New Delhi: A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi relishing mushroom biryani with local residents of a village in Tamil Nadu is winning hearts on the internet.
Gandhi was on a visit to the state last week to campaign for the upcoming assembly elections.
The video, which was uploaded Friday on the YouTube channel of a cooking show ‘Village Cooking Channel, has already garnered over 30 lakh views.
The 14-minute video starts with the visuals of local residents collecting spices and herbs, followed by mincing and mixing of every ingredient together — while awaiting the special guest.
The video then shows the ingredients, including onion, chillies, garlic, turmeric, yogurt, mushrooms, added to a big vessel on a wood-burning stove.
Gandhi, dressed in a casual blue T-shirt and navy blue trousers, then walks into the lush green forest-like setting and greets everyone saying ‘Vanakkam’. The leader also offers help for mixing the ingredients in yoghurt and then sits on a floor mat to chat with the residents and the cooks.
Also read: Tamil people disrespected: Rahul Gandhi slams LS Speaker for not allowing questions
Chit-chats with villagers
Mimicking one of the cooks of the show, Gandhi converses with the audience by explaining the ingredients of making a spicy curd or raita. He also uses Tamil names of the ingredients. He calls onion as ‘Vengayam’, curd as ‘Thayir’ and salt as ‘Kal uppu’.
Gandhi then sits with the villagers and the cooks on a floor mat. A young cook then shares his ambition of going abroad to become a chef. “Which country you want to go first,” Gandhi asks, to which the cook replies “USA or even Thailand, Singapore, China, anywhere.”
Gandhi continues the conversation by asking him if he should ask one of his good friends in the US to “try and organise something for you to go and cook there”.
The leader is seen wearing a mask in the beginning and towards the end of the video, but mostly he was seen sitting closely with the local residents and shaking hands without wearing a mask. The villagers were also not wearing masks.
‘Next time, you have to make me try the termite (dish)’
Following the free-wheeling conversation, the cooks and the show’s organisers told Gandhi they couldn’t believe that he would come on the show. Gandhi suggested them to explore cooking opportunities in other states too such as Karnataka and Maharashtra.
He was then served piping hot mushroom biryani on a banana leaf. “Nala iruku (It’s good)”, he said after eating the first bite.
Before leaving, Gandhi said, “Next time when I am coming, you have to make me try the termite (dish).”
Also read: Rahul Gandhi to attend Jallikattu in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, 10 yrs after Congress banned it
Shameful that the print is doing this , what’s the difference between you and the godi media then ? You literally dedicated a whole page to Rahul Gandhi’s politically motivated visit ? Terrible.
Well, he does not say tali bajao, thali bajao, diya jalao.
This is headline news …………….only at The Print.
Incredible……..
This is the Prince in waiting…… the man whose birthright it is to become Prime Minister of India…… Youth Icon…….and what does he say?
“Next time when I am coming, you have to make me try the termite (dish).”