On the eve of the 2020 United States presidential election, several social media users were surprised to see "paneer tikka" trending on Twitter. The classic Indian dish may not have much to do with the election, but it found a spot on the trends list thanks to a tweet by Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
On the night before the election, Ms Jayapal decided to make some comfort food. The dish she chose was paneer tikka, in honour of Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Mr Harris had recently revealed that her favourite North Indian dish is "any kind of tikka".
"Compulsive, night-before-election activity: make comfort food. That's paneer tikka tonight, in honor of electing #KamalaHarris Veep tomorrow since she just said on Instagram that her favorite North Indian food is any kind of tikka!" wrote Pramila Jayapal, 55, on Twitter. She also added the hashtag #BidenHarris2020 while urging US citizens to vote.
Compulsive, night-before-election activity: make comfort food. That's paneer tikka tonight, in honor of electing #KamalaHarris Veep tomorrow since she just said on Instagram that her favorite North Indian food is any kind of tikka! Let's go, people! VOTE! #BidenHarris2020 pic.twitter.com/gqyT7BotgG
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) November 3, 2020
The Congresswoman, a members of the Democratic Party, also shared the recipe in a follow-up tweet.
By popular demand, the recipe for Paneer Tikka Masala, slightly adapted from the fabulous @twosleevers! You can either eat the tikka on its own, or add the masala (sauce) which is like a curry. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/0tNyEZOWN4
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) November 3, 2020
However, Ms Jayapal's version of paneer tikka raised quite a few eyebrows on the microblogging platform. Several Twitter users pointed out that it looked nothing like a traditional paneer tikka, which is not served with gravy.
Guys, I figured out what happened.
— Nitayuvani Celebrating Diwali! (@nitayuvani) November 3, 2020
Pramila ordered malai paneer from a restaurant and called it paneer tikka. She didn't cook this. That is why she doesn't know what the dish is. https://t.co/8A3Bdh5WHw
In what universe does qualify as paneer tikka @_SiddharthNayak https://t.co/FNW3UwYwaG
— priyanka pandey (@chai_pandey) November 3, 2020
A number of Twitter users mocked the tweet
This is rasgulla pic.twitter.com/Xrn8xJCE6e
— आत्मनिर्भर Vinit (@vinit_2283) November 3, 2020
This is Ras Malaie???? pic.twitter.com/HTofezDDPj
— Tanmay Moitra (@MoitraTanmay) November 3, 2020
Like Kamala Harris, Ms Jayapal has her roots in Chennai too. She was born in Tamil Nadu capital and immigrated to the United States in 1982, at the age of 16.
Ms Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in Chennai and immigrated to the US for a doctoral programme at the age of 19.
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