The dinner menu for President Droupadi Murmu’s banquet hosted in honour of her Vietnamese counterpart To Lam has gone viral across social media platforms.
Why it went viral, we’ll come back to that. But first, a little about the dinner. Hosted on May 6, the banquet was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the menu was a range of vegetarian dishes from Haryana and Punjab. It was curated by noted chef Harpal Singh Sokhi.
What was on the menu
The main course featured Bharwan Vilayati Gobi, a stuffed broccoli preparation served in a green tomato-based sauce, along with Hare Tamatar Makhni and Gajar Matar Naal Wadiyaan, a homestyle Punjabi dish of carrots and peas stir-fried with urad dal dumplings.
Other staples included Bathinde Wale Aloo, baby potatoes flavoured with kadai herbs and dried mango powder, Dal Amritsari, slow-cooked lentils, and Matar Wale Chawl, fragrant basmati rice cooked with green peas. Hisar Bajra Khichdi, a millet-based preparation from Haryana, added a rustic touch to the spread. The meal was accompanied by an assortment of achars, papad, chutneys, and traditional breads such as methi pudina paratha and chukandari chilgoza naan.
For desserts, there was Bajra Gud Churma Doda, Saunfiya Dona, Malai Kulfi, and Ganne De Ras Di Kheer with Panjiri. Fresh fruits, masala zafrani chai, mint tea, and coffee completed the meal.
Food enthusiasts divided
The viral menu sparked a debate on X. Many food enthusiasts shared memes questioning why the banquet was entirely vegetarian, while others joked that the Vietnamese President might end up ordering KFC after returning to his hotel. Some users also pointed out that a few dishes on the menu were not seasonal.
See some of the reactions here:
The criticism comes amid a row over the Uttar Pradesh government’s ‘One District, One Cuisine’ list, which excludes non-vegetarian dishes despite many being integral to the rich culinary heritage of the state and its districts.
Lucknow, for instance, is known for its Galouti Kebab and Awadhi Biryani, but the list identifies the city with ‘rewari, chaat, malai makkhan, and mango products’ instead. No kebabs, no biryani. Similarly, the list mentions ‘dal and handi halwa’ for Moradabad while excluding its iconic Moradabadi Biryani. Some districts, such as Kanpur, also had bizarre entries like edible oil listed as signature food items.
As for the Punjabi and Haryana menu prepared for the Vietnam President, a few food enthusiasts also defended the selection, arguing that people across Southeast Asia genuinely enjoy Indian vegetarian cuisine. They also pointed out that since President Droupadi Murmu is herself vegetarian, it was natural for a banquet hosted by her to showcase India’s rich vegetarian culinary traditions.
Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi weighs in
Chef Harpal Sokhi, in an interaction with India Today Digital, said the menu was a hit and that he had been told several dignitaries had, in fact, “overeaten” because the food was so delicious.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and told him, “Harpal ji, aaj aapne bahut badhiya khana khilaya” (“Harpal ji, you served an excellent meal today”).
Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi said the selection was based entirely on the brief given by Rashtrapati Bhavan and was designed to represent the culinary traditions of Punjab and Haryana.
“First of all, they look at creating themes, and then they look for the perfect chef who can represent that theme,” chef Sokhi told India Today Digital. He said he was approached nearly two to three months in advance and was told that the banquet for the Vietnamese dignitaries would focus on the cuisines of Punjab and Haryana.
“The menu is typical to the cuisine and you use ingredients from that space. You create a menu that looks balanced based on the thali or the plate, and that’s what we did,” he explained.
Chef Sokhi also shared the extensive preparation that goes into curating and executing a Rashtrapati Bhavan banquet menu. According to him, the process involves elaborate planning, sampling, feedback, and presentation checks.
“You give a presentation and conduct sampling sessions. After that, you receive feedback on what is possible and what is not possible. Then you follow protocol and execute the menu. So it’s a long process. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
This is not the first time a debate has erupted over a presidential dinner menu. A similar discussion sparked earlier this year when the President of Seychelles was served a “coastal” menu, but not a single dish on the menu was seafood. During the G20 Summit held in New Delhi in 2023, there were reports that French President Emmanuel Macron ordered bread, cheese, and cold cuts in his hotel room after the G20 dinner.
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