Divine recipes

Christmas brings with it, an array of special recipes.

DELELCTABLE TREATS:
Unusual recipes and superb dishes
are being prepared in the city this Christmas

CHRISTMAS not only means lots of goodies, celebrations, gifts and fun but also loads of exquisite dishes. The restaurants have made sure that they kept up with the spirit of Christmas by crafting a Christmasspecial menu. As Nikheel Shirodkar, Executive Chef, Ibis Pune says, “Our salad bar has Christmas Sauerkraut Salad, traditional oven roasted turkey with roast gravy, creamy potato and Cranberry sauce and much more. Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, devil chocolate cake, apple frangipani tart, Yule log and Fruit Pavlova follow next. We try to keep our meal as authentic as possible. Then we mix our creativity. Thus, the final menu has our essence intact but with our touch.” Christmas is all about plum cakes, Irish puddings, brownies, and variety of colourful pastries. But the city restaurants are not stopping there.

As Chef Elangovan Shanmugam, Executive Chef at Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond, says, “We have planned an elaborate menu for our guests with almost 25 salads, variety of sauces, dressings and dips, a huge spread of veg and non-veg items and more than 30 desserts. This Christmas will surely be delicious. To add to the festive fervour, the hotel is lit up with colourful lights. The lobby is decorated with a beautiful Gingerbread house, and we are also having carol singing for the guests. Chef Kishen, Executive Chef, Sayaji Hotel, Wakad adds, “Our special Christmas menu would include chicken nuggets with tangy tomato dip, fish finger with tartare sauce, sticky toffee pudding served with vanilla ice cream, yule log, chicken strognoff, grilled fish with lemon butter sauce and much more.” 

Where some are trying to keep the spirit as authentic as possible, there are some who like it the desi way. As Santosh Jori, Executive Chef at Westin says, “We have planned a very different menu for our guests. Apart from the plum cakes, turkey dishes and Yule log, we have given a nice twist to the regular recipes. To add fun to the festive mood, we are planning a family competition on cake decoration during brunch on December 25 and 26. The special attraction would be the Ice bar, where dishes would be served in ice carved bowls. We also plan to mix drinks and seafood and give it a twist.”

Everyone’s trying their best to keep up with the spirit of festivities. As Shailendra Kekade, executive chef Stone Water Grill says, “Every element blends together in a synergy of unparalleled ambience, great setting and contemporary fare. We have Roasted Beetroot Purée, Kokum and Sour Cream, Tiger Prawn Carpaccio, Smoked Oyster, and Vegetable Shortcrust Pastry. We have used festive ingredients like Smoked Turkey and Cranberry Salsa and cherries. The response is fantastic, and everything gets sold out in minutes. Our USP is that we try to keep things simple. We never try to make our dishes sound exotic.”
The themes could be different. But definitely the intentions are the same — loads of festive fun, a feast and a merry Christmas.