<p>From marinated millet and grilled corn kernel salad to crisped millet cake to stuffed portobello mushroom to cardamom-infused strawberry shortcake – the White House has walked the extra mile to offer a rich vegetarian menu for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the State Dinner hosted by President Joe Biden on Thursday. <br /> <br />First Lady Jill Biden held a media briefing to explain about the State Dinner for Modi along with American chef Nina Curtis who has worked with White House Executive Chefs Cris Comerford and Chef Susie Morrison to curate the menu. </p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/prime-minister-narendra-modi-us-visit-joe-biden-united-states-international-yoga-day-united-nations-indian-politics-1229374.html" target="_blank">Track the live updates of the visit here</a></strong><br /> <br />The “stunning vegetarian menu” will also include compressed watermelon, summer squashes, tangy avocado sauce, creamy saffron-infused risotto, and lemon-dill yogurt sauce. Modi is only the third global leader to be accorded a State Visit to the US after Biden assumed Presidency in January 2021 with the two others being France’s Emmanuel Macron and South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol. <br /> <br />Before letting the media persons taste some of the food that are part of the State Dinner menu, the First Lady said the gala event to be held on the lawns of the White House will bring together the world’s largest and oldest democracies. <br /> <br />After the dinner during which guests can add fish (the only non-vegetarian dish) to the main menu if they wish, they will sit back and enjoy a performance of Grammy award winner Joshua Bell, a celebrated violinist and music conductor.<br /> <br />“As some of you may know, Prime Minister Modi is a vegetarian. So, we asked chef Nina Curtis, a plant-based pioneer, to work with our White House chefs to create a stunning vegetarian menu,” Jill Biden added. She also said Prime Minister Modi will walk across the South Lawn into a pavilion “draped in rich greens with saffron-coloured flowers” at every table - the colours of the Indian national flag. <br /> <br />The menu contains two dishes made of millets as India takes a lead in celebrating 2023 as the International Year of Millets – Modi spoke about millets at the UN event to celebrate the 9th International Yoga Day in New York. <br /> <br />Chef Curtis, while talking about the menu in detail, also lauded India’s efforts in taking millets to the masses. “We have been working on this menu for State Dinner for a few months, and we are very excited and the First Lady is very excited. Hence I think I have done my job,” Curtis said. <br /> <br />(The writer is in the US for a study tour on Countering Disinformation sponsored by the US Department of State)</p>
<p>From marinated millet and grilled corn kernel salad to crisped millet cake to stuffed portobello mushroom to cardamom-infused strawberry shortcake – the White House has walked the extra mile to offer a rich vegetarian menu for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the State Dinner hosted by President Joe Biden on Thursday. <br /> <br />First Lady Jill Biden held a media briefing to explain about the State Dinner for Modi along with American chef Nina Curtis who has worked with White House Executive Chefs Cris Comerford and Chef Susie Morrison to curate the menu. </p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/prime-minister-narendra-modi-us-visit-joe-biden-united-states-international-yoga-day-united-nations-indian-politics-1229374.html" target="_blank">Track the live updates of the visit here</a></strong><br /> <br />The “stunning vegetarian menu” will also include compressed watermelon, summer squashes, tangy avocado sauce, creamy saffron-infused risotto, and lemon-dill yogurt sauce. Modi is only the third global leader to be accorded a State Visit to the US after Biden assumed Presidency in January 2021 with the two others being France’s Emmanuel Macron and South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol. <br /> <br />Before letting the media persons taste some of the food that are part of the State Dinner menu, the First Lady said the gala event to be held on the lawns of the White House will bring together the world’s largest and oldest democracies. <br /> <br />After the dinner during which guests can add fish (the only non-vegetarian dish) to the main menu if they wish, they will sit back and enjoy a performance of Grammy award winner Joshua Bell, a celebrated violinist and music conductor.<br /> <br />“As some of you may know, Prime Minister Modi is a vegetarian. So, we asked chef Nina Curtis, a plant-based pioneer, to work with our White House chefs to create a stunning vegetarian menu,” Jill Biden added. She also said Prime Minister Modi will walk across the South Lawn into a pavilion “draped in rich greens with saffron-coloured flowers” at every table - the colours of the Indian national flag. <br /> <br />The menu contains two dishes made of millets as India takes a lead in celebrating 2023 as the International Year of Millets – Modi spoke about millets at the UN event to celebrate the 9th International Yoga Day in New York. <br /> <br />Chef Curtis, while talking about the menu in detail, also lauded India’s efforts in taking millets to the masses. “We have been working on this menu for State Dinner for a few months, and we are very excited and the First Lady is very excited. Hence I think I have done my job,” Curtis said. <br /> <br />(The writer is in the US for a study tour on Countering Disinformation sponsored by the US Department of State)</p>
