A viral video about certain similarities between Indian cuisine and Romanian cuisine has fascinated foodies and won many hearts on social media. It was shared by a Romanian educator and entrepreneur, Loredana Padurean. In her reel, she explains that she used to live in India a few years ago. Back then, she was surprised when she discovered that some of her favourite Romanian dishes were similar to specific Indian dishes. She goes on to cite a few examples of the same.
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Firstly, she reveals that the dish she is eating while filming the video is a type of Romanian bean stew made by her mother. "In Romania, we call this 'chorba.' In India, we call this 'shorba'," she says. Next, she describes a Romanian delicacy called "placinta." It consists of dough stuffed with various ingredients like cabbage and cheese. She compares this to a beloved desi staple: the paratha.
Professor Loredana Padurean also points out two other things both cultures have in common: the addition of sour cream to many dishes and the ubiquitousness of spicy chillies. As she says this, she bites into a raw green chilli and declares, "Mirchi, mirchi. That's very spicy." She proceeds to briefly explain how invasions and migrations led to these cross-cultural influences historically.
She ends the video on an uplifting note: "Empires fall. But you know what survives? Recipes, stories, music... and it turns out that we're a lot more similar than they want us to think. And isn't that a wonderful thing?"
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Here's what Instagram users had to say about this viral video in the comments section:
"These similarities bring us closer together."
"Love love love learning about similarities like this!"
"Zacusca and Baingan Bharta."
"Absolutely love this video."
"I was in Romania last week, and I tried the food. As an Indian, I noticed some similarities. I just saw your video today. Thank you for highlighting."
"Seeing someone munch on a spring onion like that takes me back to my great grandma's kitchen. We would dip it in the little salt bowl on the table and eat it again. The best. We're Croatian. All closely similar."
"I remember travelling to India and having my first paratha - it had the same taste and texture as something that my grandma used to make when I was a child - called 'impaturata' - it brought tears to my eyes, and it was a great connection moment to my dear friends from there."
"Most people are unaware of the fact that, in fact, the whole human civilisation is actually deeply connected culturally as well as spiritually. Many seek ways to segregate in order to gain control over resources, which in the end cannot be owned by anyone anyway."
Before this, a video highlighting certain similarities between Indian and Korean foods went viral. Click here to read the full story.