If you want to be let into a Malayali family, go into the kitchen and learn the names of what is happening there. This part starts with a split that English misses: നെല്ല് (the paddy), അരി (the raw grain) and ചോറ് (cooked rice), with the same pattern in Japanese and Malay. Then the constants of a Kerala kitchen, from coconut and curry leaves to ginger, a word that reached English by ship. Then the verbs Kerala cooking needs every day, including ചിരകുക, to grate coconut, and അരയ്ക്കുക, to grind. Words and phrases in this class: നെല്ല് (nellu) – paddy, the rice plant അരി (ari) – raw rice grain ചോറ് (choru) – cooked rice ഞാൻ ചോറ് കഴിച്ചു (njaan choru kazhichu) – I ate rice തേങ്ങ (thenga) – coconut തേങ്ങാപ്പാൽ (thengaappaal) – coconut milk വെളിച്ചെണ്ണ (velichenna) – coconut oil കറിവേപ്പില (kariveppila) – curry leaves ഇഞ്ചി (inchi) – ginger ഞാൻ ഉള്ളി അരിഞ്ഞു (njaan ulli arinju) – I chopped the onion ഞാൻ തേങ്ങ ചിരകി (njaan thenga chiraki) – I grated the coconut ഞാൻ ചമ്മന്തി അരച്ചു (njaan chammanthi arachu) – I ground the chutney പിഴിയുക (pizhiyuka) – to squeeze, to wring out In this class: • നെല്ല്, അരി, ചോറ്: three rice words, and the languages that split rice the same way • The constants of a Kerala kitchen, and the ginger that travelled to English • The verbs Kerala cooking needs daily: chop, grate, grind, squeeze, fry • Why ചോറ് കഴിച്ചോ? is a question about care as well as food Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.