalorean and Goan Catholic families that still whip up kuswar mdash a collection of Christmas sweets and savouries mdash at home as the preparation can be tedious and timeconsuming From rice chaklis to marzipan and kulkuls to baath a kuswar platter much like its Diwali cousin faral packs in as many as 22 varieties with different iterations within the two communities Now with many opting for storebought versions the flavour of community is amiss in the sweets Pereira and his wife Anita tell us that making the sweets with family friends and neighbours is a way to keep that sense of community alive and pass on the recipes to the next generation ldquoWe make sweets and savouries to celebrate the coming of Lord Jesus in our hearts and homes We prepare almost all traditional Mangalorean delicacies such as rice chaklis kharakadi shankarpalli kidiboran or kulkuls rice laddoos rava laddoos boondi laddoos rose cookies Christmas rum and fruit cake and morerdquo points out Pereira who hails from Kurkal village in Udupi KarnatakaRose cookies By Anita PereiraIngredients 1 cup maida 12 cup rice flour 12 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence 12 tsp salt 1 egg 200 ml coconut milk 50 gm white or black sesame seedsMethodBeat the egg and sugar together In a mixing bowl add the egg and sugar mixture along with maida rice flour salt and vanilla essence Mix these by pouring in coconut milk make a thick and smooth batter without lumps The batterrsquos consistency should be such that a spoon dipped in it is coated well without any dripping Sprinkle sesame seeds and mix well Heat oil in a kadhai Season the rose cookie mould by washing it drying it and dipping it in the heated oil for at least five minutes Take the heated mould dip it in the batter and then in the oilThe mould will release the shape of the flower if you gently shake it Fry it on both sides and then strain out immediately Repeat the process Cool the cookies completely before storing themKulkul chroniclesThree generations of the Fernandesrsquo family prepare kuswarIn her Goan family a kulkul mdash crispy wormshaped pastry mdash and neurie mdash a close cousin of karanji mdash in the shape of a cross are made first and eaten last reveals home chef Fiona Fernandes from Orlem ldquoWe do this to remind ourselves of the reason for the seasonrdquo notes the Goan whose family hails from Candolim Sangolda and Parra Fernandes reminisces that she along with her sister and brother would be assigned the job of rolling out the dough for neuries while her father shaped them sitting on his easy chair and mother fried them mdash all of them carolling away ldquoI remember how us kids would stuff our mouths with the filling behind our parentsrsquo backs and then avoid talking until one of us burst out laughing My father taught us to shape kulkuls so that they donrsquot open while fryingrdquo she adds In Mumbai her family keeps the tradition alive with three generations of relatives including her 72yearold mother Delia coming together annually On the menu are kulkuls neuries doce coconut sweet marzipan milk cream walnut drops guava cheese salt sticks coconut baath plum cake and moreKulkuls By Delia FernandesIngredients 350 gm maida 200 gm rawa 250 gm sugar 14 tsp baking powder 45 tbsp ghee Salt to taste 1 egg optionalMethodDissolve salt and sugar in a cup of water Knead maida rawa beaten egg baking powder salt and ghee with the water solution to form a soft dough Set it aside for two to three hours under a damp cloth Now take a small piece of the dough and make a ball Using your thumb press it down with the back of a fork Roll one end till the centre and then roll it over to get a caterpillarlike shapeFernandes has curated hampers of kuswar Call 9833095655 Candy Dreams is taking orders for kulkul milk cream almond marzipan and more Call 9820252285