New Delhi: As the country is all set to welcome the New Year, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is ending the year 2023 on the sweetest note. The Wayanad MP celebrated the last day of the year by cooking orange marmalade his mother Sonia Gandhi's favourite 'jam' at home with freshly plucked fruit from their kitchen garden.
The recipe belongs to Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. As he said Priyanka has perfected the recipe over time and now it's his turn to fill these delightful jars of joy.
Rahul Gandhi uploaded the process of making the marmalade in a five-minute video titled “Mum, Memories and Marmalade” on his YouTube channel under the banner of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress also shared the video on their official X handle with a caption: "From plucking and peeling the fruits to making the jam, Smt. Sonia ji and Rahul Gandhi ji take a trip down memory lane. Watch them mastering the art of homemade Orange Marmalade."
The video begins with Rahul and Sonia walking to their kitchen garden, carrying a wicker basket to gather fruits.
"Mum, why do you have to cut it anyway? Why can't you just pluck it?" Rahul Gandhi said as he cut the fruit from its stalks in the garden.
"They have to be absolutely ripe," Sonia Gandhi said. "Actually, this is Priyanka's recipe," she added.
Before starting with the recipe the video informs, "Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice of peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water, The well-known version is made from bitter orange marmalade. Today, let's make some orange marmalade.
Both came inside the kitchen and started the cooking process by giving the fruits a good wash, peeling, slicing, and squeezing the oranges to make jam.
As Rahul Gandhi started cooking he said, "It's my sister's recipe. So this is not mine, but my sister's recipe. She found it and improved it. And I'm just implementing it. This is my mother's favourite jam, that's a fact."
Watch video here:
Rahul Gandhi offers jam to BJP
"If BJP people want to get the jam, they can get it too. What do you say, mummy?" Rahul Gandhi said as he stirred a yellow mash of fruit pulp and sugar inside an aluminum vessel in low flame.
"They will throw it at us," Sonia Gandhi replied, and both broke out in laughter. "That's good, then we can pick it up again," said Rahul.
In a five-minute video, Sonia also shares what annoys her about Rahul. “He is stubborn; I am as well. Both of us are stubborn. So, you can understand,” she said.
On what she likes about him, Sonia said, “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’s mother.
“Then she learnt a whole bunch of things from Dadi’s (Indira Gandhi) Kashmiri relatives,” he added.
Sonia Gandhi on how she learned to adjust to Indian dishes
Talking about food preferences, Sonia Gandhi said, “When an Indian person goes abroad, I am not talking of today because there are Indian restaurants everywhere, you cannot adjust to the food in the UK and elsewhere.
Sonia Gandhi also recounted how she adapted to Indian cuisine several decades ago. "Similarly, when I came here, it took me time to adjust to the Indian flavours, especially the chilies,” she said.
Sonia says she did not like “hara dhaniya” (cilantro), to which Rahul quips that she likes it a lot now. 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 I have to have when I come back is arhar ki daal aur rice,” Sonia added.
Rahul Gandhi talks about cooking, food and Gandhiji
"When I was studying in England and when I was working in England that's when I started to learn this stuff. I had no choice. I had to figure it out myself. That's when I learned. So I know a couple of things, so if I need then I can cook," said Rahul Gandhi.
In the video, Rahul also talks about how Mahatma Gandhi had a particular vision about food and had a set of nutritional ideas.
"A huge amount of political fight has been about food. Gandhiji had a particular vision about food. Vegetarian, goat milk and he had a set of nutritional ideas. I also have a set of nutritional ideas slightly different than Gandhiji’s," he added.
The video concludes with the finished marmalade neatly stored in jars, each adorned with a tag that reads "With love from Sonia and Rahul," indicating their intention to share the homemade treat with friends and family.
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