What to Cook (Prepare) For Easter Lunch?

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What should I cook for Easter lunch is as difficult a question to answer as what to cook for Christmas dinner! With so many delicious traditional foods to choose from, narrowing it down to a few might be a really difficult choice.

After 40 days of abstinence and fasting, the Easter feasting table might look a bit indulgent. If you ask, what is a traditional Easter lunch? Or what is a typical Easter lunch? Well, it depends on your culture. We don’t do roast gammon and we don’t do potjiekos. The Easter Sunday lunch menu varies widely across the globe.

We have a lot of special dishes that can go on the Easter lunch menu, from appetizers to main dishes, to drinks and desserts too, especially the Easter eggs that are the highlights of the meal. If you’ve lived in or visited Mumbai at some time, you’ve probably tasted at least one East Indian dish, be it stuffed chicken, sorpotel, vindaloo, foogias, orias, and more.

And if you’re East Indian, you’ve already decided what you’re going to make this Easter. If you don’t, here are some top dishes to choose from!

Drinks, there’s always drinks first!

1. Homemade Currant Wine or Raisin Wine

A traditional homemade currant wine made for Christmas, Easter and other festivities. Here's the recipe with a few personal tweaks.
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Currant wine is ready to drink - Pic by Abby from AbbysPlate

2. Homemade Fresh Grape Wine (Black or Green)

This homemade grape wine uses fresh either black or green grapes or a mix of the two. Easy to make at home for a cheap table wine.
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Two glasses with homemade grape wine.

3. Homemade Rose Petal Wine (Not Rose)

Homemade rose petal wine is a heady wine drink with the aroma of roses. After some experimentation, we made this earthy wine with dried rose petals, and it's perfect for celebrations or regular days in.
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Close up of rose wine served.

4. Spicy Homemade Ginger Wine

Homemade ginger wine is a light and refreshing drink for celebrations or regular days in. Using ginger root we make this spicy wine in 2 weeks and add a few optional ingredients for different flavors.
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Clear ginger wine in a glass next to a blue book.

And of course, there are the other hard liquours and soft drinks, but those aren’t traditionally East Indian drinks, so we haven’t listed them here.

East Indian Appetizers Are Different!

5. How to boil Ox Tongue? | Beef Tongue | Bovine Tongue

Boiled bovine tongue tastes delicious and is easy-to-cook traditional East Indian snack served as a side, appetizer, or even in sandwiches. You won't even realize it's offal!
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Cut boiled ox tongue into slices.

6. Potato Chops filled with Minced Meat

Ground or minced beef, lamb or chicken meat is seasoned with spices and cooked before being encased in a patty of mashed potato. For appetizers or as side dishes, these East Indian potato chops are just perfect!
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Two full and one half potato chop on a plate.

7. East Indian Corned Tongue (Salted Ox Tongue)

The East Indian recipe for corned tongue or salted tongue takes a few days but is delicious and perfect for many dinners and sandwiches.
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Corned tongue slices on a bed of lettuce with a bowl of green chutney.

8. Easy Boiled Grams – East Indian Chickpeas Snack

An easy snack or homemade appetizer, homemade boiled grams or spicy chickpeas are easy to make quickly. A musthave at every East Indian celebration.
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Boiled grams are a quick and easy snack.

9. Canapes with Russian Salad

The East Indian version of the famous Olivier salad, it does not require too many ingredients. Refreshing and cooling, this summer salad is simply perfect! What doesn’t fit in the canapes can be later served as a salad with the main course.
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Russian salad next to it's ingredients.

Croissants, patties, chips, mutton samosas, potato chops, canapes, and more could go on this list too!

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Main Course Dishes – Some offal Too!

10. East Indian Stuffed Roast Chicken

Roast chicken can be stuffed with a tasty liver stuffing (giblet pudding). The glazed crispy chicken skin tastes as delicious as the juicy flesh; and carves out just perfectly!
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Stuffed roast chicken on a bed of liver pudding.

11. Easy Roast Chicken with Root Veggies

An easier version of the Sunday chicken dinner, the stovetop roast chicken with carrots and potatoes is simply perfect!
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Cook the chicken without stuffing and serve on a plate.

12. Pork Ukra – Pork Yellow Vindaloo Recipe

East Indian Pork Ukra dish is what we call a yellow vindaloo. As tasty as traditional spicy vindaloo but yellow in color!
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East Indian pork ukra in a white dish surrounded by red chilies.

13. Beef Tongue Roast

Beef Tongue Roast is a simple and easy-to-cook recipe using a handful of ingredients. All you need is an hour and a half!
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Beef tongue roast in a vessel with spices.

14. East Indian Duck Moile Curry

Duck Moile is a traditional East Indian dish that is full of flavour. Tender and juicy slow-cooked meat is served with rice, foogias, hand breads, or chitaps, and a cooling salad for the perfect meal!
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East Indian Duck Moile in a bowl next to boiled rice and onion and lemon in bowls.

15. Spicy East Indian Pork Tamriad

Spicy East Indian Pork Tamriad Recipe is a cross between vindaloo and sorpotel.
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Close up image of pork tamriad in a kadai.

16. Spicy Pork Vindaloo – Indyal

The Spicy East Indian Vindaloo or Indyal dish has been influenced by the Portuguese Carne de Vinha D'Alhos dish.
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Pork Vindaloo in a pot.

17. Sarpatel/Sorpotel/Sarapatel – Dry Version

Some people also make sarapatel. And really our East Indian version tastes ten times better than the Goan version of this age-old traditional Portuguese recipe. Wink wink! You can click here to see the step by step sorpotel recipe with pictures from my Uncle Jude in Perth, Australia.
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Breads and rice!

We usually make the wedding rice with caramelized onions and raisins, but I don’t seem to have taken pics of that yet! Add it to my never-ending list of things to do!

18. Wedding Bread called Bhokache Varias/Orias/Wariyas

For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, these doughnut-shaped breads are just delicious. They're especially popular at East Indian weddings and special events.
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Varias pyramid served on a plate.

19. Traditional East Indian Wedding Rice

Wedding rice is a delicious and tasty dish served at most East Indian weddings and special functions.
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East Indian wedding rice in a white platter.

20. Gluten Free Chitaps or Rice Crepes

East Indian chitaps are a light and fluffy rice crepe that goes well with anything. Abby modified the recipe to make it gluten free for her friends.
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East Indian gluten free rice crepes called chitaps folded in triangles on a black tray.

21. Foogias: Soft Balloon Bread

Foogias are one of the many traditional East Indian varieties of bread. Round, soft and fluffy, they disappear almost as soon as they're placed on the table.
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Ready foogias served in a plate.

22. How to cook yellow (turmeric) rice perfectly?

Rice is a staple food all over India, and is eaten as a main dish with a variety of dals or curries. But yellow rice is tastier and healthier.
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Rice served with coriander and tomatoes.

23. Chicken Liver Stuffing – Giblet Pudding

The traditional East Indian stuffing for Christmas meals consist of a chicken liver and bread pudding that's stuffed into the chickens' cavity before roasting. Here's how to make this delicious homemade liver stuffing that's sometimes called a giblet stuffing.
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Chicken liver stuffing on a white plate.

24. Indian Jeera Rice – Cumin Rice

Jeera rice is popular across India. Made by adding fried jeera or cumin to cooked rice, it's a cooling and tasty way to serve fluffy white rice or basmati rice!
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Black pot filled with jeera rice sprinkled with coriander.

And Who Can Forget The Easter Desserts? Easter Eggs and Easter Cakes!

25. Cashewnut Marzipan Easter Eggs

East Indians traditionally make marzipan Easter eggs to celebrate the joy of Christ's resurrection. This recipe shows you how to make marzipan Easter eggs at home with cashewnut paste.
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My sister’s colorful modern Easter Eggs left to set.

26. How to make Almond Marzipan Easter Eggs

Traditional East Indian Almond Marzipan Easter Eggs are a delightful way of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ at Easter! They may take some time to make but they’re delicious and a good treat to both kids and grown-ups.
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3 Almond Marzipan Easter Eggs on a wooden sheet.

27. Dense Date and Walnut Cake

A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the East Indian Date and Walnut Cake is easy to make at home.
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Date and walnut cake on a black surface with some walnuts and dates.

28. Vegan Glutenfree Marzipan Easter Eggs

Eggless Marzipan Easter Eggs are a delicious and soft treat for Easter time! Celebrate Christs' resurrection with these delightful vegan and gluten free Paschal Eggs.
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Eggless Easter eggs decorated with gel based colours.

29. East Indian Thalie Sweet

Thalie Sweet is a traditional East Indian coconut cake usually baked around Christmas Time or for celebrations. But they're perfect for tea time too!
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Diamond shaped Thalie sweet on a black tray.

30. East Indian Coconut Cake

This traditional East Indian coconut cake is different from other homemade coconut cakes. Dense and moist, and traditionally made with fresh grated coconut, you can also use desiccated coconut. Every coconut cake slice is a delight to eat!
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A coconut cake log and a coconut cake slice on a black plate.

31. Ma’s Blancmange Easter Eggs Or Party Dessert

My ma's colourful blancmange-filled eggs are a delightful childhood treat. Cooling eggs are perfect for hot summer days!
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Hands holding a yellow tray with blancmange eggs.

32. Dark Fruit Cake – Rich Fruit Cake

East Indian dark fruit cake is so rich and dense, you'll go back for seconds and thirds. Serve for Christmas lunch or dinner with some great homemade wine. Or serve for celebratoins and dinner parties!
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Cut the cake into slices and serve on plate.

33. Bol de Coc – Bolos de Coco – East Indian Coconut Cake

Bol De Coc is a traditional East Indian cake with a delicious coconutty taste and a moist crumb, and is the perfect tea time snack!
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Delicious Bol de Coc

34. Light Fruit Cake – Mixed Fruit Cake – Tooti Frooti Cake

Light Fruit Cake or Tooti Frooti Cake is a delicious treat for Christmas or even at tea time. So yum and fruity, you won't be able to stop at just one piece of Mixed Fruit Cake.
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Serve Tooti frooti cake on a plate.

35. Homemade Carrot Cake With Raisins | Indian Style

Carrot cake is a delicious and moist cake made with freshly grated carrots, raisins and spices. This is how we make it Mumbai.
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Carrot cake with cream cheese icing on top.

36. Goiabada – East Indian Guava Cheese Recipe

Guava Cheese or Goiabada is a tasty East Indian sweet dish prepared for Christmas time! Both chewy and fudgy, there's a mouthful of Guava in every bite.
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Goiabada on a black tray.

37. Bol Lucrecia – East Indian Coconut Pie

Bol Lucrecia is a traditional East Indian Coconut Pie dessert that is moist on the inside and crispy outside. You'll love it as much as you love coconuts.
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Bol Lucrecia on a white plate.

What else does your family have to eat for Easter lunch? What do you bring to an Easter lunch celebration? Comment and let me know! And I’ll try to add it to this list soon!

If you want our traditional East Indian recipes on hand, the Abby's Plate Cookbook Series books are available online or in-store in most countries.

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Pics of dishes in a Traditional Easter Lunch Menu For East Indians.
Pics of dishes in a Traditional Easter Lunch For Mumbai's East Indians.

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