This Christmas, India is rediscovering flavours Grandma never forgot.

For decades, plum cake has ruled Indian Christmas tables rich, boozy, and beloved. But in 2025, something interesting is happening in kitchens across India. Home cooks, food historians, and young creators are dusting off old notebooks and family memories to revive forgotten Indian Christmas recipes that once defined the season. From Goan convent sweets to Anglo-Indian stews and Kerala’s spice-forward bakes, Christmas is slowly reclaiming its diverse culinary roots.

This year, Christmas isn’t just about baking, it’s about remembering.

Why Forgotten Christmas Recipes Are Making a Comeback

The revival isn’t accidental. As Indians grow more conscious about heritage cooking, there’s a renewed appreciation for regional, handmade, and story-driven food. Social media food communities, pop-up kitchens, and heritage cafés have amplified voices that say: Christmas food in India was never just plum cake and rum balls.

Younger home cooks are also craving recipes with emotion, identity, and simplicity, something their grandparents cooked without ovens or imported ingredients.

Goan Baath Cake: The Coconut Christmas Classic

Before ovens entered Goan kitchens, Baath Cake was steamed to perfection. Made with semolina, coconut milk, jaggery, and aromatic spices, this cake is light, earthy, and deeply nostalgic. In 2025, Baath Cake is trending again thanks to its gluten-friendly nature and minimal sugar profile.

Food bloggers are modernising it with orange zest and nut toppings without losing its soul.

Anglo-Indian Pepper Water & Railway Mutton Stew

Christmas lunches in Anglo-Indian homes were never complete without Pepper Water—a warming, spicy broth believed to aid digestion after indulgent meals. Paired with a mild yet flavourful mutton stew, these dishes are making a return in Kolkata and Bengaluru-based heritage kitchens.

Their comeback reflects a broader shift toward balanced festive eating, not just sweet overload.

Kerala’s Achappam and Kuzhalappam

Crisp, lightly sweet, and coconut-forward, Achappam (rose cookies) and Kuzhalappam once filled steel tins in Kerala homes during Christmas. In 2025, they’re being rediscovered as perfect tea-time festive snacks, less sugary, longer-lasting, and made with pantry staples.

Artisanal brands are packaging them in eco-friendly boxes, making them popular alternatives to store-bought cookies.

East Indian Fugias: Mumbai’s Lost Christmas Bread

Often overshadowed by Goan and Kerala cuisine, Mumbai’s East Indian community has its own Christmas gem Fugias. These deep-fried, lightly sweet breads were traditionally served with spicy curries or coconut gravies.

Today, Fugias are reappearing in pop-up Christmas menus across Mumbai, appealing to those seeking festive food beyond cakes and desserts.

Marzipan, the Old-School Way

Store-bought marzipan is common now, but traditionally, Indian marzipan especially in Goa was hand-shaped, minimally sweetened, and flavoured with rose water or almond essence. In 2025, home cooks are returning to this slow, meditative tradition, shaping fruits, animals, and festive symbols by hand.

It’s less about perfection and more about participation.

Convent Sweets: The Silent Comeback

Once closely guarded by convent kitchens, sweets like Bebinca, Dodol, and Doce de Grao are being revived through family recipes passed down quietly. While Bebinca never truly disappeared, other layered and custard-based desserts are finally getting their due, especially among experimental bakers seeking alternatives to frosted cakes.

How Gen Z Is Rewriting Christmas Cooking

Interestingly, the revival is being powered by Gen Z and millennials. Many are learning these recipes via voice notes from grandparents, handwritten notebooks, or community workshops. The appeal lies in process over polish recipes that don’t need fancy equipment, just patience and memory.

For them, cooking these dishes is an act of cultural preservation, not nostalgia alone.

Christmas 2025 proves that festive food doesn’t need reinvention—it needs remembrance. Beyond plum cake lies a world of Indian Christmas flavours shaped by geography, faith, and family. As these forgotten recipes return to our tables, they remind us that celebration tastes best when it carries a story.

This year, the most meaningful Christmas dish might just be the one you almost forgot.