Mindy Kaling Fondly Recalls Harris’s Kindness During The Famed Dosa-Making Video

India-West News Desk

CHICAGO, IL – Indian-American actress-writer-producer Mindy Kaling brought a mix of humor and pointed to heritage at the Democratic National Convention sharing anecdotes of her connection with vice president Kamala Harris.

“I am an incredibly famous Gen Z actress who you might recognize from The Office, The Mindy Project, or as the woman who courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian in an Instagram cooking video,” Kaling quipped, drawing laughs from the audience. The video depicted the duo making dosa – the crepe is from their shared South Indian heritage.

Kaling’s remarks came as former President Donald Trump continued his racially charged attacks on Harris, falsely claiming that she “happened to turn Black” in recent years. Harris, who attended Howard University, has consistently spoken about her dual identity as both a Black and South Asian woman.Trump and his allies have also repeatedly mispronounced Harris’ name, Kamala, which means “lotus flower” in Sanskrit.

Kaling focused one of her first meetings with Harris when the latter was still a California senator and came to a nervous Kaling’s home to work on a video. “We immediately hit it off. We talked about the love that we have for our moms, who had both passed away from cancer. Both of our mothers were immigrants from India who came to America and committed their lives to serving others,” Kaling shared.

She added that she saw Harris’ mother’s influence clearly in Harris, particularly her commitment to humanity and public service. But what stood out most to Kaling during their time together was Harris’ culinary skills.

“But the thing I remember the most about the vice president,” Kaling said, “is that Kamala Harris can cook. Guys, she was so much better than me. But she also knew that my family was watching, so as she gently corrected my sloppy dosa making, she was complimenting me every step of the way.”