Viral Samosa video sparks outrage on Instagram over eating with knife and fork
A Maharashtra etiquette coach showing participants how to eat a samosa accidentally blew up the internet, as his viral samosa video drew fierce opposition from cultural preservationists keen to protect Indian food traditions.
Originally uploaded to Instagram on October 13th, the video quickly went viral. It was titled “Samosa etiquette 101,” and it showed refined table manners, with the coach eating a samosa with utensils instead of the traditional way of eating it with your hands.
This struck a nerve with some commenters, aflame with outrage, with one commenter even posting: “This guy must be booked under UAPA,” Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act – mainly passed to combat terrorism.
Other users joined in with playful banter, with one user sarcastically commenting, “Wrong..he forgot to first wash the Samosa in the washing machine – that's the first step !”
Samosas, along with dosas (Indian crepes) and biryanis, are big sources of national pride in India.
Eating habits in the diaspora, namely hands or utensils, can signal regional class differences and even colonial influence.
As Jessica Randhawa, owner and head chef of The Forked Spoon food blog, explains, small things like eating a samosa with a knife and fork can quickly become proxy battles over authenticity and culture wars.
And despite the fact that there could be different ways of eating something, rather than a singular method, it’s often the polarizing clips that satisfy the viral algorithms.
Having said that, perhaps the coach spoke outside of the video about a deeper cultural context, as a broader discussion about Indian cuisine could be had.
And, as Randhawa pointed out, maybe engaging with hostility needn’t be the name of the game – after all, drawing the mire of the chef might be a dangerous thing.
“Here’s a quick viewer question to ask before sharing or dunking a video while scrolling food etiquette videos: Would I say this in the cook's home? If it fails that test, keep scrolling on.”
