On Monday night, President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet dinner in honour of Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation, and First Lady Caroline Parmelin at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The dinner menu drew inspiration from the culinary traditions of the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. It likened food from the Himalayan ranges to that of the Swiss Alps, describing it as “a cuisine of resourcefulness, refinement, and respect for seasonal produce.”
Ingredients From Ladakh, Kashmir Valley, Jammu
The special menu featured sea buckthorn, apricot, wild nettle, yak cheese and barley from the high plateaus of Ladakh. From the Kashmir Valley came saffron, morels, lotus stem and fragrant spices, while the kitchens of Jammu contributed unique sweets and street food traditions.
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Here is the complete banquet dinner menu:
Soup
Za Thuk Served With Assorted Breads
(A nourishing Ladakhi wild nettle soup with winter peas, garnished with roasted millet pearls)
Salad
Labo-Na Tsonma
(A salad showcasing the region’s cheese-making traditions: Labo and Chhurpi from Ladakh, Kalari from Jammu, dried apple, walnuts, wild capers and lettuce with a sea buckthorn and honey dressing)
with
Crackers & Apricot Jam/Tangthur
(Buckwheat/foxtail crackers, Ladakhi chuli (apricot) jam, yoghurt dip with skotse (wild garlic chives))
Photo Credit: ANI
Appetisers
Kimb Chaat
(A street-food delicacy from Jammu featuring boiled taro root, sweet potatoes and rice flour crispies, served with sweetened yoghurt, tamarind sauce and starfruit)
Nadur Kebab With Dooyn Chetin
(Lotus stem patties seasoned with aromatic Kashmiri spices, served with walnut chutney)
Phorok Nangka
(Charcoal-roasted wholewheat ‘mok mok’ dumpling from Ladakh, stuffed with turnip greens and caper leaves, served with tomato-onion relish)
Photo Credit: ANI
Main Course
Chaman Qaliya
(Delicately spiced cottage cheese in a milk and turmeric sauce)
Haakh
(Seasonal collard greens stewed with mustard oil and asafoetida)
Dum Oluv
(Potatoes cooked with yoghurt, dry ginger, fennel and other aromatic spices)
Tsok Wangun
(Baby aubergine in a tangy sauce flavoured with cloves, ginger and fennel powder)
Kana Gucch Pulao
(Fragrant pulao with Kashmiri morels and whole spices)
with
Mujj Chatin
(White radish with freshly churned yoghurt)
&
Sheermal & Katlam Breads
Dessert
Shufta
(A blend of stewed dry dates, cashew nuts, raisins and coconut, garnished with poppy seeds)
Phirin
(Semolina and milk pudding flavoured with saffron, cardamom and dry fruits)
Phaymer
(A Ladakhi dessert of roasted barley, jaggery and butter, served with Chura soft cheese)
Fresh Fruits
Photo Credit: ANI
Beverages
Kahwa
(Kashmiri tea flavoured with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron)
Gur Gur Chai
(Traditional butter tea from Ladakh)
