02 days to Christmas

While the world and most of cosmopolitan Bangalore prefers to celebrate the holiday season like every other country in the west, here's our list of atypical traditional goodies that are as Christmassy as it gets

What if there was no turkey and cake and the rest of everything else we consider so essential for a Christmas spread? Would Christmas cease to exist? Not really!

We Indians too have our own traditional Christmas goodies and we've followed these traditions for generations now.

From kalkals to rose cookies to rava ladoos, we've got delicious sweets and savouries that can suffice to bring in the joy to any Christmas celebration.

Here's our line-up of the best places in town to pick up your desi delights.

Old time favourite
One of the oldest bakeries in the city, Fatima is the epitome of a baking style that's unique to Bangalore. With a heady mix of traditional recipes from Kerala, Mangalore and the erstwhile Cantonment, this bakery is still famous for the simplest of snacks that have been perfected over time. For example, the best egg mash sandwiches are still undoubtedly only from this age-old icon.

The Christmas special that is on every year however features some much-loved favourites. From minced fruit pies to gold fried syrupy Kalkals, you name it and they have it. However, rava ladoos commonly called snowballs and the traditional rose cookies are always the show-stealers. Do try out the diamond cuts, chaklees and sweet puffs that further add to the variety.
>>Minced fruit pie for Rs 19 per piece
>>Kalkals for Rs 180 per kilogram
>>Diamond cuts for Rs 48 per 400 grams
>>Rose cookies for Rs 20 per packet
At: All Fatima's across the city
Call: 2551 0378

Cantonments Pride!
Thom's bakery is another winner and an old-timer that's sworn by when it comes to anyone from the four central towns. The choices of sweets include the kalkal, diamond cuts, sweet puffs, guava jelly and several more traditionals. There are also cakes and chocolates to choose from incase you run out of options.
At: Thom's Bakery, Frazer Town
Call: 2536 1076

Cake shop dreams
Though cakes are the specialty of this cake-shop, stores during this season offer more to keep up with the demand for other snacks.
Other than the traditional cakes and cookies you get to taste crispy salty or sweet kalkals and freshly baked rose cookies, among many other such traditional snacks. Also try out their range of delicious murukkus and chaklis from all over the South.
>>Rose Cookies for Rs 25 per 100 grams
>>Kalkals for Rs 18 per 100 grams
At: Nilgiri stores across the city
Call: 4347 8888