NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has once again come to the defence of the “noble idli,” this time weighing in on a viral social media post that declared “chai and idli” to be the “best combination to ever exist.”Responding to the post on X, the Thiruvananthapuram MP offered a detailed and characteristically witty critique of the pairing, making it clear that while he loves both chai and idli, he prefers to enjoy them separately.“Oh, I see what you’re doing here! Aside from provoking me, that is,” Tharoor wrote on X.Taking issue with the idli shown in the photograph, he said, “I have to be honest: that idli looks a bit too solid and dense for my liking. And the discolouration in the pic is not very appetising.”“There’s something about a perfectly soft, snowy-white, fluffy idli that just can’t be beaten. This one looks likely to be chewy and rubbery. Not an A-grade idli,” he added.Though describing himself as a “massive chai fan,” Tharoor argued that the two items should not be mixed.“I’m a massive chai fan myself, but I’ve always been a firm believer in the ‘separate but equal’ policy: I prefer my chai alongside or after eating, rather than dunking anything in it,” he said.“Anyway, a truly good, soft idli would probably just dissolve in the hot chai and ruin it, whereas a ‘dunkable’ idli would be too rubbery for my taste and not worth eating,” he added explaining why he believes dunking an idli into tea defeats the purpose of a good idli.Summing up his position, he said, “I say keep the chai in the cup and the idli on the plate, they’re both better off that way!”The discussion continued in the comments section, where users suggested alternative ways to enjoy idli. Responding to one such comment, Tharoor said, “I think of those too, most of the time! Plus molagapodi with ghee. And don’t forget Palakkadan ulli-sammandhi!”Another user jokingly urged him to intervene, writing, “Sir invoke your RS powers and stop such blasphemous acts on Idli, Dosa and Vada. Enough is enough.”Tharoor replied with a clarification and a touch of humour saying, “What RS powers? I have always been an elected member of the Lok Sabha. And as a true liberal, I don’t believe in blasphemy or in outlawing things I don’t like. I can express disagreement without wanting to impose a ban on anyone or anything.”This isn’t the first time Tharoor has weighed in on matters concerning the humble idli on social media.

Rasgulla vs idli

Earlier this year, the Congress leader drew attention after responding to a viral post that compared rasgulla to idli, claiming, “Rasgulla is nothing but a idli dipped in sugar syrup” and calling the Bengali sweet the “most overrated dessert.”Tharoor’s reply quickly went viral. “Indeed! To conflate a Rasgulla with an Idli is not just a culinary error; it is a profound cosmological misunderstanding,” he wrote on X.“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 said.Praising the science behind the South Indian staple, he described idli as “one of the greatest engineering marvels of the culinary world” and “a masterclass in biotechnology.”“The Idli is not a mere ‘bland cake.’ It is a masterclass in biotechnology. To achieve the perfect Idli is to balance the delicate microflora of wild fermentation over a cold night, resulting in a steamed cloud that is a triumph of gut health, lightness, and nutritional balance,” he stated.Calling it a “savoury monolith of South Indian culinary genius,” Tharoor argued that the dish was designed to complement sambar, molaga-podi and ghee, not sugar syrup. “To suggest an Idli would even consent to being drowned in sugar syrup is to fundamentally misunderstand its dignity,” he remarked.