Millet cakes, spicy avocado sauce: see what’s cooking for PM Modi in the White House
Guests dine on a salad of marinated millet, corn, and compressed watermelon, stuffed Portobello mushrooms and risotto, and a strawberry tart infused with rose and cardamom. A fish dish is available for guests who prefer it.
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on his first state visit to the US, will attend a state dinner hosted by Joe and Jill Biden on Thursday. Plant-based dishes featuring millet and stuffed mushrooms are on the menu for some 400 guests invited to the White House’s posh state dinner Thursday in honor of the prime minister.
Prime Minister Modi is a vegetarian and First Lady Jill Biden enlisted California-based chef Nancy Curtis, who specializes in plant-based cooking, to help out in the kitchen.
Guests dine on a salad of marinated millet, corn, and compressed watermelon, stuffed Portobello mushrooms and risotto, and a strawberry tart infused with rose and cardamom. A fish dish is available for guests who prefer it.
Dishes that are on the menu of the US State Dinner hosted for PM Modi
First course: Salad of marinated millet and grilled corn kernels with a refreshing sauce of compressed watermelon and spicy avocado.
A chef prepares the first course, a salad of marinated millet and grilled corn kernels with crushed watermelon and a spicy avocado sauce, which will be served at the state dinner with India on Thursday night, during a media preview, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at the White House in Washington. (AP photo)
Main dish: Stuffed Portobello mushrooms and creamy saffron risotto, topped with Sumac-roasted sea bass with a mouth-watering lemon dill yogurt sauce.
A chef will serve the main course, stuffed portobello mushrooms with a creamy saffron risotto, which will be served at the state dinner with India on Thursday night, during a media preview, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at the White House in Washington. (AP photo)
accompaniments: Crisped Millet Cakes and Summer Squashes, which add a delicious touch to the dining experience.
A chef holds a dessert, a strawberry cake with roses and cardamom, which will be served at the state dinner with India on Thursday night, during a media preview, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at the White House in Washington. (AP photo)
“We are delighted that India is taking the lead in celebrating the International Year of Millet. We have incorporated marinated millet into our menu,” says Nina Curtis.
The state dinner will be followed by a performance by Grammy-winning musician Joshua Bell.
“His performance will be followed by Penn Masala – a South Asian acapella group from the University of Pennsylvania bringing a little piece of my hometown to the White House along with songs inspired by the sounds of India,” said Jill Biden.
Prime Minister Modi reached Washington on Wednesday after leading a massive record-breaking yoga session at UN headquarters in New York. In addition to the state dinner, he will also attend a series of meetings with industry leaders in Washington. Earlier, the first lady and Indian leader visited the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, for an event on staff training programs.