Ring out the old and ring in the new’. Come December and that’s the catchphrase for the season – it’s all about new gadgets, new clothes, new resolutions… But, even today, when it comes to Christmas cooking in the south, tradition reigns supreme, be it the native Syrian Christian fare that’s served in homes across Kerala or the typical English Christmas feasts tabled at the plantation clubs of the Nilgiris.
Says Laly Mookken, 67, “I have been a gourmet for 22 years and am yet to taste a better pork roast or a chicken varatharachathu (roasted coconut) than my mother-in-law’s!” As a young woman, Laly learnt the ropes from the older lady, who – like most homemakers of her time – did not make her meat preparations in a pressure cooker but instead opted to cook in a traditional brass urali, the famed heavy bottomed vessel of Kerala, over a charcoal-and-wood fire. Later, even though aluminum vessels became a favourite with many, modern gadgets and cooking gas remained a big no-no.
Today, as Laly follows in her mother-inlaw’s footsteps, churning out all-time family favourites during Christmas, she has made a name for herself baking designer cakes. For over two decades now, every festive season this passionate baker has been producing a variety of delicious confectionary, from cupcakes with embellishments like sugar santas and edible glitter stars to special cakes. Naturally, there have been some innovations in keeping with changing times and trends. For instance, if tradition called for the use of butter icing and fresh cream from cow’s milk, today soya-based cream is now being used as well.
Cakes are also a specialty of Palai resident Sheela Tony, 58. Her Kallivayalil Bakes’ literally creates thousands of Christmas fruitcake based on an old family recipe that has been passionately handed over the generations. Eleven years ago, Sheela started her baking business with 30 rich plum cakes. This year, she has decided to seal the deal at 2,500! “The traditional rich plum cake,” she observes, “will always have buyers. Over the years, the demand has only been increasing. I even have corporate clients like Volkswagen and Qatar Airways asking for custom-made cakes with logos and specific colours in the packing.”
Her cakes are borne out of a tried-and-perfected six-month slicing soaking- baking process. The ingredients include quality fruits and nuts directly sourced from the local farms soaked in premium rum or fruit juice. And, when it comes to baking, Sheela still relies on the ancient wood-fired ovens to give her cakes that typical taste of Christmas.
Of course, just across the Kerala border, families in the quaint hill town of Coonoor, which is home to the famed Nilgiris’ plantation clubs go ‘pucca British’ for the Yuletide season. “Serving biryani or anything remotely Indian is considered a major faux pas!” remarks Reeba Cherian, 54, a celebrated cook and one of the partners of Table Treat, a high-end catering team in town.
It’s not Christmas until there’s shepherd’s pie and roast turkey on the table, along with an assortment of home-baked breads, cold cuts and salads. For the vegetarians, the menu is just as elaborate – baked spinach and corn, stuffed eggplant, roast potatoes and egg-less muffins to name a few.
According to Reeba, women take a lot of pride in their cooking. “They will not cheat on the ingredients and will never repeat a dish. Each hostess ensures that she serves an array of different delicacies, savoury and sweet,” she stresses. While herbs like thyme, rosemary and parsley, which are available in local stores, are liberally used, many of Coonoor’s elite, who are frequent flyers, also ensure that they bring back plenty of must-have, but not commonly available, ingredients to guarantee that authentic flavour to their Continental recipes.
Earlier this year, to help the enthusiastic homemakers of Coonoor gear up for the season, the Table Treat team had held specialised cooking classes and demonstrations. Reeba’s all-woman team called it the Santa’s Kitchen and they held demonstrations on how to ‘spatchcock’ (to prepare (a dressed chicken) for grilling by splitting open) a turkey, de-bone and stuff a chicken, flambé a cake, along with introducing recipes on chocolate cupcakes and fondant icing as well as teaching table settings. They have also brought out a new drink, Spiced Mulled Wine, a type of red wine heated with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, lemon rind and apple juice.
Besides relying on outfits like Table Treats, women are also searching the Internet to cook up ‘old’ recipes. And it’s not just them; even a Laly and Sheela are now relying heavily on technology. In fact, to talk about their craft and sell her creations, this duo swears by the popular social networking site, Facebook.
If earlier Sheela’s business relied on word-of mouth publicity, today she owes much of her success to social networking. Laly, too, has declared Facebook to be her new best friend. She says, “Earlier, my wedding cakes were known only among a select group. It’s a very different story now. My multi-tiered cakes are a rage and I even get requests from women who want to learn traditional baking techniques. The tiny folds, the intricate detailing, the elaborate icing, it’s all so vivid and visible on an FB page and the feedback I receive is amazing.” So this season, whether you decide to cook up a southernstyle stew or bake English pies and cake, the key is to go traditional with a vengeance and spread some festive joy.