‘It's idli, not id-slice’: Times when Shashi Tharoor went viral for defending his ‘noble idli’
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has gone viral once again for defending the southern Indian dish, idli. From comparing it to rasgullas to dipping it in chai, Tharoor has dismissed all “culinary errors” subjected towards his beloved idli.
Shashi Tharoor goes viral for defending idlis!
Congress senior leader Shashi Tharoor has become the unofficial advocate for “idli”. Known for his sophisticated English and witty exchanges, he’s going viral for defending his favourite idlis from being sliced.
Don’t mistake idli for a pizza
On Monday (June 8), reacting to an X post with a picture of idlis cut into slices captioned “rate my idli cutting skills”, Tharoor quipped, “It’s called idli, not id-slice”. He joked that “This is what happens when a software engineer gets into the kitchen and tries to partition the data!” before adding that no one eats sliced idlis, unless “they’re Italian and mistake it for pizza”.
Tharoor’s deep passion for idli
Tharoor, Member of Parliament (MP) for Thiruvananthapuram, is very passionate about the idli, a savoury rice cake traditionally relished in southern India. Equipped with his impeccable vocabulary and in-depth knowledge about the “idli”, he’s come to the defence of his beloved dish multiple times on social media.
Tharoor ‘provoked’ by unusual combination
Just a day before his “id-slice” tweet, Tharoor had a witty critique for a woman who called chai and idli the “best combination to ever exist”. He said he was “provoked” by the combo before disparaging the idli in the photo as not “A-grade”. He described it as “a bit too solid and dense”, “chewy and rubbery” and “not very appetising”. “Keep the chai in the cup and the idli on the plate—they’re both better off that way!” Tharoor concluded.
Rasgulla is ‘idli dipped in syrup’
In May, Tharoor “linguistically assassinated” a user who called rasgulla “idli dipped in syrup”. He called the comparison a “profound cosmological misunderstanding” and went on to write a huge response detailing the differences in ingredients, texture and composition between the two Indian dishes. He then called the idli “one of the greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world” owing to the precision in its making. “Please, leave the noble, perfectly fermented, steamed majesty of the Idli out of your dessert-table polemics, ma'am!”, Tharoor concluded.
Idli: A Beethoven symphony
Another X user was found in hot water with Tharoor after calling the idli “steamed regret”. “Poor soul has clearly never had a good one”, reacted Tharoor and compared the idli to “A Beethoven symphony, a Tagore sangeet, a Husain painting, a Tendulkar century”.
Tharoor’s love for idli
A social media favourite, Shashi Tharoor, clearly takes his idlis very seriously. Apart from jumping to protect the dish from any critique or “culinary error”, he has confessed his deep love for the dish on multiple occasions. The diplomat-turned-politician marked “World Idli Day” by saying that every day is an idli day for him.
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