From DIY mulled wine premixes to scrumptious orange brownies, a host of indie patisserie startups are out to wow you with their Christmas offerings. Here's where to head for a treat
Christmas gifts
Sweets by the dentist
In times of uncertainty, brownies with chocolate as hero and tarty nut and berry fudge can offer immense comfort. Noosh-e-Jaan does exactly this. The home patisserie by dentist Dr Riana Nooshian, has rolled out an array of Christmas goodies, including a boozy caramel sauce, almond chocolate granola, spiced hot chocolate mix and cranberry pista squares.
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Dr Riana
The venture, like many other startups, was born out of the Coronavirus lockdown. "I have a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree, and was practicing until the pandemic hit," Dr Nooshian says, adding that the lockdown delayed her plans of studying abroad. "Baking arrived in my life at a time when I was looking for answers, and purpose-even if temporary."
Given that it's a science that relies on technique and measurements, it helped her focus, and "keep ghosts away from the head". "My first brownies, followed by a batch of choco lava cakes with molten centres, turned out good enough for my family and friends in Dahanu, where my parents live, to encourage me to go on."
She has now added granola to the menu from her mother's repertoire, and white chocolate fudge, in addition to festive specials for the Christmas hamper. Culinary pursuits run in the family. Her grandfather came to then Bombay from Yazd, Iran, and worked his way up from staffer at cornerside Irani cafés to entrepreneur. "He was, among other things, a baker. Persians are known for their baking prowess, rustling up sweets, and for their legendary hospitality. Noosh-e-Jaan is a nod to both-a home patisserie that salutes my roots."
What: Noosh-e-Jaan
PriceS: Starts at Rs 280
To Order: 8879467842
For your fill of nevri, kulkul
ENJOY a Christmas platter, comprising delicacies that are traditionally served in East Indian, Goan and Mangalorean homes during the season. Prepared by home chef Florence Saldanha, the menu comprises rum balls, marzipans, guava cheese, rice cookies, kulkuls, nevris, baath, chaklis, and everyone's favourite, rum cake.
Price: Rs 500 and above
To Order: 9833392265
Christmas special bon bons by chocolatier Nikki Thakker. Pics/Anurag Ahire
Bonbons made for you
NIKI Thakker, founder of Éntisi, an artisanal chocolate brand, launched her store in 2017. Since then, she has earned fans for her distinctly flavoured bonbons, dragées, single-origins and chocolate bars.
Nikki Thakker
For Christmas, she has curated a hamper basket that contains six hazelnut cookies coated with dark chocolate, a box of two assorted dragées, chocolate bar, single origin chocolate bar, chocolate spread. The festive box comes loaded with three dragée jars, six hazelnut cookies coated with dark chocolate, along with a choice between a box of 16 pralines and 12 bonbons. Hers is a one-stop shop for handcrafted chocolates that can be customised.
What: Entisi
Price: Rs 300 onwards
To Order: https://www.entisi.com/
The hamper contains cookies, granola and other bakes
All things sugar and spice
Christmas Day is reminiscent of the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and chocolate, and Divya Advani, founder of Wadala-based Brownsalt Bakery, is hoping to evoke the festive feeling with her desserts.
Divya Advani
The special Christmas granola has decadent Belgium white chocolate with a dash of zesty cranberries, sprinkled with fresh cinnamon, nutmeg, oats, almonds, hazelnuts and a touch of honey and sea salt. Their Secret Santa biscotti treat and almond biscotti could make for a perfect festive season snack. There's also a Secret Santa mini cookies gift hamper, available in chocolate oatmeal and cranberry oatmeal flavours.
What: Brownsalt Bakery
Price: Starts at Rs 250
To Order: @brownsaltbakery, Instagram, 7506540736
Chocolate orange bar
Christmas can be vegan too
O'Greens is an Aurangabad-based vegan startup, that specialises in dairy-free, gluten free, naturally sweetened health bars in flavours such as pistachio moringa, coffee berry and choco-crange. For Christmas, they have launched the "red gift box" Priced at R700, which contains an assortment of their bestselling item, bliss balls. Flavours include coconut-dates, hazelnut cacao and cinnamon-cashew.
Harshvardhan Agarwal
"Less than a month after we launched, the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed. While this did put a pause on business plans, it also made a lot of people realise the benefits of veganism and pushed the agenda among those who don't wish to see another disease outbreak from live-animal markets or crowded farms and slaughterhouses," says founder Harshvardhan Agarwal. The other incentive is that for every gift box sold, O' Greens plants a tree.
What: O'Greens
Price: Rs 700 for a hamper
To Order: www.o-greens.com/o-shop/
Feast on chicken roast
FOR those who'd like To Order in on Christmas Day, check out the special feast menu by home chef Aaron D'Souza of The Goan Poie. There's the Grinch's chicken cafreal, Santa's spiked sorpotel, Rudolph's roast tongue and Mrs Claus's Stove top chicken roast to choose from.
You can end the meal with a jingle 'cheesecake' jar treat, which comes in different Christmassy flavours, like marzipan, spiced brandy eggnog, smores and rum cake.
Price: Rs 500 for one jingle jar; Rs 800 onwards for feast menu
To Order: @thegoanpoie, Instagram
Sweet pleasure
A SELF-taught baker, Abhishek Thukral experimented with new dishes to rustle up meals for family and friends. For Christmas, Thukral's specials include eggnog cheesecake, orange almond cake with rum chocolate ganache, gingerbread chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and ginger cookie crumble.
What: Whimsical Baker
Price: Starts at Rs 500
To Order: @mrwhimsicalbaker, Instagram
Head to Italy
CACIO X Holidays is the perfect Italian hamper of happiness you want to give to yourself or to someone who you love more. Pick items of choice for the quantities you like (even of the same items) and cook like a pro. There's beetroot dough tagliatelle or bucatini, ravioli Verdi di ricotta e spinaci, agnolotti di funghi, in either pesto alla genovese or sugo di pomodoro. End with amaretti or cantuccini.
Price: Rs 2000 onwards
To Order: www.cacioepepe.in
A rummy Christmas
Beena Noronha, founder of BomBai Makha Pao, is out with a limited, but interesting festive menu. There's roast chicken, assorted chocolate truffle box and rum bundt cake. You'll have to pre-order, though.
Beena Noronha
"The rum cake is different because I'm using authentic dry fruits and not tutti fruitti and I've soaked the rum for over two weeks now. Since it's difficult to get turkey in Mumbai, I'm making chicken roast," says Noronha.
What: Makha Pao
Price; Starts at Rs 600
To Order: 9321379840
A mobile gingerbread
CHEF on Wheels has been bringing together home chefs on a common platform where they can sell their food. This Christmas, they have traditional plum cake, Goan Baath cake, Mangalorean kuswar, and East Indian marzipan and date rolls. You can also order the traditional eggnog and gingerbread, that have been given a modern twist.
What: Chef on Wheel
Price: Rs 50 (for each rum ball) and Rs 1,500 (for eggnog cheesecake) an eggnog cheesecake
To Order: 8104868251
Build your own treat
Supper is a homegrown brand that specialises in DIY meals. Founded by Umang Murpana and Sahil Dewani, their Christmas offerings include a bake-it-yourself apple pie and blueberry galette. The former is made in ramekins with apples coated with cinnamon.
DIY mulled wine
The galette, on the other hand, is a crusty French dessert filled with fresh blueberries and blueberry compote. The drink kit comprises spiced hot chocolate and mulled wine premix.
Price: Desserts start at Rs 450; Drinks, Rs 500 onward
To Order: @eat.supper, Instagram
A merry Malabari
Nair On Fire's Xmas menu is a heartening one, that is giving you the best from a South Indian's kitchen. This is a meal meant to be shared with the whole family. Don't miss the Kerala buff curry, Alleppey fish curry, and Idukki pork curry. There is also porous with spicy potato podimas for the vegetarians.
What: Nair on Fire
Price: Rs 200 to Rs 700
To Order: 9324059522
Indulge responsibly
Christmas is no reason to not be healthy. If you are looking for eats that won't hurt your conscience, try TRIM Eatery's menu of goodies. Designed by nutritionist Tulip Rodrigues, the seven-item menu-almond nut butter, peanut nut butter, granola, cacao nib date fudge, apple chia preserve, strawberry chia preserve and hot chocolate-are designed to shine in their healthiest versions. The preserve, says Rodrigues, has chia seeds to add to the protein content and also because chia seeds will swell up in the body and keep you full for longer. Order in. It'll still count as a no-cheat day.
Price: Rs 250 to Rs 700
To Order: 9820144061
Jolly good food
Spoil your loved ones with innovative treats. From X'mas tree blondies, to little elves house, to snowy sweet land and savoury feasts-the treats from Yakuta Sarkari's Cold Food Company are designed to look picture perfect under a Christmas tree.
Price: Rs 150 onwards
To Order: 9967722033
Strawberry-flavoured Christmas celebrations
A Christmas menu that's got all the sweets in it, minus any of the sugar? The year 2020 is certainly ending on a happy note.
All Elements, the organic café in Khar, has five items on their Christmas menu that lead with strawberries. Missing your Xmas vacation? There's a fish and chips dish to savour.
For the kids, there's the holliballs chocolate bomb, which is filled with MnMs and marshmallows and served with hot milk. For the adults, there's the traditional rum cake.
Price: Starting at Rs 250 and above
To Order: 61344928
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