Christmas a time for merriment, cakes and wines

Christmas a time for merriment, cakes and wines

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, December 20: It’s Christmas time again! Mangalore is gearing up for the festivities of the season. India is home to over 26 million Christians and one can witness carol processions on streets in the big cities. The regional influences can be seen in south India, where small clay lamps are used as Christmas decorations, dotting the compound walls and terraces, much like in the Hindu festival of Deepavali. Star shaped paper lanterns are another favourite and prized decoration in front of homes.

 

 

 

 

 

The season and the festival, like most festivals, are also big on food. . Cake and wine are integral to the celebrations. Turning water into wine was the first miracle performed by Jesus — the reason why wine is crucial in any joyous occasion in the Christian tradition. In Mangalore, preparation of wine and plum cakes — a Manglorean speciality — starts in full swing as the month of December approaches. The lush reddish-maroon puffy cakes are a delicacy and just melt in your mouth as you bite into them.

 

 

 

The bakeries in Mangalore have to meet a huge demand for these cakes during Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Says Bryan Vas, proprietor of the renowned Vas bakery: "The demand for plum cakes escalates during Christmas and New Year. We have to have enough supply to meet the needs of our customers as and when they want." Since its inception in 1910, Vas Bakery has been famous for puffs, cashew macrons and cakes. Chocolate walnut cake, rum and raisin cake, date-walnut cake, butter cream cake as well as cakes with different designs (Santa Claus, Christmas tree, stars, walking stick and socks of Santa Claus) are its cake specialties while red (grape) wine, rice wine and wheat wine constitute its Christmas wine specialties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mangalore is a multi-cultural city. As such, the different communities celebrate Christmas with their distinctive cuisine and customs. Exchange of kuswar, a combination of seven snacks — cake, rice laddoos, tukdios, nivrios, gulios, kidios and cookies, on the morning of December 24 with friends and neighbours of all faiths, marks the foremost local tradition of Mangalore.

On the day of Christmas, buffet dinners and private parties are hosted at the hotel. People flock to the hotel to taste the exotic cuisine of all varieties and the wide assortment of puddings, plum cakes, chocolates and the log-shaped cake.