Comedian Hasan Minhaj has become the target of social media jokes after a video in which he discussed dal and its toppings went viral. Minhaj used the term “dharka” while describing how customers ask for extra fried onions with their dal, prompting several Indian food enthusiasts to question the word.
In the video, Minhaj discusses ordering dal at South Asian restaurants in India and the US. He claims that some customers request extra “dharka”, which he describes as fried onions sprinkled over the dish.
“If you go to a South Asian restaurant and even in India, there's this idea when you sometimes order dal, you'll say extra dharka,” he says.
He explains that customers want additional onions and jokes about their unwillingness to compromise on the topping. He adds that people sometimes want so many onions that kissing their partners after the meal would become difficult.
However, his explanation drew criticism and amusement online, with users pointing out that “dharka” is not a commonly recognised term for fried onions. Several also corrected his apparent confusion with tadka, the process of tempering spices in hot oil or ghee before adding them to dal and other Indian dishes.
Internet reacts to Hasan Minhaj's ‘dharka’ comment
Social media users quickly responded to Minhaj's choice of word and the confidence with which he explained its meaning.
One Instagram user described the comment as “Disturbing, on several levels!” Another wrote, “@hasanminhaj is the whitest person I know.”
Another user offered a more detailed correction, explaining that “dharka” was not a commonly used term in India or elsewhere for fried onions. The user added that fried onions are often called birista, while tadka refers to tempering spices.
Others found the idea of requesting extra tadka with dal amusing. One comment read that “extra Dharka” was what their heart did when they saw Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whereas tadka was something added to food and nobody asked for extra tadka.
Another user joked, “All I need in life is this man’s confidence! And some extra DHARKA, whatever it means!”
Someone else compared Minhaj's confidence to ChatGPT responding to a question without having the necessary expertise, writing that he was “being as confident as ChatGPT when it doesn't have the expertise.”
The reactions turned his explanation into a broader discussion about Indian culinary terminology, with users sharing their understanding of tadka and fried onions.
Rohan Joshi gives the ‘dharka’ debate a Dhadkan twist
Comedian Rohan Joshi also joined the online banter, taking the viral controversy further with an AI-generated edit of the poster for the 2000 Bollywood film Dhadkan.
In the modified poster, Joshi replaced the faces of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Shilpa Shetty with Minhaj's face. He also changed the film's title to Dharka, adding a Bollywood-inspired twist to the joke.
Joshi shared the edited poster on social media and apologised to Minhaj in the caption, while admitting that he could not resist sharing it.
“Sorry @hasanminhaj ur awesome but I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t put this out into the world,” he wrote.
The edit added another dimension to the online roasting, transforming the debate over a word associated with dal into a Bollywood-themed meme.
Minhaj's use of “dharka” has since become a talking point on social media, with users correcting his explanation, making jokes about his confidence and sharing their own interpretations of the terminology associated with the familiar Indian dish.
