Prawns and pickles, cakes and chicken, sweet and savoury…Shilpi Kakkar peeps into some celeb kitchens to see what's brewing this season
MARIA GORETTI
VJ turned celeb home chef on digital video channel, The Maria Goretti Corner
I love Christmas and simply look forward to it for the sense of warmth, cheer, love and oneness that it brings along. We celebrate Christmas for the entire month of December at home. My husband Arshad (he is the busy guy) puts the tree up and brings in the jingles, everyone places gifts for kids under the tree...I begin cooking preparations around the 19th of December and am ready with my grand annual feast by the 24th. In drinks, I simply go along with the flow and serve up personal preferences in wines and malts and more. In food, prawn curry with rice is a must on the menu. It is a traditional,lip-smacking dish that I have perfected in preparation, thanks to my mother! Then there are yummy lamb shanks, chicken sausages with mustard and chilli, honey mustard chicken, exotic pate, a few mutton preparations, east Indian in flavours, strawberry salad (which is a must), rum chocolates... I make sure that I am at home during this time of the year, every year. Close friends, Arshad's folks, my side of the family – everyone pours in and we share moments of fun and laughter together. It is a wonderful culmination of the entire year with loved ones.
FREDRIKA ORNBRANT
Consul General of Sweden
We Swedes love our 'Julbord' – Christmas dinner - with an array of different food like pickled herring with potatoes, gravlax, meatballs, beetroot salad, Jansson's temptation and the highlight of the table, the Christmas ham served with mustard and red cabbage. Lutefisk is a dish for the truly curious. Desserts include famous rice porridge with cinnamon and 'rice a la Malta'. I have been cooking since quite a young age, I learnt it from my mother and father – they used to make the Christmas table with a more modern tweak to it. When it comes to the more traditional dishes, it was actually my grandfather who taught me! When I was younger, we used to celebrate Christmas in my family's cabin in the mountain. At Christmas, the sun barely got up above the mountains and it used to be cold and snowy. One morning, there was a knock at the door. My siblings and I opened the door, and there was a horse with beautiful Christmas decorations and a sleigh behind it. A man dressed in a wolf coat stood at the door and asked if we wanted to take a ride in the mountains with him. Me, my brother and sister were a bit reluctant, but one of my parents joined and off we were under reindeer skins for warmth. It was my grandfather who had arranged for the journey and it is something I will never forget. Great Christmas gift! Back to food, pickled-herrings with potatoes are my absolute favourite. My personal favourites are mustard pickled herrings and currants pickled herrings. In drinks, I serve up strong snaps. Yes, hard liquor is part of Swedish tradition and making toasts, and glogg (spiced wine) and Julmust – Christmas cola. It's not Coke, it's not root beer. It's something in between and it's a soda just for Christmas!
WENDELL RODRICKS
Fashion designer based in Goa
On Christmas Eve, I go for midnight mass. The mass is followed by cake and champagne. Lunch is a big affair on Christmas day with friends and family. I do two tables for the buffet. One with cakes and sweets we make at home. The other is a food table with home cooked specials, apart from the ham. I make Goan pork assado roast, BBQ seafood, including coriander garlic prawns, shellfish drizzled with pernod, lobsters and a herb salmon that we order in advance. Lettuce and pomegranate salad and a raw papaya Thai salad. No rice. No curries. I need to keep it light so everyone tastes the painstakingly-made cakes. I soak the fruits for the cakes a month in advance. The recipes are sourced from various aunts and friends. I make four types of cakes: A fruit cake, a raisin cake, a date and walnut cake and a chocolate cake. The chocolate cake has almond powder instead of flour. I learnt the recipe in Paris from my sister-in-law. I like Christmas on two levels. The spiritual level is more important than the gifting. I enjoy going for dances too. Goans really know how to party. They sing, dance, eat and are truly merry at Christmas.
AMRITA ARORA AND MALAIKA ARORA
Models, Bollywood fashionistas and sisters
For us, Christmas is a warm, special affair, with family homing in for the traditional feast. Our mom, Joyce, serves up an unbeatable spread. Her culinary skills are simply legendary. We love the spirit of Christmas. It is the season of cheer with our children — Azaan and Rayaan (Amrita's kids) and Arhaan (Malaika's kid) — bonding with each other. The Christmas lunch at mom's home is a lavish, fun-filled affair. Friends, cousins, extended family members pour in to make for beautiful moments. Mom's preparations are simply incomparable. She serves up the best of everything on Christmas. The tradition was to go to our grandmother's home earlier, and when she passed away, the venue shifted to mom's home. We don't miss the feast and the get together for anything in the world! Mom makes ten different things, all by herself. From mutton, turkey and fish to chicken preparations served up with special wines. The celebration starts with lunch and carries on till dinner!"
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}