Bell pepper dal, padima chutney: Indian food at Dutch office raises eyebrows

An Indian employee in the Netherlands shared his office’s touching attempt at Indian cuisine in an Instagram Reel that has gone viral. Anuvind Kanwal filmed a video of the “questionable” dishes that were served to employees in the name of Indian food. “The Indian food at my office in the Netherlands is a bit questionable,” he wrote.

His video shows a spread that includes something called “Bell Pepper Dal” and “Padima Chutney.” Also on offer are bite-sized naans and green beans. The padima chutney, presumably a misspelling of pudina or mint chutney, contains celery, according to the information cards displayed alongside the dishes.

Kanwal is an employee of the Dutch company Miro, which describes itself as a “visual workspace for innovation that enables distributed teams of any size to dream, design, and build the future together” on LinkedIn.

Sharing the video on Instagram, he wrote: “The ‘Indian food’ served today at my office in the Netherlands seems a bit questionable to say the least.”

“I sure don’t want to know what “Padima Chutney” is made of,” Kanwal added with a laughing face emoji.

Take a look at the video below:

The video has racked up nearly 1 million views and a ton of amused comments on Instagram. Many praised Miro for trying to be more diverse and catering to Indian tastebuds, while others wondered how much research had gone into creating the Indian spread.

“Dude, I bet Europeans feel the same way about the Indian ‘continental’ cuisine. I think it’s a great thing that they are trying to be more inclusive and adventurous with their taste buds,” wrote one Instagram user.

“The fact that they’re making an effort is appreciable in itself,” another agreed.

“Be grateful they are at least trying to accommodate you,” a third wrote.

One Instagram user said: “The food literally offended the Indian foodie inside me.”

“Padima chutney wins this buffet,” another joked with a laughing face emoji.