Salmon Fish Tikka, Dal Raisina & Rabri: President's Dinner for Trump a Mix of Indian, American Tastes

New Delhi: A gastronomic delight awaits US President Donald Trump at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday when President Ram Nath Kovind will host a state dinner in his honour. Though the cuisine for the dinner will be Indian, the American palette will be kept in mind.

According to the menu accessed by News18, Trump will be served an orange-based dish laced with gold ‘varq’ as appetizer. This will be followed by starters, but with an American touch. In a departure from the traditional preparation of fish ‘tikka’ — which is made of a boneless fish — the US President will be served ‘tikka’ made of salmon.

So far as vegetarian starters are concerned, aloo tikka and palak or spinach chaat are on the menu. An array of soup choices includes a light clear soup — lemon and coriander laced with lemongrass.

Moving on to the main course, the tastes of the US President — who is extremely fond of non-vegetarian food, particularly red meat — have been paid attention to. The menu will consist of raan, which is a roast of mutton leg, with gravy and mutton biryani. The vegetarian fare will include pulao, gucchi or mushroom matar (peas). A special Rashtrapati Bhavan touch in the form of Dal Raisina has also been added to the menu. A source said the dal has whole spices with ghee, which makes it special.

The finishing touch, desserts, too will be a mix of Indian and American palettes. Malpua and rabri will be served with apple pie and vanilla ice-cream. This will be topped in the end by tea, coffee and paan.

All the dishes will be prepared at the Rashtrapati Bhavan kitchen by trained chefs. There are about 32 main chefs in the main kitchen and the food is prepared fresh, a few hours before the event. It takes about two hours for the table to get laid for the special guest.

Also, for every occasion, a special menu card is printed that has the national symbol — both on the card and the crockery. The kitchen is also fully air-conditioned with different sections for bakery, main cooking and a hygiene department. The food being served will be tasted by secret service and Rashtrapati Bhavan’s own security team before serving to the dignitaries.