India’s BRICS hampers serve up culture, cuisine and convenience
Indian edible products and culture will be on full display at the BRICS summit, with foreign delegates and visiting and local journalists savouring them.
Their hampers contain Bihar’s sattu (black gram flour), makhana (fox nuts) and Odisha’s coffee, along with other items from various parts of the country. Keeping in mind the professional requirements of media persons, it also has an in-built charging port.
More than 1,500 journalists from all over the world are expected to cover the two-day 18th BRICS summit starting Saturday, and the organisers have gone all out to promote Indian specialities. The goodie bags have nine items with a focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oft-repeated exhortation vocal-for-local.
Going with this theme, stress is on super foods partaken by Indians. The goodie bag also includes a block-printed stole from Gujarat, a coffee mug and a tote bag with a in-built charging port for those attending the summit
The Government has set up a special International Media Centre at Bharat Mandapam, where the summit will be held. The centre will help journalists report from the summit, access information and cover the events.
The expanded BRICS grouping has 11 full members — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. It also has 10 partner countries — Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
For the world leaders staying at various luxury hotels, the culinary dishes are also expected to have a distinct Indian flavour.
This culinary idea extends to a selection of traditional savoury bites from six regions of India, including spiced walnuts from Kashmir, purani Dilli maida kaju (savory snacks made of refined flour shaped like cashew nuts), Maharashtra’s bhakarwadi (a sweet, spicy and tangy crispy, and bite-sized spiral snack), Rajasthan’s mini kachori (a deep-fried, spicy, stuffed pastry), West Bengal’s kucho nimki (a savoury crip)and Tamil Nadu’s murukku (a savoury snack). The selection highlights the distinctive ingredients, textures and preparations that characterise India’s diverse regional cuisine.
Galouti kebabs and tandoor-baked breads, alongside a strong millet-forward selection that highlights both India’s nutritional traditions and contemporary food, possibilities, are also likely to be savoured by the VIPs.
The chefs have also created distinctive preparations, including braised eggplant with miso paste, simmered chinese cabbage and kidney bean sweet Japanese style with amber sauce.
