In the Christmas Pranzo brunch by Hyatt Regency Chennai there has been a fine festive spread throughout December. Executive chef Vikram Ganpule, executive Sous chef Gourab Pattanayak and sous chef Senthil Kumar designed the trendy Christmas menu with roasted turkey, roasted quail and BBQ pork ribs. If you want to have an adventurous turkey safari, you will get a choice of wine and main course.

An assortment of desserts like Christmas plum cake, pudding, stolen bread, chocolate yule log, mince pie and a selection of cookies are on offer at Spice Haat while the Italian restaurant Focaccia has a different set of delicacies. The chefs' team shared a couple of recipes with DC for this special festive occasion.

Baked yoghurt

ingredients:

• Hung curd     200gm
• Fresh cream    200gm
• Condensed milk     200gm

method

• Mix all ingredients together
• Pour the mixture in a bowl
• Bake an oven at 170'c for 12 minutes
• While baking keep the double boiler. So it won get burned.
• Once baked .just keep out side and get the room temperature.
• Then store in refrigerator.
• Garnish with chocolate flakes or honey and walnut /any kind of fresh berries on top and served chilled.

SALMON EU CROUTE
ingredients:

• Salmon     600gm fillet
• Spinach     200gm
• Olive oil     25 ml
• Chopped onion     50gm
• Salt         20gm
• Pepper         15gm
• Egg         1no
• Puff pastry     1kg

method

• Wash and clean the spinach and squish the water, it should be dry.
• Heat the oil in a pan, add chopped onion and sauté it. Then add shredded spinach and sauté well.
• Take a salmon fillet, add seasoning of salt and pepper
• On top of salmon add the sauted spinach and arrange dish
• Make puff sheet dough, keep the salmon and fold the puff sheet
• Do the egg wash on top of puff.
• Bake it in oven at 170 c for 15mts
• Remove from the oven and cut and serve hot with sabayin sauce.

Plum Pudding

ingredients:

• Butter (softened) 1/2 cup
• Packed brown sugar 3/4 cup
• Large eggs 3nos
• Dry bread crumbs 3/4 cup
• All-purpose flour 1/2 cup
• Grated orange zest 1 tbsp
• Ground cinnamon 1 tsp
• Baking soda 1/2 tsp
• Ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp
• Salt 1/4 tsp
• Ground cloves 1/4 tsp
• Plums, drained, pitted and chopped 2 cans (15 ounces each)
• Chopped dates 1-3/4 cups
• Golden raisins 1 cup
• Shredded carrots 1 cup
• Dried currants 1/2 cup

For Hard Sauce:

• Butter (softened) 1/2 cup
• Confectioner's sugar 3 cups
• Dark rum or orange  juice 1/4 cup

method

• Grease the insides of an 8 cup pudding mould or an ovenproof bowl.
• Cream butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until it becomes light and fluffy. Add eggs to mixture, one at a time. Beat well after each addition. In another bowl, mix bread crumbs, flour, orange zest, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Gradually add this to the creamed mixture. Add in plums, dates, raisins, carrots and currants to this in a folding motion.
• Transfer this mixture to the pudding mould of your choice and secure it tightly with aluminium foil.
• Stand the bowl on an upturned saucer in a saucepan and half fill with boiling water. Cover tightly and steam for 8 hours, topping up the water as necessary. Leave to cool in the pan.
• Remove the pudding from the pan and discard the cloth or foil and paper. Then cover with fresh greaseproof paper and cloth. Store your pudding in a cool, dry place until required - you can lace it with a few tablespoons of dark rum or orange juice once in a while. Before serving, steam again for 2-3 hours.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat hard sauce ingredients until smooth and creamy. Unmould pudding onto a serving plate with sauce.

Christmas and turkey share an inseparable bonding with each other and no meal is complete without it at festival time. The master chefs at Novotel Chennai Sipcot are still hard at work designing a wide range of choice with delicious carved turkey stuffed with cranberry sauce.

As chef Rahul Bhale and team prepare to present a sumptuous array of Christmas dishes, share recipes from  the authentic kitchen.