The menu for tonights vegetarian White House State Dinner for the PM of India.
The Bidens’ India state dinner menu blends Indian, American flavors
By Emily Heil
Updated June 22, 2023 at 10:05 a.m. EDT|Published June 21, 2023 at 7:25 p.m. EDT
When guests sit down for the state dinner Thursday that President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hosting for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they will encounter evidence of something that a growing number of diners are learning: Fine dining doesn’t require meat to feel luxurious.
The state dinner, the third of the Biden administration, will be mostly vegetarian, in keeping with the dietary restrictions of its guest of honor. In place of a filet or roast, the main course will be stuffed portobello mushrooms accompanied by a creamy risotto infused with saffron. Guests may select a sumac-roasted sea bass if they choose, along with options for a yogurt sauce punched up with dill and lemon, crisped millet cakes or summer squashes.
The menu, which the White House unveiled at a preview Wednesday, follows the pattern the Bidens have established in their previous two such black-tie affairs: using seasonal American ingredients while incorporating nods to the cuisine of the visiting country. The decision to prominently feature saffron — a signature flavor of Indian cuisine whose yellow-orange color is a Hindu symbol — was just such an homage. And the dessert, a rose-and-cardamom-infused strawberry shortcake, also marries a classic American sweet with distinctly Indian elements.
Jill Biden, who made remarks to reporters during the preview, noted that the flowers on the tables, too, bore saffron’s hue. Biden called the vegetable-forward menu “stunning,” crediting guest chef Nina Curtis, a Californian known for healthful, plant-based cuisine. Curtis — whose résumé includes a stint at the Malibu Ranch luxury health resort — is working alongside White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and White House executive pastry chef Susie Morrison.
“We have curated a menu that showcases the best of American cuisine seasoned with Indian elements and flavors,” Curtis said at the preview. “It allows guests from both countries to experience something of the other’s culture.”
Guest chef Nina Curtis displays a plate of stuffed portobello mushrooms with saffron-infused risotto during a Wednesday preview of Thursday's state dinner. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
One overture to the visiting dignitary might not seem obvious. But Curtis said the decision to use millet in the summery opening course — a marinated millet and grilled corn kernel salad with compressed watermelon and a “tangy avocado sauce” — was inspired by the United Nations’ decision to name 2023 “The Year of Millets.” Millet is a grain that grows in poor soil and with little irrigation, and while it was once commonly used in Indian cuisine, it has fallen out of favor, prompting agriculture officials to campaign for its resurgence.
This isn’t the first mostly meatless state dinner to be held at the White House. Of course, when the dining is about high-stakes diplomacy, the menu is chosen with guests’ needs and preferences in mind (the State Department’s chief of protocol typically works with the White House social secretary on this before the menu planning starts). When the Obamas in 2009 hosted Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, the menu was largely vegetarian (guests had the option of a curry-prawn main course) and the president toasted the honoree with what appeared to be a glass of water.
For the guests who do imbibe, one of the wines accompanying this week’s meal also pays particular homage to the ties between host and guest. A red blend comes from Patel Winery in Napa Valley, which is owned by Raj Patel, who was born in India and settled in California as a boy. Other wines include a 2021 “Kristi” chardonnay from Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg and a brut rose from Domaine Carneros, which is known for making bubbles using traditional French methods but with American grapes.
Curtis said the call from the White House to act as a guest chef was an honor — but a source of understandable stress. “You must understand the pressure I’m under standing here before you — but it’s the kind of pressure that’s also an elation,” she said. “When you are asked by the first lady to come join her at the White House, it’s a feeling I hope many chefs get to have.”
Dessert will include Rose and Cardamom-infused Strawberry Shortcake. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
Here’s the full menu:
First Course
Marinated Millet and Grilled Corn Kernel Salad
Compressed Watermelon
Tangy Avocado Sauce
Main Course
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Creamy Saffron-infused Risotto
Upon request
Sumac-roasted Sea Bass
Lemon-Dill Yogurt Sauce
Crisped Millet Cakes
Summer Squashes
Dessert
Rose and Cardamom-infused Strawberry Shortcake
Wines
Stone Tower Chardonnay “Kristi” 2021
Patel Red Blend 2019
Domain Carneros Brut Rosé
There is video at the link of the place settings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/202 ... nner-menu/
