What should I cook for Easter lunch is as difficult a question to answer as what to cook for Christmas dinner! With so many delicious traditional foods to choose from, narrowing it down to a few might be a really difficult choice.
After 40 days of abstinence and fasting, the Easter feasting table might look a bit indulgent. If you ask, what is a traditional Easter lunch? Or what is a typical Easter lunch? Well, it depends on your culture. We don’t do roast gammon and we don’t do potjiekos. The Easter Sunday lunch menu varies widely across the globe.
We East Indians, especially have a lot of special dishes that can go on the Easter lunch menu, from appetizers to main dishes, to drinks and desserts too. If you’ve lived in or visited Mumbai at some time, you’ve probably tasted at least one East Indian dish, be it stuffed chicken, sorpotel, vindaloo, foogias, orias, and more.
And if you’re East Indian, you’ve already decided what you’re going to make this Easter. If you don’t, here are some top East Indian dishes to choose from!
Drinks, there’s always drinks first!
1. Homemade Currant Wine or Raisin Wine
The East Indians of Mumbai make this traditional currant wine for Christmas, Easter and other festivities. Here's the recipe with a few personal tweaks.
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2. East Indian Fresh Grape Wine (Black or Green)
The East Indian recipe for grape wine uses fresh either black or green grapes or a mix of the two. Easy to make at home for a cheap table wine.
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3. Homemade Rose Petal Wine (Not Rose)
Homemade rose petal wine is a heady wine drink with the aroma of roses. After some experimentation, we made this earthy wine with dried rose petals, and it's perfect for celebrations or regular days in.
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4. Spicy Homemade Ginger Wine
Homemade ginger wine is a light and refreshing drink for celebrations or regular days in. Using ginger root we make this spicy wine in 2 weeks and add a few optional ingredients for different flavors.
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And of course, there are the other hard liquours and soft drinks, but those aren’t traditionally East Indian drinks, so we haven’t listed them here.
East Indian Appetizers Are Different!
5. How to boil Ox Tongue? | Beef Tongue | Bovine Tongue
Boiled bovine tongue tastes delicious and is easy-to-cook traditional East Indian snack served as a side, appetizer, or even in sandwiches. You won't even realize it's offal!
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6. Easy Sesame Potato Side Dish
Sesame Potato is an easy-to-make side dish that tastes really delicious. Serve plain or with green chutney!
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7. East Indian Corned Tongue (Salted Ox Tongue)
The East Indian recipe for corned tongue or salted tongue takes a few days but is delicious and perfect for many dinners and sandwiches.
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If you want our traditional East Indian recipes on hand, these books from the Abby's Plate Cookbook Series are perfect for you. Available online or in-store wherever books are sold, in most countries.
East Indian Celebration:
30 Festive Recipes from Abby's Plate
See the full list of books here!
Croissants, patties, chips, mutton samosa, boiled grams, and more could go on this list too!
Main Course Dishes – Some offal Too!
8. East Indian Stuffed Roast Chicken
A traditional roast chicken dinner for Sundays or feast days and family gatherings! This one is stuffed with mom's homemade bread liver stuffing.
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9. East Indian Pork Ukra – Yellow Vindaloo Recipe
East Indian Pork Ukra Recipe made by us East Indians of Mumbai is what we call a yellow vindaloo. As tasty as traditional spicy vindaloo but yellow in color!
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10. East Indian Beef Tongue Roast
The East Indian Beef Tongue Roast is a simple and easy-to-cook recipe using a handful of ingredients. All you need is an hour and a half!
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11. East Indian Duck Moile Curry
East Indian Duck Moile is a traditional dish that is full of flavour. Tender and juicy slow-cooked meat is served with rice, foogias, hand breads, or chitaps, and a cooling salad for the perfect meal!
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12. Spicy East Indian Pork Tamriad
Spicy East Indian Pork Tamriad Recipe made by Mumbai's East Indians is a cross between vindaloo and sorpotel.
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13. Spicy East Indian Pork Vindaloo (Indyal)
The Spicy East Indian Vindaloo Recipe dish created by the East Indians of Mumbai, India has been influenced by the Portuguese Carne de Vinha D'Alhos dish.
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14. East Indian Sorpotel Pav – Dry Version
Some people also make sarapatel. And really our East Indian version tastes ten times better than the Goan version of this age-old traditional Portuguese recipe. Wink wink! You can click here to see the step by step sorpotel recipe with pictures from my Uncle Jude in Perth, Australia.
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Breads and rice!
We usually make the wedding rice with caramelized onions and raisins, but I don’t seem to have taken pics of that yet! Add it to my never-ending list of things to do!
15. East Indian Bread – Orias or Varias
For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, these doughnut-shaped breads are just delicious. They're especially popular at East Indian weddings and special events.
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16. Traditional East Indian Wedding Rice
East Indian Wedding rice is a delicious and tasty dish served at most East Indian weddings and speical functions.
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17. Gluten Free Chitaps or Rice Crepes
East Indian chitaps are a light and fluffy rice crepe that goes well with anything. Abby modified the recipe to make it gluten free for her friends.
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18. Foogias: Soft East Indian Bread
Foogias are one of the many traditional East Indian varieties of bread. Round, soft and fluffy, they disappear almost as soon as they're placed on the table.
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19. How to cook yellow (turmeric) rice perfectly?
Rice is a staple food all over India, and is eaten as a main dish with a variety of dals or curries. But yellow rice is tastier and healthier.
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20. East Indian Chicken Liver Stuffing
The traditional East Indian stuffing for Christmas meals consist of a chicken liver and bread pudding that's stuffed into the chickens' cavity before roasting. Here's how to make this delicious homemade liver stuffing that's sometimes called a giblet stuffing.
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21. Indian Jeera Rice – Cumin Rice
Jeera rice is popular across India. Made by adding fried jeera or cumin to cooked rice, it's a cooling and tasty way to serve fluffy white rice or basmati rice!
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And Who Can Forget The Easter Desserts? Easter Eggs and Easter Cakes!
22. Cashewnut Marzipan Easter Eggs (East Indian)
East Indians traditionally make marzipan Easter eggs to celebrate the joy of Christ's resurrection. This recipe shows you how to make marzipan Easter eggs at home with cashewnut paste.
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23. How to make Almond Marzipan Easter Eggs
Traditional East Indian Almond Marzipan Easter Eggs are a delightful way of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ at Easter! They may take some time to make but they’re delicious and a good treat to both kids and grown-ups.
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24. Date and Walnut Cake East Indian Style
A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the East Indian Date and Walnut Cake is easy to make at home.
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25. Vegan GF Marzipan Easter Eggs
Eggless Marzipan Easter Eggs are a delicious and soft treat for Easter time! Celebrate Christs' resurrection with these delightful vegan and gluten free Paschal Eggs.
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26. East Indian Thalie Sweet
Thalie Sweet is a traditional East Indian coconut cake usually baked around Christmas Time or for celebrations. But they're perfect for tea time too!
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27. East Indian Coconut Cake
This traditional East Indian coconut cake is different from other homemade coconut cakes. Dense and moist, and traditionally made with fresh grated coconut, you can also use desiccated coconut. Every coconut cake slice is a delight to eat!
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28. Ma’s Blancmange Easter Eggs Or Party Dessert
My ma's colourful blancmange-filled eggs are a delightful childhood treat. Cooling eggs are perfect for hot summer days!
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29. Dark Fruit Cake for Christmas and Celebrations
East Indian dark fruit cake is so rich and dense, you'll go back for seconds and thirds. Serve for Christmas lunch or dinner with some great homemade wine. Or serve for celebratoins and dinner parties!
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30. East Indian Bol de Coc | Bolos de Coco | Coconut Cake
Bol De Coc is a traditional East Indian cake with a delicious coconutty taste and a moist crumb, and is the perfect tea time snack!
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31. East Indian Light Fruit Cake | Mixed Fruit Cake
Light Fruit Cake or Tooti Frooti Cake is a delicious treat for Christmas or even at tea time. So yum and fruity, you won't be able to stop at just one piece of Mixed Fruit Cake.
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32. Homemade Carrot Cake With Raisins | Indian Style
Carrot cake is a delicious and moist cake made with freshly grated carrots, raisins and spices. This is how we make it Mumbai.
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33. East Indian Guava Cheese
Guava Cheese or Goiabada is a tasty East Indian sweet dish prepared for Christmas time! Both chewy and fudgy, there's a mouthful of Guava in every bite.
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34. East Indian Bol Lucrecia | East Indian Coconut Pie
Bol Lucrecia is a traditional East Indian Coconut Pie dessert that is moist on the inside and crispy outside. You'll love it as much as lyou love coconuts.
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What else does your family have to eat for Easter lunch? What do you bring to an Easter lunch celebration? Comment and let me know! And I’ll try to add it to this list soon!
Other Recipes you might like
- Honeyballs, the East Indian semolina dessert
- East Indian Ball Curry
- Recipes with cottage cheese
- Dry Bombay Duck Pickle
- Cuchumber salad
