‘Truffle and artichokes’: 1897 royal dinner menu for Maharajas of Gwalior and Baroda stuns netizens

In India, food is not just a means of satisfying hunger. It is memory, identity, geography and prise served up with a steam fo flavour and fragrance in a plate. Thus, when a royal dinner menu from 1897 surfaced on the internet, people expected to find Mughlai chicken, kesari pulaos and kheer or gulabjamuns. However, the course for a dinner between the Maharaja of Gwalior and the Maharaja of Baroda has revealed just how much colonisation influenced the Indian culture.

A love for ‘French’ delicacies

Neha Vermani, a historian of Early Modern South Asia, Food, Material recently took to X to share pictures of a menu for the dinner between the two royal kings. The menu which opens with a royal emblem revealed the place of dinner to be ‘Laxami Vilas Palace’ with the date being ‘31-1-97’ on ‘Sunday’ at ‘7:30 PM’.

A feast written in French

What really piques the interest and makes one pause and read is the menu in itself. The courses, from soups to dessert appear in French rather than English or any other Indian language. The dishes are:

• ‘Potage d’ Amandes.
• Poisson Braise sauce Mayonnaise.
• Crème de Volaille truffes.
• Cotelettes de mouton a l Italienne.
• Selle de perdreau rotie aux Petits Pois.
• Fonds d’ artichauts a la demi-glace.
• Curry de Macedoine de Legumes et Ris.
• Pommes a la crème.
• Glace de Pistachoo’

A note accompanying the menu revealed the dinner was in honour of the Maharaja Scindiya of Gwalior hosted by the Maharaja of Baroda. ‘Jan. 31. 1897 Dinner in honour of the Maharaja Scindiya of Gawalior, India, by the Maharaja of Baroda’ read the note.

In the comments, Vermani revealed that the photos of the menu had been sourced from an archive located in the USA. The dishes include an almond soup, braised fish, chicken with truffles, Italian mutton chops, roasted partridge, artichoke bottoms, vegetable curry with rice, baked apples with cream and pistachio ice cream.

Social media reactions

The historian also noted in the caption how one would not expect a 19th-century dinner to include an entirely French menu with even the names typed in the language.

“Not what you’d expect a 19th-century dinner hosted by the Maharaja of Baroda for the Maharaja of Gwalior to look or taste like, featuring truffles, artichokes, and way too many fancy French names & stuff,” she wrote in the caption.

Other people in the comments were also surprised by the menu, noting how imagining a dinner back in 1897 felt ‘antique’ and ‘ancient’. For them, the idea of truffles and artichokes being served at a dinner in 1897 seems mind-boggling.

“Feels anachronistic (to me, at least) but on further thought these royal folks had the means to experience the world (even in 1897). Might also be a bit of a “flex” (as the kids say)” wrote a user on X.

“Colonial hangover in culinary list!” quipped another.

“31-1-97 always meant 1997 for me. 1897 is beyond my imagination” responded another.

Why French food?

French cuisine gained global prominence in the 17th century but became a norm for international dining in the 19th and 20th centuries. Aristocratic banquets and dinners followed the French culinary structure and hosting a dinner with the country’s menu was a sign of modernity, sophistication and participation in global court culture.

As one of the netizens noted in the comments, Indian kings were well-travelled across the world and hired continental chefs or trained khansamas to cook for these dinners aimed at diplomacy and prestige.

Baroda, ruled by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, was a state known for its progression, reform and cosmopolitan taste. The ruler propagated education, connections and architecture. His royal palace, Laxmi Vilas Palace, was actually among the first buildings and private residences in the world to feature a hydraulic, electric-powered lift.

The Indo-French connection

Though the British left a humongous footprint of colonial power in the subcontinent, France was also a powerful coloniser that affected the Indian culture.

From Pondicherry and Chandernagore, they influenced everything from intellectual exchange to culinary life. To date, their architecture, food and heritage find representation in India.

By the 1890s serving ‘a la francaise’ dinner was more of an elite engagement than a peculiar program. What surprises and probably satiates the modern viewers, is the current decolonisation of the menu, as referenced by a netizen who wrote: “successful decolonisation of the menu is now a reality”

However, it is interesting to remember that while Indian culture was influenced in culinary creations, the French cooked these dishes at home with spices delivered from the South Asian sub-continent. Serving as a reminder that cultural exchanges worked in both directions, ubiquitously.