Biryani, phulkas and orange-juice toasts: what a new book says about PMs' banquets
Authored by journalists Purabi Shridhar and Sanghita Singh, the book draws on over seven years of interviews with families, friends, staff and chefs.
A new book explores the menus served at India's official prime minister's banquets since Jawaharlal Nehru's era, revealing how each leader's tastes and politics influenced the cuisine. Indira Gandhi famously requested biryani when turkey roast was on the menu for the 1983 Commonwealth summit. Narendra Modi, however, prefers simple meals, stating, "I prefer very simple meals."
Nehru initiated the change from bouquets to Indian dishes and orange juice toasts, while Indira Gandhi personally finalized menus and guest lists, ensuring a chair remained empty for her to circulate. Under Rajiv Gandhi, nouvelle cuisine replaced traditional banquets, with chefs trained in Britain to create dishes like baby naans, chicken liver pate, and tomato-coconut soup.
Charan Singh served only bottle gourd dishes, while V P Singh's wife avoided state dinners altogether. P V Narasimha Rao's doctor recommended dal and phulka for his state banquets. Atal Bihari Vajpayee brought street food like chaat and jalebi to his parties, and Manmohan Singh curated ghiya koftas for guests who disliked his usual fare.
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