What Christmas tree is to Christmas, eggs are to Easter. Though I have grown up getting excited about Easter as a festival, no one could tell the significance of Easter eggs. So, I took it for granted that it is something meant for kids to look forward to as an Easter treat, until yesterday when I sat with chef Francis Fernandez to know about Easter treats. Fortunately for me, I started with ‘why is it about Easter eggs and the Easter bunny’? Without quoting scriptures or sermons, Francis fell back on what was narrated to them in childhood. “Eggs represent life and birth. So, we were told that since Christ was resurrected on Easter, it signified life and hence the egg is an representation of Easter. The Bunny too isn’t just a happy prop like the Santa distributing gifts. It has a lot of significance with the cycle of birth,” Francis explains. He brought in a warm tray of Hot Cross Buns and a Simnel cake with 12 little balls. The Hot Cross Bun is meant to be shared with family and friends and holds a deep meaning to how the tradition started. “But the debate on when it should be eaten remains. Some say it should be eaten on Maundy Thursday, others say it should be eaten on Good Friday. There is also a debate on what dough it should be made with. Some say leavened dough, others say unleavened. I say eat it fresh off the oven and relish the flavours,” he smiles.
His buns are cinnamon flavoured and loaded with soaked fruits. With every bite, one gets a mild taste of the fruits along with bits of chewy soaked fruits. The Simnel cake is a fruit cake made with soaked nuts and fruits. “The 12 balls on top is a representation of the 12 disciples of Christ,” he adds.
With time and innovation in baking and cooking, the tradition of Easter eggs has changed. Now, eggs are made of chocolate and filled with all sorts of goodies. Every year, the theme of the eggs vary from what are children watching these days and how attractive the eggs can be.
At Marriott, chef Ratheesh is like a child in a candy store with his own collection of Easter eggs. He didn’t stop his imagination from running wild with designs for kids. Size of the eggs doesn’t matter for this lean, mean looking man. Some eggs even look too heavy for him to carry, but he smiles and tells, “They are made of chocolate. It is just a shell with better stuff inside. My eggs can even dream to fly, check the ones with wings,” he laughs. At The Park, the ‘Angry birds’ egg are worth the temptation to steal. To complete the theme they have mean looking angry pigs as well. As far as colours are concerned, yellow, green, red and marble finish are ruling the palette here.
Easter isn’t complete without Hot Cross Buns and eggs. While eggs might be a little task to look for, Ofen introduced Hot Cross Buns in Hyderabad years ago. Every year they are ready with their buns to keep Easter traditional. Deli 9 too bakes the buns and Easter eggs on order. But for a quick pick to treat the kids, stopping here might prove to be helpful with a few Easter eggs looking temptingly at you.
