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State banquet: Menu will be heavy on veggies, low on red meat | The Obama kids will be quite happy they aren't attending Tuesday's banquet hosted by their parents - Barack and Michelle -- in honour of the Indian Prime
Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. It is going to be high on veggies and low on meat.
Why? 'Coz MM Singh is coming to town! (apologies to Santa Claus). The Indian Prime
Minister is a vegetarian and teetotaler to boot. He rarely goes beyond kadi chawal
or dahi chawal. Not one to experiment much with his food, he sticks to Punjabi
bland food at best. Now is there something called Punjabi bland food? Yes its
called BORING! But back to the menu, more closely guarded than the health bill
or the Afghan troop movement. Desirée Rogers, the White House social secretary,
and Sam Kass, a young assistant chef, have reportedly had been sampling dishes
at various restaurants throughout the summer and finally zeroed in on Chef Marcus
Samuelsson, an award-winning African-American chef from the New York restaurant
Aquavit, to cook for the Indian Prime Minister at the November 24th banquet. The
menu is likely to have steamed vegetables from Michelle's famed kitchen garden.
It is a small patch, no bigger than the lawns in Lutyen's bungalows in Delhi where
MP's wives grow their bhindis and baingans. Of course, here, these humble veggies
go with exotic names like okra and eggplant. But if Micehlle thinks that the PM
or Mrs Kaur will heartily tuck into the carefully prepared meal, she might be
disappointed. Both are known to be picky eaters. But Michelle is not just keen
on pleasing her chief guest. She has the cruel Washingtonian society to cater
too. The White House banquet is no less than the Oscars in importance. Over 400
people dressed in their finest will be present at the do. There are over a thousand
people working zealously to ensure everything works to clockwork precision. The
courses arrive on time in unison, and from taste to aroma; it has to be a gastronomic
delight. No faux pas will be tolerated by the snooty Washingtonians who have seen
the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan host some of the most lavish
banquets. Michelle is somewhat a cross between the career woman that Mrs Hillary
Clinton was and a home maker that Mrs Laura Bush was in the White House. She has
to be the perfect hostess, regardless of whether she is her husband's principal
advisor, Mommy in Chief (as she called herself), or her various community service
projects that she promotes. She is aware that these are recessionary times so,
she will not serve oysters or caviar. But, she can't really slum it out and serve
just meat and potatoes. Not really keen on spicy food, curries with very strong
spices will not be in the menu. A mild curry or tandoori item will be included
in keeping with the ethnicity of the main guests. Chef Samuelsson, of Ethiopian
Swedish vintage, is known to rustle up diverse and ethnic driven cuisine. And
then, how difficult is it to make chicken tikka masala? |
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