New Delhi, November 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has shared her fondness for Indian cuisine, recalling how she gradually adapted to the country’s diverse food traditions after initially finding the flavours and spices unfamiliar.
Her remarks came a day after her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, was released worldwide. A video shared on her official X account on Wednesday shows her chatting with daughter and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the garden of the late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s residence at 1, Safdarjung Road.
Recalling her food preferences, Sonia Gandhi said, “I love Bengali food. Believe it or not, I love Gujarati food, from Surat.” She added that adjusting to Indian food took time because she did not know how to cook when she arrived in India, but gradually learnt to enjoy the different cuisines.
She listed kebabs, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, dal makhani, Kashmiri kofta and haakh among her favourite dishes. Priyanka Gandhi added that dal chawal was a regular part of their childhood meals. Sonia Gandhi also recalled that arhar dal had been the only variety cooked in the household since she arrived.
During the conversation, Priyanka recalled her mother preparing the Gujarati dish khaandvi for her and her brother, Rahul Gandhi, when they were children. Sonia Gandhi responded light-heartedly, “Making Khaandvi is easy”.
Priyanka also recalled that Indira Gandhi could not cook, while Sonia Gandhi said her mother-in-law nevertheless had a keen sense of how to improve a dish.
In the post accompanying the video, Sonia Gandhi linked her love for food to her personal journey with late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. “Food has always had a special place in my story. It was while looking for a good meal that I met Rajiv, and fell in love,” she wrote.
She added that India gradually became familiar to her through its food, saying, “At first the variety amazed me and the spice scared me. Now dal chawal is the taste of home, and I can’t go a day without it.”
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