Kerala Christmas Recipes - It's an Indian Christmas for Me!

“It’s the time to ce-le-brate llala la la la la” …this is the one time of the year I don’t shy away from singing aloud and spreading the good spirit of Christmas. To me, it does not matter if it is Christmas, Diwali, or Eid,  the festival season takes me back to the good old days, and clouds of nostalgia surround me, ultimately drowning me in the ocean of memories from childhood–the years I spent at home with my family. I miss those family gatherings when our house was crowded with my little nieces and nephews running around, with lots of craziness and laughter, and my sisters and I frantically trying to ward them away from the Christmas tree as they tried to get their little cake smeared hands on the presents Today, I would like to share my wonderful memories with all of you along with my two favorite Christmas recipes from my childhood.

Even though Christians form a small part of the community in India, this does not dampen the spirit and celebration  of Christmas across the country. The holiday is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike, complete with scenes of nativity, yummy Christmas delights, Christmas trees, and not to forget, the huge Christmas star. There are also hundreds of Santas’ dancing round the street with their own little group, going from house to house singing carols, lighting up fire crackers, and in general, sharing the merry spirit of the season.This is a time of celebration and giving for one and all. Christmas means different things for different people. For most, it means spending their Christmas season with family and friends, remembering the birth of Christ, reliving old traditions, shopping till you drop or just helping those in need. For me, it is about family and friends, the one time for sure you know no matter what happens the entire family will come together under one roof  to celebrate, love, and share.

Back in India and Dubai (where I grew up), celebrations for Christmas began a month in advance. I remember walking to the grocery store as a child, while watching families decorating their homes with coloured lights and a big star, which, at the time seemed so bright. The overall effect was so beautiful and bright, it almost made you want to wear sunglasses at night!

Photo Credit: Mckaysavage

Decorating for Christmas with my sisters, shopping for gifts, and of course, for the big star which always made the Christmas tree look like the runner-up, was my favorite part of the holiday, but now, in retrospect, sitting together with my family to make the crib of baby Jesus in the manger, was just as enjoyable, if not more. My best memories are of my father and I trying to make the crib bigger and better than last year, and it is almost a tradition now with most families I know! Sigh*** I miss home…

Photo Credit: Eustagvio Santimano

Other typical Christmas activities included meeting up at church a couple of times a week to practice for the Christmas choir, and the skit that we would be performing at the Christmas Eve service. We would also start door-to-door carolling about 2 weeks before Christmas, just to get everyone into the holiday mood.

Finally, we rang in Christmas day with the famous midnight mass which no one would ever miss, rain or shine, there would be people lined up outside church all the way on to the street. People who never went to church all year would also make their Christmas Eve appearance. After the service, we would have the church choir singing, perform our well practiced skit, and at the end of the service, the delicious Christmas fruit cake which can be described in one word–YUMMY!

It would take us a good hour to leave church after the service ended because of the endless hugs and greetings from friends and family. As we drove back home my mother would start stressing about how Christmas dinner was gonna turn out, even though she had been hosting it for the last 40 years, my dad being the oldest in the family.  Traditionally, families gathered under the roof of the oldest family member to share the spirit of Christmas.

I would linger around the kitchen all day hoping to get a taste of the delicious food that mom made. I would wait for my aunt to come with her appam with chicken stew, and her delicious fruit cake, while my mom would make her famous chicken biriyani, prawn masala, beef fry with coconut, vattayaapam and various other sweetmeats, which still activate my salivary glands while writing about it!

But my favorite dishes were always semiya payasam (vermicelli pudding) and vattayaappam (rice cakes), that I’d like to share with you all today.  The recipes are my version of what I picked up while lingering around the kitchen when mom cooked. So I hope you all get a chance to make and enjoy the recipe, while I get busy and make some of my own, to relive the good old days

I wish you all a  blessed and safe Christmas. Remember, Christmas is all about loving and sharing, so don’t forget to do something good for someone who is not as fortunate….Ho!Ho!Ho!…. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Semiya Payasam (vermicelli dessert)

Photo Credit: Abhijit Tambekar

Ingredients: 6-8 serves

Vermicelli – 200 gms
Milk -4 cups
Condensed Milk   -1/4 cup(optional)
Sugar – 6 tbsp or as needed
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp
Ghee  -2 tbsp
Cashew nuts- 1/4 cup
Raisins – 1/4 cup

Instructions:

Heat half a table spoon ghee and fry raisins and cashews until light brown. Add another table spoon of ghee and roast the vermicelli till it is golden brown. Add 4 cups of boiled milk. Keep stirring occasionally. Once the vermicelli becomes soft,  add the condensed milk or sugar as needed. Let it simmer. Once it gets the desired thickness add cardamom powder and stir well. Finally garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins. Your payasam is ready and can be served hot or chilled.

Vattayappam (rice cake)

Photo Credit: Saran Prasad

Ingredients:(serves 6)

1 cup rice powder
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon rawa
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 tablespoon water ( for grinding coconut )
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oil for greasing
1 tablespoon raisins and walnuts

For yeast mix:

Mix 2 tablespoon warm water with 2 teaspoon sugar. Add 1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast. Cover and keep aside for 20 – 25 minutes.

For Vattayappam:

Cook rawa with 1/2 cup of water into a thick porridge. Cook on a low heat and stirring continuously. Grind grated coconut with water to a fine paste.In a big bowl, combine rice powder, yeast solution, ground coconut, cooked rawa, sugar and salt. Mix well, cover with a lid and keep aside for 8 -10 hours or overnight. Quantity of the mixture will be almost double after fermentation. Sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well.

Grease a steel bowl with 1 teaspoon oil. Pour vattayappam batter, spread it evenly with a flat spatula and decorate with raisins and walnuts. If you have a steamer, use that, if not , steam in a pressure cooker on a medium heat for 25 – 30 minutes. Cut into desired shape and serve as a snack with spicy curries.

Tip:

Vattayappam is perfectly steamed when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out completely free of vattayappam dough / batter.

Feature Photo Credit: Jackol