Parathas can be called a staple part of the Indian diet, serving as a perfect breakfast in many parts of the country. When no one knows what to eat, the answer is always paratha, an Indian stuffed flatbread with fillings that vary across a range of the classic potato, cauliflower or paneer and topped off with ghee, butter or oil.

A lot of national sentiment lays in one serving of a paratha and how you pronounce it. Prantha, or pronta, or paranta can all mean the same thing but identify you as different people. That’s how important this dish is to the mass. 

It is why it can be such an issue when people stumble across a video of parathas being fried with diesel. The viral video was first shared on X by user @nebula_world with the caption: ‘True recipe for cancer (petrol diesel wala paratha): Where are we heading?’ And though there are many different DIY hacks to making things, to make something with diesel seems like a real health hazard. 

In the viral video, a cook of Chandigarh Dhaba, in Chandigarh, is seen using diesel to fry parathas. He follows the same order of the traditional recipe, the stuffing and rolling included, and then pours what resembles oil into the pan and calls it diesel. He then claims that the customers that do try the diesel paratha love it, saying that it resembles ‘kachori,’ another beloved Indian street food, in taste. 

Netizens react in disbelief and with high criticism, some mentioning that it cannot be diesel— it has to be old oil as diesel would catch fire immediately in the temperature that these flames reach. But some don’t quite think it’s a publicity stunt, tagging FSSAI in the replies and quotes and calling for awareness regarding the matter, questioning the Dhaba, itself. 

@DoctorHussain96 has shared this video on his X feed with the caption, ‘What’s next?? Harpic Parantha(?) When ICMR recommends you to avoid whey protein and FSSAI don’t care about the Ethylene oxide level in the masala…what can we say. No wonder India is the cancer capital of the world.’

The original post by @nebula_world has been taken down, as of now.