This Padma Lakshmi Meme Has Twitter Laughing So Hard
Padma Lakshmi recently shared a meme about holiday cooking that has Twitter laughing and we just love it. Captioning the image, "When Desi people get ready for the holidays.... #accordingtolittlehands," Lakshmi posted a clip of an old recipe with commentary. The image shared had the added text, "Mom: we're just gonna have a few people over, I'll make something simple | Also my mom: ..." and the below text featured a recipe from a cookbook titled "Biryani for 800 people."
Lakshmi is sharing a play on the concept of "Desi" culture, which can be used to identify people of Southeast Asian or Indian descent (via Dictionary.com). In popular use, the term "Desi culture" is often used to describe slightly embarrassing, awkward, or humorous situations that commonly occur in Indian households like this one shared by Pooja in The Indian Express: "Desi culture is trying to find the perfect balance between being happy and making your family proud. spoiler alert, it's impossible lolz." Poster Shumail also shared, "Desi culture is keeping your clocks 10 mins ahead and still being late" (via Twitter).
When it comes to creating awkward family gatherings for the holidays, Lakshmi's joke seems to be universal. But what is a Biryani for 800 anyway?
More about that Biryani dish Padma Lakshmi referred to
Biryani is an Indian dish that is essentially a delicious curried chicken "buried under a mound of delicately spiced fluffy rice" (via Recipe Tin Eats). Feeding 800, however, takes things to another level. Says reader The Sasquatch "4 lbs of garlic...now we're talking...at a distance..." (via Twitter) and we have to admit this is definitely a way to create social distance. Another reader complains, "20kg of ghee??? yall seen the price of ghee lately...." (via Twitter). And as reader Carlos S Weiner adds, "80g of saffron??? This is a billionaire's cookbook" (via Twitter).
The 800-person recipe has actually been around for some time and one Redditor took the time to add up what this would cost to cook. And, the total cost for all ingredients averages out to $5674.95 at grocery prices give years ago (via Reddit). And while that might seem a bit staggering, the original poster notes that it is actually a pretty economical meal noting, "Total Cost per person: $7.09. Which if you ask me is pretty reasonable."
Realistically, the biryani recipe might be a bit overkill for Desi families or otherwise, but we would absolute try it if someone made it. Thanks for the laugh, Padma.