Chef Prateek Sadhu with his team at Rashtrapati Bhavan where they curated a multiple-course menu for India’s most elite diplomatic table, attended by President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief guests of the Republic Day celebrations. (Photo Courtesy: Special Arrangement)
Earlier this week, chef Prateek Sadhu of NAAR, a 16-seater destination restaurant in Kasauli, and his team prepared a multi-course menu for a state dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The occasion marked a rare moment when a standalone restaurant was invited to serve India’s most elite diplomatic table, attended by President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief guests of the Republic Day celebrations — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa — along with members of the cabinet, diplomats, and entrepreneurs.
NAAR, which means “fire” in Kashmiri, was started in 2022 and has since featured in many lists, including Time magazine’s ‘World’s Greatest Places’ in 2024. At the restaurant, Sadhu and his team curate a 14-course tasting menu rooted in the Himalayan region, spotlighting ingredients, techniques, and food traditions from Uttarakhand, Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and beyond. The meal served at Rashtrapati Bhavan was an extension of this philosophy, placing the Himalayan belt and its culinary sensibilities at the centre of the experience.
Chef Prateek Sadhu started NAAR, a 16-seater dining destination in Kasauli in 2022. Photo Courtesy: Special Arrangement
The meal opened with jakhiya aloo and green tomato chutney, and a jhangora millet kheer finished with meah loon and white chocolate. A sunderkala thichoni soup from Uttarakhand followed, built around buckwheat noodles, roasted tomato, fermented vegetables, and dried vegetable chutney, with accompaniments of yak cheese custard, bhaang mathri, and mustard-glazed greens.
The pre-main featured pumpkin and sinki slow-cooked in buttermilk with Kashmiri katlam bread, while the main brought together Kashmiri gucchi and Solan mushrooms with poppy seeds, burnt tomato sauce, pine nut salad, swarnu rice, and regional chutneys. Desserts showcased Himalayan produce, from a ragi and Kashmiri apple cake with timru and seabuckthorn cream to a coffee custard made with Assam beans, ending with honeyed persimmon and jambhiri lemon.
“The idea was to put Himalayan food and new-age Indian cooking on the table,” Sadhu says over a voice note, adding, “We wanted to showcase lesser-known ingredients and techniques, and through food, talk about the culture of the land. The way it was presented also reflected a new and emerging India.”
He adds that techniques such as root-to-stem cooking, seasonality, and preservation were central to the menu. “This is how India eats, especially in rural kitchens — there is minimal wastage, vegetables are seasonal, and pickles and chutneys are integral to the meal,” he points out.
The team cooked for approximately 80 guests, and the entire menu was vegetarian.
Interestingly, when Sadhu first received a call from Rashtrapati Bhavan, he assumed it was a prank. “We later realised it was legitimate,” he laughs. This was followed by a series of calls, a personal meeting, and multiple tastings at Rashtrapati Bhavan. “First, the secretary tasted everything. Once that was approved, the President herself tasted all the courses. Only then did we get the final go-ahead,” he says
The stakes, he admits, were high. “It was a very high-profile, high-pressure dinner,” says Sadhu. “It was a landmark occasion for India, and the idea was to present the country in the best way possible. Food is one of the strongest mediums to showcase culture. We were nervous, but in the end, it was a great show,” he says with a smile.
Curated by Shiv Shakti Mishra
