Of kulkuls, cake and guava cheese: Why ‘Kuswar’ is good old comfort on a plate

It is that time of year when having a ‘full plate' is a good thing. A full plate called ‘kuswar', that is. Popular among the Goan, Mangalorean and East Indian communities, this platter is laden with sweets and savouries popularly eaten during Christmas.

With more than 20 varieties of items sometimes, the ‘kuswar' can be a gastronomic adventure - offering crisp, chewy, cakey and fudgy textures as well as nutty, sweet, sour, fruity and salty flavours. There are also a number of techniques involved - stovetop-cooking, deep frying, baking and preserving. While some families bond over preparing these treats, the practice of homemade kuswar is quite rare now.

Goan Theodora Alexander is busy making and packing orders of these delicacies for several households in Vasai who always rely on her for their 'kuswar'. "Christmas cake with rum, milk cream, marzipan, nevries, kulkuls, date rolls are some of the most loved sweets. Without them, it doesn't feel like Christmas," Alexander notes, echoing the sentiments of those who have polished off treats from the tray. "Patience is the key ingredient."

The recipes have been passed down over generations and are now a tradition in the Catholic community. Of course, tastes have evolved so that some people prefer baked goods over the more decadent fried snacks, observes Malad's Vinita Vaz who has catered for Christmas and other occasions for more than 20 years. She parts with some timeless wisdom: "Don't count calories, just enjoy. You can only have these things during this time of the year."

The two home chefs help us unpack some of the indispensable components that make up the ‘kuswar' tray:

Christmas cake with rum/Plum cake
The celebration of Christmas is incomplete without cake. Now, the type of cake may vary depending on personal choice but most houses serve a dark, rich plum cake, which is loaded with raisins and other dried fruits. The traditional cake with rum is another heady option that may be used in the platter, notes Alexander. Apart from those classics, Vaz has an offbeat suggestion -- a flambé pudding. With cakes, as with the pudding, "the longer you soak the fruits and nuts in rum, the better it is," she shares. "I have fruits from December 2019 that I am so excited to bake with this season."

Milk cream
This one is a must, says Alexander. It is hard to resist the shell-shaped beige-coloured sweets. Why? Pop one of these tiny treats and you will be greeted with the nutty flavour of powdered cashew and creamy milk - all of which melt in the mouth almost instantly. "Keeping a check on how fine the cashewnuts are ground is important or else it will get too oily," she warns. The sweet is also a favourite of Chef Paul Kinny of St Regis, Mumbai who shared his personal recipe with Mid-day.

Marzipan
The marzipan can be credited with adding colour to the plate, which is usually dominated by hues of white and brown. Made in different bite-sized shapes, the sweet contains crushed almonds, milk and egg. Vaz, who is accustomed to whipping up 20 kilos of the sweet, says it is a delicate art. "You can't just dunk in the food colouring, it will be too bright and gaudy. The skill is in getting the right shade by combining it with the natural white of the marzipan." Forming the shapes -- such as Christmas trees, cherries, custard apples or apricots -- is a fun exercise in which the children of the house are often involved.

Kulkuls
Capable of turning combs into kitchen appliances, this butter-curl-shaped sweet is a crunchy Christmas must-have. Traditionally a fried snack made from flour and sugar, the kulkul is also called kidyo in Konkani as its form resembles that of a worm. A fork, a mould or a clean comb is used to shape the kulkuls into shells. Like nevries, a deep-fried pastry stuffed with semolina filling of raisins and coconut, the kulkul is known for its simplicity of flavour.

Date rolls
Another traditional sweet found on a Christmas platter are date rolls - small pastries stuffed with dates. The crisp sweet crumbles as soon as it is eaten to produce a rich explosion of dates. Over the years, the date rolls have been replaced with diamond-shaped flat date sweets, for the sake of convenience. Like every other sweet and snack on the plate, this is also an exclusive Christmas treat.

Guava cheese
Another crowd-favourite from the ‘kuswar' distributed during Christmas, guava cheese is a deliciously fruity sweet made from the pulp of guavas. Sugar, salt and lemon juice are its other simple ingredients. Featuring on almost every plate, once eaten, it melts in the mouth to produce a sweet, salty and fresh flavour that is very addictive. It doesn't hurt that it makes you feel less guilty than some of the other treats.

Also Read: Because it's Christmas: Your one-step guide to the best festive menus in Mumbai