Christmas Recipes

Wishing all of you a very Happy Christmas!!!

Christmas is around the corner and I am missing my parents, my home and God’s Own Country – Kerala. Christmas used to be a family reunion time and it was always filled with good memories. We spent our Christmas Holidays writing Greeting Cards, making Cribs, decorating the house with lights, hanging glowing Stars outside the house and attending the Christmas Midnight Mass.

Now that Advent Season is here, let us not forget to prepare spiritually for the birth of Jesus along with all the celebrations of the holiday season.

Most of us would be busy planning for the Perfect Christmas Party for family and friends. Well, here is a Christmas Party Menu complied from my collection of recipes. A major portion of the menu consists of recipes from Kerala Cuisine. Hope it will be useful for deciding on your HomeMade Christmas Menu. 🙂

Once again, I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas!!!

1. Christmas Special

You can start your lunch or dinner party with a Christmas Special Plum Cake, followed by Home Made Wine. I generally bake cake on the previous day of the Party.

1. Home Made Grape Wine
2. Plum Cake
   

2. Appetizers

I guess Cutlets with Onion Salad (Sarlas) make the most common appetizer for any Kerala party.

1. Simple Chicken Noodle Soup
2. Fried Shrimps
3. Spicy Boneless Chicken Bites
4. Onion Salad (Ulli Sarlas)
5. Chicken Cutlets
6. Karimeen Varuthathu (Pearl Spot Fry)
7. Fish Cutlets
8. Grilled Chicken Kebabs
9. Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
10. Fried Masala Shrimps
11. Vegetable Cutlets
12. Hot & Sweet Fish Fingers
13. Spicy Fried Chicken

3. Appam with Veg or Non Veg Curry

After the round of appetizers, you can either go for Palappam or Kallappam along with a Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian Gravy of your choice.

1. Traditional Kerala Palappam
2. Appam
3. Egg Roast
4. Fish Molee
5. Vegetable Stew
6. Vegetable Khurma
7. Vegetable Masala Gravy
   
8. Chicken Masala Gravy
9. Kerala Chicken and Potato Curry
10. Cauliflower Green Peas Masala Curry
11. Spicy Beef Tomato Curry
12. Red Chilly & Tomato Chicken Curry
    
13. Mutton Stew

4. Bread and Curry

After Appam and Curry, the next course would be sliced Bread (usually fresh Bakery Rotti which we get in Kerala) served with another Non Vegetarian Dish. You may skip this course and go directly to the Main Course.

1. Bakery Bread (Rotti)
2. Kerala Chicken Gravy
3. Tomato Chicken Roast
4. Kerala Chicken Roast
5. Tomato Chicken Curry
6. Kerala Pork Masala
7. Beef Masala
8. Butter Chicken
9. Spicy Chilly Fish Masala
10. Indo Chinese Style Chicken Kheema
    
11. Beef Chops

5. Main Course

You can either prepare Fried Rice, Pulav, Ghee Rice or Biriyani for the main course.

1. Shrimp/Prawn Biriyani
2. Nasi Goreng
3. Simple Fish Biriyani
4. Chicken Fried Rice
5. Egg Biriyani
6. Egg Fried Rice
7. Vegetable Fried Rice
8. Kerala Fish Biriyani
9. Vegetable Biriyani
10. Chicken Pulav
11. Ghee Rice (Neychoru)
12. Chicken Biryani
13. Indian Fish Pulav
14. Beef/Pork Fried Rice

Sides for Fried Rice

Here are a few Indo Chinese Sides for Fried Rice.

1. Chilly Chicken
2. Chilly Prawns
3. Chilly Gobi
4. Chilly Fish
   

Side dish for Biryani

If you are making Chicken Biriyani, then you can chose a side dish like Fish Fry. If your making Fish Biriyani or Egg Biriyani, then Chicken Fry will be good.

1. Kerala Fish Fry
2. Kerala Beef Fry
3. Kerala Chicken Stir Fry (Kozhi Varattiyathu)
4. Kerala Chicken Fry
5. Prawns Tomato Roast
6. Kerala Chicken Roast
7. Tomato Chicken Roast

Side dish for Ghee Rice/Pulav

Ghee Rice is usually served with a spicy Non vegetarian Gravy like Mutton Curry, Chicken Curry or Beef Curry.

1. Kerala Chicken and Potato Curry
   
2. Kerala Chicken Gravy
3. Beef Masala
4. Chicken Masala Gravy
5. Spicy Beef Tomato Curry
6. Onion Chicken Curry
7. Tomato Chicken Curry
8. Butter Chicken

Accompaniments for Ghee Rice and Biriyani

For Biriyani and Ghee Rice,  you can prepare any Raitha (Yogurt Mix) and Pappad as an accompaniment.

1. Raitha – Onion Tomato Raitha
   
2. Salad – Onion Salad
3. Mint Cilantro Chutney
4. Plain Yogurt
5. Pickle
6. Pappad

6. Kerala Style Main Course – Rice with Curries

You can also go for Kerala Style Main Course instead of Biriyani and Fried Rice. Rice is served with one main Curry/Gravy, one or more Vegetarian Sides and one or more Non Vegetarian Sides.

Gravies or Curries for Rice

1. Dried Prawns Mango Curry (Chemmenum Mangayum)
2. Seasoned ButterMilk (Moru Kachiyathu)
3. Pulishery
4. Spinach Lentil Curry (Cheerayum Parippum)
5. Kerala Sambar
6. Tomato Rasam
7. Thakkali Curry (Tomato Curry)
   

Non Vegetarian Sides for Rice

1. Kerala Fish Fry
2. Fried Anchovies (Netholi/Kozhuva)
3. Kerala Beef Fry
   
4. Kerala Chicken Stir Fry (Kozhi Varattiyathu)
5. Kerala Chicken Roast
6. Prawns Tomato Roast
7. Dried Prawns Stir Fry
8. Spicy Kerala Chicken Masala
9. Beef Masala
10. Kerala Chicken Fry
11. Spicy Beef/Pork Fry (Irachi Varuthathu)
12. Pork Ularthiyathu (Kerala Pork Stir Fry)

Non Vegetarian Gravies for Rice

1. Fish Curry
2. Simple Prawns Curry
3. Spicy Pork Curry
4. Kerala Chicken and Potato Curry
5. Kerala Chicken Gravy
6. Chicken Masala Gravy
7. Netholi Fish Curry (Kozhuva/Anchovy Curry)
8. Varutharacha Meen Curry (Fish in Roasted Coconut Gravy)
9. Kerala Style Tomato Fish Curry

Vegetarian Side Dish for Rice

 

1. Cabbage Thoran
2. Beans Thoran
3. Cabbage Carrot Thoran
4. Ivy Gourd Thoran
5. Aviyal
6. Beans Mezhkkupuratti
7. Spinach Thoran
8. Achinga Mezhkkuperatti

 

7. Desserts

I would usually bake a cake on the previous day of the party and buy a few flavors of Icecream. Cake with Ice cream is the best dessert.

1. Cake with Ice Cream/Whipped Cream
   
2. Fruit Salad
3. Gulab Jamun with Ice Cream
4. Pudding

8. Touchings for Alcoholic Drinks

For those of you want a few touchings for Alcoholic drinks, you can choose any of the following:-

1. Kerala Beef Fry
2. Prawns Tomato Roast
3. Fried Chicken Sausages
4. Sausage Crumble Stir Fry

Enjoy the Holiday Season!!!