Newly-elected President Droupadi Murmu can relish her most favourite Odia cuisine at Raisina Hill too as ‘Pakhala’ will be added to the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s food menu soon.
With Murmu becoming the 15th President, some changes are also seen in the grand Rashtrapati Bhavan. Reports said that for the first time, traditional Odia food Pakhala along with Sajana Saga (drumstick leaves) and Aloo Bharta (mashed potatoes) would be included in the kitchen of the President’s house.
As Murmu is a vegetarian and takes food without onion and garlic, a new menu has been prepared keeping her choices in mind as recently revealed by Murmu’s sister-in-law Shakyamuni.
According to reports, during the tenure of each President, food of his/her own state gets a place in the Rashtrapati Bhavan kitchen. Earlier, Bengali cuisine was included in the menu when Pranab Mukherjee was the President. South Indian food was also in the menu during the tenure of Presidents belonging to the southern region of the country.
Murmu turned a vegetarian in 2006 after she lost her two sons and husband. She is also a good cook and enjoys cooking on special occasions. She had insisted on her chefs to include a dash of Odisha cuisine at the Ranchi Raj Bhavan for the VIPs when she was the Governor of Jharkhand.