New York:
A popular New York restaurant has unveiled a new dish in its menu - 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 Monday at an event 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 Monday to commemorate the victory of the neighbourhood 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. He added that the dish represents the love of the Jewish community towards the winner. Rego Park is predominantly a Jewish neighbourhood 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 across the world.
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,
natives of Andhra Pradesh.