18 Traditional East Indian Christmas Sweets

East Indian Christmas sweets are the homemade treats the East Indian community of Bombay makes every December. Here are 18 of them, with names, photos and links to the full recipes.

Several of them go into the koswad (also spelled kuswar), the tray of sweets we send our relatives at Christmas. Most of the time our family adds kulkuls, tartlets, nankhatai, bolings, dark fruit cake, light fruit cake, thalie sweet, marzipan, vanilla cream, date rolls, walnut fudge. Here are 18 of them, with names, photos and links to the full recipes.

PS in advance. If you’re not a fan of sweet treats, jump over to the list of dishes made for East Indian celebrations.

Names of East Indian Christmas Sweets

• Mass-pav (marzipan)
• Vanilla cream (milk cream)
• Walnut fudge
• Light and dark fruit cakes
• Date rolls
• Coconut cake
• Coconut cordial
• Guava cheese (goiabada)
• Kulkuls
• Date and walnut cake
• Bol de coc
• Nankhatai
• Bolings
• Thalie sweet
• Boros
• Tartlets
• Almond rock / cashew rock
• Sojee sweet

1. Mass-pav or Marzipan

Now everyone knows that mass-pav or marzipan is made of a paste of almonds or cashews cooked with sugar, egg whites and rose water on a slow fire stirring continuously till it forms a waxy mass. And then starts the real work of kneading it, putting it into moulds and forming all these amazing shapes. That’s the best part, especially having to hit out all the pieces from the marzipan forms.

Some people now make a no-cook version with ground cashews or almonds, powdered sugar and milk. It tastes plain and keeps for about two weeks, but it isn’t the real mass-pav. Ours has no milk, and it’s cooked on a slow fire: here’s how we make the real mass-pav. Anyway, I tried that recipe too, but I don’t like it. It tastes normal and the mass-pav will last almost for 2 weeks. But it’s not the real mass-pav if it’s got milk in it. I prefer the real mass-pav a lot more, no matter how many hours we spend slaving over a stove. 😉 What about you?

On a side note, when I spent those 2 years in the UK studying for my Masters, I tried to find marzipan forms one Christmas. I went to about 7 or 8 stores before finally giving up on it. The only question they kept asking me was, you mean you actually mould the marzipan? It seemed like a very strange notion to them. They’re just more used to buttercream and fondant.

But anyways, back to marzipan. We mould them and leave them out to dry. And every day a few of them quietly vanish 😉 Who’s stealing the marzipan and quietly eating them? Probably Albert, our friendly ghost.

Recipe for Marzipan here!

2. Vanilla Cream or Milk Cream 

Pure drops of heaven, that’s what they are. At least some of them anyway. Made of dried milk, sugar and a tad of butter, these bite sized dreams just melt in your mouth, making you always reach for the next one. The competition amongst most aunties is always to make the whitest vanilla cream.

I’ve also heard of some aunties adding cashew nut powder or peanut powder to the mixture.

“What men? How you can do that men? So wrong men?” 

Anyways, I’ve learned that the best and whitest vanilla cream is made by stirring over the slowest fire so fast that your hand feels like a drill and blender. 😉 No time to get lax with vanilla cream. If you want heaven, you must work for it. And I don’t know how the coconut cordial landed up next to the milk cream in the picture on the left, but they taste yum too.

And PS, don’t try calling the numbers on the gift boxes. They don’t work anymore. Else, I would have covered them 😉

Recipe for Vanilla Cream here!

3. Walnut Fudge

Whoever thought fudge could be molded? That’s the common thought or comment from strangers to our cuisine. And then you start that whole explanation about how to make Walnut fudge, quite funny and enjoyable. So any way, walnut fudge follows the vanilla cream recipe, stir till you grow muscles on your arms. Only add grated walnut to the mix. The mouth waters just thinking about them. 😉

Recipe for Walnut Fudge here.

4. Light Fruit Cakes, Dark Fruit Cakes, and Other Cakes

Now everyone loves a great cake. But don’t our brandy and rum-soaked raisin and dry fruit cakes taste so much better than anything you could ever buy in a store? Proud to be East Indian, aren’t we?

The light fruit cake in this pic was used for testing, since it got a bit lopsided in the oven. The joys of things not turning out right, I tell you. 😉

But anyways, the links to recipes are here:
Dark fruit cake Recipe
Light fruit cake recipe

5. Date Rolls

My sis makes the perfect date rolls, so buttery, they melt in your mouth. And when she’s in the mood, she also makes her one of a kind date balls. Haha! They’re never the same size in my house, and it’s so much fun. You never know if you’re getting more walnut or date or pure buttery goodness.

It’s like having these perfect bite-sized superb buttery Shrewsbury biscuits encasing a sweet lush date and crunchy walnut. To die for! Literally. If our East Indian foods didn’t kill us, the rich sugar and fat in them definitely would, don’t you think? If you want to, you can try making the date rolls any time of the year. Here’s the date roll recipe.

6. Traditional Coconut Cake

Coconut cake is one of the best moist and dense cakes to eat. And it’s a lot easier to make than Thalie Sweet. Whether you use dried and shredded coconut, or whether you use freshly grated coconut, this traditional coconut cake recipe is perfect!

7. Coconut Cordial

You could say that coconut cordial is the easiest East Indian sweet to make. Just take coconut and sugar syrup and stir it together till it’s thick enough to cut. Okay, that’s just a summary. If you want the recipe for the coconut cordial, click here!

8. Guava Cheese or Goiabada

What better way to get back to our Portuguese roots than a bite of guava cheese or as the Portuguese called it goiabada! Guava Cheese is a tasty East Indian sweet dish prepared around Christmas time! Both chewy and fudgy, there’s a mouthful of Guava in every bite. You can use white or pink guavas because both turn out amazing no matter what!

Recipe for Guava Cheese!

9. Kulkuls

Made by the East Indians of Bombay, this sweet traces its roots back to the Portuguese. Kul-kuls are a traditional snack dessert made around Christmas time! It is a great option for Christmas and the exchange of sweets with family and friends. They’re perfect for snacking on too!

Recipe for Kul-Kuls here!

10. Date and Walnut Cake

A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the Date and Walnut Cake is often made for Christmas, special events, and birthdays. Easy to make at home, this traditional East Indian version is as Christmassy as dark fruit cake!

Recipe for Date and Walnut Cake here! and Date and orange cake here!

11. Bol De Coc

Bol De Coc is a traditional East Indian coconut cake that’s quite similar to the Thalie Sweet. This cake has a delicious coconutty taste and a moist crumb. It is made all year round and is the perfect tea time snack!

Recipe for Bol De Coc here!

12. Nankhatai

Simple and easy to make at home these Nankhatais are a perfect treat for Christmas. Although they’re traditionally added to the Christmas platter, they’re great for a tea-time snack at any other time of the year. The recipe for these delicious melt-in-the-mouth nankhatai is here!

Recipe for Nankhatais here!

13. Bolings

Bolings are a sweet coconut semolina cookie that is made at Christmas time in most East Indian Catholic households! They are simple and easy to make and this yummy coconut treat can also be enjoyed as a tea-time snack any time of the year!

Recipe for Coconut Bolings here!

14. Thalie Sweet

Thalie Sweet is a traditional East Indian coconut cake usually baked around Christmas Time. This yummy cake has a mouthful of coconut in every bite and makes a great tea-time snack as well. Baked with Egg whites only, this cake is whiter and lighter than other coconut cakes.

Thalie Sweet recipe here!

15. Boros

Boros are coconut cookies made for Christmas or sometimes as a tea-time snack at any other time during the year. It’s easy to make and tastes delicious. This biscuity treat adds to your Christmas sweet platter and makes it complete.

Recipe for cookies called boros here!

16. Tartlets

Baskets filled with pink, white, and green coconut, the traditional East Indian tartlets are a must-have on every Christmas platter that you send to that favorite relative. Add the handle on top and they’re even prettier.

Here’s how to make tartlets.

17. Almond Rock or Cashew Rock

This traditional East Indian dessert called a cashew rock is really like a cross between a kaju katri and a cashew chikki, or a mass pav and an almond chikki.

Here’s how we make cashew rock.

18. Sojee Sweet

The sojee sweet is an easy-to-make Christmas sweet made of rawa or semolina. Traditionally colored green, it’s a must-have Christmas dessert, and almost every family makes it.

Here’s our recipe for homemade sojee sweet.

By the way, if you were wondering what my favourite part of making the sweets was, you probably already know it. It’s eating the sweets while they’re being made, aka tasting n times to check if it’s okay. Shh. Don’t tell mom! Anyway, these are just a few of my favorites. If you want to send me your recipe of any sweet with pics of how you made it, that’ll be great to share too. Just email me at abby@abbyshearth.com

Who Sells Traditional East Indian Christmas Sweets? I’ve been getting emails asking if I take orders. We don’t do that anymore. So we’ve made a list of sweet makers who take orders in different parts of the globe. Click here to go to the list!

And go here if you want to see the list of fugias, moile, and other delicious East Indian dishes that we make for Christmas dinners!