Christmas with the Gafoors

A multi-ethnic family in the city celebrates Christmas in their own unique style. The Guide decided to share their Christmas spirit and here's what we took back from the experience

A multi-ethnic family inu00a0Bangalore celebrates Christmas in their own unique style. The Guide decided to share their Christmas spirit and here's what we took back from the experience

He's a Muslim, she's a Christian and their children are two bundles of joy that make the world a better place to live in. Their home is as Christmassy as it should be and the warm shades of green, red and white seem to emanate from every corner.

The Gafoors with their Christmas spread. "It's all about the family," Michelle and Aslam

We walk in, immediately take a liking to the surroundings and are quickly invited to sit down for a cup of tea.

Over the cup of tea, we hear tales of their Christmases past and what they look forward to in this year.

Michelle glows as she tells us about the joy in sharing the Christmas spirit with her family. "We all work together and my daughter Samreen is now an expert at making Kalkals. So much so, she makes the Kalkals for everyone in the building and thoroughly enjoys the experience," Michelle tells us. "Aslam also helps and so does Zahan when he finds time to spare from his busy playing schedule. He seems to enjoy the holidays the most and has been extremely excited ever since his school closed for the holidays," Michelle adds.



"Baking and Christmas comes naturally to me," Michelle says. "My mother is an excellent cook and has a cook book credited to her. The recipes have been carried down through generations in the family. Year after year, we bake cakes, make some delicious guava cheese and add in a few walnut rolls at the side for our loyal clientele who seem to love eating such traditional delicacies during the Christmas season. We're also usually sold out by December 22 and I make it a point to stop baking on December 20."

Being a Mangalorean by blood and coming from a family that's been Christian for quite a few generations, Michelle is a typical well-raised extremely calm and composed Christian woman. When we asked her what the most important part of Christmas was, she smiled and quickly almost immediately answered, "Going to church, of course!"

So how does Aslam manage, we wondered, being a practicing Muslim. Aslam answered our question in no time.

"Christmas is equally important to me," he said. "The fact that my in-laws live in the same building makes the festival quite the family affair for us. We do everything together. Be it the preparations or the celebrations, we're a family united. Concerning my involvement, I give it my all. Michelle after all is equally pious about my festivals. You won't believe it, but when the fasting for Ramzan starts, I am often forced into fasting because Michelle starts it long before me," Aslam smiles and adds.

The family shares a brilliant equation and we see how the festival of joy can actually be a reason to celebrate sans all the tension of preparation and differences that communities such as these share.

Michelle decided to share a few traditional recipes with us, so if you haven't made your batch of cakes or kalkals, get whisking away now...

Kalkals:

Ingredients
1 kilo maida
Milk of 2 coconuts
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder/
cooking soda
2 tablespoons of melted ghee
2 cups of sugar
1 cup water

Method:
Add the maida, ghee and salt, mix well and add a small quantity of the coconut milk and mix continuously till you get a small pliable lump of dough. Cover with a damp cold and take small quantities at a time to make into desired shapes. Put sufficient oil in the pan for deep frying and when hot, add the kalkals and fry on a medium flame till golden brown. Once done keep aside to cool. Put the sugar and water in a pan on a medium flame and allow it to cool. Now it's up to you if you want to candy the kalkal or leave it as it is.

Walnut Roll:

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
Finely chopped dates
8 ounces of walnuts = 2 cups

Method:
Pour sugar, milk, butter and a pinch of salt in a pan and cook till the mixture thickens to form a single thread consistency. Add the dates and nuts and cook for 10 minutes on low flame. Cool the mixture and shape it into rolls. Cover rolls with aluminium foil and keep in the refrigerator. Once the rolls are set, cut into slices.u00a0