NEW DELHI: Excess energy among Members of Parliament gets translated into loud protests or keen debates during the morning session of Parliament. It’s only the second half that often turns out to be drab, and well sleepy. As it turns out, the problem is not with the long winding speeches of their fellow MPs, but the fat-laden heavy lunches served in Parliament’s highly subsidised canteens.
The iconic Parliament canteens are aiming for a makeover—lean and healthy food is on the menu, which doesn’t just put the MPs to sleep but also not let them gain some weight. On the menu likely to find place are items like pesarattu and moong dal dosa—said to be nutritious. Also ensuring that taste is not compromised, veg and non-veg shikhampuri kebabs and flavoured Bengal gram, among others, are also on the cards. Diet Coke will be another new entrant in the menu while famed Hyderabadi biryani and tandoori roti is already being served.
The idea is to provide a working lunch menu in the canteens which is light, fresh, digestible and tasty. The new menu will not just ensure MPs remain in pink of health but would also help in avoiding scenes of parliamentarians dozing inside House while proceedings are on in afternoons.
Lok Sabha Food Committee (LSFC) is also working out plans to hold an open house in Parliament annex during the session to seek suggestions on food from MPs. While the dates are still being worked out, committee Chairman A P Jithender Reddy has invited his Rajya Sabha counterpart to get views from both the Houses before making further changes in the menu.
“We are trying to have an open MP session in Parliament house annex to take their suggestions on food in our canteens. We want Parliament canteens to be able to provide working lunches to members. We would like to give a good, healthy and a digestible food and it should be a little light so that MPs don’t fall asleep in the house after eating,” said Reddy, TRS MP from Mahbubnagar and a foodie himself.
Cooks from Parliament canteens managed by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation are being sent for specialised training at famous eating joints to hone up their culinary skills. Four cooks have just come back after training at Hyderabad’s famed Nizam Club. Next in the line is to learn coconut chutney at Saravana Bhavan, one of the largest vegetarian restaurant chains and pesarattu at Andhra Bhavan kitchen.
Hygiene and quality also top Reddy’s agenda. He has ensured that cutlery and plates in canteens come in wrapped packets. Mini water bottles are also being provided in canteens instead of water kept in glasses.
“Many MPs have informally given suggestions on food, and most of them want the food to be hot and cooked hygienically. Hyderabadi biryani has been appreciated by one and all and in days to come more options will be made available to them,” said Reddy, calling himself almost an expert in catering after taking over as LS food committee chief.
During the Budget Session in July, Rajya Sabha MPs led by Jaya Bachchan had complained of stale food being served in Parliament. She along with her party MP Ram Gopal Yadav had fallen sick after eating the canteen food. Since then efforts have been made to improve the quality of food provided in the canteens. Cooked food is brought from outside and served in canteens as cooking in Parliament has been prohibited by fire department.
Efforts are also on to make the Parliament kitchen functional again. It was shut in 2012 by then Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar after fire department denied clearance. Now an agreement has been reached with Archeological Survey of India following efforts by present Speaker Sumitra.