Woman's idli-chai combo gets a firm 'no' from Shashi Tharoor

It started with a simple claim: chai and idli are the perfect match. It ended with Shashi Tharoor inspecting the quality of the idli, critiquing its texture, and issuing a firm ruling on whether the pairing should exist at all.

The debate began when an X user shared a photograph of idli served alongside a cup of chai and confidently proclaimed it to be the “best combination to ever exist”.

For most people, idli is inseparable from its traditional companions like steaming sambar and coconut chutney. Chai, meanwhile, occupies an entirely different corner of the breakfast table. Putting the two together was enough to spark disbelief, jokes and heated arguments online.

But amid the chaos, many users were waiting for one particular reaction.

Over the years, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has unintentionally become a recurring character in internet debates involving idli. From defending the South Indian staple against bizarre comparisons to shutting down claims that rosogolla is merely “idli dipped in sugar syrup”, Tharoor has built a reputation for taking idli matters seriously.

And this time, he did not disappoint.

“Oh, I see what you're doing here! Aside from provoking me, that is,” he replied.

Before even addressing the chai, Tharoor made it clear that he had concerns about the idli itself.

“I have to be honest: that idli looks a bit too solid and dense for my liking,” he wrote, adding that the colour in the photograph was not particularly appetising.

For him, the perfect idli should be “soft, snowy-white” and fluffy. The one in the image, he suggested, looked more likely to be chewy than enjoyable.

As for chai, Tharoor clarified that he is actually a huge fan. However, he prefers a strict separation between the two.

“I’ve always been a firm believer in the ‘separate but equal’ policy,” he wrote, explaining that chai is best enjoyed alongside a meal or afterwards, not as a dipping sauce.

He also offered a practical argument. A truly soft idli, he noted, would simply dissolve in hot tea. An idli sturdy enough to survive dunking would probably be too rubbery to deserve eating in the first place.

See Tharoor’s reply here:

His final verdict summed up the mood of many idli loyalists online.

“I say keep the chai in the cup and the idli on the plate — they’re both better off that way!”

Having defended idli in multiple viral debates before, Tharoor's latest appearance felt almost inevitable. His detailed critique quickly became a talking point of its own, with users flooding the comments section.

While some maintained that chai and idli make an underrated combination, many agreed with the MP's final assessment: keep the chai in the cup and the idli on the plate.