’KAHA-HAIN?’ ’where are you?’
’KAISAN BHA?’ ’how are you, brother?’
KALAVA the sacred Hindu thread also called mauli in Hindi. It is worn while performing rituals.
KALE CHANNE black chickpeas.
KARO ’do it.’
KHEER rice or vermicelli pudding made with milk and sugar and topped with slivered almonds or pistachios.
KHOYA milk cooked slowly until only the solids remain; used in desserts.
KIDD-AN? Punjabi for ‘how are you?’
’KISTERAN?’ Punjabi for ‘how are things?’
KOKI a spiced Indian flatbread from Sindh.
KOTHI a stand-alone, multistory house.
KSHATRIYA the military and ruling order of the traditional Vedic-Hindu social system as outlined by the Vedas; the warrior caste.
KURTA a long shirt.
LAAD SAHIB bastardization of ‘lord sahib,’ meaning spoiled or arrogant.
LADOO a sweet that is often prepared to celebrate festivals or household events such as weddings. Essentially, ladoos are flour balls cooked in sugar syrup.
LAKH a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to 100,000.
LAOW bring.
LASSI a drink made from buttermilk. It can be plain, sweet or salty, or made with fruit such as banana or mango.
LATHI length of bamboo or cane often used by police or schoolmasters to lash people.
LIZER Indian English; derived from ‘liaiser.’
MANGAL SUTRA a symbol of Hindu marriage consisting of a gold ornament strung from a yellow thread, a string of black beads or a gold chain.
MARMA POINTS an anatomical site where flesh, veins, arteries, tendons, bones and joints meet up. Resembles the acupressure points.
MIXIE Indian English for a food processor.
MOONG DAAL HALWA dessert made from milk and lentils.
NA no? or isn t it?
NAMASHKAR / NAMASTE traditional Hindu greeting said with hands pressed together.
NANI maternal grandmother.
NEEM a tree in the mahogany family.
NETA a politician.
NIMBOO PANI lemonade, salty or sweet or both.
PAAGAL crazy.
PAALAK PANEER spinach with Indian cottage cheese.
PAAN a betel leaf, stuffed with betel nut, lime and other condiments and used as a stimulant.
PAAPRI CHAAT a North Indian fast food. ‘Chaat’ means lick; ‘paapri’ refers to crispy fried-dough wafers made from refined white flour. The paapris are served with boiled potato, boiled chickpeas, chilis, yogurt, tamarind chutney and chaat masala.
PAGRI a traditional Indian turban.
PAISA one hundredth of a rupee.
PANCHA KARMA an Ayurvedic cleansing and rejuvenating program for the body, mind and consciousness.
PANCHNAMA first listing of the evidence and findings that a police officer makes at the scene of a crime.
PANDIT a Hindu, almost always a Brahmin, who has memorized a substantial portion of the Vedas, along with the corresponding rhythms and melodies for chanting or singing them.
PARANTHA flat Indian wheat bread pan-fried and served with yogurt and pickle. Often stuffed with spiced potatoes, cauliflower or cottage cheese and eaten for breakfast.
PATKAS head coverings worn by Sikh children in preference to the bigger turban.
PINNI a Punjabi sweetmeat usually topped with cashews, almonds or pistachios.
POHA a breakfast dish made from flattened rice traditionally cooked with peanuts, mustard seeds and curry leaves.
POORI puffy wheat bread deep fried in oil.
PRANAYAMA a yoga term meaning learning to control the breath.
RISHI a poet-sage through whom the Vedic hymns flowed; credited also as a divine scribe. According to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a seer or shaman to whom the Vedas were originally revealed through states of higher consciousness.
ROOK! stop!
SAALA slang. An expression of disgust.
SADHU a holy man who has renounced the material world to devote himself to spiritual practice. He wanders from place to place and owns nothing. A female sadhu is a sadhvi.
PRASAD offerings of fruit or sweetmeats sanctified in front of deities during prayer and then passed out to devotees to consume as blessings.
PUJA a prayer.
PUKKA Hindi word meaning solid, well made. Also means definitely.
PUNGI also called a ‘been.’ A wind instrument played by snake charmers in India.
RAJA a king.
RAJMA red kidney beans cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and spices. A much-loved Punjabi dish eaten with basmati rice.
SAHIB an Urdu honorific now used across South Asia as a term of respect, equivalent to the English ‘sir.’
SAMADHI a higher level of concentrated meditation.
SAMBAR a South Indian spicy and sour lentil dish.
SANTOOR an Indian trapezoid-shaped hammer dulcimer.
SANYASI a Hindu who has renounced all his material possessions and adopted the life of begging for survival.
SARDAR a male follower of the Sikh religion wearing a turban.
SHERWANI a long coat-like garment worn in South Asia, very similar to a doublet.
SHLOKA a Hindu prayer or hymn that is chanted or sung.
SINDOOR a red powder used by married Hindu women and some Sikh women. During the marriage ceremony, the groom applies some to the parting of the bride’s hair to show that she is now a married woman. Subsequently, sindoor is applied by the wife as part of her dressing routine.
TANDOOR a cylindrical clay oven used to bake breads and meats.
TILAK a red mark on the forehead usually applied after aarti.
TOPI a hat.
TULLI Punjabi slang for drunk.
UBTAN a powerful exfoliating and clarifying all-body scrub used by brides-to-be. Generally contains gram flour, turmeric, sandalwood powder and rose water. It is spread on the body and then
