In search of the Perfect Christmas Pudding

Of all the December in Delhi traditions, Christmas pudding was the one I remember most. The excitement after dinner, when the lights went out. And then the pudding! Wreathed in pale bluish purplish flames, rich with the smell of cinnamon and spice, it came to the table sprinkled with castor sugar, all steaming. With dollops of brandy butter, or for us kids, with custard and clotted cream. It was a tradition, rather like the deep mahogany dining table and chairs, inherited by my very Punjabi family, from its English civil service days.

But for the kids, it was pure pleasure, and one that began weeks before D day. It started with the shopping, getting together raisins and blackcurrants, and purple and orange ‘peel’ from special shops in Khan Market. You watched these being soaked in rum or in brandy and then 2 days later, it would be stirring day. We’d cluster around, thrilled to handle the big wooden spoon and stir in the eggs, the fruit, the treacle and the spices one by one into a large white bowl. Bits of silver would go in too – coins for luck, a thimble for thrift and sometimes even a ring. And then we’d peek at the pudding while it steamed –and steamed –and steamed. Puddings are meant to steam for long, for 6 or even 9 hours. And then it was finally done, it would be wrapped up, and put away, in muslin cloths, for the flavors to get richer and richer, and to be served on Christmas day.

These were home made institutions, you made them in your own special way. Some used the traditional suet or lard, some didn’t, some used sherry and some used rum. But generally, you had to make your own Christmas pudding –it was not something you could buy from anywhere.

It’s different now. In Mumbai, where I live, Christmas puddings are seasonal business. If you aren’t lucky enough to organize yours from Marks and Spencer’s or better still Fortnum and Mason’s, head for the 5 star hotels. They’re very in with this, and even have special stir-in days. My food columnist friend told me he’d just been one such food event - complete with flashbulbs and models. But he recommends the American Express Bakery, with branches in Byculla and Bandra for traditional Christmas pudding. You can have the fruit/ plum Christmas cakes too, and Moshe Shek, who bakes variations in his bakeries recommends the pudding “It’s moister, softer and richer “, he says. Moshe’s does the traditional Christmas pudding and a cake with an almond marzipan topping. And like the 5 star bakeries, they also do pannetone, sweet Italian bread loaded with fruit.

In Delhi, where I used to live, you now get Christmas pudding at Wengers, at Modern Bazaar, at India International Centre (IIC).

So all you need now is a matchstick and a generous quantity of rum to make the magical blue flame appear. It’s easy.

Not for me though. I find myself , as my kids grow noisily participative , making my way to ‘Quality Dry Fruits’ the shop in Juhu, for my fix of peel and fruit. It’s a little like the little shops in Crawford market, with their tuttie frutties in greens, yellows and oranges, their peel and their black currants . From here to the pudding is still a long way to go though . Still, there’s much excitement already ; even though we’re nowhere near the flambé , and we haven’t even got to the stir and make a wish day!

This feature appeared in the Times of INdia December 2007