On January 16, netizens noticed a bizarre egg curry recipe in New York Times by an in-house critic Tejal Rao. It was not the ingredients that shocked the netizens but the blatant way Rao chose to show Hindus their ‘places’ in the culinary world.
Twitter user Vishal Ganesan was the first to notice the unusual section in the egg curry recipe. He wrote, “Me: “I want to find a recipe for egg curry.” The NYT recipe: “Under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism…” No one on earth is more banal than desi NYT writers.” He also added a screenshot of the section.
Me: “I want to find a recipe for egg curry.”
— Vishal Ganesan (@vjgtweets) January 16, 2023
The NYT recipe: “Under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism…”
No one on earth more banal than desi NYT writers pic.twitter.com/ZP9yLDpCYo
Rao was called out by other netizens as well. Twitter user Ashish said, “Egg Curry Recipe by NYTimes under Cooking Section. “Under the 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
— Aashish (@kashmiriRefuge) January 17, 2023
“Under the 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
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 all kinds of content to propagate anti-India narratives. But it’s NYT.”
Evidently, Egg curry recipes not only ones @nytimes food critic @tejalrao uses to spread hatred for elected Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi.
— Only in Mumbai (@OnlyInMumbai) January 16, 2023
Interesting how non-Indians (UK-born, parents Kenyan) use all kinds of content to propagate anti-India narratives.
But it’s NYT. https://t.co/kyWEON10JO pic.twitter.com/Q3H1YUwsXn
Dr Sheenie Ambardar said, “The New York Times is known for hiring brown sepoys to propagate anti-Hindu, anti-India drivel but this takes the cake (or the egg curry as it were).”
The New York Times is known for hiring brown sepoys to propagate anti-Hindu, anti-India drivel but this takes the cake (or the egg curry as 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:
— Aseem Shukla (@aseemrshukla) March 14, 2020
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
Professor Oopalee Operajita wrote in 2020, “Exactly how crazy & anti-India the frigging NYTimes is lucid in this article where Tejal Rao alludes to Hindu Nationalism and Narendra Modi!”
Tejal Rao’s 10 Essential Indian Recipes – The New York Times https://t.co/hlR5mPSbEg
— Professor Oopalee Operajita (@OopaliOperajita) March 13, 2020
Exactly how crazy & anti-India the frigging NYTimes is is lucid in this article where Tejal Rao alludes to Hindu Nationalism and Narendra Modi! #BoycottNYTimes @nytimes @PMOIndia @DrSJaishankar
When OpIndia checked the recipe to confirm if it was actually written that way, we found the allegations were true. The recipe read, “Food has always been politicised in India, a person’s diet often revealing the specifics of her cultural identity. And under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the surge of pro-vegetarian Hindu nationalism, even the simple practice of serving eggs at school lunch has become fraught. But eggs have long been an important source of nutrition across the country and form the base 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 same columnist, we found another recipe with similar attempts to target Hindus. The keema recipe read, “Though elite, upper-caste Hindus tend to be vegetarian, most Indians eat meat, and many millions of Muslim Indians eat beef.” Though none of the readers noticed the unnecessary Hindu bashing in egg curry, one reader commented in the notes asking about it in this recipe.
A reader, Aparna, said, “It saddens me to see some Indian origin writers use “upper-caste” as a term as if it is a designation for something in India. Most of these folks have either never lived in India themselves or won’t even know their own families’ caste if asked. Caste, unlike ethnicity and race in America, is not a recognised designation in India. Absolutely no forms ask for it. Yes, we do have affirmative action for historically poorer sections of society, but I’d love 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 example, we noticed how she talked about author Sameen Rushdie being a “minority” among her “Hindu vegetarian” schoolmates as she eats meat. Sameen is author Salman Rushie‘s sister.
In her column where the two recipes were mentioned, she wrote, “India is currently struggling with a powerful wave of Hindu nationalism that threatens its Muslim population with deadly violence. The news is hard to ignore, 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 is Tejal Rao?
As per her New 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 based out of Los Angeles.
New York Times looks for ways to criticise Hindus
This is not the first time New York Times has been under fire for unnecessary and below-the-belt Hindu bashing. It has been proven from time to time that the publication specifically looks for content that is anti-Hindu in nature just 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 everything in its power to make a mockery of journalism by targeting Hindus.
