13 April,2025 11:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Junisha Dama
Maria Thelma Poojari, frying paprya at her home in tradional East Indian attire
Mumbai's indigenous community, the East Indian Catholics, like other Christians across the globe, celebrate Easter feasting. After the 40 days of Lent, a period of prayer, fasting, and giving observed by Christians in preparation for Easter, naturally, dining tables at homes are lined with celebratory food. There are meats of all kinds, including curries flavoured with East Indian bottle masala, and accompaniments like rotya, paprya, pickle, and, of course, wine.
Maria Thelma Poojari, an East Indian resident of Chimbai, is gearing up to cook a feast like others in her community. And she's opening her doors to anyone who wishes to join her at the dinner table on April 20 for Pasku cha sann or Easter celebration. Pasku comes from the Portuguese word for Easter, Páscoa.
"Easter is one of the biggest festivals in our church," she says, "It's not very different from Christmas. So, we celebrate by eating sorpotel, vindaloo, pork or buff roast, fugias, pulav, and of course, eggs made with marzipan and chocolate." Poojari explains that as everyone has stayed away from meat and alcohol for 40 days, Easter is a time to truly celebrate.
Poojari learnt to cook from her mother, but over the years, she has acquired tips and tricks from friends and elderly women in the community that have improved the flavours of her dishes. "Like adding a pinch of sugar to the sorpotel to bring out the flavour. Such things are usually not told; these are tips carried from generation to generation," says Poojari.
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She often hosts walks around Chimbai and introduces Mumbaikars and tourists to the ways of life of the tiny Bandra fishing village; her walks always end with a meal at her home. Usually, Poojari cooks traditional recipes during celebrations, feasts, and weddings.
So, what's on her dinner table this Easter?
At East Indian weddings, the preparation of the wedding papad or paprya, is an event by itself. "One week before the wedding, everyone invited comes together to make this as it's a tedious and labour-intensive process," says Poojari.
Who even makes their own papad these days? The East Indians do! Rice flour is soaked in water and whipped, and a ladle of it is poured on the back of a plate and then steamed. These small steamed circles of flour are shaped with the bang of a hand onto the plate. Once steamed, they are left to dry on nets in the sun. Once dry and crisp, they are stored to be fried and served on the wedding day. "As it's a wedding, we add colours to the paprya because it's a celebration. You will see pastel pink, green, and such multi-coloured paprya being served," explains Poojari, adding, "While making paprya everyone comes together. It's teamwork."
Quite fitting for a celebration, right? The uniqueness of the paprya and the fact that it's all made by hand using simple cooking methods, without the use of machines, is reason enough for Poojari to make it a part of her Easter feast, hosted to celebrate her cultural heritage and customs.
Can pickles be crucial to a meal? Ask your tastebuds, and they will respond with a resounding yes. The East Indians get that, and it's why the loncha or wedding pickle is a big part of the celebrations. For Poojari, who has loved eating this since she was a young girl, it's the work that goes into making this. "Making the pickle, too, is teamwork. It's made a few days before the wedding. And, old aunties will sit and guide you - how much masala to add, how much salt to put inâ¦" she says. That is why preserving this recipe means a lot to Poojari. The East Indian wedding pickle is loved by anyone who has scored an invite to a wedding or has a friend in the community. This pickle combines raw papaya, red carrots, sukha khajur, tamarind water, mustard seeds, haldi, red chilli powder, and vinegar. This is later stored in a barni or glass bottle to serve during the celebrations.
Dried baby prawns and brinjal come together in this dish, eaten with hatachya rotya (hand bread made with rice flour, similar to a rice bhakri). As soon as the baby prawns are brought to land from the sea, they are dried under the bright, hot sun. Once the prawns have dried, they are roasted on a tawa and later washed to get them prepped for jawla vangi. It's flavoured and spiced with the bottle masala, chillies, spring onion, and onion. "This is usually made for weddings," explains Poojari, emphasising that it's an old recipe revered in the community. And it's also one of her favourite dishes to eat. "It has a traditional taste that you don't find easily. People don't make this often because it takes time," says Poojari, and its rarity is why she's serving it for Easter.
A rice vermicelli sweet dish only a few may have savoured, Letri is traditional and unique to the community. "Ladies of the community get together to make this. It's such an old and time-consuming recipe that people rarely make it now. This is why, when we get to cook it, it's a lot of fun," exclaims Poojari. Rice flour is cooked in hot water with different food colourings and shaped into balls. Later, it meets the vermicelli machine, where it's squeezed out into noodles and is mixed with jaggery, elaichi and coconut. "Some people melt the jaggery, elaichi and coconut and mix it; others sprinkle them on top and then mix it up. I prefer melting the jaggery so that each noodle is sweetened," explains Poojari.
Apart from traditional delicacies, Poojari also makes a non-alcoholic wine. "I soak black grapes in water with sugar and masala. It takes 15-20 days, and you must stir it daily and keep a check. Then, I strain it and bottle it," she explains. Poojari acquired the recipe for this wine from her aunties and her friend's parents. "I keep it non-alcoholic. Some people do add whiskey, wine, or rum to it, but without the alcohol, mine tastes great. This wine can easily last one or two months, and I have also had a five-year-old bottle. Elderly aunties have told me the longer you store the wine, the better it tastes," concludes Poojari.
Go Hallu Hallu presents Thelma's Easter Dinner
When: April 20 Time: 7 pm
Where: Bandra West, at Thelma's home
Price: Rs 1,500 per person
TO book: 98674 03957
