Home sweet home

Santa's all set to visit Mumbai but this year round, the city isn8217;t as excited. The aftermath of the terror attacks has left the air stale with sadness.

If you8217;re not in the mood to party this Christmas, here8217;s how you can have a great feast indoors

Santa8217;s all set to visit Mumbai but this year round, the city isn8217;t as excited. The aftermath of the terror attacks has left the air stale with sadness. 8220;The atmosphere is just not apt for partying. Our entire family is instead planning to meet at Goa this year,8221; says filmmaker Fahad Samar.

A house party, however, need not imply a celebration lacking in festivity. With everything that comprises a traditional Christmas feast available across Mumbai, the house party can be as fun and complete as would one at your favourite restaurant.

For most, the Christmas feast has to be traditional. 8220;That means a serious succulent roast to dig in, a wine to go with that, a Christmas pudding or a yuletide log and eggnog to flag the feast off,8221; says hairstylist Savio Pereira. This would have, till a few years ago, meant immense hard work. But today, Mumbai8217;s many gourmet stores and restaurants provide the option of picking it off the shelf.

Christmas season usually results in an increase of appetite and goodies like the gingerbread cookies, marzipan and chocolates make for a handy snack. One can choose from the Chocolate Snowman Rs 450 or Santa Rs 1,250 at Grand Hyatt, the Indigo Deli8217;s Spiced Pear or Cranberry Tart Rs 150 onwards or Sugar 038; Spice8217;s moulded chocolates in flavours like strawberry and passion fruit Rs 180 onwards for 100 gm. Stefani Peters8217;s pick this season, however, is the Gingerbread House Rs 600 from the Bombay Baking Company at JW Marriot and their innovatively flavoured cookies, like the Blue Curacao and cinnamon stars Rs 380 for nine pieces. 8220;All my friends have children and I wanted something that the kids as well as their parents would love. Now, the children can keep themselves busy with the gingerbread house while my friends can enjoy the exotic flavours,8221; says the 34-year-old housewife.

A traditional Christmas dinner table is supposed to offer at least half-a-dozen dishes. Those who want to ease their work and yet treat the guests with the best can simply opt for deGustibus8217; recent introduction 8212; the Moveable Feast approximately Rs 350 per head, a catering service.

Alternately, the gourmet stores at most five-star hotels in the city are offering a delectable variety of savouries ranging from stuffed roast chicken or turkey Rs 500 per kilo onwards, mincemeat pies and herb-and-chestnut bread stuffing.

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The feast is naturally incomplete without some fine wine. And the latest introduction to the city8217;s wine menu, brought down especially for the festive season, is the Australian De8217;Bortoli. A local yet fine option could be Tiger Hill8217;s Brut Rose, an exclusive pink sparkling wine available at all leading wine stores for Rs 1,500 a bottle.

The traditional Christmas pudding, served flaming hot with brandy, is a must. Allow Tart, the first online gourmet store in the city, to take care of that for you. You could take your pick from the many options available for desserts and bakes or simply opt for the Yule Log Rs 500 for a kilo, dripping with chocolate, and they will have it delivered at your doorstep.

This leaves us with the eggnog, which, the chefs say, is the only hard work you should do. This cocktail is a true Christmas delicacy prepared with brandy or rum and uses raw egg as the chief ingredient. 8220;Not for the faint-hearted, eggnog should ideally be made and had fresh,8221; says Chef Savio of the BBC.