Joyce Arora is full of beans. She welcomes you the way only some mothers do – with an effortless warmth, with a laugh that comes before the meal, and with the kind of unfiltered candor that makes you bow before you even take your seat. Yes, she’s the mother of actor and entrepreneur Malaika Arora, that description always comes before her, but Joyce is a personality in her own right: genuine, sharp-witted, refreshingly honest about life, and inspired by a living generosity that can’t be manufactured. I met her when she unveiled her special Christmas menu for Scarlet House in Mumbai’s Bandra area, served till January 1, and within moments it becomes clear that this is more than a festive menu – it’s a map of her memory, shaped by the dual history of where she grew up and where her roots really are.
Joyce’s childhood was spent in Kirkee – or Khadki, as it is officially known – one of the oldest cantonments of Pune, established by the British in the early 19th century after the Battle of Khadki in 1817. Even today, the neighborhood has that distinctive, slightly time-suspended rhythm: tree-lined avenues; Bungalows and barracks softened by gulmohar and rain trees; and Christian families of Goan, Tamil, Malayali and Anglo-Indian heritage who formed tightly knit communities around the parish church. “Kirkies were very close-knit,” says Joyce. “Everyone knew everyone else. Sundays meant church, and holidays meant food. There was a sense of belonging that you didn’t question.”
Arhaan (centre) with his grandmother, Joyce, and Scarlett House chef, Aamir Sohail. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
But the flavors that shaped him were equally those of Kerala, where his extended family lived – the aroma of coconut oil in the kitchen, curry leaves and the daily grinding of fresh masalas. “Those flavors are my roots,” she says. “No matter where I lived, my food always came back to Kerala.” Joyce’s father served in the armed forces.
Food is where her storytelling abilities shine, especially when it comes to Christmas. Joyce, with a half-baked dread of adulthood, recalls her early festive audacity: the salted beef tongue that made its annual appearance on many Christian tables. “I never enjoyed eating it,” she says candidly, “but my parents loved it.” Soaked in salt water for several days and stored in a tin on the highest shelf, it was a forbidden object of curiosity. “I was so curious,” she says, laughing. “One day I pulled the tin down, it splattered everywhere, and I was convinced I’d ruined Christmas. That was my first and last encounter with beef tongue!” This episode shows the contradictions of cantonment life – order and mischief, discipline softened by warmth, tradition made human through small domestic accidents.
Christmas table heads
Joyce’s Christmas menu for the House of Scarlet presents such moments across the decades. Kalan, says Joyce, “was always there – a thick, comforting Kerala curry of coconut, curd and Kashmiri chilli that signaled the beginning of Christmas.” Their Soup Cube Casserole, made with stock cubes, mushrooms, broccoli and saffron rice, is “simple, soulful…the calm before the Christmas storm”. Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie – slow-roasted vegetables under buttery mashed potatoes – is “a warm embrace”. Their Malayali Buff Fry is “deep, rich, slow-roasted beef with toasted coconut” served with Malabar Parotta, while the Pork Vindaloo is “bold and tangy with vinegar and garlic.” Chorizo casserole is cooked “from memory”, and wine mutton, cooked with mushrooms, potatoes and a whole bottle of red, “scents the whole house.”
His grandson Arhaan Khan describes Christmas with a certainty that borders on reverence. When Joyce was asked about the food she prepares for Christmas, she said, “Without a doubt, it’s her paper chicken,” the preparation of which takes a few days, including negotiations about what can and cannot be purchased from her local vendor in the Khar-Bandra area.
Joyce’s spread in The Scarlet House Photo Courtesy: Mithali Vyas
Arhaan says, “For me, that’s Christmas. The smell alone tells you that the season has started. It’s one of those dishes that no one else should ever taste because it won’t taste the same, and somehow, it won’t feel right either.” Watching Joyce cook is as much a ritual as the meal is for her. “It’s a mixture of complete control but we allow it because it makes so much sense Mother (Grandmother in Malayalam),” he says. ”There’s constant movement, instructions flying, music playing – yet everything comes together perfectly. Watching him run the kitchen is a Christmas tradition in itself.
And like anyone who grew up in a household where food and affection were the same vocabulary, he recognizes how deeply it has shaped him. “Food is family,” he says simply. “It’s loud, crazy, warm, generous and full of heart. There’s always too much food, too many people, never enough room – but that’s the magic. You can come as a guest, but you always feel like family.”
Joyce’s spread in The Scarlet House Photo Courtesy: Mithali Vyas
Joyce’s daughter Malaika Arora remembers Christmas as an electric feeling of celebration that settled in the house long before the 25th. “It’s the whole spirit of Christmas that stays with me,” she says. “Your tree is decorated, every ornament with a story, the house buzzing with excitement. Friends would come over and never leave without a doggie bag. It was the laughter, the gifts, the warmth – there was something special in the air.”
She says her mother’s hosting style shaped her understanding of what a “real” Christmas looks like. “It always started with grace,” she muses. “Then came the feast – appam and stew, wine mutton marinated the day before, roast chicken, rum cake… every bite felt like a celebration.” And how about helping in the kitchen? She laughs. “It’s still very much mom’s kitchen, mom’s rules. She knows how she wants everything. I try to help, but mostly, I’m learning. There’s gentle teasing, a lot of giving…it’s its own little tradition.”
Now, with her own family, those traditions continue – lightly adapted but clearly Joyce in spirit. “I feel like I naturally keep going back to her blueprint,” says Malaika. “But I add my own little touches as life evolves. At its core, though, it’s still about togetherness, indulgence, laughter, warmth, and belonging.”
And maybe it’s real through the line: a childhood in a camp where community meant everything; a kitchen where curiosity once dropped a box of beef tongue; Festive tables where Kerala heritage meets cantonment culture; And a family for whom Christmas is not a date but a way of life. The Scarlet House menu may be new, but Joyce’s Christmas – bountiful, rootsy and impossibly warm – has been going on for generations.
Joyce’s Christmas specials will be served throughout December in Juhu and Bandra; DM for details @scarlethousebombay
