Khichdi as national food: Food ministry denies, Twitter simmers with reactions

Even as India's favourite comfort food 'Khichdi' made headlines with reports suggesting it would be soon declared as the 'National Food', the Union Minister of Food Processing, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, clarified it was only selected for the World Food India event in a bid to popularise it.

But before the clarification, what ensued on Twitter was nothing short of an unadulterated depiction of how Khichdi unifies the Indians across the country.

Twitter simmered with reactions to preliminary reports and #Khichdi began trending.

One user said, "Khichdi to be National Dish. Why? Is the nation ill??" another joked, "In a world of #Biryani be someone's #khichdi

Desi love ????"

One of the users had a pertinent question to ask: "Do I have to stand up when I eat khichdi now that it is a national dish?"

Some had suggestions: "If Khichdi is being accorded the status of National Food, then Ghee, Dahi, Papad and Achaar should immediately be declared National Friends."

Few loved it: "#Khichdi is the yummiest food."

For the uninitiated, Badal's clarification came hours after 'Khichdi' began to trend on the social media.

"Enough Khichdi cooked up on a fictitious 'National Dish'. It has only been put for a record entry in #WorldFoodIndia," Badal tweeted on Wednesday.

"#WorldFoodIndia will proudly showcase India's culinary diversity...looks like today has been a slow news day! :)"

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor will be attempting to create a World Record by cooking 800 kg of Khichdi on November 4 at the India Gate Lawns, on one of the days in a three day-long 'World Food India', organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.