Flavour of India at Obama8217;s first State Dinner

More than 300 other invitees were served some of the Indian delicacies at the huge tent pitched at the South Lawns of the White House.

It was a taste of India at President Barack Obama8217;s First State Dinner,where he welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Hindi and treated him to a range of vegetarian delicacies,including dishes prepared with herbs from the White House kitchen garden.

Even before the state guest Singh and more than 300 other invitees were served some of the Indian delicacies at the huge tent pitched at the South Lawns of the White House,Obama set the tone by greeting in Hindi 8216;Aaapka Swagat Hai8217; You are welcome.

Some of the dishes were prepared by the White House chef from the kitchen garden of the First Lady,Michelle Obama.

To begin with,the guests were served 8216;Potato and Eggplant Salad,White House Arugula With Onion Seed Vinaigrette8217;, followed by 8216;Red Lentil Soup with Fresh Cheese.8217;

Then the guests were treated to 8216;Roasted Potato Dumplings With Tomato Chutney Chick Peas and Okra8217;,8217;Green Curry Prawns Caramelized Salsify with Smoked Collard Greens8217; and 8216;Coconut Aged Basmati8217;.

8216;Pumpkin Pie Tart Pear Tatin Whipped Cream and Caramel Sauce8217; was on their desert; and finally they were served 8216;Petits Fours and Coffee Cashew Brittle Pecan Pralines Passion Fruit and Vanilla Gelees Chocolate-Dipped Fruit.8217;

THE GUEST LIST:

According to the 8216;Washington Post8217;,the guests list at the dinner includes Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen,Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani,famed Hollywood director Steven Speilberg,Gayle King,Dr Sanjay Gupta and David Geffen.

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Among the others that attended the White House veggie garden spoils hosted by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife Dr. Jill Biden Congressman Gary Ackerman,Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal,Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, David Axelrod and his wife Susan Axelrod,Congressman Howard Berman and his wife Jane Berman,Robert O Blake,Jr.,Assistant Secretaryof State for South and Central Asian Affairs,New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg,John Brennan,Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Deputy National Security Advisor for Counter-terrorism,Homeland Security Council.

William Burns,Under Secretary for Political Affairs,General James E Cartwright,Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,Senator Bob Casey,Rajiv Chandrasekaran,Senator Satveer Chaudhry,Energy Secretary Steven Chu,Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,Senator Swati Dandekar,Senator Chris Dodd,White House Chief of Staff Rahm

Emanuel,New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman,Dr. Ashok S Ganguly,Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner,Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm,Attorney General Eric Holder,Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii,Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal,National Security Adviser General James Jones,Senator John Kerry,Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna,Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri,US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke etc,also attended the dinner.

Kiran Mazumda-Shaw,Congressman Jim McDermott,Indian businessman Sunil Bharti Mittal,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen,Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano,Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan,USIBC president and Pepisico Chairperson Indra Nooyi,Massachussets Governor Deval Patrick,House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi,telecommunications and IT honcho Sam Pitroda and Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao were also among the to attendees.