India

Swiss President’s State Visit Dinner Highlights Himalayan Cuisine

By Livemint

Swiss President Guy Parmelin and First Lady Caroline Parmelin attended a special banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, 5 October, hosted by President Droupadi Murmu. The dinner, part of Parmelin’s first State visit to India, showcased dishes from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, blending traditional recipes with regional ingredients. The meal opened with Za Thuk, a Ladakhi wild nettle soup made with winter peas and roasted millet pearls, served with assorted breads. The salad course, Labo-Na Tsonma, combined Ladakhi labo and chhurpi with Jammu kalari, dried apple, walnuts, and wild capers, dressed with sea buckthorn and honey and accompanied by buckwheat and foxtail crackers, Ladakhi chuli jam and a yoghurt dip flavored with skotse or wild garlic chives.

The menu then featured street‑food inspired dishes such as Kimb Chaat, a Jammu delicacy of boiled taro root and sweet potatoes with rice‑flour crispies, sweetened yoghurt, tamarind sauce and starfruit, and Nadur Kebab (lotus stem) served with Dooyn Chetin (walnut condiment). From Ladakh came Phorok Nangka, a charcoal‑roasted whole‑wheat ‘mok mok’ dumpling stuffed with turnip greens and caper leaves, served with a tomato‑onion relish.

The main course highlighted Kashmiri cuisine. Chaman Qaliya presented cottage cheese in a delicately spiced milk and turmeric sauce, while Haakh offered seasonal collard greens stewed with mustard oil and asafoetida. Dum Olav paired potatoes with yoghurt, dry ginger and fennel, and Tsok Wangun featured baby eggplant in a tangy sauce flavored with cloves, ginger and fennel. The rice course included Kana Gucch Pulao, a fragrant preparation of Kashmiri morels and whole spices, served with Mujj Chatni (white radish and yoghurt) and traditional Sheermal and Katlam breads.

Dessert continued the regional theme with Shufta, a stewed mix of dried dates, cashews, raisins and coconut, and Phirin, a semolina‑and‑milk pudding flavored with saffron, cardamom and dried fruits. Fresh fruits were served at the end, followed by Kashmiri Kahwa (cinnamon, cardamom and saffron), Gur Gur Chai (traditional butter tea of Ladakh) and wild rose tea.

The banquet followed Parmelin’s talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House, where the two sides discussed trade and investment, defence production, nuclear energy, infrastructure, mobility, science and technology, health, clean energy, space, Yoga and Ayurveda. President Murmu highlighted opportunities under the India‑EFTA Trade and Partnership Agreement and encouraged Swiss companies to explore emerging sectors such as clean technology and artificial intelligence. Parmelin’s three‑day State visit to India runs from 5 to 7 October and is his first State visit to the country, following his attendance at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February.