Egg-stra Easter goodies for all
On Sunday, Easter goodies did rounds of most of city’s hotspots. Commemorative of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, not many know that in ancient times, the day marked a Northern hemisphere pagan celebration. Much of what we eat at Easter comes from this pagan festival to commemorate the Goddess of Spring and fertility, Eastre. Be it the eggs, the rabbits (bunnies), hot cross buns, lamb or pork, Simnel cake or the pies, Easter has always been all about feasting and fun. We check out with city chefs, what they dished out.
Eggs are a forbidden food during Lent, making them a welcome return to the menu on Easter Day. For Christians the custom of giving eggs at Easter celebrates new life. “We served the traditional gourmet Easter goodies at our cake shop such as Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies, cookies and chocolate nest. The Easter egg had a lovely chocolate with an interesting twist of fruit flavour. Another egg had a nice and light creamy chocolate flavoured with hazelnut, and has a smooth and silky texture,” says chef Amit Setia, Hilton Garden Inn, Saket.
Rabbits giving birth to large litters in the early spring became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth during the spring season. In many places lamb, turkey or pork is used in place of rabbits to prepare interesting dishes.
“Roast turkey was one of the highlights of our Easter spread and was served along with baby vegetables and fruits, along with grape jus, prunes and leeks and sweet potatoes pumpkin pie and glazed vegetables to balance its strong flavour and add charm to the display. We also had chicken roulade, red wine poached pears, pumpkin pie, sweet potato gratin, braised lamb with brusell sprout and roast leg of pork with stewed apples,” says chef Anurudh Khanna, The Park hotel.
Chef Willi Haueter at The Imperial says, “Easter is a special occasion when the guests get together with their families, share a meal and eat lots of chocolates. Since eggs symbolise new life and bunnies are associated with traditional belief of fertility, they are an intrinsic part of the celebration. Taking the spirit of Easter further, we had specialities like Easter Semolina tart, Hot cross buns, candies in the shape of eggs, ducks and bunnies made of chocolates and many more goodies for the Easter week. Our Easter buffet brunch featured lamb specialties and other exclusive offerings for our guests.”
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