A New Jersey-based restaurant on Monday launched a special ‘Modi Ji Thali’ ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming state visit to the US. The special ‘Modi Ji Thali’ has been curated by chef Shripad Kulkarni and comprises dishes such as khichdi, rasgulla, sarso da saag, idli, dhokla, chaach, papad, and dum aloo Kashmiri.
As per chef Kulkarni, the thali has been curated in keeping with the demands of the Indian diaspora living in the States. He added that the thali also pays homage to the 2023 being declared as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations (UN). The International Day of Millets was declared after a recommendation from the Indian government, including dishes prepared using millets.
The owner of the restaurant further said that he plans to launch another Thali dedicated to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. The restaurant owner told ANI: “We plan to launch this thali soon. I’m very positive that it’s going to gain popularity. Once this does well, I also plan to launch a Dr Jaishankar thali, because he too has that rockstar appeal amongst the Indian-American community”.
This, however, is not the first thali dedicated to Prime Minister Modi. A Delhi-based restaurant, ARDOR 2.1, presented a huge thali having 56 items named 56-inch Narendra Modi Thali on PM’s birthday last year. Customers also have the choice of opting for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
ARDOR 2.1 restaurant owner Sumit Kalara said: “We want to gift him this thali and want him to come here and eat. But, due to security reasons, we can’t do that, so this is for all his fans who love him a lot. Please come and enjoy this thali.”
