THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
A special extra Christmassy December Nair Newsline
Scrumptious Smackarels
Enjoy a feast this Christmas with these delicious tasty choices. Choose one or two out of the fabulous choices given for each course, then read the recipe so you can start cooking!
Starter Choices
Spring Rolls-Crispy warm spring rolls.
On a spring roll sheet, spread some vegetables (carrots, sprouts, potatoes, peas) Don't spread any on the edges. Roll up the sheet and fold the edges. For crispy rolls, fry for 2-3 minutes/ For soft rolls, steam for 5-6 minutes. NOTE: If the rolls have uncooked meat, steam them at 12-13 minutes.
Prawn Butter Toast- Soft white rolls of bread with warm butter and tasty prawns. Also try Potato toast if you don't like prawns.
Heat up some butter. When melted spread butter over bread. Spread more than you would normally. Fry some prawns for 4-5 minutes. Put 2-3 on each bread if prawns are large, put 3-4 on each if small. If making potato toast boil the potatoes for 12 – 13 minutes then mash them.
Crispy Prawns – Lovely chunky coating of bread crumbs covers soft tender prawns.
Marinate the prawns and leave them in a container with the sauce/spices for 2-3 hours. Fill a bowl/plate with bread crumbs and roll the prawns inside it. Grill for 6-7 minutes.
Main Course Choices
Stuffed Potatoes-Potatoes stuffed with yummy fillings.
Take a potato and poke 3 holes in lightly with a fork. Then cook it in the microwave for 1 ½ mins . Once cooked, cut the potato into two (make one half small and the other big) Take the big half and scoop out some of the inside of the potato. Now grate some raw veges or cook some veges and then cut them. Grate some cheese and mix into the veges. Sprinkle into the potato half and add some cooked corn for some sweet taste. Don't fill up the potato or you won't be able to cover it. Take some of the potato mash that you scooped out and cover fillings with it. Gently press down so that potato mash won't fall out before you eat it. You can fill your potato with anything you like but make sure it's cooked unless you can eat it raw.
Grilled Chicken- Chunks of grilled chicken served with beans and potatoes. You can have this plain or with parotas.
Marinate the chicken in some sauce/spices for 3 hours. Roll the chicken in breadcrumbs. Grill it for 20-30 minutes.
TIP: Have potatoes stuffed with grilled chicken and cheese next to some parota ( a soft type of Indian bread, similar to rotis/chappatis).
Desert Choices
Strawberry & White Chocolate sundae- White chocolate sauce and strawberry sauce topped with slice strawberries. If you desire, it can be served with a scoop of ice-cream.
Heat white chocolate using the method shown for chocmallows. Blend sugar and strawberries in a blender until smooth. To serve put a few sliced strawberries in a bowl/ glass. Top with the sauces, and if you like, ice-cream. Put the remaining strawberry slices on top.
Chocomallows with sprinkles- Lovely chocolate treats with a centre of gooey soft marshmallow, coated in chocolate and sprinkles.
Take a saucepan and fill it halfway with water. Put in a bowl and make sure it fits snugly. The bowl should not touch the water. Put 100 grams of chocolate in the bowl. Let the chocolate and water simmer for a few minutes on the stove. Once melted, leave it on the saucepan and start coating. Stick each marshmallow on a toothpick and dip into choccy sauce. Turn over for 1 minute till fully coated. Take the chocomallow out and coat it with sprinkles. Put into fridge for around 1 ½ – 2 hours.
Chocolate pockets-Chocolate flavored pastries filled with creamy white chocolate and cream cheese.
Sift the flour, (175 g/6 oz plain flour)cocoa powder(4 tbs cocoa powder)and sugar (2 tbs icing sugar)together. Make a well in the centre. Pour in two beaten eggs and oil (1 tbs vege oil)into it. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, then cover with cling film and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. To make the filling, melt white chocolate(175 g/6 oz white chocolate broken into pieces) using the method used for chocomallows. Beat in the cream cheese. Take the dough out of the fridge. Cut it into two halves. Roll out both. Put the filling into a piping bag and pipe small mounds onto one sheet of dough. Make sure they are spaced evenly. Carefully place the other sheet on top. Press down in between the mounds. Cut out in squares around the pockets. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, then lower to medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
Superbly Splendid Decoration and Gifts
Christmas Counters
Trace a round object twice on cardboard with one corrugated side. Cut out the circles. Spread glue on each circle (on the corrugated side). Before gluing, fold a piece of wool in half. Put the two loose ends onto one of the cardboard circles, and press the other one on top. There should be a loop coming out of the circle. Stick coloured paper on each side. Decorate with glitter and sequins.
Shiny Baubles
Cut eight strips of clean kitchen foil. Fold a piece of wool in half. Place the loose ends in one strip of foil and scrunch the foil around it. Wrap the rest of the foil around the ball and smoothen it by rolling it on a flat surface. Now carefully glue on tissue paper until the whole ball is covered. Once dried, glue on coloured tissue paper. Finally, decorate with sequins or glitter.
Frosty Branches
Scrunch kitchen foil into bendy thin snakes to make branches and twigs. Now, on a folded piece of tissue paper, draw a simple leaf shape. Cut it out, keeping the paper folded. You'll get two identical leaves. Place the end of a branch onto a tissue paper leaf that has been spread with glue. Spread the other with glue and place it on top. Spread with a little glitter for a frosty, beautiful effect.
Tissue Christmas gifts
Draw some small, simple Christmas designs- like a holly branch, bell, star tree, or wreathe, onto a piece of cardboard. Cut out the designs. Spread some glue on a tissue and on a cardboard design. Scrunch the tissue up and stick on the design. Keep doing until you have a thick, smooth layer of tissue on each side of a Christmas design. Repeat on all of the designs. Paint each one on both sides. After paint and tissue have dried, the designs will be hard and ready to wrap up and gift- or keep as a pretty keepsake.
Super Competition!- Send photos of your Christmas decorations or New Year decorations to
karunanair99@gmail.com.The best decorations will receive a Festival Hamper.
Super Season Survey
This month we asked a few Christmas questions to Raji Menon and Vinod Nair.
Do you think all god is one, or believe in either Hinduism/Christianity/Islam?
Raji Menon:I believe God is only one, the Absolute one or the Supernatural power, the one who has created the universe. People who belong to different religions worship by giving different names to their gods.
Vinod Nair:I believe that all god is one. Basically, different people interpret the worshiping and values (be good to others, tell the truth, try hard,etc)in different ways. But what spoils that is some people say if you don't believe my interpretation, you're wrong.
Do you celebrate Christmas? If so how? Or if not, why?Raji Menon:I celebrate Christmas by eating cakes gifted to me by my Christian friends. I wish them happy Christmas .
Vinod Nair:I celebrate Christmas by eating a feast prepared by myself, decorating a Christmas tree, giving presents, worshiping god and spending time with my family.
If you had a Christmas tree, what decorations would you have (answer even if you don't celebrate Christmas)?
Raji Menon:I would like to decorate Christmas tree with lights of different colours. I would like to hangs bags with sweets on the trees to be passed on to my children and grand children. It is a great festival of colours and lights coming in the month of December a time of nice climate. I always love that festival and sweetness of cake too.
Vinod Nair:I seriously don't know!
The World of Christmas
C hristmas is the time of family and God.
H undreds of people celebrate Christmas.
R udolf is a red-nosed reindeer.
I like decorating the tree and eating lots of candy.
S ome people don't celebrate Christmas.
T he night before Christmas people go to church and worship Jesus till 12:00 PM.
M any people like Christmas.
A very popular Christmas candy is candy canes.
S anta Claus stands for Saint Nicholas.
