Venice got a lavish taste of India this week as the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre hosted an exclusive dinner celebrating the inauguration of the National Pavilion of India at the 61st International Art Exhibition. While the glamorous guest list added sparkle to the evening, it was the thoughtfully curated menu that truly stole the spotlight.
Hosted against the dreamy backdrop of Venice’s iconic waterways on May 7, the evening beautifully brought together Indian heritage with Italian flair through art, hospitality, and of course, food. Businessman and columnist Suhel Seth also shared glimpses from the celebration on Instagram, calling it "a fabulous sit-down dinner" hosted by the NMACC.
Take a look:
Inside the Italian-Indian inspired feast with Ambani family
The menu was designed as a tribute to both India and Italy, combining regional Indian flavours with refined European touches. According to the menu shared by Seth, the meal began with a unique fusion appetiser, featuring petit pois kachori paired with creamy Puglian stracciatella cheese and a tangy Jamnagar mango relish.
But the true highlight was the grand Indian thali that followed, presenting a spread celebrating the diversity of Indian home-style cooking. Guests were served comforting dishes like aloo petha sabzi cooked with aromatic five-spice seasoning, rich saag paneer topped with freshly churned white butter, crispy kurkuri bhindi, and classic yellow dal tadka.
The luxurious menu also featured morrel and saffron pulao, infused with prized mushrooms and fragrant saffron, alongside cooling Rajasthani dahi bada. A selection of traditional chutneys, including garlic, coriander-mint, and even a unique guava chutney, added extra bursts of flavour to the meal.
For non-vegetarian guests, the dinner served nostalgic railway station chicken curry, flavourful adraki lamb korma, and baingan ka salan. Fresh Indian breads, including poori, naan kulcha, khapli wheat roti, and tikori, accompanied the feast.
The carefully curated dining experience was completed with premium wines and champagne, including Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne Brut and Marchesi Antinori Badia a Passignano 2019.
