Spoon and fork to eat rice, or your bare hands? The internet is truly divided on this, and Sunday mid-day joins the fray
A still from the video of Mamdani eating rice with his hands circa 2023, posted by an X handle critical of him. Pic/X@EndWokeness
When a video of New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani eating rice with his fingers surfaced recently, it kicked off a storm in both mainstream and social media.
There have been vociferous advocates for and against eating with one’s fingers, some terming it unhygienic and “disgusting”, and others saying it is an intrinsic part of Indian culture which should not be denied.
What do foodies, chefs and manners maestros think?
Food show presenter Rocky Singh (IG@RockyeatsIG) is emphatic about being hands-on. “For me food is love, and love is best expressed from the heart. My heart tells me to caress each bite and feel its amazingness with my fingertips,” he declares.
Yajush Malik, Konkana Bakshi and Rocky Singh
Chef Yajush Malik, partner at Mumbai’s Gallops restaurant, however says it depends on the context. “The true mark of hospitality is making sure the guest is at ease. Having said that, there are casual settings where the use of hands may be ok or more formal settings where cutlery is the norm. Whether it is casual or fine dining doesn’t necessarily dictate how the food should be consumed. For example, Gaggan Anand had a course at his acclaimed restaurant in Bangkok that you had to lick off the plate. Therefore, trolling someone for using their hands is just immature and insensitive,” he opines.
The trolling was probably too much, but etiquette and image consultant Konkana Bakshi feels that the idea of etiquette is “not to impose our culture on another country”. “Zohran Mamdani may have wanted to win Indian hearts. But internationally — and more so diplomatically — it’s not a good idea,” she says.
“When we invite people from Europe or America to our homes, they make an effort to eat our way, and we appreciate it. They are considerate about our culture. We should do the same. Eating with hands is seen as unhygienic in many cultures,” Bakshi adds.
Darshan Mondkar, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur and foodie Darshan Mondkar opines, “It is also classist to consider your eating habits greater than someone else’s purely by virtue of which community you were born in or which country you grew up in.”
Singh adds: “There are many things in other cultures which surprise and even shock people. We live, we test other ways of life and we adopt that which works.”
Terming the Zohran Mamdani issue as “a storm in a plate of biryani”, Mondkar says that across the world, certain communities are brought up with certain habits and they are all “good etiquette”.
Agreeing that eating etiquette is culture-specific, Malik says, “It’s about what the traditional way to consume the dish would be. I would eat a biryani with my hands, but not a roast chicken. Plus there are limitations at times; for example, eating a sadhya with a fork and spoon would just result in ripping a good banana leaf to shreds.”
Certain rice dishes are best eaten using the hands, echoes Mondkar. “Biryani, dal rice, curd rice — they won’t satisfy you unless you eat them using your hand. That said, I would leave the choice of eating habits to ‘each his own’. As long as it’s their tummy it’s going into, does it matter?”
Singh however is emphatic about eating Indian food with one’s fingers. “Indian food carries a lot of flavour, heat, colour, and textures. Nimble fingers make the most of flavours with a bite of food, a dash of pickle, a dip of yoghurt, and a smear of chutney. It’s simply not possible to do that with a spoon. Touch is critical in completing the immersion of all the senses in each bite. To me, it’s an evolved way of eating and much of what I eat, I eat by hand. As for what others do, I don’t care.”
“Eat using your hands if you want to — just make sure they are washed before and after,” opines Mondkar. He quips, “Meanwhile, if someone plans to treat me to some yummy mutton biryani and wants me to eat using a knife and a fork, I will oblige as long as they are footing the bill and it’s an “eat as much as you can” option!”
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