As you all already know by now my son, T goes to a Kindergarten nearby and has a wonderful time there with his multi-ethnic friends and he looks forward to go there every morning. He has now caught a fancy to take a small tiffin box for snacks in the Kindergarten. Usually all the meal times are taken care over there, but recently his friend Alex started getting "Milchbrot" (Milk bread) with some sausages and honey to the Kindergarten and the fever of bringing snacks spread to other household too. T and I explored at least 2-3 supermarkets to search Milchbrot and finally found a packet of 8 small breads (very unhealthy, contains Maida and complex sounding chemicals which we have no idea of what it exactly is). I bought it for him because he was so looking forward to it but I managed to convince him that it can't be consumed on a daily basis for 2-3 weeks in a row. Thankfully he understood and then began a series of food surprises in his tiffin box.
After the bread got over and I refused to buy another packet for him, he came up with an idea. He asked me to cook Shevai Upma, Upma, Poha, sometimes phodnichi poli (left over chapatis, broken into pieces and cooked with oil, onion and tempering, groundnuts, coriander), Idli one after the other on weekdays. These were the items which he took daily to his school in India and I personally cooked them for him by getting up at 5:30 am in the morning. I never resorted to packed food items or bread there. On the first day when he took the snack box, all his friends gathered around him and asked him what he had brought. Even the caretakers in the Kindergarten were inquisitive about what all has gone into the dish. T must have explained in his own way as per his understanding of the food item. Shevai upma was an instant hit and T named it Indian noodles!!! What a name! I was so proud of my boy! How imaginative and apt! Shevai/Vermicelli does look like noodles and because it was made with Indian style of oil tempering and all, Indian noodles was the right name!
He started taking little extra for his friends too and they usually had a long discussion at the table about what they particularly liked in the dish and what they did not like. Indian dishes are very elaborate and colorful and tasty in front of the same old bread (of different flours maybe) and cheese (also of 100 varieties) and that must have spiked the interest of the kids in what T took to the Kindergarten. As soon as he enters in the morning nowadays, his friends ask him, what have you got today? And he answers accordingly and they all look forward to the snack session at 3 pm everyday.
Now T tells me that I should give only Indian items in the box and not anything else. I instantly knew why he said that. He can impress his friends and other caretakers there and create a good impression by sharing the food with them. I don't mind giving him extra for his friends as long as they eat and enjoy it. They sit together, discuss about the good and bad, taste a new thing, learn to share. It's a great learning for the kids and for T as well and it almost happens unconsciously!
After the bread got over and I refused to buy another packet for him, he came up with an idea. He asked me to cook Shevai Upma, Upma, Poha, sometimes phodnichi poli (left over chapatis, broken into pieces and cooked with oil, onion and tempering, groundnuts, coriander), Idli one after the other on weekdays. These were the items which he took daily to his school in India and I personally cooked them for him by getting up at 5:30 am in the morning. I never resorted to packed food items or bread there. On the first day when he took the snack box, all his friends gathered around him and asked him what he had brought. Even the caretakers in the Kindergarten were inquisitive about what all has gone into the dish. T must have explained in his own way as per his understanding of the food item. Shevai upma was an instant hit and T named it Indian noodles!!! What a name! I was so proud of my boy! How imaginative and apt! Shevai/Vermicelli does look like noodles and because it was made with Indian style of oil tempering and all, Indian noodles was the right name!
He started taking little extra for his friends too and they usually had a long discussion at the table about what they particularly liked in the dish and what they did not like. Indian dishes are very elaborate and colorful and tasty in front of the same old bread (of different flours maybe) and cheese (also of 100 varieties) and that must have spiked the interest of the kids in what T took to the Kindergarten. As soon as he enters in the morning nowadays, his friends ask him, what have you got today? And he answers accordingly and they all look forward to the snack session at 3 pm everyday.
Now T tells me that I should give only Indian items in the box and not anything else. I instantly knew why he said that. He can impress his friends and other caretakers there and create a good impression by sharing the food with them. I don't mind giving him extra for his friends as long as they eat and enjoy it. They sit together, discuss about the good and bad, taste a new thing, learn to share. It's a great learning for the kids and for T as well and it almost happens unconsciously!
Very interesting and impressive how both you and Tanay have introduced Indian tiffins to German audience and made it a hit while keeping the eating habit of Tanay healthy and tasty :)
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