Twitter users called out Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal for mixing up the name of a traditional Indian dish she cooked in honor of vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The 55-year-old representative for Washington’s seventh district tweeted the night before the election in an effort to boost Harris’ support as she runs for vice president alongside Joe Biden, according to South China Morning Post.
“Compulsive, night-before-election activity: make comfort food. That’s paneer tikka tonight, in honor of electing #KamalaHarris Veep tomorrow since she just said on Instagram that her favorite North Indian food is any kind of tikka! Let’s go, people! VOTE,” Jayapal, the first Indian American politician elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote.
Paneer tikka, a popular dish in North India, is usually served as an appetizer at many Indian restaurants, Indian Healthy Recipes noted. It consists of chunks of Indian cottage cheese marinated in spices and later grilled.
Fellow Congresswoman Grace Meng and stand-up comedian Francesca Fiorentini found the dish “yummy.”
Indian social media users thought otherwise. Some pointed out the food looked nothing like paneer tikka and more like malai paneer or paneer tikka masala.
Other users also poked fun at Jayapal by posting different dishes and calling them paneer tikka.
Jayapal shared a picture of the recipe she followed for her dish hours after her initial post.
Feature Images via @PramilaJayapal (left) U.S. House Office of Photography (right)
