Why Kerala's Christmas plum cake remains a hidden gem on Mumbai’s Christmas menus

The Kerala Christmas Plum Cake is a part of the Syrian Christian community’s tradition for Christmas celebrations. Photo Courtesy/Aiyo Patrao

Christmas has always been a family tradition for Mathew Varghese while he was growing up, and the Kerala Christmas plum cake was always a part of this celebration. The spirit of coming together was even more special because, unlike those Malayalis who grew up in Kerala around friends and family, Mathew, chef and co-founder of city-based restaurant Kari Apla, grew up in Kolkata surrounded by the warmth of his community and extended family - the Syrian Christians itself but living in Kolkata.

In a different land far away from their land of origins, the church in Kolkata became the bond that brought them together and it could especially be felt in the days leading up to Christmas. Speaking about the tradition, he shares, "In our churches, there are different families who come together. It is a communal activity where everybody cuts the fruits in their houses and gets them to church to add to the cake batter. Being a communal activity, it is one common cake batter made, and a baker is called to bake it. Each house's family name is put on each loaf depending on how much they want." While these cakes were made for self-consumption, they were also distributed to friends and family.

Every year, the Christmas traditions of Mumbai's East Indians, Goans, Mangaloreans and Anglo Indians are celebrated and spoken about it so many different ways through their unique customs. Whether it is the sorpotel or vindaloo that is commonly made among East Indians and Goans or the coconut-based curries made by the Mangaloreans with sannas, or the roast chicken and more that is made by the Anglos, the city is truly a melting pot of cultures. However, the beauty is that apart from non-Catholics and the expats, even Kerala's Christian community occupies a sizeable portion of this Christmas 'community pie'. Interestingly, their celebrations may not always be as popularly known as the others in Mumbai. Still, they are existent in the by-lanes carol singing. This activity brings in the festivities at least two weeks before the Catholic community, which usually does it 10 days before Christmas. Their tradition also extends to food and the making of Kerala Christmas Plum Cake. It is easily one of the lesser-known dishes of Christmas celebrations among Kerala's Syrian Christian community, especially in Mumbai.

Deconstructing the Kerala Christmas Plum Cake

So, why is the Kerala Christmas Plum Cake lesser-known or sprinkled across a handful of menus in the city? Mathew says the tradition mostly doesn't happen as much anymore because it is quite a tedious process - right from cutting the fruits and soaking them for a month, and the fact that they are "low-key" and they are not extravagant with anything they do, and Christmas is no different. Interestingly, the Kerala plum cake is hardly different from the other plum cakes we know of India he believes but says it is "more fruit-heavy and less cake-y" if nothing else.

He further explains, "The ratio of the dried fruits and nuts to the flour is more. On the commercial level, people who want to sell it at a lower price point will make it cake heavy and less fruits." While there are people who soak the fruits for a year, they soak it for a month because they believe it is enough. Apart from the dried fruits, the cake also has spices. He adds, "It has the all-spice powder, ginger, and all the sweet spices like cinnamon and star anise to name a few."

This entire tradition has made them include the Kerala Christmas Plum Cake on the Christmas menu as a dessert at the restaurant because it was an important part of their upbringing and heritage. Ebaani Tiwari, who is also the chef and co-founder, says, "Everyone lives in different cities now, but the cakes keep getting sent across to different cities and homes." In fact, Mathew's parents who live in Kerala now send them the cake and some cookies. "In return, we send the cake we've made along with some bakharwadi because they love it," she adds.

Kerala's Syrian Christian community's Christmas traditions

Apart from the cake at home, Mathew says aunties used to also make wine at home during this time of the year. Come Christmas, they indulge in mellow celebrations, he says, "They just go to church in the morning and that is followed by a family lunch or potluck." It is usually the way even their friends celebrate in Mumbai, says Ebaani, as it is usually friends and family who come together for a lunch or dinner potluck.

It is not only the plum cake but also other aspects of Christmas in Mumbai that are similar to Kerala's celebrations. Serving coastal cuisine at the restaurant, Mathew reminds us how there are so many common things in the cuisines along the coast. "The Rose cookies which are eaten during Christmas, are called achappams in Kerala," he adds.

Christmas sweets or ‘kuswar' as it is popularly called take centre stage during this time of the year, but the savoury treats are hard to ignore. While the city boasts of sorpotel and vindaloo, Tiwari points out how the community enjoys their appams and stew for breakfast after church.
It is in keeping with this tradition that they have also included appams and stew, and prawn ghee roast that features on the menu, apart from an innovative mushroom cheese toast and biryani, which is one of India's most celebratory meals.

It is not only Mathew and Ebaani at Kari Apla but also Ashwin Nair and Marian D'Costa of Aiyo Patrao, a Kerala-Goan Mumbai delivery kitchen in Bandra, who are serving different Kerala specials for Christmas. Incidentally for Ashwin, the inspiration to include the Kerala Plum Cake on their Christmas menu was a core childhood memory. He narrates, "My earliest memory of Kerala Plum Cake was at our (Malayali) Christian neighbour's house in Saudi Arabia. The aunties and 'chechis' in that community made the most delicious and moist plum cakes. We children, of course, were given the ones without the rum, but imagine if things were slightly different."

Even though he tasted the non-alcoholic version, the flavours have lingered long enough for them to include it on their menu this time around. He adds, "It was also the need for good quality and delicious Kerala Plum cake in Mumbai. With such captivating flavours, keeping this magnificent creation to ourselves would be criminal." Sharing the goodness of Kerala's plum cake, he reminds that the first plum cake was made in Kerala and introduced to Indians by the British. While in Goa, it was the Portuguese and their version of the delicacy, Ashwin says the cakes differ in flavour, colour, density and texture in the version they make, which is also a rectangular version instead of the traditional round version, for ease of packaging.

He further explains, "In Kerala, the use of dry fruits like almonds and raisins and aromatic spices like nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon are in larger quantities. Our version also includes special ingredients like ginger powder and caramel as they lend a distinct colour and warm flavour to our plum cakes - It's like Christmas in a box." Unlike Mathew and Ebaani, they soak their dry fruits much earlier. "We start soaking the fruits in rum in January, so by December they're nice and plump with all that boozy goodness. My mother-in-law helps me with this bit, because her recipe and proportions of the fruit-soak are unparalleled," he adds.

Dishing out food from Kerala over the last four years apart from Goan delicacies, Ashwin says they have only seen more people learning about Kerala and its traditions with much curiosity and appreciation, and the fact that more people order their Kerala Plum Cake during Christmas is proof.

Elsewhere in Vasai, Jessy Thomas is living up to this very tradition of the Syrian Orthodox community from Kerala, as she makes the Kerala Plum Cake at home for a family, as she has been making for close to three decades now. It is a recipe that has been passed down in her family over the years. She shares, "I started making cakes as soon as my first child was born. I followed my mother's recipe, and I still make it. I will share my mother's recipe with my children so that they can continue the tradition of making the plum cake in our family."

Just like Mathew and Nair, the plum cake is more than a dish at the Christmas table, it is a memory the 63-year-old holds very dear, as it reminds her of her mother. "Thinking about the Kerala Christmas plum cake brings back memories of my mother making cakes during my childhood and savouring that flavour of dates and black raisins. I believe I still can't achieve that taste of my mother's cake," says a humble Jessy, continuing, "The flavour is very different from what you usually get anywhere else in the world. Maybe it is the ingredients or maybe it is the love, who knows (laughs)."

While she has already baked the plum cake, her son Cyril Thomas, says carrot cake is also a part of the feast this time around but that is only one part of the feast. "Our tradition is pal appam and egg curry, followed by lunch which will include beef dry along with mutton curry and rice and then the same for dinner," concludes Jessy ahead of Christmas celebrations.