Traditional Indian Christmas Sweets: Discover what makes kulkuls such special and timeless sweet treats

Kulkuls are a popular item on Christmas platters in several regions across India.

Christmas, being the season of warmth, gratitude, and festive cheer, is synonymous with good food and drink. It is the perfect time of the year to gorge on your favorite culinary delights and delicacies. Shop windows and bakeries are decked with an assortment of scrumptious sweet treats from yule logs to pecan pies to sugar and gingerbread cookies, and fruitcakes. In this way, Christmas is an especially joyous time for those of us who have a bit of a sweet tooth.

Purchasing and indulging in store bought Christmas goodies is fine and dandy, but there is nothing quite like making your own Christmas treats at home to distribute among friends and family. Wouldn’t you agree? In fact, it is a tradition among several Indian families to prepare their annual Christmas platters or hampers together in what is considered an important family bonding exercise. This exercise perfectly captures the spirit of Christmas which is, first and foremost, about cherishing and honoring your family.

A typical homemade Christmas platter usually comprises numerous delectable Christmas treats, including bebinca, marzipan, bolinhas, jujubes, and perad, also known as “guava cheese.” Kulkuls, which are the primary focus of this article, are also a common fixture on such a platter. What sets Kulkuls apart from the other sweet treats is that while most of the aforementioned goodies are limited to the state of Goa and its extraordinary food culture, Kulkuls are prepared and savored across multiple regions of the country.

In essence, Kulkuls are deep-fried golden-hued pieces of dough that possess a crispy texture and assume a curly shape. They are very tasty as well and have the tendency of melting inside one’s mouth. Not only do these tiny treats appear on the Christmas platters of Goa, but they are also a fixture on platters that are from Karnataka and parts of East India. Akin to Goa, families in Karnataka and East India also prepare these treats together. Owing to their irregular and peculiar shape, they are also referred to as “kidiyo,” which translates to “worms” in the Konkani language. These worm-shaped delights tend to be addictive and are usually the first items to be devoured off the platters due to their bite-sized nature and impeccable flavor. They pair well with a cup of hot coffee or mulled wine as the bitterness of the beverages beautifully balances and counteracts the sweetness of the Kulkuls.

Usually, Kulkuls are infused with a vanilla flavor but you can customize your homemade Kulkuls to your liking. If you are an admirer of chocolate, you can use a respectable, premium quality chocolate, such as Cadbury to sprinkle over the Kulkuls. You can even infuse your sweet treat with a combination of chocolate and vanilla flavors. As this is your homemade creation, don’t be afraid to push boundaries and experiment. Introduce as many flavors as you like and see how the final product turns out. Who knows, maybe your homemade dish will turn out better than several tried and tested recipes!

The origin of Kulkuls still remains a mystery. While some food experts believe that the dish dates back to the fried dough pastries of Europe, others debate that it is actually derived from the Portuguese and Brazilian delicacy “Filhoses Enroladas.” The name of this foreign delicacy may sound confusing to you as it is in the Portuguese language, but the main attribute of this dish is that like Kulkuls, this dish too, is deep-fried and made of pastry dough. Thus, it is not a long shot to say that Kulkuls are in some roundabout way a desi version of Filhoses Enroladas as there are multiple similarities between the two dishes.

Are you ready to try your hand at making Kulkuls? Here’s a detailed recipe to help you in your brave and creative endeavor.

Ingredients:

• ½ a kilogram of maida (all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• A pinch of food coloring
• 2 eggs
• Oil for frying the dough
• Salt and sugar in the desired quantities
• 1 bar of Cadbury Silk (optional)
• 1 packet of Oreo cookies (optional)

Directions:

• Blend the maida, coconut milk, salt, and eggs thoroughly. Once this action is done, a dough that has a similar consistency to a chapatti’s dough will be formed.
• Conceal the dough under a wet cloth and leave it aside for approximately 30 minutes.
• After you have waited the stipulated 30 minutes, revisit your dough. Cut out the dough into tiny, bite-sized balls and mold these balls into a curly shape. These curly-shaped balls are your Kulkuls.
• Keep the Kulkuls on a low flame and continue frying them till they take on a brownish color.
• Subsequently, once the desired brown color of the Kulkuls is achieved, remove the sweet treats and set them aside to cool.
• Next, introduce sugar and food coloring to water, and heat the mixture till it takes on a thick consistency.
• Slowly and carefully, pour this thick mixture over the Kulkuls to ensure they are equitably sugar-coated.
• Your Kulkuls are ready! However, before savoring them, set them aside for some time to allow them to cool. You wouldn’t want to burn your mouth now, would you!?
• Once the Kulkuls have been cooled to your satisfaction, store them in an airtight containe

Note: You can add Cadbury Silk and Oreo elements to your Kulkuls by either crushing the Oreo cookies and sprinkling Oreo dust over the kulkuls or by using chocolate as a substitute for sugar. You would have to heat the Cadbury bar and melt it and then pour it over the Kulkuls. Give it a shot if you want to try something new and innovative that deviates from the original recipe!

This Kulkuls recipe is relatively quick and easy. During Christmas, try preparing this sweet dish with your family to further spread the Christmas cheer and joy. Christmas only comes around once every year, so it is important to make it as special as possible for our loved ones. Merry Christmas in advance!