Throughout school, lunch boxes have always been like our little treasure chests! We couldn’t wait for recess to open it and find out what goodies were in store for the day. And not just our own, even those of others. Sometimes, the excitement of it even made us open our tiffins before recess.The thrill of eating tiffin on the sly, during classes was something else! Tiffin time also taught us a valuable life lesson: the joy of sharing.
My point is, many happy memories of our school days will take us back to our tiffin boxes. And so will these yummy little delights:
1. Maggi
Opening out tiffin boxes to Maggi was one of the most joyous things back then. Even if it were cold and sticky, there was always one fork and many fingers digging in.
2. Fryums
These made for many a fun tiffin breaks. You could never have enough of these delightful crispy, crunchy fun snacks. And though they tasted the same, you always had a favourite colour!
3. Aloo Cutlet
Aloo cutlets, with ketchup filled not only your belly, but also hit that happy spot in your heart. It was like a warm hug from Ma.
4. Chowmein
Noodles for tiffin always shouted “PARTY!”. And everyone was invited!
5. Sandwiches
Grilled, toasted or plain sandwiches were light and yummy with just about everything. Remember taking things from your friend’s tiffin and stuffing them in your sandwich?
6. French Toast
We spend a bomb to grab an All-American French Toast at a fancy cafe once in a while. But the best ones were homemade Indian French Toasts that were packed into our colourful school lunchboxes, with tomato sauce in the little compartment on the side.
7. Paranthas
Nothing can be beat the combination paranthas with jam, acchar, or just ketchup. Stuffed paranthas were moms’ favourite way of using leftover dal/subzi, and we had no complaints either!
8. Mini Idlis with Sambhar
Light and fluffy, these made moms happy because they were healthy and they made us happy because they were delicious!
9. Macaroni
Long before we discovered pasta, there was macaroni. Back then, macaroni could pass as tiffin-time gourmet.
10. Aloo-Tikki Burgers
No McDonald’s or KFC can beat the homemade chatpata burgers, with a toothpick on top.
11. Bread Pizza
Our moms always frowned upon pizza as junk food. But at times, they would indulge us with homemade bread pizzas. Open your tiffin to bread pizza was like hitting the jackpot. You would hide them from all prying eyes!
12. Pulao/Fried Rice
Sprinkled with fresh veggies, these were the ideal mom-made goodness for sharing with friends.
13. Omlette
Yummy fat omlettes with shopped tomatoes, onion and green chillies were welcome any day. Even today, you crave those homemade omlettes.
14. Bread Upma
Moms love this because this sumptuous snack can be rustled up in a jiffy. This was something we loved passing around.
15. Rolls
16. Cakes and pastries
Whenever a cake was baked at home, you always got an extra tiffin-full to share with everyone. And when somebody brought an extra tiffin, oh it was the happiest day!
And then there were those days when mom would just give us a 10 rupee note and we took all morning to decide what to buy from the canteen!
