Feasting together: Here's how you can ace the Christmas potluck

For this year`s potluck, Maska Bakery`s founder, Heena Punwani, has invited her oldest friends and some new ones who are coming home for the first time. Pics/Anurag Ahire

December is Heena Punwani's favourite month, and Christmas is one of her favourite holidays. "It's fun, inclusive, and all about community," she says while talking to us from Maska, her Mahim-based bakery. "I grew up in a neighbourhood with lots of Catholic friends and neighbours, and I studied in a convent school, so Christmas was a big part of my life - whether it was going carolling from one building to the other with my friends or decorating the whole school for Christmas or my favourite tradition of exchanging plates of Christmas traditional goodies (nevris, rose cookies, marzipans and cakes) with neighbours. That's such a beautiful tradition that we have lost over time. For me, potluck dinners are a version where people bring different foods and share."

Before she became a pastry chef, Punwani was an engineer at Infosys for six years. However, cooking and baking have always been a big part of her life. "When I switched from being an engineer to a pastry chef, everybody gave me these very dubious looks, wondering why an engineer would become a baker.

Even before she switched careers, she used to host these big dinners for friends during birthdays or festivals; to see the expression on people's faces when they had good food - was instant gratification. "Back then, I would cook 20 things and be stressed. I needed to dazzle everybody with my cooking skills because that was my only outlet for my passion. While it was fun, in hindsight, I think I just put too much pressure on myself. After becoming a professional chef, I've become much more relaxed about these dinners. That's because I've realised that it's not so much about the food - the food is always delicious - it's about getting all the people you love together to spend time with them and have meaningful conversations with them for fun."

Rum ball bobble

It has much to do with potluck dinners, where everyone brings their favourite things and shares them with those they love. It's about setting a beautiful holiday table. She will do her usual roast chicken for this year's Christmas potluck. She also makes Julia Child's buff burger, which is not an easy recipe, but she likes that you can put everything in a casserole dish and put it in the oven, and it bakes and cooks on its own.

"A holiday roast is the perfect centrepiece, and then you have to keep all the sides like roasted potatoes and veggies. It just makes it fun and festive. Then, I ask people to get whatever is easy because I don't want to stress them out. If somebody is busy, then they pick up some food. For instance, one of my friends has a big deadline; instead of cooking something, I've just asked her to pick up fugias from this traditional bakery in Bandra. A friend of mine would get the whole set-up for cocktails, including mixes and garnishes. Another friend of mine this time is getting mulled wine, so that's another simple thing to get to a potluck if you don't cook. That way, everyone feels like they've contributed without being anxious about it."

Christmas cake

Punwani feels that a bottle of wine is one of the easiest things to carry, but it would be better to put a little more thought into it, like mulled wine, or once she infused a whole bottle of rub with spices like cinnamon and orange peel. Also, you can pick cakes and bakes from your favourite bakery. "The minute you bring out a big cake, it just becomes a celebration on its own, right?" asks Punwani, adding. "Keep it fun, not stressful - make it something they are looking forward to and not something that makes them anxious."

Her love for potluck comes from her family, where her aunts and cousins would bring their speciality, and Punwani was the designated dessert person. Her husband is now the person who makes the drinks. For Punwani, Potluck is also a great way for people to share their family recipes. For instance, her friend Neha used to make this fantastic smoked chicken masala dip - there's no actual chicken in the dip, and it's just delicious, smoky and creamy. Now that she has moved to Kodaikanal, Punwani has taken the recipe from her and made it for many of her potluck parties, "Every time I make it, I always remember her. So it's amazing how recipes become these treasure troves of memories, and you always remember the person you got the recipe from every time you make it."

Punwani's favourite activity to do during Christmas is decorating the tree with her friends. The tree is up, and friends keep the holiday ornaments and lights ready to put up while singing carols. "Over the years, my friends have started bringing Christmas ornaments as gifts, so the tree becomes a collection of memories," she adds. I always like to do a mix of guests. For this year's potluck, Punwani has invited her oldest friends, who she has known since 1999, and some new friends are coming for the first time. "It's always nice to have people who you know have similar interests so the conversation keeps flowing and nobody feels awkward. When you're inviting new people, it's always nice to at least call a couple of other people they already know. Sometimes, we invite a guest and tell them to bring a plus one we don't know so that we can make new friends and meet new people. It just makes it more fun."

Can't cook; carry these
√ Cheese platter
√ Charcuterie board
√ Mulled wine

Quick, easy and straightforward
£ Roast chicken: Clean, marinate, stuff, bake, done!
£ Lasagna: Easy to make and share with a big crowd.
£ Burrata salad: Just buy good burrata, slow roast tomatoes and peppers with garlic and olive oil, add seasoning and voila!

Potluck protocol
>> Keep allergies and preferences in mind.
>> Coordinate, coordinate, coordinate - you don't want three people with the same salads or multiples of the same dish on your potluck table.
>> Don't invite people at the last minute - give them enough time to prepare.
>> If you are invited, don't drop out at the last minute. Know that doing so will result in your host being short on one dish.
>> Don't be late. It's not nice if you are to bring the appetisers and show up when the main course is being served.