White House unveils ‘stunning vegetarian menu’ for Modi state dinner

The state dinner for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a vegetarian affair — mostly.

“As some of you may know, Prime Minister Modi is a vegetarian, so we asked chef Nina Curtis, a plant-based pioneer, to work with our White House chefs and create a stunning vegetarian menu,” first lady Jill Biden announced at a media preview Wednesday ahead of the Thursday soiree at the White House.

But pescatarians can rejoice — Biden said guests will have the option of adding fish, specifically sea bass, to the main course.

The menu is poised to include a first course of marinated millet and grilled corn kernel salad with compressed watermelon and a main course of stuffed portobello mushrooms and saffron-infused risotto. On tap for dessert is a rose and cardamom-infused strawberry shortcake.

The first lady laid out more design plans for the official state dinner, the third since President Biden took office.

“Guests will walk across the South Lawn into a pavilion draped in rich greens, with saffron-colored flowers at every table — the colors of the Indian flag,” she said.

“We hope guests feel as if someone has set that table just for them,” Jill Biden added.

Images of the peacock, India’s national bird, and America’s bald eagle will also be on display, along with décor featuring lotus blooms.

Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell will perform at the black-tie fête, along with Penn Masala, a South Asian a cappella group from the University of Pennsylvania.