Shashi Tharoor
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, often known for his sophisticated English and witty social media exchanges, has once again grabbed attention, this time for his humorous take on an unusual way of eating idli.The discussion began after an X user shared photo of an idli cut into slices and asked, “Rate my idli cutting skills.”Responding to the post, Tharoor quipped that the user appeared to have brought software engineering logic into the kitchen.Sharing the post on X, Tharoor wrote, “This is what happens when a software engineer gets into the kitchen and tries to partition the data! It’s called ‘idli’, not ‘id-slice’. No one eats idlis this way, unless they’re Italian and mistake it for pizza. (But don’t try putting sambar on pizza, ok?)” This is not the first time Tharoor has weighed in on a culinary debate on social media.Earlier, he became part of a viral discussion after an X user claimed that “Rasgulla is nothing but an idli dipped in sugar syrup” and described the Bengali sweet as the “most overrated dessert.”Responding to the comparison, Tharoor launched a detailed and humorous defence of the iconic South Indian dish.”Indeed! To conflate a Rasgulla with an Idli is not just a culinary error; it is a profound cosmological misunderstanding,” he wrote. Explaining why the comparison was flawed, Tharoor said the two foods belonged to entirely different culinary worlds.”To begin with, the comparison is practically a biological impossibility. She is comparing chhena (the delicate, squeaky, pristine curd of milk) with a meticulously fermented batter of parboiled rice and black gram (urad dal). Their compositions are from entirely different kingdoms,” he wrote.Calling idli “one of the greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world,” Tharoor praised the science behind its preparation and described it as a “savoury monolith of South Indian culinary genius.”He said that while people were free to debate rasgullas on their own merits, they should leave idlis out of such comparisons.”If this lady finds Rasgullas overrated, argue that on the merits of their sponginess or sweetness. But please, leave the noble, perfectly fermented, steamed majesty of the Idli out of your dessert-table polemics, ma’am!” Tharoor wrote.
