Online guide faces flak for listing Indian foods like jaljeera, aloo baingan, upma, and more as ‘worst-rated’: ‘Far away from reality’

Indians love their food, with its enormous variety distinguishing it from other cuisines. Recently, an experiential online guide, Taste Atlas, sparked controversy by ranking 10 popular Indian foods and drinks as “worst-rated” – gajak, jaljeera, coconut rice, panta bhat, thandai, achappam, mirchi ka salan, malpua, upma, and aloo baingan. The ratings range from 2.7 to 3.2 stars. This is the second time in a row aloo baingan has been rated the worst. In January 2024, aloo baingan or brinjal-potato combination found itself among the world’s 100 worst-rated foods.

Former Rashtrapati Bhavan chef Montu Saini told indianexpress.com that he “completely disagrees” with the list and called it “far away from reality”. “What was the sample size considered to draw such an outcome? Who all voted? How many of them were vegetarian/non-vegetarian? I disagree with this outcome. You can’t generalise with this,” said Saini.

Many social media users, rattled by the list, responded to the Instagram post.

One user wrote, “Unfortunately this list is negligence max. All of our heirloom recipes are on that worst list. Indian culture celebrates seasonal produce. Gajak, and Panta Baat are all examples of this. And it fell into the worst list. This is what happens when the world wants to think they know everything about India.”

Jaljeera tops the list of worst Indian foods (Source: Freepik)

Another user commented, “And who’s rating this?”

“Bruh India has one of the richest culinary histories and arguably the most culinary diversity out of every country in the world and you chose Mango Lassi as #1? This is like cappuccino being the #1 food in Italy. Stick to European foods you’ll have no idea what you’re talking about when it comes to Asia,” said a third user.

One Instagram user said, “A very carefully curated list of Indian foods by non-Indians definitely. I have no idea what you guys were even thinking when you put Mirchi ka Salan on that list.” Another one wrote, “Got to set the record straight: Indian food is a treasure of flavors and diversity. Every dish and every bite tells a unique story, a journey! This ranking is typical and completely misses the incredible richness of Indian cuisine.”

 

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Meanwhile, the “best-rated” foods list, in the same Instagram post, featured mango lassi, masala chai, butter garlic naan, Amritsari kulcha, butter chicken, Hyderabadi biryani, shahi paneer, chole bhature, tandoori chicken, and korma, with ratings from 4.4 to 4.6 stars.

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