Whenever former Congress president Sonia Gandhi goes abroad there is one dish she craves for immediately upon her return and that is 'arhar ki daal' and 'chawal'.
Sonia Gandhi shared her food preferences in a video released (external link) on New Year's eve on Rahul Gandhi's YouTube channel, and in it, both are seen making orange marmalade following a recipe of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
In the video titled 'Mum, Memories and Marmalade', the mother-son duo of Sonia and Rahul are seen having a light-hearted banter about food.
While preparing the marmalade, Rahul Gandhi says, "If the BJP people want to get the jam, they can get it too. What do you say, mummy?"
"They will throw it at us," Sonia Gandhi quips, evoking laughter from Rahul, who adds, "That's good, then we can pick it up again."
As he goes about preparing the marmalade from scratch by plucking oranges to peeling and slicing them, Rahul says, "This is my sister's recipe, she found it and improved it. I am only implementing it."
In the over five-minute video, Sonia Gandhi also shares what annoys her about Rahul.
"He is stubborn, I am as well. Both of us are stubborn. So you can understand," she says.
On what she likes about him, Sonia Gandhi says, "He is very affectionate, very caring. Especially when I am not well, both Rahul and Priyanka take care of me."
On who is the best cook in the house, Rahul says it was Sonia Gandhi's mother.
"Then she learnt a whole bunch of things from dadi's Kashmiri relatives," he adds.
Talking about food preferences, Sonia Gandhi says, "When an Indian person goes abroad, I am not talking of today because there are Indian restaurants everywhere...You cannot get adjusted to the foods in the UK and elsewhere."
"Similarly, when I came here it took me time to get adjusted to the Indian flavours especially the chilies," she says
Sonia Gandhi says she did not like 'hara dhaniya', to which Rahul quips but now she likes it a lot.
She also did not like pickles but now she likes pickles a lot, Rahul says.
"It took me a little time but now I really love it. Whenever I go abroad, the first thing that I have to have when I come back is 'arhar ki daal aur chawal'," Sonia Gandhi says.
In the video, Rahul Gandhi also talks about how Mahatma Gandhi had a particular vision about food and had a set of nutritional ideas.
"I also have nutritional ideas slightly different from Gandhi ji's," he says.
The video ends with the marmalade ready in jars and tagged 'with love from Sonia and Rahul' ready for being sent to friends and family.
