Consumed in Space: Rajma Chawal, Moong Dal Halwa
Sunita Williams was the first astronaut to eat samosas and fish curry in space, and Shubhanshu Shukla has expanded the list of Indian dishes consumed in space to include rajma chawal, moong dal halwa, and Jaipuri mixed vegetables.
Shukla, a 39-year-old Lucknow native, was the mission pilot on last month’s Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station. He was part of a crew that included commander Peggy Whitson (USA) and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary).
The mission was a joint effort of NASA, SpaceX, and ISRO, with India paying more than $60 million for Shukla’s seat. He became the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station and the second Indian in orbit, after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma.
The Axiom-4 mission was scheduled to launch on June 8 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule. The mission was expected to last about 14 days.
A pilot for the Indian Air Force since 2006, Shukla has been training as an astronaut since 2020, including basic training in Russia. Prior to the Axiom-4 mission, he underwent eight months of rigorous training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
While in space, Shukla conducted food and nutrition-related experiments, including the impact of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae—a high-potential, nutrient-rich food source.
And of course, he was able to confirm that rajma chawal is just as tasty in space as it is on Earth.
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Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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