Shashi Tharoor’s defence of idlis after ‘steamed regret’ remark prompts delivery

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor received steaming plates of idli at his home after he defended the South Indian delicacy in a social media post. Tharoor, known for his eloquence, responded to an X user who had described idlis as “steamed regret”. “Poor soul has clearly never had a good one. A truly great idli is a cloud, a whisper, a perfect dream of the perfectibility of human civilisation,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP wrote.

In his post, Tharoor went on to compare a well-made idli to “a Beethoven symphony, a Tagore sangeet, a Husain painting, a Tendulkar century.” He added: “It's a sublime creation, a delicate, weightless morsel of rice and lentil, steamed to an ethereal fluffiness that melts on the tongue. To call such a thing ‘regret’ is to have no soul, no palate, no appreciation for the fi