Cultural & Religious Significance

"Growing up in a Tamil Christian home, Easter Sunday always meant a table full of deeply cherished, home-cooked dishes,

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archive. " shares Juhina Sabrina Samuel, founder of Sincerely Sabrina Preserves & More. She recalls her childhood meals — mutton biryani, chicken roast, and coconut rice, served with love and joy.

For Bridget White-Kumar, cookbook author and Anglo-Indian cuisine chronicler, Easter brims with warm memories. "After church, a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages, and seasonal fruit marked the end of Lent — like going to 'food Heaven'," she says. Lunch once centered on lamb roast, symbolising the sacrificial lamb, but practicality now favours biryani or spiced rice dishes.

"Easter celebrations in India are now less Western, similar to Christmas but smaller," she notes. One dish still anchors her table, Almorth, a mixed meat and vegetable stew. "It's a very old Anglo-Indian recipe, eaten with bread or rolls. My mother made it with beef, mutton, pork, and veggies simmered in spices and coconut milk," she says.

A culinary fusion This blend of flavours traces to colonial kitchens. Chef Sujan Mukherjee of Taj Coromandel explains, "Anglo-Indian food (food under the colonial influence within the community of Anglo-Indians) didn't emerge overnight — it's centuries of cultural exchange." This Anglo-Indian cuisine dominates the Easter celebrations. Dishes like mulligatawny soup and prawn cutlets reflect British refinement meeting Indian heartiness.