More precisely, P is for Peranakan and Puteh, the character in a new series of children's books written by a mother of three By Benita Aw Yeong

It was the threat of forgetting that inspired author Adeline Foo to begin remembering. The 37-year-old civil servant by day and author on weekends began writing her new children's series, The Story Of Puteh, when her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease late last year.

The series is about the adventures of a girl named Puteh (which means white in Malay). Puteh was the nickname of Foo's grandmother, who loved to put rice powder on her face which gave her a creamy white complexion.

Two books in the four-part series, The Beaded Slippers and The Kitchen God, are already in the bookshops.

The series began when Foo, the daughter of a Peranakan father and a Chinese mother, browsed through back copies of the Peranakan Association's newsletters at the library.

Pathmavali Rengayah believes in taking short cuts, but still serves tasty dishes, such as chilli prawns with fermented beans By Huang Lijie

For all but the most diligent home cook, the deal breaker in a recipe is often its length. Those that read like mini essays seldom make it to the family dinner table.

Housewife Pathmavali Rengayah, 61, admits to succumbing to this weakness, especially when cooking her ethnic cuisine - Peranakan Indian food.

The cuisine is a blend of South Indian and Peranakan Chinese culinary influences. It originates from the Chitty Melaka, a community of South Indian Tamil merchants who settled in Malacca in the 15th century and married the local Malay, Javanese and Batak women, as well as Peranakan Chinese.

By Dr. Partha Desikan, Bangalore, India

I found a reference to chongkak in Heather Ong’s ‘Chongkak, anyone?’ in an old issue of The Peranakan (July-September 1999) . Some members of the youth group of the association had gathered together on 17 July that year at Chilli Padi, the Nonya family restaurant, on a nostalgic trip to rediscover traditional Peranakan Games. Heather recalled in her write-up the pervasive aroma of laksa, mee siam, bubor cha-cha and Nonya kueh, and also her impression at the time that though there were old and young Peranakans present, many participants seemed quite unfamiliar with the method of playing the old board game, chongkak. Things must have improved substantially since, as we find chongkak taking pride of place in a 2006 brochure of Shangrila’s Rasa Sentosa resort when talking about their Peranakan Cultural Night, during which ‘guests will be introduced to assorted Peranakan delights such as cherki game, chongkak and Nonya beadwork while being entertained with cultural songs and dance performances.’ The Peranakan love of card games, especially of cherki, is well known. The reference to chongkak in the brochure, marking its definite arrival again in the urban scene, is bound to warm the hearts of old-timers.

Barbara Fras introducing Peter Lee

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