EASTER’S here and it’s time for a sumptuous breakfast of delectable appam, chicken stew as well as scrumptious duck and egg roast. Then there is steamed banana, a generous piece of luscious cake followed by piping hot coffee.

If there’s one thing that has not changed over time, it is the Easter delicacies.

During traditional Lent — for some churches it’s 40 days, while for some others it’s 50 — most abstain from non-vegetarian food, egg, milk and even curds.

“I remember in the yesteryears, Easter was particularly the most sought after day. Many in our family used to be pure vegetarians and hence to break the Lent, it was an occasion to remember,” recalled 80-year-old Annamma Jacob, a grandmother who is now making last-minute arrangements for the Easter day in Kottayam, Kerala.

The most popular event on Easter day is the hearty breakfast which includes the traditional appam, made of rice flour and by adding freshly tapped toddy — now many use yeast.

Appam is normally taken along with chicken stew, but today minor changes have taken place with some families opting to have it with fish molly.

“In the good old days, chicken was a rarity. About three decades back, chicken was mostly a homestead product and when special guests used to come we used to kill our own chickens. We used to do the same on Easter and Christmas,” said Annie Mathew, a retired employee from the Middle East, now settled here.

“My grandchildren have chicken practically many times a week, and hence the decision was to go in for a fish molly.”

Other important dishes that form a part of Easter breakfast is either beef roast or duck roast. The concept of easter egg is not prevalent here, but there is the egg roast.

Steamed banana is another must on Easter and then comes a piece of cake besides steaming hot coffee.

Many prefer to have the wine from the Church, as it is given by the priest which signals the end of the Lent during the Easter Sunday mass.

Once the breakfast is over, the next major meal is the lunch. These days for the sake of convenience, some opt for a mutton/chicken biryani while others opt for the traditional lunch.

“The most important dishes for lunch are the fish curry, besides the fry [mostly seer fish or pomfret]. If one has duck curry for Easter breakfast, that is generally not repeated for lunch, instead they go for the beef curry and vice-versa,” said Mary George, a homemaker.

“Pickles are all prepared and bottled ahead and opened for Easter lunch.”

And after gorging on delicacies through the day, what about dinner?

On Easter Sunday, after having a sumptuous breakfast and a luxurious lunch, dinner is generally a light one.

By arrangement with The Statesman-Asia News Network

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2015

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