On January 16, netizens noticed a bizarre egg curry recipe in Latest York Times by an in-house critic Tejal Rao. It was not the ingredients that shocked the netizens however the blatant way Rao selected to indicate Hindus their ‘places’ within the culinary world.
Twitter user Vishal Ganesan was the primary to note the bizarre section within the egg curry recipe. He wrote, “Me: “I would like to search out a recipe for egg curry.” The NYT recipe: “Under the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism…” Nobody on earth is more banal than desi NYT writers.” He also added a screenshot of the section.
Me: “I would like to search out a recipe for egg curry.”
The NYT recipe: “Under the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism…”
Nobody on earth more banal than desi NYT writers pic.twitter.com/ZP9yLDpCYo
— Vishal Ganesan (@vjgtweets) January 16, 2023
Rao was called out by other netizens as well. Twitter user Ashish said, “Egg Curry Recipe by NYTimes under Cooking Section. “Under the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism”. 11 Mins Full Boil, 8 Mins Half Boil. LMFAO.”
Egg Curry Recipe by @nytimes under Cooking Section
“Under the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism”
11 Mins Full Boil, 8 Mins Half Boil
LMFAO pic.twitter.com/sQLJzyYIC5
— Aashish (@kashmiriRefuge) January 17, 2023
Twitter user Only In Mumbai said, “Evidently, Egg curry recipes not only ones NYTimes food critic Tejal Rao uses to spread hatred for elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Interesting how non-Indians (UK-born, parents Kenyan) use every kind of content to propagate anti-India narratives. But it surely’s NYT.”
Evidently, Egg curry recipes not only ones @nytimes food critic @tejalrao uses to spread hatred for elected Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi.
Interesting how non-Indians (UK-born, parents Kenyan) use every kind of content to propagate anti-India narratives.
But it surely’s NYT. https://t.co/kyWEON10JO pic.twitter.com/Q3H1YUwsXn
— Only in Mumbai (@OnlyInMumbai) January 16, 2023
Dr Sheenie Ambardar said, “The Latest York Times is thought for hiring brown sepoys to propagate anti-Hindu, anti-India drivel but this takes the cake (or the egg curry because it were).”
The Latest York Times is thought for hiring brown sepoys to propagate anti-Hindu, anti-India drivel but this takes the cake (or the egg curry because it were)#eggcurry #mediabias #ridiculous #california #losangeles #nyc #southasian #news #Food #recipes pic.twitter.com/tlXwbkGb30
— Sheenie Ambardar MD (@DrAmbardar) January 17, 2023
Interestingly, Rao has also been criticised for bashing Hindus in her recipes earlier. In March 2020, Twitter user Aseem Shukla pointed it out. He wrote, “I’ve got to know Tejal Rao. Is there an autocorrect feature NYTimes that anytime anyone writes a story on India–even one on Gujarati cuisine, a rote denunciation of Hindu nationalism gets mentioned? I mean, your story is about dhokla!”
I’ve got to know @tejalrao:
Is there an autocorrect feature @nytimes that anytime anyone writes a story on India–even one on Gujarati cuisine, a rote denunciation of Hindu nationalism gets mentioned? I mean, your story is about dhokla! pic.twitter.com/FkUN1rBcGH
— Aseem Shukla (@aseemrshukla) March 14, 2020
Professor Oopalee Operajita wrote in 2020, “Exactly how crazy & anti-India the frigging NYTimes is lucid in this text where Tejal Rao alludes to Hindu Nationalism and Narendra Modi!”
Tejal Rao’s 10 Essential Indian Recipes – The Latest York Times https://t.co/hlR5mPSbEg
Exactly how crazy & anti-India the frigging NYTimes is is lucid in this text where Tejal Rao alludes to Hindu Nationalism and Narendra Modi! #BoycottNYTimes @nytimes @PMOIndia @DrSJaishankar— Professor Oopalee Operajita (@OopaliOperajita) March 13, 2020
When OpIndia checked the recipe to verify if it was actually written that way, we found the allegations were true. The recipe read, “Food has all the time been politicised in India, an individual’s eating regimen often revealing the specifics of her cultural identity. And under the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism, even the straightforward practice of serving eggs at college lunch has develop into fraught. But eggs have long been a very important source of nutrition across the country and form the bottom of many classic regional dishes.” This particular recipe was from 2020 and featured in ‘Tejal Rao’s 10 Essential Indian Recipes’.
Upon checking other recipes by the identical columnist, we found one other recipe with similar attempts to focus on Hindus. The keema recipe read, “Though elite, upper-caste Hindus are inclined to be vegetarian, most Indians eat meat, and lots of thousands and thousands of Muslim Indians eat beef.” Though not one of the readers noticed the unnecessary Hindu bashing in egg curry, one reader commented within the notes asking about it on this recipe.
A reader, Aparna, said, “It saddens me to see some Indian origin writers use “upper-caste” as a term as whether it is a designation for something in India. Most of those folks have either never lived in India themselves or won’t even know their very own families’ caste if asked. Caste, unlike ethnicity and race in America, is just not a recognised designation in India. Absolutely no forms ask for it. Yes, we do have affirmative motion for historically poorer sections of society, but I’d like to know who exactly is upper caste?”
Not only in recipes, but Rao also enjoyed bashing vegetarians and Hindus in her other columns as well. For instance, we noticed how she talked about writer Sameen Rushdie being a “minority” amongst her “Hindu vegetarian” schoolmates as she eats meat. Sameen is writer Salman Rushie‘s sister.
In her column where the 2 recipes were mentioned, she wrote, “India is currently scuffling with a robust wave of Hindu nationalism that threatens its Muslim population with deadly violence. The news is tough to disregard, even in a food story: Hindu supremacists, who push a narrow definition of Indianness, also push a narrow definition of India’s food culture.”
Who’s Tejal Rao?
As per her Latest York Times description, Tejal Rao is the California restaurant critic for the media house. She also “develops” recipes as per her website. Hailing from London, she has done her bachelor’s in literature from Emerson College. Currently, she is predicated out of Los Angeles.
Latest York Times looks for methods to criticise Hindus
This is just not the primary time Latest York Times has been under fire for unnecessary and below-the-belt Hindu bashing. It has been proven on occasion that the publication specifically looks for content that’s anti-Hindu in nature simply to mock Indians and politicians like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2021, OpIndia made a list of 14 articles where NYT indulged in showing Hindus their “place”. From giving a platform to Kunal Kamra to using the pandemic to propagate Hinduphobia, NYT has done every part in its power to make a mockery of journalism by targeting Hindus.
