Christmas feast gets ethnic seasoning

Nation's newcomers add their native lands' favorites to the holiday meal.

By Patti Denton

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December 19, 2002

When in America, natives of other countries agree that adopting some version of Christmas is more the rule than the exception.

"It's a holiday everybody celebrates, so why stand aside?" said Robert Yang, president of the Indianapolis Chinese Community Center.

Many countries exhibiting at the International Festival at the Indiana State Fairgrounds a couple of months ago said that while larger celebrations take place on traditional holidays of their homelands, preparation of a few favorite dishes for gatherings with friends and family is done in conjunction with the American Christmas.

The new Williams-Sonoma cookbook "Savoring America" (Oxmoor House, $39.99) acknowledges the blended holiday styles brought by people of varied backgrounds to the holiday.

"Most families have ritual foods that define a celebration, often dishes that reflect their heritage," wrote Janet Fletcher, author of the text and some of the book's recipes. In an Italian-American home, cannelloni might accompany the Christmas roast, while in a Swedish home, the tiny, tart, red lingonberries and pickled herring accompany the Christmas ham.

Families of different backgrounds that now call Indiana home have shared a glimpse of how they approach the holiday and what they plan to bring to the Christmas table this year:

Mexican: Mexican-Americans began tipping a cup of hot, steaming ponche Monday to warm those who come to the door each evening for Las Posadas (Mary and Joseph's search for shelter before the baby Jesus is brought out on Christmas Eve). The ponche is made of eight to 10 fruits, including tejocote (a mini apple), figs, tamarind (a sweet-sour type of date), guava, apples and pears cooked with sugar cane. For adults, a little rum or other liquor is added, said Lori Rangel-Hernandez and head chef Emilio Montes at La Margarita restaurant, on the Northwestside.

"It is something wonderful," said Sergio Aquilera, the new Mexican consul in Indiana. He said many will feast on bacalao (cod in a light sauce), stuffed turkey and romeritos (vegetable cake with a sauce similar to a spicy mole) with all the extended family gathered for the meal on Christmas Eve. Montes is making a lot of tamales to serve this week, and will have them at home as well on the Christmas holiday, along with bu�uelos (deep-fried flour tortillas sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar).

German: Gloria Webster, president of the German American Klub, said dishes on the regular menu at the group's Edelweiss Restaurant, 8602 S. Meridian St., such as jagerschnitzel (grilled pork loin with mushroom gravy) and Bavarian bratwurst, take center stage at many German holiday tables, especially at the New Year's Eve gala that's a big tradition for the German-American community.

In her home, Webster said, Christmas dinner will feature more than ham, baked sweet potatoes and fresh vegetables.

"My mother's traditional dish was apple pie with coffee on the side," said Webster, who continues to make the pie with lots of apples, cinnamon and sugar to serve with a special blend of chocolate hazelnut coffee.

Chinese: Yang, of Indianapolis, said the holiday is not celebrated as a group but as individual families, and is seen as time to gather at home with friends and family, especially those living in North America.

"This is actually treated similar as Chinese New Year," said Yang. "In our family, one of the favorite foods is roasted duck." Fish, which is also served at Christmas meals, represents abundance in the New Year, beginning Feb. 1 for Chinese the world over.

Greek: Lamb, roasted with favorite Greek seasonings including oregano and garlic, is the Christmas meal centerpiece, but there are lots of pastries, including the honey-dipped cookies that are favorites to serve with a little wine or coffee when visiting houses in the old country villages, according to Daphyne Papageorge.

"They're so popular all year round, but a lot at Christmas," she said, adding the cookies are generally known as melle caramel or fenikia and include orange juice, honey, nuts, with lemon in the syrup. She was taught how to make them by her husband's mother.

East Indian: Rohit Patel said many natives of India have a celebration of sorts at Christmas, gathering with family and savoring the family's favorite foods.

"When you are here, you go with it," said Patel. Yet, the most important holiday for those of Indian heritage was celebrated last month, he said. The New Year began on Nov. 5, and Patel said India Association of Indianapolis members ate black-eyed peas along with a total of 375 different dishes featuring fruits and vegetables of all sorts brought to a dinner held at the India Community Center.

African: Caterer Prince Julius Adeniyi, originally from Nigeria, said Christmas is a time to feast on a variety of meats, including goat, lamb, chicken and turkey, as well as bush meats such as deer and antelope that he's managed to get locally on occasion. The way the meat is cooked is distinctive, said Adeniyi, adding it may be smoked before it is stewed.

Other dishes brought to the holiday table are pounded boiled yam, jollof rice, a variety of greens and plantain that may be fried, or made into flour and prepared like mashed potatoes. Adeniyi makes a traditional beancake with black-eyed peas that are ground, mixed with seasonings and placed in individual-size serving containers to steam.

Russian: The Russian Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 6 and 7 because the Eastern Orthodox religion follows a different calendar. They eat foods such as cabbage rolls and vareniki or dumplings. "Every family has its own recipe for that dinner," said Mikhail Vladimirov, co-owner of the Russia House restaurant, 1475 W. 86th St.

English: Christmas Day dinner is very similar to the American Thanksgiving, said Debbie Winstone of Indianapolis. Her menu includes turkey with stuffing, Brussels sprouts, baked parsnips with honey and lime, as well as sausages wrapped in bacon. To top off the traditional English meal, there's Christmas plum pudding with brandy sauce and some mince pie. "I'm always calling on Joy (Frasier at Frasier's Gourmet Foods) who gets the suet for the mincemeat," said Winstone, who makes the fruity, spicy preserve from scratch.

Irish: The Christmas day meal centers on roasted turkey, ham, potatoes and Brussels sprouts, said Mary Hennigan, who has been in Indianapolis three years as general manager of Claddagh Irish Pub, 234 S. Meridian St.

"Mother sends over the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding," said Hennigan. Her mother, Rita Hennigan, makes the cake, filled with raisins, Guinness and whiskey, a couple of months in advance. The pudding is a moister version of the cake. "You boil it, put whiskey over and set a light to it," said Hennigan.