Story Content

The linguistic virtuoso MP Shashi Tharoor gave another artistic performance at a place now viral as a user played him off by commenting that 'Rasgulla is just "Idli dipped in sugar syrup" and that it is the most overrated dessert.

Tharoor replied, "Indeed! It is not simply a culinary mix-up to make a rasgulla and an idli the same dish; it's more of a cosmological blunder.

He carefully explained that the basic difference is that rasgulla is prepared from thin, fresh cheese (chhena), while idli is made from a batter prepared by fermenting both parboiled rice and urad dal. Tharoor hailed idli as "a masterclass in biotechnology"—a "sanguine monolith of South Indian culinary genius" that makes for tasty sambar, molaga-podi, and ghee.

He believed it to be a complete insult to its dignity to suggest an idli would "consent to being drowned in sugar syrup. " It would be better if people could discuss Rasgulla on its merits of being “spongy and sweet" rather than “the majesty of the fermentation and steaming of the Idli," said Tharoor.

The post recorded thousands of likes and got whopping views as people celebrated Tharoor for his knack of not allowing a mere food troll to interfere with celebrating the Indian food culture. As ever, Tharoor showed himself to be unsurpassed for the witty intellectuals who take to social media.