Believe it or not: Truffles were served at an Indian durbar in 1897

Imagine being invited to dinner in India in 1897 and being handed a menu that reads like a Paris hotel flex. Historian Neha Vermani uncovered a royal card from the Maharaja of Baroda’s banquet for the Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior — and it featured truffles, mayonnaise, partridge, artichokes, curry with rice and pistachio ice cream. The ultimate plot twist? It now lives in a US archive. Time travel, but plated.

Royal food time capsule
Guests tucked into almond custard, truffled chicken soup, braised fish in mayonnaise, Italian-style lamb cutlets and roast partridge with peas. Yes, this was a palace dinner in colonial-era India, not a European cruise buffet.

Fusion before it was cool
Between all the French swagger sat Curry de Macédoine de Légumes et Riz (translation: vegetable stew and rice), followed by apples in cream and pistachio ice cream. Royal chefs were blending continents before Instagram could invent the word.
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