TasteAtlas, an online food guide, recently garnered attention with its lists of the top 10 best and worst-rated Indian dishes. The “best” category featured popular dishes like Mango Lassi and Butter Chicken, while the “worst” list surprised many by including the refreshing cumin-infused summer drink, Jaljeera, along with Aloo Baingan (potato and eggplant curry) and Upma. TasteAtlas shared an Instagram post featuring an image ranking Indian dishes.
Discover India: https://t.co/vitWSEwrC5 pic.twitter.com/suHo3y5yIS
— TasteAtlas (@TasteAtlas) June 28, 2024
TasteAtlas crowned the refreshing mango lassi as the king of Indian cuisine, followed by the comforting chai masala and the ever-popular butter garlic naan. Other favorites like Amritsari kulcha, butter chicken, Hyderabadi biryani, shahi paneer, chole bhature, tandoori chicken, and korma all secured well-deserved spots in the top 10.
Now, here’s where things got interesting. The “worst” rated list had jal jeera, the cumin-infused summer cooler, taking the top spot with a surprisingly low rating. Other comfort food staples like aloo baingan (potato and eggplant curry) and upma (semolina porridge) also found themselves on the list, sparking outrage among many Indians on social media.
Comments like “Who rated this? Let me guess, a westerner” reflected the disbelief at some choices.
The Indians have taken offence, as netizens have reacted to this list. One of the X user said, Mindless rankings… The food you are rating under a single criteria comes from places of various cultures, tastes, climatic suitability etc… cant compare mango lassi with gajak and chai with jal jeera. They serve different purposes at various places in various seasons.”
Another one mentions, “Looks like people haven’t really tried good JalJeera. It really is refreshing but needs tolerance for spice. Funny thing is, Mango lassi isn’t really that popular in India. Regular sweet/salted lassis are more common.”
One more user, hilariously questions the TasteAtlas choices, “It seems like the taste buds of TasteAtlas has gone from sour to wrong.”
These lists are likely based on user ratings on the TasteAtlas website and may not reflect the overall opinion in India.
