The Internet yesterday went haywire reacting to a rumour about Khichdi being identified as the National Dish, which proved to be untrue. People on twitter and other social media websites were totally opposed to the idea of the comfort food (made out of rice and lentils) being classified as our National Dish.
Prabhakar Thakur, a post-graduate student says, “I don’t like khichdi. Back home, maa used to cook khichdi for lunch every Saturday. I just hated it and ate it very slow. It really was tasteless. But, growing up, my taste buds have got more comfortable with khichdi. Having said that, I would still not eat it on days other than Saturday.”
Pallabi Sutar
Whereas, Pallabi Sutar, a graphic designer, who loves khichdi says, “It is absolutely a comfort food for me and in no way is it is bland or a good-for- the-sick- days kind of food.”-
Nikita Katragada
Taste buds definitely differs for everyone. Nikita Katragada, a student, prefer momos to khichdi. She says, “Its light, soft and steamed which makes it yummy while khichdi is on the healthy side. But, anyday, I would choose momos over khichdi.” Since, the world has gotten into the habit of eating fusion cuisine, same goes for khichdi which can be cooked in many different ways.
Shalini Paul
Shalini Paul who is a food enthusiast talks about the blandness of khichdi but says that, “Now there are so many ways to make it tasty and nice. You can either make it a little spicy or add some vegetable or meat of your choice to add a bit flavour to it.”
Shalini says that at any time of the day she would be happier to eat “fried rice and chicken fry,” instead of khichdi. For many youngsters across India, instant food like Cup-noodles is identified as comfort food. Jenniffer Shankar who is a Hindi-major, calls herself a cup-noodles freak who yearns for it even when she is unwell. So we asked these youngsters what would they like to nominate for a National Dish?
Prabhakar
Prabhakar thinks that, “there are way too many better contenders if we really need one. India has been known for its spices too. Even poori-sabji can be the national food. It is eaten everywhere including South India. In Karnataka its called poori-saagu.” While Christopher Thomas, an engineering graduate thinks that “Biryani could be a better substitute for khichdi,” and vouches for it to be the National Dish.
