New Delhi, Oct. 27: A Bengal flavour is wafting in from the most delicious culinary conundrum of recent times: whether a special “Obama menu” will include a fish delicacy soaked in the state’s traditions.

The chefs at Delhi’s ITC Maurya, where US President Barack Obama, wife Michelle and their entourage will stay on November 7 and 8, are tight-lipped, though fish and prawns are certainties on the menu.

The hotel boasts Bukhara, the northwest cuisine restaurant which had served Bill Clinton the “President’s Platter” during his visit in 2000.

But sources say given Obama’s weakness for dal and chapati — something he is said to have learnt to cook from a Pakistani roommate while in college — it could be Dum Pukht, Maurya’s Indian cuisine joint, that may set the tongues wagging this time.

“Obama may also sample Dum Pukht fare,” said a source about the under-renovation restaurant known for its dum aloo and kakori kebab.

But the tasting will go hand in hand with testing: the Royal Presidential floor, on the 14th storey, will have a microbiological lab.

The Obamas will stay among M.F. Husain and Krishan Khanna paintings. They will have the entire floor, not just a suite, to themselves, with dedicated elevators, a videoconferencing room and even a library. The entire hotel of 440 rooms has been booked.

The US secret service has briefed the hotel staff on the dos and don’ts. “Unlike most other Delhi star hotels which are a single block, the Maurya has three wings with separate entry and exits, making it a preferred hotel for top foreign dignitaries,” said an official.