21 December,2025 09:51 AM IST | Mumbai | Junisha Dama
We join Natasha Almeida for a pop-up Christmas feast at her 80-year-old East Indian home, Jao Shiker, in Vasai. Pics/SATEJ SHINDE
The moment you step into Vasai's Giriz village during December, the pace of Christmas shifts. Unlike the rush of Mumbai, here, the holy season unfolds in a leisurely rhythm you would expect in a historic village. The East Indian Catholic community of Giriz preserves a heritage distinctly their own, that rarely travels beyond what was once called Bassein.
In Vasai, the festive spirit is communal. From the start of December, an unsaid yet fiercely spirited competition begins among residents over whose house boasts the best Christmas decor and lighting display. Homes are draped in dazzling lights, transforming the entire neighbourhood.
The highlight of the season is the tradition of crib hopping. Around Christmas, residents, dressed in their festive best: Reindeer ears, Santa hats, and all head out in cheerful groups. Perhaps the most unique and heartwarming tradition is the carolling. While carollers in other parts of Mumbai typically sing in English or Marathi, in Vasai, groups go around singing in the East Indian tongue. This preservation of their regional dialect is an emotional experience for the community.
Where to go: You can get a look at the cribs in local wadis (villages). Must-visit spots include Kokramwadi, Digha Kokram Wadi, Olumwadi, Vasai Koliwada, Tivali Wadi, and Kiravali. For community spirit, visit churches like Our Lady of Grace, St Joseph Church, St. Francis Xavier Church, better known as Giriz Church, or Holy Cross Church for midnight mass and festive atmosphere.
Christmas in an East Indian home reflects the community's coastal location and Catholic heritage. The flavour profile is rich with pork, coconut, and regional dishes rarely available elsewhere in Mumbai. We had an early Christmas Feast at the Igoreyaa pop-up by Jevayla Ye in Lahan Giriz. Run by Natasha Almeida, along with her parents Veera and Reuben, and Christmas elf, Reena, the pop-up includes a feast at lunch and a tour of their 80-year-old East Indian home, Jao Shiker.
The Almeidas are Wadavs (carpenters), a cultural subgroup of the East Indian Catholic community. Naturally, the house features beautifully built wooden wardrobes, cabinets and other furniture, and Natasha gives a tour of each room - from the attic to the porch - where she narrates the community's unique cultural customs and memories. Her family has preserved different storage containers in the attic, pieces of clothing and jewellery, among other heirlooms that sit around the house.
We sample the elaborate Christmas spread that's sourced from various home-chefs within the Vasai East Indian community. Apart from East Indian staples like fugias (deep-fried balloon bread), rotya, paris, egg curry, chicken roast, and peas pulav, there are other pots to dig into. The feast demonstrates how East Indian cuisine merges coastal sensibilities with a distinct, rich Catholic heritage, creating flavours rarely experienced even in the rest of Mumbai.
Full platters and hearts at the Igoreyaa pop-up by the Almeida family
The chicken poha bhujing, a Vasai-Virar Christmas party-starter, is an integral part of the experience. "You can't come to Vasai and not eat bhujing," says Natasha, and explains that it has become a part of Christmas feasts in the area. Cooking pumpkin and meat together is a unique aspect of East Indian cooking, and you can experience this in the pork teprath. A tangy curry, thanks to the toddy vinegar made from tadgola, and spicy due to the East Indian masala.
The pork sorpotel might feel like a staple in any Catholic home. And, while it is, the East Indian sorpotel tends to be a dry preparation, smokier due to the masalas, and stands apart. Desserts include the date roll, mazapin, milk cream and elichi banana, which are traditional Christmas sweets. Igoreyaa's next feast will be in the New Year, on January 18, and you can sample some of these staples and more as it will be an East Indian Varad (wedding) pop-up.
Get your hands on a star regional delicacy, the Vasai che sukeli bites. These are Gaonthi Rajeli bananas that are sun-dried until their natural sugars caramelise, forming a candy-like bite. It's a sweet and simple treat requiring no other ingredients, and only made in Vasai by the Agashi and Koli communities. You can find them in local shops in the Vasai gaothans only.
