Food is one of Indian culture's most integral parts, one that every citizen prides themselves over. The spices, flavours, and sheer diversity that we bring to the table are unbeatable. So it is natural that when someone criticises our food, it won't be taken well. Especially if the criticism is not even based on correct facts.
Such is the incident that took place when Gene Weingarten, an American columnist in one of his pieces for The Washington Post wrote that he hated Indian food and that it was based on a single spice, a fact which is completely wrong.
The piece, titled, 'You can't make me eat these foods' talked about why Weingarten was not a fan of Indian food, along with some other dishes and cuisines that he mentioned.
However, since his claim was false, and Indian food is actually based on a range of herbs and spices, the website issued a corrigendum above the article as well.
It said, "A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Indian cuisine is based on one spice, curry, and that Indian food is made up only of curries, types of stew. In fact, India’s vastly diverse cuisines use many spice blends and include many other types of dishes. The article has been corrected."
Weingarten himself has issued an apology.
However, the damage had been done on Twitter as Indians did not take this baseless claim well. One of the people to criticise the columnist was Padma Lakshmi, who took to the social media platform to share her thoughts.
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