“I love Indian food. Bengali food I love. Believe it or not, I love Gujarati food from Surat,” Sonia Gandhi said. “It took me time to get used to Indian food. You know, it was difficult for me to enjoy Indian food right at the beginning. I didn’t know how to cook when I came, but later, slowly, I learned,” she recalled.
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From kebabs to khandvi: Sonia Gandhi shares her favourite Indian dishes
During her conversation with Priyanka Gandhi, Sonia revealed that she enjoys a range of Indian dishes, including kebabs, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken and dal makhani. She also spoke about her fondness for Kashmiri delicacies such as kosta and haakh. Priyanka, meanwhile, mentioned that dal chawal remains her favourite meal at home.
The one dal that has remained a staple in the Gandhi household
Sonia recalled that arhar dal has been a constant in the Gandhi family’s kitchen since the day she joined the household. She also reminisced about making khandvi, a Gujarati snack, which she said was not easily available everywhere. The conversation also touched upon her mother-in-law’s food preferences. Although she did not cook, Sonia said, she had a keen sense of taste and knew exactly what ingredients could improve a dish.
In a personal note accompanying the video, Sonia revealed that food played a special role in her relationship with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She recalled that the two first met while she was looking for a good meal. “Food has always had a special place in my story. It was while looking for a good meal that I met Rajiv, and fell in love. Years later, India came to me the same way, one meal at a time,” she wrote.
She also described how her feelings about Indian food changed over the years. “At first the variety amazed me and the spice scared me. Now dal chawal is the taste of home, and I can’t go a day without it,” she added.The BJP has accused Congress leader Sonia Gandhi of trying to “justify” the imposition of Emergency in 1975 and giving a “clean chit” to her late husband Rajiv Gandhi over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in her memoir, and said her book “Belonging” should instead have been named “whitewashing”.
‘Belonging: A Journey of Love,’ was released on Tuesday, inviting both positive and negative feedback regarding its content.
The saffron party had also alleged that Gandhi’s memoir exposed her real face that “her tears flow for Muslim votes only” but they dry up when Pakistani terrorists kill Indians and Naxalites carry out “massacre of Sanatanis”.
Priyanka Vadra said that whatever her mother wanted to explain or whatever was her point of view, she has put in her book.
“Everyone has their own personal point of view. Everyone has their own story, right,” she added.
