NYC chef names new dish on Indian-American spelling bee winner

New York, June 10: A popular New York restaurant has unveiled in its menu a new dish – Arvind mini knaidel – named after the 2013 National Spelling Bee winner Arvind Mahankali.

Indian-American student Arvind won first place in Scripps National Spelling Bee competition by correctly spelling the word knaidel, the German derived Yiddish word for matzo ball, a small mass of leavened dough that's a kosher delicacy.

This was announced today at an event here organised by US Congresswoman Grace Meng to commemorate the victory of Arvind, who resides in her constituency in Queens's borough of New York, at Bens Best Kosher Deli in Rego Park, Queens.

It was attended by a large number of Indian-American and Jewish-American community leaders of New York. Jay Parker, the owner and chef of the restaurant announced that the new menu –Arvind mini knaidel would be served to its customers from today to commemorate the victory of the neighborhood boy in the national championship.

The mini matzo balls made out of dough, mayonnaise and eggs is essentially a soup menu, he said dedicating the new dish to the winner to all round cheers of guests.

He said the dish represent the love of Jewish community to the winner. Rego Park is predominantly a Jewish neighborhood of New York. Meng, a member of US House of Representatives, who had arranged the event with community organisations, said the new dish exemplifies the diversity of Queens, especially New York that has immigrants from every country around the world.

She said the Queens borough, New York City and the New York State is proud of and is now celebrating the 13-year-old boy's hard work and success in national competition.

She also presented Arvind with a US national flag that was flown atop The Capitol building in Washington in his honour and congratulated Arvind's parents – Srinivas and Bhavani Mahankali, a native of Andhra Pradesh.

Cynthia Zalisky, executive director of Queens Jewish Community Council, Uma Mysorekar, president of Hindu Temple Society of North America said their congregation was proud of the achievement of Arvind who put Queens's borough on the international map.

PTI