Pratibha Patil at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial on Wednesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, July 25: Rashtrapati Bhavan’s family kitchen crackled back to life today after five years — proof that the new President is here to savour her term.

When President Pratibha Patil and her family of nine — husband Devi Singh Shekhawat, their son and daughter, their spouses and four grandchildren — moved in, the first signs of change came in the culinary shake-up.

The spartan idli-sambar and thayeer sadam (curd rice), bachelor A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s staples, will have to pale in favour of the spicier uttappam and daal, two items Pratibha is known to be fond of.

Udupi purists wouldn’t approve of the accompaniment, but the President’s chefs have to serve what the boss wants.

Despite the apparent differences in their food habits and tastes, both Pratibha and Kalam are vegetarians.

The changeover won’t end at the palate purge. New faces will emerge in the retinue of the President’s aides. Christy Leon Fernandez, a 1973 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre and Union tourism secretary, has been named Pratibha’s secretary. He replaces P.M. Nair, another Malayali. Kalam’s two joint secretaries, A.K. Mangotra and Barun Mitra, are also expected to be shifted.

One official, Satish Mathur, a director in the presidential secretariat, was sent back to his parent cadre today.

But the five male ADCs (aides-de-camp) attached to Kalam could stay on. There is no mention so far of bringing in women in these positions. As governor of Rajasthan, Pratibha’s two ADCs were men.

One man almost certain to be replaced is M.K. Khan, Kalam’s media secretary. The names of Anil Saxena and Archana Dutta, both information service officials who were present at Pratibha’s swearing-in today, are in the air.