'A biological impossibility’: Shashi Tharoor on rasgulla vs idli row
What started as a light-hearted dessert opinion soon snowballed into a viral thread.
- May 18, 2026,
- Updated May 18, 2026 9:00 PM IST
Food debates on social media are rarely subtle. But this time, a casual comparison between rasgulla and idli turned into a theatrical defence of South Indian cuisine.
What started as a light-hearted dessert opinion soon snowballed into a viral thread.
Get ready for an eloquent linguistic assassination
The discussion began after X user named @crazyxedi posted: “Rasgulla is nothing but a idli dipped in sugar syrup. Most overrated desert oat.”
The post itself was reacting to another viral tweet by another user, who had shared photos of Bengali sweets and asked, “How do I explain the taste of Misti Doi and Nolen gurer Rosogolla to a non-bengali?”
Soon after, another X user entered the conversation with a dramatic warning invoking Tharoor.
“If Dr Shashi Tharoor found out about this statement, get ready for an eloquent linguistic assassination!” the another user wrote.
A culinary error and a biological impossibility
Responding to the viral comparison, Tharoor wrote: “Indeed! To conflate a Rasgulla with an Idli is not just a culinary error; it is a profound cosmological misunderstanding.”
The Congress MP then launched into a detailed explanation of why the two foods could not possibly be compared.
“To begin with, the comparison is practically a biological impossibility,” Tharoor noted, adding that the post was 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.
Drawing a sharp contrast between the two dishes, Tharoor added: “One is an airy, spongy lattice designed to trap light sugar syrup; the other is a dense, wholesome, steamed matrix of complex carbohydrates and proteins.”
“Their taste, consistency, structural integrity, and existential purpose share absolutely nothing in common,” he remarked.
The greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world
Tharoor’s post then transformed into an elaborate tribute to the idli itself.
“But more important, her attempt to dismiss the Idli as merely a blank canvas for sugar syrup does a grave disservice to what is arguably one of the greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world,” he wrote.
Calling idli “a masterclass in biotechnology”, Tharoor explained that creating the perfect idli involved balancing “the delicate microflora of wild fermentation over a cold night.”
He further described idli as “a savoury monolith of South Indian culinary genius”, crafted to pair with “the sharp tang of a well-spiced sambar” or “the fiery depth of a molaga-podi (gunpowder) paste”.
“To suggest an Idli would even consent to being drowned in sugar syrup is to fundamentally misunderstand its dignity,” he added.
Internet amused by Tharoor’s trademark prose
Tharoor concluded his post with one final plea, “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!”
The exchange has since gone viral, with users amused both by the original rasgulla comparison and by Tharoor turning a dessert debate into what many described as a full-fledged literary performance.
Food debates on social media are rarely subtle. But this time, a casual comparison between rasgulla and idli turned into a theatrical defence of South Indian cuisine.
What started as a light-hearted dessert opinion soon snowballed into a viral thread.
Get ready for an eloquent linguistic assassination
The discussion began after X user named @crazyxedi posted: “Rasgulla is nothing but a idli dipped in sugar syrup. Most overrated desert oat.”
The post itself was reacting to another viral tweet by another user, who had shared photos of Bengali sweets and asked, “How do I explain the taste of Misti Doi and Nolen gurer Rosogolla to a non-bengali?”
Soon after, another X user entered the conversation with a dramatic warning invoking Tharoor.
“If Dr Shashi Tharoor found out about this statement, get ready for an eloquent linguistic assassination!” the another user wrote.
A culinary error and a biological impossibility
Responding to the viral comparison, Tharoor wrote: “Indeed! To conflate a Rasgulla with an Idli is not just a culinary error; it is a profound cosmological misunderstanding.”
The Congress MP then launched into a detailed explanation of why the two foods could not possibly be compared.
“To begin with, the comparison is practically a biological impossibility,” Tharoor noted, adding that the post was 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.
Drawing a sharp contrast between the two dishes, Tharoor added: “One is an airy, spongy lattice designed to trap light sugar syrup; the other is a dense, wholesome, steamed matrix of complex carbohydrates and proteins.”
“Their taste, consistency, structural integrity, and existential purpose share absolutely nothing in common,” he remarked.
The greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world
Tharoor’s post then transformed into an elaborate tribute to the idli itself.
“But more important, her attempt to dismiss the Idli as merely a blank canvas for sugar syrup does a grave disservice to what is arguably one of the greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world,” he wrote.
Calling idli “a masterclass in biotechnology”, Tharoor explained that creating the perfect idli involved balancing “the delicate microflora of wild fermentation over a cold night.”
He further described idli as “a savoury monolith of South Indian culinary genius”, crafted to pair with “the sharp tang of a well-spiced sambar” or “the fiery depth of a molaga-podi (gunpowder) paste”.
“To suggest an Idli would even consent to being drowned in sugar syrup is to fundamentally misunderstand its dignity,” he added.
Internet amused by Tharoor’s trademark prose
Tharoor concluded his post with one final plea, “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!”
The exchange has since gone viral, with users amused both by the original rasgulla comparison and by Tharoor turning a dessert debate into what many described as a full-fledged literary performance.