Joe Biden receives PM Modi at White House with exquisite delicacies

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on June 22. 

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan were also present at the private dinner. 
Modi presented a handcrafted sandalwood box to President Joe Biden as an official gift and a 7.5 carat eco-friendly green diamond to the First Lady. 

The sandalwood contained a silver idol of Lord Ganesha, a diya (oil lamp) and ‘Das Danam’- donations made when a person becomes ‘Drishta Sahasrachandro’ or the one who has seen one thousand full moons after completing the age of 80 years and eight months. 

He also gifted a copy of the first edition print of the book ‘The Ten Principal Upanishads’.

However, the Bidens presented Modi with a handmade, antique American book gallery. 

He was also gifted a vintage American camera, a hardcover book of American wildlife photography and a signed, first-edition copy of ‘Collected Poems of Robert Frost’. 

The dinner that was hosted by the first couple for Modi was inspired by the national bird peacock, the décor signified the tricolor.  

The White House staff created a “stunning vegetarian menu”, while the guests had the option to add fish to the main course as well. 

First course: Marinated millet, grilled corn kernel salad, compressed watermelon, tangy avocado sauce.

Main course: Stuffed portobello mushrooms, creamy saffron-infused risotto, sumac roasted sea bass, lemon-dill yogurt sauce, crisped millet cakes, summer squashes.

Also read: PM Modi to lead unique yoga session in New York on International Day of Yoga