Archive · 6 Sep 2026
Twinkle Khanna’s Mughal Food Analogy Sparks Online Backlash
Twinkle Khanna wrote a humorous column about a packet of Shahi Masala in her kitchen.
She joked that it expired around the time the Mughal Empire ended.
She connected this joke to debates about removing Mughal history from schoolbooks.
Khanna said people who want that history removed should also give up foods linked with Mughlai cooking.
She named dishes such as kebabs, koftas, kormas and Mughlai paneer.
Many people online criticized her argument.
They said enjoying food does not mean people must celebrate its rulers or ignore violence.
Some also said the dishes have roots older than the Mughal period.
Twinkle Khanna linked a packet of expired Shahi Masala to the end of the Mughal Empire in her Mrs Funnybones column.
She argued that people seeking to remove Mughal history from textbooks should also reconsider dishes associated with Mughlai cuisine.
Khanna specifically mentioned koftas, kormas, kebabs and Mughlai paneer.
The column prompted heavy trolling and debate on social media.
Critics said culinary influence does not require romanticising historical violence and noted that some dishes have older roots.
- Who
- Twinkle Khanna and social-media critics who responded to her column.
- What
- A humorous analogy connecting Mughal history, Indian cuisine and debates over history textbooks triggered online criticism.
- When
- In Khanna’s latest Mrs Funnybones column and the ensuing social-media discussion; the articles do not provide a specific date.
- Where
- Online and in Khanna’s Mrs Funnybones column.
- Why
- Khanna argued that removing Mughal history while continuing to eat foods associated with Mughlai cuisine was inconsistent; critics challenged that reasoning.
Khanna’s Argument
Critics’ Response
Food and historical memory
Khanna’s Argument
Khanna suggested that people who want Mughal history removed from textbooks should also reconsider foods associated with Mughlai cuisine.
Critics’ Response
Critics said enjoying or acknowledging a cuisine’s influence does not require keeping historical rulers in textbooks or romanticising violence.
Origins of the dishes
Khanna’s Argument
Khanna used dishes such as koftas, kormas, kebabs and Mughlai paneer to illustrate the continuing influence associated with Mughlai cooking.
Critics’ Response
Commenters argued that some of these dishes have ancient roots, including roots predating the Mughal period.
Consistency of the analogy
Khanna’s Argument
Khanna’s satire presented the rejection of Mughal history alongside continued enjoyment of Mughlai foods as contradictory.
Critics’ Response
Some users mocked the comparison by saying people can enjoy Italian pizza without needing to study those nations’ rulers in textbooks.
- Writer
- Twinkle Khanna
- Column
- Mrs Funnybones
- Central reference
- A packet of Shahi Masala that Khanna said had expired around the time of the Mughal Empire’s end
- Foods mentioned
- Koftas, kormas, kebabs and Mughlai paneer
- Response
- Heavy trolling and debate on social media
- Main criticism
- Culinary influence does not mean history should romanticise violence
- Additional criticism
- Commenters said some dishes have ancient roots and compared the logic with eating Italian pizza