The festive season brings with it much good cheer. There is plenty to look forward to including the excitement of vacation days, the warmth of time spent with loved ones, and best of all, the delicious food and beverages that are characteristic of this time of year. At The Sunday Guardian, we have rounded up five delicious Christmas dishes and drinks that you must indulge in this festive season, along with where you can find them.
Read on to learn about these delectable delights. Galette des Rois: This typically French product is best sourced from the French café chain L’Opera. Kazem Samandari, executive chairman of the brand, describes it as a flaky pastry pie filled with frangipani, as well as a butter rich smooth mixture of almond cream and pastry cream.
Narrating the unique tradition behind this dish, Samandari says, “In our French tradition, the youngest child of the family hides under the table while the Galette is being cut in even slices, and the child pronounces which slice goes to whom. The most fun part is that a little surprise figurine is hiding somewhere in the cake! Whoever finds it is named King or Queen for the day and gets to wear the crown, which comes with the Galette. The named King or Queen picks his or her accompanying King or Queen and gets to glow with pride for the next few days! This is a typical French tradition celebrating the day on which the three kings Gaspard, Balthazar and Melchior came to pay tribute to Jesus born just a few weeks earlier – also known as L’Épiphanie.”
Panettone: On the subject of L’Opera specialties, one must also mention the tasty Panettone. Though originally an Italian product, it has become popular in most European countries and beyond, particularly during Christmas and New Year celebrations. “Panettone is easily recognizable for its domed shape and is more a bread than a cake. Its sweet dough is studded with candied fruits and raisins.
At L’Opéra, we pride ourselves for creating this iconic Italian product in New Delhi at a much more affordable price than the imported versions which are of equivalent or a more inferior quality,” smiles Samandari.
Christmas Turkey: Want to try an authentic turkey dish this Christmas? Your best bet is at Parra by Khubani which serves a Christmas turkey marinated in a luscious blend of garlic-infused butter, aromatic spices, and herbs. “This creates a tender, flavoursome dish that showcases the rich, savoury essence of garlic complemented by a medley of tantalizing spices,” says Sharad Madan, the founder of Parra by Khubani.
Traditionally, a turkey is considered an essential part of Christmas dinner. It became popular through the 16th-19th centuries, especially in the more wealthy English households. Today, it’s considered the centre-piece of the traditional English Christmas dinner. “Parra by Khubani has introduced turkey as the most special dish in our festive menu. Our skilled chef creates the perfect Christmas turkey marinated butter. You must come try it!” shares Madan.
Plum Cake: What is a Christmas celebration without plum cake? This fruity and nutty cake with the goodness of dried cherries, almonds, raisins and more dried fruits has long been associated with the festive season. And a truly exotic plum cake in Delhi-NCR is available at the Honey & Dough outlets.
“The USP of our plum cake is the way we prepare it. The longer you soak all the nuts and fruits in rum, the more flavoursome it becomes. For our plum cake, we soak fruits for about one year and use nuts of the best quality,” says the team from Honey & Dough. Most people prefer a traditional plum cake, but it’s also possible to infuse it with chocolates or Nutella for a tasty twist.
“At Honey & Dough, our flavours are tempting, aromatic and truly delicious.” While you are at Honey & Dough, you should also try the traditional Christmas pudding, consisting of fibre rich ingredients like fruits, nuts and currants. Walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and almonds, mixed spices, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves are added to the pudding.
“A regular pudding does not require the interplay of many ingredients. We also don’t need to soak the ingredients for a long time, but Christmas pudding needs to be planned well in advance, as the flavours need time to mature,” says the team. If you plan to make your own Christmas pudding at home, all you need is to make a mixture of dried fruits, peels, grated fruit, spices and a combination of eggs, flour and breadcrumbs to hold the ingredients together. You should then soak your fruits for a few hours, while keeping the pudding covered as it steams. Stir the mixture gently and steam it till a dark colour is visible.
Hot Chocolate Bomb: Hot chocolate is high on the list of traditional Christmas selections. Trust us, the delectable gooeyness of this drink is completely worth the indulgence. The hot chocolate bomb from Café Delhi Heights is the best version of this drink around. “A hot chocolate bomb is made of a thin chocolate shell which is filled with hot cocoa mix and cream,” says Ashish Singh, the corporate chef of Café Delhi Heights.
“This special decadent drink is also amazing as dessert. Our hot chocolate bomb is rich and creamy, perfectly sweet, comforting and joyful,” he ends.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www. nooranandchawla.com.