When Barack Obama Revealed He Could Cook Dal & Keema Thanks To His College Friends

For those who didn't know this yet, yes, Barack Obama can cook Indian food. In fact, the former US President makes excellent dal and keema, something he spoke about again recently. While talking about his fascination for India in his latest book, 'A Promised Land', Obama expressed how he has always had a special place for India in his heart.

Also read: Barack Obama On Rahul Gandhi In His Book: Student Eager To Impress But Lacks Aptitude

NPR

His book mentions how he was always interested in Eastern religions, and a group of Pakistani and Indian college friends taught him how to cook dal and keema. Apparently, they also made him watch Bollywood films, writes Obama.

Also read: Barack Obama Feels Social Media Is Dividing People, Not Bringing Us Together

Reddit

He also mentioned that he had never been to India before his Presidential visit in 2010 but the country had 'always held a special place in my imagination'. He owed it to the fact that he spent a part of his childhood in Indonesia where he grew up listening to the epic Hindu tales of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

He had revealed that he could cook a mean dal and keema back in 2017 during an interview in Delhi when he had travelled to India. He had also jokingly said that he was probably the first US President who has the recipe for dal. He added that while his keema is excellent, his chicken is okay. Also, he finds it incredibly hard to make rotis. We all do, Mr Obama, we all do.

Back in 2013, during a meeting with former Pakistan Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, he had also said that he learnt how to cook dal and keema from a Pakistani friend's mother.

He had said, "I shared with him (Sharif) that I had the opportunity, back in 1980 when I was a very young man, to visit Pakistan because I had two Pakistani roommates in college whose mothers taught me how to cook dal and keema, and other very good Pakistani food."

Also read: 'Leaders Are Not Even Pretending To Be In Charge' - Barack Obama Slams US Government For Not Handling Coronavirus Crisis Properly

Twitter

In 'A Promised Land', Mr. Obama gives an account of his journey from the 2008 election campaign to the end of his first term with the daring Abbottabad (Pakistan) raid that killed al-Qaeda Chief Osama bin Laden.

'A Promised Land' is the first of two planned volumes. The first part hit bookstores globally on Tuesday.