New Delhi (Sputnik) — It all started with a handful of news reports that the Indian government was preparing to declare Khichdi as the national dish of India during the World Food India Congress 2017 that started in New Delhi on Friday.
Soon after that, #Khichdi started trending on twitter. A user even bestowed the acronym MODI (the most outstanding delicacy of India) to khichdi.
Khichdi is MODI — Most Outstanding Delicacy of India
— Venkronym Naidu (@VenkronymNaidu) 1 ноября 2017 г.
Khichdi is like Rahul Dravid. Never flashy or flamboyant, but it's the only thing that will rescue you when you are ill & few wickets down.
— Roflindian (@Roflindian) 1 ноября 2017 г.
How much #Khichdi is too much Khichdi? Apparently, there is nothing called too much Khichdi… just look at the sheer variety we have… pic.twitter.com/VJVFGm9mAk
— News18 (@CNNnews18) 3 ноября 2017 г.
Some even posted cartoons on the subject.
Anti-national food? #Khichdi #cartoon pic.twitter.com/OFhlZhCwdE
— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) 3 ноября 2017 г.
'Khichdi' is also used as a figure of speech suggesting 'hotchpotch' in many Indian cultures. Therefore, many twitter users took the opportunity to lash out at the government for making 'khichdi' of the country’s governance.
I don't know what should be the national food or not but Modi Govt has definitely made a khichdi of the economy.
— Krishan Partap Singh (@RaisinaSeries) 1 ноября 2017 г.
First GST redux on KHAKRA & now #Khichdi as National Dish! How about replacing cow as party symbol? That would be groundbreaking!! pic.twitter.com/77mk1g9KCQ
— Athif 🇮🇳 (@Athif) 1 ноября 2017 г.
As the situation around the dish got out of control, India’s Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal issued a clarification that the government was not planning anything like that. She described the news reports as "fictitious." She informed that the government was only planning to promote khichdi as 'Brand India Food' at the World Food India Congress, considering the fact that it is one dish that is popular across India with different nomenclatures.
Delighted to inaugurate @worldfoodindia, a vibrant platform that brings together stakeholders of the food sector from across the world. pic.twitter.com/QKp1Qdjoey
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 3 ноября 2017 г.
Organizers of the event are planning to prepare 800 kilograms of Khichdi in a 7 feet high utensil. The dish will be prepared by renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor who has been roped in as a brand ambassador of the Great India Food Street for the three-day event that kicked off on Friday. The event is organized by India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industry.
