Tucking In At The High Table

he Clintons’ romance with India has the spicy, tangy flavour as well, expressed through the gourmet couple’s passion for Indian food. Whether in Washington or New York, they are known to occasionally tingle their taste buds by partaking of Indian cuisine, particularly kababs and tikka. When Bill Clinton came to India on a presidential visit, the luxury hotel where he was staying introduced the Clinton platter on its menu, in appreciation for his love of Indian food.

It was only fitting that the managers of Delhi’s Hyderabad House, where the US secretary of state was hosted for lunch, created a special platter called the Hillary platter. It consisted of an assortment of kababs, mutton raan, mutton and chicken dishes, and biriyani. The lunch began with a cold melon soup, served stylishly in the melon shell, and then was brought in the Hillary platter. She ate heartily, even took a second helping, as she talked to foreign minister Krishna, home minister P. Chidambaram and HRD minister Kapil Sabil, all of whom dined at the same table. The lunch ended with kulfi-falooda, ras malai and a basket of fruits. Spicy-sweet is India’s taste, Hillary would say.