India, Sept. 22 -- What India serves its guests at official tables has drawn fresh interest since the recent BRICS dinner became a political controversy, and a new book on the prime ministers' tables shows the menu has reflected each prime minister's tastes and politics since Jawaharlal Nehru set out to "Indianise" state banquets.

"Why can't you give them biryani?" Indira Gandhi asked when a turkey roast appeared on the draft menu for the 1983 Commonwealth summit, chef Sudhir Sibal, then at Hyderabad House, recalls in the book. The kitchen obliged.

The Prime Minister's Table: Delicacies & Diplomacies from the Era of Nehru to Modi, by journalists Purabi Shridhar and Sanghita Singh, draws on over seven years of interviews with families, f...