Have A Chilli Christmas!

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Aztecs, cacao seed paste, Cake Pops, cayenne pepper, chilli brownies, chocolate and fruit, chocolate and nuts, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-chilli, Christmas, cupcakes, Dark chocolate, food bloggers, hot chocolate, hot grenadine and chocolate, Marylou Andrew, Mayas, Mesoamerica, tarts, truffles, xocolatl

Chocolate, and the classic combinations of chocolate and nuts or chocolate and fruit, never go out of style or season, but every now and then it is worth trying a new twist on the classics. This Christmas season, how about indulging in the odd-sounding yet extremely trendy combo of dark chocolate and chilli?

Do a quick Google search and you will find chocolate and chilli brownies, cupcakes, cake pops, tarts and truffles. However, this fusion of sweet and spicy is not new at all. Although most accounts credit the Aztecs with its discovery, it was the Mayas who first mixed roasted cacao seed paste with water, chilli peppers and cornmeal to produce a hot foamy drink. When the Aztecs took over a sizable portion of Mesoamerica in 1400, they imported vast quantities of cacao beans and created their own bitter spicy drink called ‘xocolatl’ which was seasoned with vanilla and chilli pepper. Usually consumed cold, xocolatl was supposed to be an aphrodisiac.

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To Saint Andrew’s For Christmas

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Ayesha Shaikh, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas service, December 25, electronics market, Fatima Jinnah Road, Mr Jinnah, rose window, Saddar, Saint Andrew’s Church, T.G. Newnhan

Saint Andrew’s Church was built in 1868: a minaret can be seen alongside its spire

In Pakistan, December 25 is a day of celebration; it marks the birth anniversary of Mr Jinnah as well as Christmas. On this day, Fatima Jinnah Road in Saddar bustles with activity as worshippers head to Saint Andrew’s Church.  

Gingerbread On Christmas Day

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Christmas, gifts, gingerbread, gingerbread cookies, gingerbread house, gingerbreadmen, Hansel and Gretel, Lebkuchen, Marylou Andew, treacle

Why is gingerbread so closely connected to Christmas? It could well be that the warm, spicy flavours of ginger, honey, cloves, nutmeg and molasses make it the ideal comfort food for wintertime, but it may also have something to do with the fact that gingerbread is extremely versatile and can be given away as a gift, used to create a magnificent centrepiece, or simply be stored away for holiday munch fests.

Christmas Masterpieces

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2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, Aston Martin DB6, Aston Martin Maserati Ghibli S Q4, Christmas Car of the Year, Gaydon, Ghibli, Grigio Maratea exterior, Haroon Rasheed, Kate Middleton, Maserati, Neiman Marcus, Prince William

Neiman Marcus, the luxury retailers famed for their yuletide selection of high-end specialties, have dubbed the 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante their ‘Christmas Car of the Year’.

Not only is the car exclusive (only 10 models will be rolled out) and expensive (priced at $344,500), it is also inspired by British royalty. It is Seychelles Blue in colour with sterling silver and faux enamel badging, along with liquid silver wheels, and these characteristics were apparent in the classic Aston Martin DB6 that Prince William and Kate Middleton drove off in after their wedding.

Turkey Time

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aromatic spices, brine solution, Christmas dinner, cinnamon, cloves, frozen turkeys, garlic, ginger, lemon peel, meat pies, Nezihe Hussain, orange, roast turkey, smoked turkey, thawed turkey, turkey bacon, turkey bologna, turkey burgers, white meat

Ironically, white meat, the healthiest meat, comes from the laziest of birds. A non-flying bird, the chicken, gives us the healthy white breast meat, while a flying bird such as a duck gives us red meat which is high in cholesterol. The turkey, a large, lazy bird, originally from North America, provides another healthy white meat option in the form of turkey burgers, turkey bacon, smoked turkey and turkey bologna. And, of course, the fabulous roast turkey, without which no Christmas dinner should be considered complete.

Gobble, Gobble!

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growth in infants, Health Awareness Society., histamine, interstitial cystitis, migraines, nitrogen balance in adults, rosacea, Samia Babar, Serotonin, skin infections, strengthen the immune system, tryptophan, turkey

Turkey is usually associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas. The bird is served with an array of condiments and stuffing, including creamed asparagus tips, cranberry sauce, gravy, olives, pickles and potatoes. This bird has transcended geographical and cultural borders and now is available in Pakistan, especially during the festive season.

The Joy Of Christmas Pudding

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1420s, 1830s, anchors, beef, butter, candied orange, celebrity chef, Christmas, Christmas pudding, coins, dark sugars, Delia Smith, dried fruit, English recipe, figgy pudding, fragrant spices, fruit cake, harvest time, Heston Blumenthal, Marylou Andrew, Merry Christmas, moist, molasses, mutton, Nigel Slater, Nigella Lawson, plum pottage, plum pudding, pottage, pudding recipe, soft, steaming instructions, suet, sweet, treacle, TV chef, wishbone

Christmas pudding (also known as figgy pudding or plum pudding), a mixture of rich dried fruit, fragrant spices, dark sugars and treacle (molasses) steamed together in an earthenware basin, is the luxurious cousin of the fruit cake. The traditional English recipe calls for grated suet (beef or mutton fat found around the loins and kidneys) and while most modern recipes swear by this ingredient, I am going to go out on a limb and say it is not essential; you can use cold, grated butter instead.

Let’s Talk Fruitcake

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Americas, ancient Rome, anniversaries, candied fruit, candied peel, christenings, Christmas essential, cinnamon, earliest fruitcake recipe, Europe, Fruitcake, Germany, icing sugar, Italian favourite, loaf shaped, Marylou Andrew, marzipan icing, Michigan, nutmeg, Pakistan, stollen, Tuscany, weddings, Wikipedia

You either love fruitcake or you hate it – there’s really no middle ground. A Christmas essential in many countries, fruitcake is famous for having lots of ingredients among which candied peels, dried fruit, nuts and spices, such as nutmeg and cinnamon are essentials.

There are many varieties of fruitcake ranging from light (with fewer ingredients and a light batter) to rich (with a dense, heavy batter that includes lots of fruit and nuts). Celebration fruitcakes come covered in marzipan (made with almonds) icing and decorated with royal icing. These are eaten not only at Christmas but also at weddings, anniversaries and christenings.

Christmas Shopping At Bohri Bazaar

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Big-eye Bohri, Bohra community, Bohri Bazaar, chaat, Christmas decorations, Cooperative Market, Dupatta Gali, dupattas, Empress Market, Independence, Karachi, Liberty Uniform, Lightning Studio, Marylou Andrew, Murshid Bazaar, Nimco, Saddar

Bohri Bazaar is the place to go to for Christmas decorations (Photos: Tahir Jamal/White Star)

Those who have spent a significant part of their lives in Karachi will probably have at least one fond memory of Bohri Bazaar, whether it was going to Lightning Studio for a family portrait, trotting up the narrow stairway to Liberty Uniform to buy school uniforms, or stopping at Nimco for samosas and pakoras.