bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Neeta Lal

A contentious ranking of global cuisines by a self-professed “world atlas of traditional dishes” has caused India’s foodies to boil over – despite placing the country fifth globally.
Some on social media hotly contested that “ignorance” and “racism” were to blame for India’s cuisine ranking below those of Japan, Spain, Greece and Italy – which took the No 1 spot – in the Taste Atlas Awards 2022 list.
Other spicy takes said that India – much like China – does not have one single, unified cuisine, but myriad regional variations across the country that make dishes from one area “entirely different” from others.
Chinese cuisine, for reference, ranked 11th on the list – just above Brazilian.

There's nothing you can call "Indian" cuisine.
Our Kannada cuisine is entirely different from Gujarati or Punjabi cuisine.#Kannada_Cuisine https://t.co/vsGFhgAMUO
— ಚಯ್ತನ್ಯ ಗವ್ಡ (@hosabaraha) December 29, 2022

For New Delhi-based freelance chef Sanjay Sharma, India’s many and varied cuisines would have ranked higher – if only more people knew about them.
“French and Japanese cuisines have far less diversity and complexity,” he said. “Indians have such a rich array of dishes yet we fall behind in promoting and showcasing our food at the international level which is why not enough people know about it.”
Taste Atlas, which was founded in 2018 and has its headquarters in Bulgaria, says its rankings are based on “audience votes for ingredients, dishes and beverages”.
Below India on its list were the cuisines of Mexico, Turkey, the United States and France. Thai cuisine placed 30th, behind “English cuisine” in 29th. Ranked dead last, in 95th place, was Norwegian food.
Malaysians appalled their food ranks 39th in ‘50 best world cuisines’ list
“This is a list you’d come up with if you’d never eaten Indian food,” charged one social media user, with another pointing out: “There’s nothing you can call ‘Indian’ cuisine. Our Kannada cuisine is entirely different from Gujarati or Punjabi cuisine.”
There are at least 50,000 type of regional cuisines in India, according to Owaize Ahmed Khan, executive chef at the Radisson Hotel in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, adding: “Indian culinary diversity is mind-boggling.”
“Our food is the perfect blend of taste, flavour and aroma,” he said. “We should’ve been ranked among the top three, if not first!”
Indeed, many Indians found the No 5 ranking difficult to digest, with several on social media pointing to the plethora of Indian restaurants in countries around the world and the cuisine’s popularity with Hollywood A-listers and other top celebrities.

Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lady Gaga are all avowed fans, while Indian actress Priyanka Chopra launched a high-class eatery last year offering “timeless Indian fare in New York City”.
Many Indians also found Taste Atlas’ 2022 ranking of the 100 best traditional foods from around the world unpalatable as it only included one Indian dish – Shahi paneer – in the top 50, at No 28. This dish of paneer (cottage cheese) fried crisp with onions, tomatoes and green peppers and served in a gravy crafted from cashew paste, tomato and spices is a perennial favourite in India, often served at parties and get-togethers.
Butter chicken, which “diehard chicken” fan Kabri Singh from Delhi called “India’s favourite dish” and said was a “must have at all weddings and parties”, ranked 53rd. “These rankings just lost all their credibility for me,” Singh said.
Why Indians just can’t get enough of ‘Chindian’ fusion food
Meanwhile, the ranking of Chinese cuisine at 11th on the Taste Atlas list disappointed some in India, who extolled their love for China’s food in spite of the political differences that exist between both countries.
“After Indian, my favourite is Chinese cuisine,” wrote one Indian social media user. “Clearly the list has been compiled by people who’ve never tasted our delicious Chinjabi (a portmanteau of Chinese and Punjabi) noodles and spring rolls.”
A 2019 survey by the National Restaurant Association of India found that Chinese cuisine was the country’s second-favourite type of food, after North Indian.


Expectant couple in India’s capital fears ‘high-risk pregnancy’ in record toxic smog

Russia’s Putin plans India trip, defying US-led efforts to isolate him

America, not China, stands in the way of India becoming a great power

Indian farmers must keep burning stubble despite fines, toxic smog: ‘we don’t do this for fun’

India

Indian cuisine’s world No 5 ranking leaves a bad taste in Indians’ mouths: ‘our food is perfect’

One self-professed “diehard” chicken fan said the rankings lost all credibility for him when he found out that India’s butter chicken had placed 53rd out of 100 traditional dishes. Photo: Getty Images

Only one Indian dish – Shahi paneer – made it into the Taste Atlas’ top 50 best traditional foods from around the world. Photo: Jonathan Wong/SCMP

How Indian food curried favour with the British, and vice versa

Indian food has been currying favour with the British for hundreds of years, while curry has become a generic word for any vegetable or meat with a gravy. Photo: Kalpana Sunder

Chaheti Bansal, a food blogger who claimed the word ‘curry’ should be banned because it is a hangover from British colonialism. Photo: Handout

A Suez Canal opening celebration in 1869. File photo: SCMP magazine

A traditional British roast beef Sunday lunch. British troops and officials in India during colonial rule began to alter their eating habits after tucking into Indian cuisine. File photo: Courtesy of Jimmy’s Kitchen.

Authors including Bridget White Kumar have documented Anglo Indian cooking such as Yellow Rice and Chicken Curry. Photo: Bridget White Kumar

Pickles for sale at a market in Old Delhi. File photo: Rakesh Kumar

An Indian family enjoy a picnic by the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India. The museum, built with “voluntary contributions” from Indian princes and the local elite, was completed in 1921 at the start of the decline of the British Raj. File photo: Marion Lloyd

Hot debate in India: is ‘curry’ a racist hangover from British colonialism and should the word be cancelled?

Curry: a word with colonial connotations?

Chef Rana with various Indian dishes - Nalli Nihari, Butter chicken, Punjabi Aloo wadi, Prawn Malai curry. Photo: Handout

Chaheti Bansal, a food blogger who has claimed the word 'curry' should be banned because it's a hangover from British colonialism. Photo: Handout

From Udupi to Hong Kong: how an Indian temple town’s vegetarian cuisine spread across the world

A thali meal served at Dasaprakash. Photo: Dasaprakash Hotels

Steamed idlis served with chutney and a lentil stew called sambar are staples of an Udupi tiffin. Photo: Kalpana Sunder

Inside a Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) restaurant. Photo: MTR

It’s the local flavour of Udupi that keep customers coming back. Photo: Dasaprakash Hotels

Asia faces a ‘rice crisis’ but China and India may escape the worst price rises, analysts say

Farmers prepare paddy fields to grow rice in Bogor, Indonesia, last month. Photo: EPA-EFE

An Indonesian farmer spreads fertiliser on a rice field last month amid planting season in Aceh. Photo: EPA-EFE

Workers spray fertiliser on a field of maize on the outskirts of Bangalore. Analysts expect India to escape the worst effects of the crisis. Photo: AFP

A farmer operates a harvesting machine in a rice field in central China’s Hunan province this month. China has been stockpiling grains to ensure domestic food production. Photo: Xinhua

India’s drought-hit farmers make a fruitful pivot to ‘the only crop that can survive’: hardy dragon fruits

Anuradha Anandrao Pawar, wife of dragonfruit farmer Anandrao Baburao Pawar. Photo: Handout

Indian fruit farmers prize dragon fruits’ hardiness and profitability. Photo: Handout

Anuradha Anandrao Pawar with some of the dragon fruits her and her 80-year-old farmer-husband Anandrao Baburao Pawar have cultivated. Photo: Handout

Lata Aigale (front) pictured with her dragon-fruit plants in Belgaum district, India’s Karnataka state. Photo: Handout

The profitability of dragon fruit cultivation has attracted investments from affluent professionals. Photo: SCMP

This Week in Asia

People

Lifestyle & Culture

News

Asia

South Asia

Many in India find it unpalatable that their country’s cuisine is sandwiched between Mexican and Japanese in a rundown of the world’s best foods
Some say it’s racism while others blame it on ignorance of India’s myriad range of regional cuisines – or is it just a lack of promotion?


Many in India find it unpalatable that their country’s cuisine is sandwiched between Mexican and Japanese in a rundown of the world’s best foods. ‘Racism’ cry others.


Indian cuisine’s world No 5 ranking leaves a bad taste in Indians’ mouths: ‘our food is perfect’

Many in India find it unpalatable that their country’s cuisine is sandwiched between Mexican and Japanese in a rundown of the world’s best foods Some say it’s racism while others blame it on ignorance of India’s myriad range of regional cuisines – or is it just a lack of promotion?

Many in India find it unpalatable that their country’s cuisine is sandwiched between Mexican and Japanese in a rundown of the world’s best foods

Some say it’s racism while others blame it on ignorance of India’s myriad range of regional cuisines – or is it just a lack of promotion?