Mamallapuram, 12 October, 2019: A traditional south Indian spread, including the trademark sambhar, was part of the menu for Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping on Friday when the Indian prime minister hosted the Chinese president for dinner on their first day of their second informal meet here.

The prime minister also gifted traditional Tamil articles to the Chinese president. 

According to available information, the two leaders were treated to a sumptuous dinner, comprising sambhar, a mouth-watering south Indian recipe made of lentils and also a favourite of the Tamils, besides other delicacies.

'Arachu vitta Sambhar', prepared from grounded lentils, certain spices and coconut to make it tastier was touted to be the key attraction in the menu.

The meal included 'thakkali rasam,' made of tomato and 'imli' and 'kadalai (chick pea, generally) korma', besides halwa as the premier dessert, besides Ada pradhaman, a Kerala dessert.

Further, the dinner hosted for Xi included non-vegetarian dishes made of lobster, chicken and mutton. 

Earlier, Modi presented a Nachiyarkoil Annam lamp and a Thanjavur painting to XI.

Modi and Xi kicked off their two-day informal summit on Friday, the second one after the Wuhan edition last year, at this coastal town located about 50 km from Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai.

The two leaders had earlier visited three heritage sites housing historical monuments at Arjuna's Penance, Pancha Rathas and the shore temple, all key landmarks of this quaint town.