When X-mas is about glögg and Swedish meatballsMumbai, Dec 18(AZINS) Christmas is a time for family, friends, presents and the grand dinner. The best bit about Christmas is that most of us spend it at home with our loved ones. But how do the expats working in Mumbai celebrate the festival?
Since many of them have families, the thought of not spending Christmas back home can feel weird. So, these individuals take their Christmas celebrations to a whole new level and bring their Christmas to Mumbai instead. Swedish Consul General Fredrika Ornbrant did exactly that by bringing traditional ingredients from her homeland to Mumbai to offer a spread for her Indian friends so that they could sample traditional Swedish cuisine.

This year’s celebrations
This year, the meal began with a traditional Swedish glögg (warm mulled wine with resins and almonds). To be honest, the wine was unlike anything I had tasted before. Because of its warmth, it was apparent that the spices had dominated the flavour. It felt as if cinnamon and other spices were playing a game of hide and seek in my mouth.
The starters included a pickled herring with crisp bread, västerbotten pie (a traditional cheese pie) with white roe, Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam and an authentic Swedish chocolate cake. “The meatballs, however, are made of lamb,” said Fredrika while speaking to the large crowd present.

Taste of Mumbai
To make the several Swedish delegatespresent at the event, including Tobias Degsell, the curator at Stockholm’s Nobel Museum, get a taste of Mumbai, Fredrika arranged for a huge Indian spread that comprised naans, coastal Malwani curry, rice and dal tadka.
“Food brings people together. Even if there is nothing that two people have in common, they can always bond over a good meal. This is the main reason why we have had these Christmas dinners in Mumbai, ever since the Office of the Consulate General of Sweden opened up two years ago,” she concluded.