ABCs of food

Very soon I'll have to start teaching Mikhail the letters of the English alphabet.
But instead of teaching him A for apple, B for ball, C for cat etc. Thought I'd teach him my way.
The foodie way...

A for Appams, the lovely soft 'melt in your mouth' from Kerala. Similar to dosas, though fatter.

B for Bhel puri from Bikanerwala with the lovely sweet and spicy chutneys. But even better from the 'bhaiyas' in Bandra Bandstand... No one can beat Yadav in his crisp white dhoti kurta..

C for Cutlets, Mutton Cutlets, chicken cutlets ..I love them all. Especially those Lacey cutlets from Lucky or Delhi Darbar or Jeffs in Mumbai. C also for juicy crab curry, the Mangalorean way.

D for Dunkin' Donuts ...divine, love the part where you get a dozen for 35 dirhams.
D also for Dhansak. Lovely brown dal with mutton and a caramelised brown rice...yummm.

E for Eggs ( eedoo)...I'm half a Parsi. Parsis and eggs always go together. Tamatar Par eedoo, methi par eedoo. Easy to make and very very tasty.

F for fried fish. Simple dal, rice and fried fish is a super combination with a little pickle or gujarati choondo.

G for gluttony, a sin which many foodies commit.
Also G for Gajar halwa, one of my favourite Indian desserts. What a better way to take care of your eyes than gorging on Carrots in dessert form.

H for Haldiram's Chivda, you get it anywhere in the world. Try the Khatta meetha it is absolutely amazing. H for hummus with kaboos, Arabic bread. Had too much of it on this side of the world

I for ice-creams, we all love them. Be it an Amul to a Haagen Dasz..ice creams are the world's favourite dessert. Suffering from a bad sore throat, thanks to them.

J for Jalebis, those squiggly wiggly yellow or orange sweets dripping with sugar syrup....oh myyyyy.

K for Karela( snake gourd) not my favourite vegetable , but with a lil jaggery it is palatable.

L for ladoos, boondi ladoos, besan ladoos, rawa ladoos, dink ladoos, I love them all...though no methi ladoos please.

M for Malai Sandwich or mango rabdi or my Motichoor ladoo Mikhail.

N for nachos with lots of cheeeeese or nankathais made by mum or Serena. Both make superb nankathais.

O for Olives not the resto bar at Pali Hill, but the green olives or black olives you put on pizzas or pastas. They add a lovely zing to the dish.

P for Pancakes with Nutella or Pancakes with Coconut and jaggery the Mangalorean way.

Q for quiches, lil tarts filled with chicken and cheese or spinach and cheese.

R for rum soaked Christmas pudding. A dash of rum to cake makes it tastier. Try it.
R for rum balls, I love them...

S for Sushi. Always thought, who would want to eat raw fish. But after eating it, realised it is indeed tasty, though can't make a meal of it.
S for Sizzlers and sizzling brownie, how could I forget! Just ate last week.

T for Tandoori chicken. No KFC can beat the taste of chicken from a tandoor marinated with lovely spices.

U for Undhiyo, a lip smacking dish from the Gujaratis made during winter with 9 vegetables. Sweet and spicy, just the way I love it.

V for Vindaloo, egg, chicken or mutton, Goan or Mangalorean. They all taste lovely with sweet rice or pav.

W for Wantons, crispy or steamed, bring them all with a spicy sauce.

X for Xacuti a Goan dish with chicken marinated in various spices.

Y for Yoghurts especially the fruit ones like apricot and peach or strawberry or fruits of the forest. They are awesome!

Z for Zebra Torte, a rich cake with white and dark chocolate or Zinger burger from KFC, the lovely juicy burger with a big chunk of fried chicken, the only thing I like from KFC.

I think this would be the best way to teach Mikhail his first lessons. What say!

What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
This is one of Shakespeare's quotes of Romeo and Juliet.

Maybe a rose would smell the same if called by another name, but I don't think I would like to be called anything else but 'CHARMAINE'.

I love my name. It means 'Charming' in French.
Forgive me for being immodest but my name suits me to the 'T'.

But this beautiful name of mine has been misspelt, mispronounced and murdered in short.
It has to be pronounced as 'Shar Main'.
I know my name starts with a 'C' but that doesn't mean that it should be pronounced as 'Charr Mahine'.
I remember my Math professor calling me 'Chairman'.
During my 8 year old career in banking, I was rechristened 'Shamin' or even 'Shamim'...
Rechristened and converted by colleagues and clients, especially in postal communications from brokers.
I can't blame anyone as my name is such, that I am often referred to as 'Mr. Charmaine Rangel'.

But what about a simple name like 'Carl'. That's my brother's name. Poor guy he has often had a sex change, where his name is misspelt as 'Carol'.

My maiden name 'Daji' such an easy pronounceable surname is often misspelt as 'Darji' or 'Darjee' , maybe people assumed that I am a seamstress or my ancestors were a whole lot of tailors.
I recall my first grade teacher calling me ' Daagii'.
My present surname is to be pronounced as 'Rain gel' but it is mispronounced as 'Run gale'.
My husband faces the same problem too with a simple name like 'Nigel'. Now what's so difficult to pronounce his name, but sadly he is referred to as 'Ni gol' by his European boss.
Surprising though, since his name is English.

I guess we 'Catlicks' (Catholics) have funny names which are difficult to pronounce or spell.
What men! Can't blame these buggers for spoiling our name naaa!

Wanted to give my son a three letter name but named him 'Mikhail'
Luckily on his birth certificate, the BMC have been kind enough to copy the name correctly.
I wonder what he will face in future though.
That's a problem he will have to face on his own......