I’m not going to pretend that I’m the most Indian-American woman ever. I’m not! I’m half-Indian, half-white and I don’t even like Indian food that much. But I grew up around Indian cooking and Indian culture and I love seeing Indian-American success. Success like Mindy Kaling and Kamala Harris. I’m so proud of both of them! And so I find it incredibly cool that Mindy invited Kamala to her LA home to cook for her. That is a whole mood, as the kids would say. Senator Harris was super-impressed that Mindy keeps all of her spices and Indian ingredients in Taster’s Choice jars too. Classy!! This video is just super-sweet:
I like how Mindy felt super-judged by Kamala throughout the video (it’s true, Kamala was judging her a bit) and I like how Mindy was super-impressed with Kamala’s onion-cutting. Mindy was taking forever with that ginger. I like all of the talk about their mothers and how they were basically superheroines who worked full-time professionally and baked cookies from scratch and raised a family.
Anyway, I know there are conversations about “oh, Kamala needs Indian-Americans to vote for her” or whatever, but from where I sit… it’s not like Mindy is the gatekeeper of the Indian-American vote (which is overwhelming Democratic too, demographically). I think Kamala just wanted to show a different side of herself and she probably just wanted to hang out with Mindy. And Mindy is clearly a big Kamala supporter.
Kal Penn stanned:
Dear 12 Year Old Me,
One day, one of the funniest people on tv will cook a meal with a progressive US Senator who happens to be running for President & they’ll both be strong Indian American women.
-Your Future Self https://t.co/zTQdOMllj1
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) November 26, 2019
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
This was such a lovely video to watch first thing in the morning!
That was adorable, they are both adorable. Masala dosa is my family’s Sunday breakfast. Served with coconut chutney and spicy sambar. Go strong, Dosa loving Indian women!
Sigh… I so wish Kamala becomes the 46th President of United States…
me too
She is my top choice. I just adore her. I think her environmental plan, her paid family leave and her legalization plan (especially setting up for those who were in prison to get the fist chance at the license) are amazing and could get passed!!!
Same!!
Canadian here, and she definitely has my vote!
SAME. I’m totally in the K Hive!
It’s 5am and I am sooo hungry right now. I learned something new about South Indian cuisine. I’m so enamoured of an entire regional culture being vegetarian. (I don’t quite understand how eggs are off limits for coming from a mother but it’s okay to eat yogurt. I’ll look that up.)
I am hugely supportive of Kamala Harris (who I don’t think is vegetarian IRL) but excited by all the talk of veganism in this race.
They weren’t being accurate about an entire regional culture being vegetarian. Some Hindu communities are vegetarian. It’s caste based rather than region based; their religious beliefs prohibit the consumption of meat, poultry eggs etc. It has nothing to do with geography as they claim in the video, lots of South Indians in all South Indian states are meat eaters. In India, Brahmins and Jains are caste based communities (not geographical communities) that are strictly vegetarian. Conservative Jains take it a step further and don’t eat any vegetable that grows below the ground, so onions, garlic, potatoes are all a no-go. I believe Mindy’s family and Kamala’s maternal family are South Indian Brahmins, why is probably why meat was taboo. I have often questioned my Brahmin friends about why they were allowed milk and not eggs and the reasoning was always – eggs can hatch and become life, milk can’t
Evil Owl:
Thanks for the explanation! I am definitely intrigued to learn more now. I consider potatoes a staple of Indian cuisine, so that’s another thing I had no idea about. The dairy thing. . . well. I can see the rationale if the dairy cows and their babies are treated humanly/kept together. In fact, I would consider returning to dairy once in awhile under those conditions (still lactose intolerant but maybe a small bit now and then).
Absolutely plan to research further.
I have always been a fan of Indian food!
Kal Penn’s tweet is getting me a little teary-eyed.
I like this because I love Mindy, and I like Kamala a lot, and I love cooking, and Indian food. So this is basically just all good stuff for me. Kamala has often posted on her IG about what she cooks for holidays and stuff so it seems to me like she is legitimately a good cook and that she really does enjoy it (she had a big tamale making day…..I feel like it was a few months ago but it may have been last December lol.)
Same.
I’m also amazed that Kamala was able to cut that onion while they both continued to chat. I can’t be anywhere near onion chopping without my eyes turning red and streaming like my pet just died. I have to use a food processor or have my husband do it (and leave the room).
Here’s the secret to chopping onions that won’t gouge your eyes out: Never cut the bottom first. Always cut from the top down.
I always slice my onions in half through the root end. Is that what you do, @anon? I never have an issue with crying/tears.
Another tip for tear free onion chopping. Contact lenses! I am short sighted and always have them on, very useful while cutting onions. Also washing & soaking the onions for 10 minutes prior to chop-chop
So true!
I use only one contact (mondovision) for distance, rather than two because I won’t see well close up with both eyes corrected ( at 53, my near vision is still pretty darn good)- as a result, when I cut onions, one eye tears, while the other is fine.
OMG, how great is that? Love it!
Kamala is my candidate of choice. I think as an Indian -AfricanAmerican woman she has a unique perspective and I also think she is the ONLY candidate that Trump is actually afraid of. As well he should be.
He may be, but he didn’t ask Rudy to get Ukraine to bring her down.
He’ll go after whomever seems the current likely threat, so we’ll know
if Biden fades after a couple of primary rounds who Trump fears next.
His biggest fear focus currently is likely to be having his tax returns released.
He went after Biden because he was leading in the polls. It was simple math. The irony of all of this is that in a lot of polls Biden is no longer the front runner.
Bullies go after easy targets. Hunter Biden made Joe Biden an easy target.
In the near year since Kamala announces her campaign, Trump has mentioned her in a tweet ONCE. And when she responded he didn’t reply back! The King of Twitter beefs said NADA. He’s scared of her.
And we know he is afraid of his tax returns being released. Im speaking more to who he will have to go toe to toe with during the general. In debates, etc. he’s not afraid of Biden, he’s not afraid of Warren and he’s not afraid of Bernie.
Me, too, since day one.
Upvote. 🙂
Love, love, love it. Also, Kal Penn <3 <3 <3
I wish the primaries began in more representative states with non-caucus voting.
I completely agree with you. Though as long as the electoral college is in place, we do need to know who can definitively win in those dozen or so states with lower populations.
Me too. By the time the primary rolls around in my state, it’s pretty much decided.
I’m still likely voting for Warren, but Harris has been a close second.
And then I’ll probably have to hold my nose and vote for Biden in the general, because everything sucks.
This just made my whole week. Also, I think I just found a solution to my spice problem, lol.
I’ve always loved and appreciated the Indian-American community and their enormous contributions to the United States (and the rest of the world). Thanks for posting. 🙂
My comment disappeared. Anyway…loved this video and their mutual admiration for their mothers and all they did for them.
I have been a fan of Mindy for years and I am SO happy for her success. She really is role model for all young women
Ok this was hands down the BEST and most down to Earth and authentic appearance Kamala Harris has ever done second only to her congressional ass-kicking questionings. More this and less trying to be like everyone else.
Hmm not true. This video was great, but I highly recommend watching videos of her one on one talks with voters as well as her town halls.
I’ve watched this video so many times! I’ve loved Mindy since the office. She is just my favorite, and Kamala is my first choice of President. It was fun to learn more about their families, cooking (that onion chopping was wow). The food looks amazing.
Also I love Mindy’s kitchen
I’m putting this here because I have no place else to talk about this. But. Kamala Harris’ maternal family lives in the same neighbourhood, in the same city, that I grew up in. Not in the same time, obviously, I’m like half her age, but yeah. I spoke to a few family members and they mentioned that her mother’s parents lived a few streets away from us, and my parents had definitely heard of her parents. Last I heard, she still has an aunt or two who lives in the same neighbourhood. Yeah. I’m not even bragging about this, btw, but I had to write it out because like…it’s just weird to find out that someone else came from the same corner of the world as you, sort of.
I hear you! Mr. Rogers’ house in real life was right around the corner from where I grew up — he really was in my neighborhood! : )