A playful food comparison on X (formerly Twitter) involving rasgulla and idli ended up getting the signature Shashi Tharoor treatment: complete with grand vocabulary, food science and a passionate defence of South Indian cuisine.
The conversation started after an X user wrote, "Rasgulla is nothing but a idli dipped in sugar syrup" and called it the "most overrated desert oat".
The comment was made under a post showing mishti doi and nolen gurer rosogolla. Soon after, another user joked that if Tharoor ever came across the statement, it would lead to "an eloquent linguistic assassination".
That is exactly what followed.
If Dr Shashi Tharoor found out about this statement, get ready for an eloquent linguistic assassination! https://t.co/qEysD4hOZP
— Kanika (@DalRotiForLife) May 16, 2026
Tharoor's elaborate defence of idli and rasgulla
Replying to the viral post, Tharoor delivered a lengthy and characteristically dramatic response that instantly grabbed attention online.
"Indeed! To conflate a Rasgulla with an Idli is not just a culinary error; it is a profound cosmological misunderstanding," Tharoor wrote.
He went on to explain why the comparison made little sense from both culinary and scientific perspectives.
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"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."
Tharoor then contrasted the texture and purpose of the two dishes, describing rasgulla as "an airy, spongy lattice designed to trap light sugar syrup” while calling idli “a dense, wholesome, steamed matrix of complex carbohydrates and proteins".
Indeed! To conflate a Rasgulla with an Idli is not just a culinary error; it is a profound cosmological misunderstanding.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 17, 2026
To begin with, the comparison is practically a biological impossibility. She is comparing chhena (the delicate, squeaky, pristine curd of milk) with a… https://t.co/dwYI3p9B2S
'The Idli is a masterclass in biotechnology'
The Congress MP reserved some of his most vivid praise for the South Indian staple, turning the discussion into what many users described as an ode to idli itself.
"The Idli is not a mere "bland cake." It is a masterclass in biotechnology," he explained.
He further described the process behind making idlis as "a triumph of gut health, lightness, and nutritional balance".
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According to Tharoor, idli is "perfectly engineered to absorb the sharp tang of a well-spiced sambar or the fiery depth of a molaga-podi (gunpowder) paste infused with cold-pressed sesame oil or nutritious melted ghee".
Ending his post with another sharp line, he wrote, "To suggest an Idli would even consent to being drowned in sugar syrup is to fundamentally misunderstand its dignity.
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!"
