Christmas in Coimbatore: Traditions, food and festive atmosphere

stars of puliakulam

S. Vinci sits within a small galaxy of stars in Puliyakulam. His roadside shop, a short distance from St. Antony’s Church, is lit up with Christmas stars and lights. Emerging from her position on a plastic chair amid the Christmas paraphernalia, she says, “There are stars in paper and plastic, as well as stars made of LED lights. Take your pick.” Vinci sells fairy lights, streamers, Christmas trees, cradles and nativity set figurines, which her husband Antony Raj sources from wholesale shops in Ernakulam.

Vinci opens a temporary shop in late November, but business picks up the week before Christmas. “This year, plastic stars are in,” she says, pointing to yellow and blue stars with a row of LED lights. “These are among our new arrivals.”

She sells nativity set figurines ranging from five to 12 inches in height, made of clay and resin. “They include 12 pieces, including baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, sheep and three kings,” she says. Vinci’s home, located in an alley behind the shop, is decorated with lights, stars and a Christmas tree. “My husband, who is a catechist at St. Antony’s Church, makes it a point to do this every year,” smiles Vinci. “He selects decorations and lighting carefully.”

Vinci was born and brought up in Puliyakulam and says that during his younger years, his family could not afford much in terms of Christmas decorations. “My mother used to hang a small star in front of our house and nothing more,” she says. When customers come in droves and Vinci is alone at her stall with nothing but her stars, she thinks about how her life has changed for the better. “I am lucky to be surrounded by stars every Christmas season,” she says with a smile.

Across the road from her stall is Preeti’s unique fancy house, with an airy Santa placed at the entrance. M Preeti, who owns the store that sells everything from stationery, cosmetics and toys throughout the year, explains how she stocks Christmas decorations in November and December.

On December 1, their store takes on a new look: one of stars, Santa and lights. Her shelves are filled with nativity figurines and colorful baubles. “For three weeks, I focus on all things Christmas,” she says, adding that she sources her stuff from Bengaluru. The highlight of their shop this year are collapsible trees that are attached to springs. “They open up once pulled and can be easily stored at home after the festive season,” says Preeti. They are available in four feet to eight feet long options. “Many churches are contacting us for eight-foot tall trees,” she says.

His shop also has cane cradles made by an artisan from Pollachi. “Although cradles are available in materials like plastic and cardboard, there is something special about a cane,” she says. “They look like the actual stable Jesus was said to have been born in.”

Butter Beer on Christmas Menu

The sound of Christmas songs fills the air at Choco Choza as we step in for a festive afternoon meal. The resto-café sports a minimalist festive look with little reindeer and Santas hanging here and there. This year, the newly-launched venue at the Race Course offers a compact festive menu with drinks and food inspired by movies and sitcoms. Thinking harry potter, FriendAnd polar express,

Many Potterheads have fantasized about the butter beer that Harry, Ron, and Hermione drink at the Three Broomsticks in the village of Hogsmeade. In the books, the drink is described as warm and creamy with a foamy top, perfect for a cold day. Based on popular opinion, butter beer is a fizzy cream soda that tastes like butterscotch and caramel, and is non-alcoholic because students drink a lot of it.

Choco Choza serves butter beer topped with whipped cream and the drink contains caramel and soda, and is served lightly chilled. It warms us up, preparing us for the flavor onslaught of the dish that’s next in line: the Moist Maker Sandwich. FriendThe sandwich is Ross’ favorite and features an extra slice of gravy-soaked bread in the middle, In the sitcom, it is made from leftover Thanksgiving turkey, Choco Choza’s version is a fairly elaborate combination of bread, gravy, a drizzle of jam, chicken slices, onions, lettuce and baby potatoes,

It takes a while to demolish, and we order a plate of Harry Potter-inspired Dragon Balls to go with it. Although there is no dish by this name in the books, the dish takes its name from the spicy sauce on which the crunchy, golden balls come. They’re made with potatoes, broccoli and melted cheese in the middle: crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

The Christmas menu also features Polar Express Hot Chocolate, served with whipped cream, and Kevin’s Ice Cream Sundae. sweets from home alone 2 It contains 16 scoops of ice cream with toppings. Do we order it? No, we’re not all Kevin.

keeping traditions alive

By the first week of December, the aroma of freshly baked plum cake fills the air at Kovai KRS Bakery in RS Puram, as one of the oldest bakeries in the city gets ready for Christmas. But the work starts six months earlier, when the dried fruits are soaked in home-made wine and set aside to slowly mature. “This is how plum cake is made,” says KS Naresh, grandson of founder Rangaswami and fourth-generation owner of KRS Bakery. “We have customers who came here as children,” says Naresh, who has been a part of the business since his school days. “Now they come to order cakes for their children. Some even come back for wedding anniversaries.”

Their cake exhibition, an annual ritual, displays elaborate designs. Over 1000 cake designs in over 50 flavors are the highlight of the ongoing event. “In the 1990s, theme cakes were rare. Only a few bakeries attempted the shape, and we were one of the pioneers,” says Naresh. From jungle theme and sports-inspired cakes to handbags, chandeliers and sculptural showpieces, the bakery now handles over 1,000 custom designs. One of his cakes, a 12-foot chandelier cake, which was made for a wedding, weighed about 120 kilograms.

Today, the bakery offers more than 50 cake flavors using pineapple, strawberry, apple, banana, walnut and other fresh ingredients, many of which are fruit based. Managing partner Subhashree Naresh, who specializes in cake sculpture, says this year, he created cakes based on actor Ajith and the women’s cricket team. “It was to pay tribute to the team. They have made us proud,” says Subhashree. The chocolatey Gucci bag catches my attention.

“We take challenging orders. Although bag cakes look better when made with traditional butter cream, our customers prefer whipped cream and fresh cream and thin layers. We deliver intricate designs in under three hours.” Recently, the bakery has started experimenting with reducing flour, increasing the cashew sponge ratio, introducing almond flour, millet-based ingredients and sugar-free custom cakes.

Naresh also recalls a special moment when the bakery made a birthday cake for former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalitha, preparing cakes that matched her age. “We made a 60-kilogram cake for his 60th birthday, which was distributed across multiple locations in a single day. One year, when he won the Cauvery water dispute case, the Cauvery-themed cake became a highlight.”

However, Christmas is rooted in tradition. “‘Tis the season of Christmas cakes,” he says. “Now everyone buys plum cake.” The bakery produces two main varieties, Plum and Rich Plum, which are soaked in dried fruits, and reprocessed continuously throughout the year to ensure consistency.

The rich plum cake is dense, moist and fragrant with 12 types of dried fruits including dates, figs, cherries, raisins, candied orange peel and ginger peel. However, what sets this bakery apart is a tradition that is still followed by very few people. They make plum cakes with almond icing or marzipan. Made especially for Christmas, this old-fashioned cake is topped with a layer of sugar-coated almonds.

Ingredients like fresh cream, premium chocolate, refined flour and vegetable oils are carefully selected. “We don’t use anything that could affect people’s health,” he says. “That’s important to us.”