Shimla, Sep 16 (IANS) India’s diplomatic dining experience at Rashtrapati Bhavan is set to acquire a distinct Himachali touch, with traditional cuisines from the Himalayan state — with a touch of nature’s earthiness and the unmistakable aroma of guchhi, one of the world’s most prized morel mushrooms grown in high mountains — being introduced to the menu for visiting dignitaries and elite guests after a special culinary training programme conducted by a government chef from Himachal Pradesh.

Acclaimed chef Nand Lal Sharma, Consultant (Food and Beverage) with Himachal Tourism and President of the Himachal Chef Association, was invited by the President’s Secretariat to train cooks at Rashtrapati Bhavan in authentic Himachali cuisines.

During his week-long stay, he showcased traditional dishes from the Kangra and Mandi regions, highlighting the culinary heritage of the hills through recipes rooted in local ingredients, slow-cooking techniques and generations-old traditions.

The most popular ‘dham’, a multi-course traditional saatvik (vegetarian) feast served by sitting together on the ground on special occasions like weddings and festivals and eating without forks or spoons, is prepared by Bhotis, the Brahmin chefs who have traditionally been cooking for generations.

Most of the utensils used for cooking are made from copper or brass. “For us, Himachali food is soul-rooted in Himalayan cultures and preserving its authenticity, as every dish has its meaning, and then showcasing culinary diversity of the mountain communities on the diplomatic table is the aim of my Rashtrapati Bhavan’s visit,” Sharma told IANS in an interview on Wednesday.

He cooked lip-smacking and mouth-watering recipes of the Kangra and Mandi regions, popularly known as Kangri and Mandiali dishes, during his weeklong stay in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Sharma, the President of the Himachal Chef Association, said that during his stay in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the food is served on “pattals” (broad leaves of a tree); rice first and then a round of other items.

According to him, he also got an opportunity to train one personal chef of President Droupadi Murmu, besides three others.

Sharma, who got an opportunity to interact with the President, said she liked the gucchi recipe most. Gucchi, or Morchella Esculenta, is a mushroom variety that grows naturally on snowy slopes.

In Himachal Pradesh, gucchi is grown in dense deodar forests mainly in the interiors of Shimla, Chamba, Kullu and Mandi districts. Since its trade is not regulated by the government, there is no estimation about its overall production.

Villagers have permission from the Forest Department to collect gucchi, which falls under the category of “minor forest produce”. The President’s office, in a missive to the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director on July 16, asked him to depute Sharma to train cooks at Rashtrapati Bhavan in local and Himachali cuisines.

“During the recent visit of the Honourable President of India to Mashobra, Shimla, it was found that Shri Nand Lal Sharma has great expertise in local cuisines and the Honourable President of India was highly appreciative of this,” reads the letter.

“For me it was a profound honour and, of course, a truly humbling experience to showcase our food cultures that will help connect communities across the Himalayan state,” Sharma told IANS.

In Himachal, the main course of Mandiali dishes comprises rajmah, kale chane ka khatta (sour), maa ki dal cooked in spices with generous amounts of desi ghee, karahi, sepu vadi, kaddu (red pumpkin) ka mitha (sweet) and a bowl of rice.

The traditional multi-course meal of the Kangra Valley has mandra (spiced vegetable and yoghurt curry), mahni (spicy sweet and sour curry), maah, chana dal (split Bengal gram with fennel seeds), budane ka mitha (sweet), rainthla (date and spinach curry) and rice. Meethe chawal, or sweet-spiced fragrant rice, is a common dessert in Kangra.

Sharma, the former chief chef at Hotel Holiday Home in Shimla, said the President, who relishes only a vegetarian diet without onion and garlic, liked ‘bathu ki kheer’, a special dessert prepared with chenopodium seeds grown in high reaches, milk and sugar.

Also, the President liked the classic dish sepu vadi — urad dal dumplings fried and then simmered in curd gravy.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

–IANS

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