Enjoy these homemade meals this Christmas in Mumbai

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Make Merry

Jovita Mascarenhas has been a serial entrepreneur for 25 years, dabbling in design and home decor. The idea to start a cocktail mixer venture struck during the lockdown when her mixologist son Jordan was making them some great mixes at home.

"We though, why not make low-calorie mixers with 100 per cent real ingredients that can be paired with spirits or enjoyed as mocktails," says Mascarenhas. Each 400 ml bottle makes four drinks, measuring less than 56 kcal. These include pie time (apple-cinnamon), liquid gold (ginger and spice), memento (tamarind-orange) and embrace (hibiscus-lavender). They put together gift boxes and experience kits too.
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Bartisans
PRICE: Rs 450 onwards
TO ORDER: 8879002245

Passion Tiffin

Bandra couple Yohann and Cynthia Rodrigues run Rod's Kitchen, a delightful little tiffin service, mostly for senior citizens in the locality, but there are other patrons as well. A week before Christmas, the couple adds festive specials such as stuffed chicken, pork sorpotel and salted buff tongue, an East Indian specialty. "It's a surprise element we add to tiffins, and we love how that makes them smile," says Cynthia.
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Rod's Kitchen
PRICE: Rs 200 onwards
TO ORDER: 9920027051

Go Goan

Candida D'Souza Fernandes

For Thane-based Candida D'Souza Fernandes, Christmas is defined by the entire family pitching in. "From putting up the tree, to making the crib from scratch - it was my special time with my dad, who isn't with us anymore," she says. "Now it's about keeping those memories alive in the little things I do." Fernandes started Can-de-licious in 2020, after quitting her full-time job. "My son loves food, cakes and cupcakes so I started baking and cooking for him, and it led to more avenues. I ended my 18-year stint in corporate life to become a cake artist," she says. On the Christmas menu is mutton yakhni pulao, green peas pulao, Goan sausage pulao, Goan mutton/chicken green curry, chicken/mutton Xacuti, pork vindaloo and pork green curry.
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Can-de-licious
PRICE: Rs 800 onwards
TO ORDER: 9619288209

Italian Love

Annabelle Lobo is a second-generation chef who loves cooking special Italian meals and baking cakes. "Christmas for us is about family and lifelong friendships - especially of my mother and aunts - coming alive with laughter, songs and merriment," says the Bandra resident. "Ever since I can remember, people of all faiths came together as one - that's my favourite part about Christmas." This year, her specials include spinach and ricotta ravioli, Parmigiana di Melanzane, and crowd favourites: Lasagne,
gnocchi with pumpkin purée and brown butter, and mushroom tortelloni.
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Annabelle Lobo
PRICE: Rs 650 onwards
TO ORDER: 9920260848

Perfectly Pie

When time permits, Bewitched ‘n' Baked's founder Stephanie D'souza sings and acts on stage. "I've always been fascinated with taking random ingredients and creating something unexpected," she says. "What started as a creative outlet to feed friends and family, just paved its way naturally to become what it is today." Her Christmas specials include Malaysian curry chicken, satay hand pies, strawberry pavlova cupcakes, chocolate walnut fudge cruffins, reindeer alfajores, traditional fruit cake, and marzipan sweets.
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Bewitched ‘n' Baked
PRICE: Rs 150 onwards
TO ORDER: 9867390708

Smokin' hot

Larissa Valladares and her husband Joshua Pereira started Incendiary Kitchen in 2019 as a hobby as good quality smoked meats weren't available in the market. "Our love for food and experimenting led to fusion dishes from around the world," says Valladares. "Christmas specials include East Indian sorpotel, Vietnamese meatballs, liver pate, meatloaf, Mongolian beef, Asian pork ribs, grilled chicken with plum sauce, and maple bacon."
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Incendiary Kitchen
PRICE: Rs 300 onwards
TO ORDER: 9619633881

Roast it!

James Miranda started Jazzy Jim's Cookhouse in Bandra, churning out some of the best roasts in the city. When he isn't in the kitchen, he plays music, collaborating with bands in and outside the town. "I started this because nobody - I can safely say - can do a grill or roast the way I can. My favourite Christmas memory is ceremoniously cooking the Christmas vindaloo with my Avo [grandma in Portuguese], that's where I got my love for cooking," says Miranda. This this year, there is the roast duck, chargrilled tenderloin, roast spatchcock chicken, vindaloo slow braised boozy roast pork and Jim's lasagne on the menu.
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Jazzy Jim's Cookhouse
PRICE: Rs 850 onwards
TO ORDER: 8779383510

Go ol' School

Eldon Pereira and Irene

Marol-based Eldon Pereira and his wife Irene enjoy fusion cooking. Year ago, they started The Food Shack and make a whole list of East Indian specials, including fugias, varias, wedding pulao, roasts, bakes and salads - most with a twist. Their homemade grape wine and black currant wine are a huge hit. "We make wine throughout the year," says Eldon, "and the batch we are retailing this time is from 2020 - it would have been even older if it wasn't for the pandemic. We add cinnamon, clove and other spices, besides a little bit of ginger, and let it ferment for 21 days."
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The Food Shack
PRICE: Rs 240 per litre onwards
TO ORDER: 9819434001

English Bond

Alifya and Aziz Amreliwala

This Bohri couple, Alifya and Aziz Amreliwala, started Taheri Delights as an experiment, taking on small orders at first. And while they are famous for their Bohra-style smoked chicken/mutton kheema and dal samosa, shawarma and biryanis, come Christmas and there are daily orders for roast chicken, meatloaf, and shepherd's pie.

"The butter garlic rosemary lemon roast chicken comes with roasted gravies and veggies," says Alifya. "There's also a prawn cocktail and cheese-stuffed mushrooms. For desserts, we offer is gingerbread pound cake, sticky toffee pudding, and mini carrot cake that everyone loves."
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Taheri Delights
PRICE: Rs 600 onwards
TO ORDER: 9769458668