A lunch or afternoon meal served in an Indian tiffin is typically a thali-style meal, consisting of a combination of vegetables, chawal (rice), dal, roti, pickles, curd, chutneys, and puddings, all served on one large steel plate or a banana leaf.
All the items added to the Indian veg or non-veg thali meal are based on a tantalising selection of regional delicacies with different tastes and multiple nutritional values, offering a variety of flavours in one meal and giving a sense of divine contentment, fuelled by a blended spiced tea from India.
Tiffin was the term for a light luncheon. It went from a British colonial legacy to an everyday lunch in a box with several separate compartments containing components such as rice, curry, dal, and chapattis. These components were kept in separate tiers of the box, and these tiffin meal carriers are also called dabbas.
Tiffing is the term used for having a little swig of diluted liquor. Tiffin is used for light meals, and for those working in Mumbai, India, it refers to the container or stacked tiffin meal boxes that are ferried to the workplace. The famous dabbawallas (also called tiffin wallahs) carry these containers on bicycles and trains, delivering colour-coded, stacked tiffin meal carriers to office workers with clockwork precision.
According to the Lexicon Balatronicum compiled in 1785, tiffing is used for eating or drinking outside of mealtimes. High tea and tiffin meals have since become synonymous with Indian life and cuisine. The tiffin carrier travelled across Asia to places like Singapore, mainland China, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Tiffin carriers can be made of wood, bamboo, or porcelain and are often decorated with ornamentation or floral designs. The antique collections displayed at the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore include the Tiffin Room, a restaurant decorated with antique tiffin carriers displayed in glass cases. Here, one can order a lavish Indian buffet.
The typical brass tiffin has been modified into other types of insulated, lightweight carriers. However, brass containers remain part of the luxury and essential Indian tradition of home-cooked food carried to the workplace, college or school.
A tiffin meal refers to a light meal consumed during the day. It can be a snack, a packed lunchbox or a savoury or sweet dish. It can be vegetarian, vegan, or meat-based, and the dishes are served in small portions.
Indian traditional foods were always served piping hot, and tiffin carrier boxes were made of metal or other materials that kept the food warm, even in cold climates. They were sometimes made of aluminium, which kept the food hot for two to three hours. Inside the tiffin meal carrier, boxes were packed with food in a specific style, complete with cutlery, tastemakers, pickles, and sauces.
In the early days of the British Empire, delegates from foreign nations would often have afternoon tea as part of their daily routine. However, the Indian climate was hotter, stickier, and more humid, so they had to modify how they ate snacks or had tea. Instead of stuffing themselves at a luncheon feast, they took afternoon tea with a light lunch at the hottest time.
It was called Tiffin and tiffing (to take a sip); the name of the meal was somewhat irrelevant, as the Brits preferred liquids rather than a hearty, full-course meal.
Though a tiffin meal is often considered a snack or lunch, it can also be a teatime treat or a full, multiple-course meal packed in a tall, metallic, cylindrical container filled with a variety of dishes, often served in thali meals by Indian restaurants or hotels.
In a typical South Indian thali meal, you can find lentils cooked with tamarind and vegetables, a peppery soup-like dish made with pepper and tamarind, lentils or vegetables cooked with coconut, sautéed vegetables, rice, papadams, and chutneys.
The lunch box tiffin meal often contains all these items, packed separately in small, air-tight containers to avoid spilling and contamination from other items.
In the North East, Tiffin is the snack between meals, often containing nibbles, such as sweet and savoury rice dumplings, pork curries, fried rice, meat keema dishes, chicken choila, lentil curry, and other steamed meats and vegetables, as well as regionally prepared soups, packed in spill-proof microwavable containers for office workers and schoolchildren.
Home-cooked food is considered healthy and delicious, and a typical Indian tiffin box offers a variety of regional delicacies, often served in a thali. The delicacies include spicy rice, yoghurt, lentil curries, pickles, bread and pudding, traditionally served on a big steel plate or a banana leaf.
The compact, portable, homemade lunch, stored in various compartments in the lunch box, serves as a complete thali meal and is transported to men and women working in the fields, offices, or travelling to different places. Hundreds of stainless steel tiered tiffin boxes, or dabbas, are carried on handcrafted carts pushed by dhoti-wearing, white-capped tiffin wallas on Mumbai streets.
Some tiffin meal providers prepare Indian curries and vegetables from scratch for their tiffin meals. You can get a variety of seasonal vegetables, legumes, lentils, healthy fats, tandoori specialities, and meat and kebabs cooked in a charcoal-clay oven. There are also curry sauces, mint sauces, salads, desserts, and a range of korma, bhuna, or vegetable or meat curries to enjoy.
You get multiple varieties of tiffin curry to overindulge in, prepared as thick or watery soups mixed with vegetables or meat, and paired with rice. It is common to see small eateries across India with signs that read 'Tiffin ready'.
It refers to containers holding light snacks or foods, such as cutlets, idlis (rice dumplings), bajjis (vegetable fritters), vadas (lentil fritters), dosas (crisp lentil crepes), or upma (snacks made of broken wheat), which are eaten between breakfast and dinner.
The purpose of such a box is to keep the dishes separate in the compartments. It can be a consistent multi-course Indian meal, with sauces and stir-fried or sautéed meat or vegetable curries prepared in different styles. The multi-course meals with sauces must not run into another dish, as this can cause contamination, dilution, or changes to the dish's authentic flavours or aroma.
The curry must not flow freely or mingle with other foods, making them soggy, so each meal is packed separately in an air-tight container.
A tiffin recipe in a UK container presents multiple vegetarian and non-vegetarian meal combinations. You can get biryanis, curries, tandoori chicken, chapatis, rice, vegetable curries, soups, starters, tikkas, and much more. Get a monthly tiffin subscription for a wholesome meal at affordable rates.
Tiffin meal services are ideal for those who need to cater to special diets, such as gluten-free or vegan. You can even get specific meals for family occasions, office parties or lunch boxes for kids.
There are many places of devotion and social gatherings in India where containers carrying meals were transported to places of worship and used to distribute meals to the masses, allowing pilgrims, workers, and travellers to enjoy daily, wholesome, and delicious meals.
In South India, a tiffin meal is a routine part of hospitality, and the food varies depending on the occasion. Tiffin boxes can be packaged for outdoor picnics or family get-togethers, and Tiffin snacks are carried to offices and schools as lunchtime meals. Workers carry home-prepared meals in tiffin boxes and consume them at lunchtime in the office.
Some restaurants offer tiffin specials with multiple dishes. Tiffinwalahs present tiffin box carriers who deliver orders to busy workers.
Tiffin originated as a British slang term for light luncheon snacks. The term was popularised during the colonial era for lunchtime meals. Since tiffin meals are part of Indian culture, many items are suitable for tea snacks and breakfast, and they are also widely used for light dinners and lunches.
Tiffin is sometimes used interchangeably with luncheon, as if it were the quintessentially extravagant way to have everyday meals. However, it can be used even for meals accompanied by fridge cakes, tea, or regional snacks.
A tiffin is a perfect reusable, compact, hygienic, and sustainable food container. Carefully prepared and packaged meals, enveloped in flavours, spices, and comforts, are carried by office workers on their way to work.
The four-story Tiffin contains fresh basmati rice or bread in the bottom layer, a pickle or salad in the next layer, and a curry or lentil in the top layer. These boxes may contain crispy vegetable fritters, salads, yoghurt, papadum and dessert.
Modern lunchboxes are microwavable, but traditionally, metal boxes were used to store food that retained the warmth and freshness of home-cooked meals, making reheating unnecessary.
Many alternative food containers are made from glass, food-grade stainless steel, or certain types of BPA-free plastic, used for packaging and storing food to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals.
Stainless steel containers do not stain, smell, or wear out with time. These are durable, reusable, and widely used for transporting sumptuous Indian meals.
You can subscribe to a Tiffin service for everyday snacks, lunch, or dinner, delivered from an Indian Tiffin service near you, to try various recipes. The Tiffin is part of the Indian culture and is widely used in South Asia for light dinners, snacks and breakfast items. It is a dish that combines various ingredients, including rice, curry, lentils, vegetables, and chapatti.
Tiffins come in various shapes and sizes, but traditionally, they were round, steel, cylindrical containers with three to four stacking compartments, firmly sealed with a tight-fitting lid and side clip to avoid nasty food spills. They had a handle on the top.
Historically, Indian tiffin meals were carried in brass containers with a locking system and a large spoon to hold the brass pots. Even today, brass containers are used to carry meals to school, work, picnics, or long journeys.
The inside of the brass was plated in tin to prevent corrosion and tarnishing. Later, some lighter tiffin meal boxes made of aluminium, stainless steel, and polystyrene, varying in size and shape, were also in use.
The modern versions have insulated covers to keep the food piping hot. These days, you can find meals packaged in disposable plastic containers or in food-grade packaging materials that are BPA- and phthalate-free and dishwasher- and oven-safe.
In the past, when there were no hotels or restaurants, tiffin boxes served as a way to transport home-cooked food. The food was packed in a style: the lower containers held curries and dry vegetables, and accompaniments were packed on top. Each bowl of food could be taken out, and no plate was needed to eat it.
You can search for affordable tiffin services near me to have nutritious meals. Many overwhelming choices, such as messes, cloud kitchens, home kitchens, eateries, and others, provide multiple options for tiffin services. You can choose the most affordable and rated tiffin service to cater to your food needs.
Many tiffin wallahs offer affordable tiffin services to deliver the taste you want, but you may not get the quality suitable for your health needs. It is necessary to consider the source of the raw material used in preparation, its quality, hygiene, and packaging methods, as most providers try to cut costs in these areas.
The kitchens must invest more in food preparation techniques to deliver the finest meals. Some providers even skip the stages of washing raw materials or may prepare curries or refrigerate them for many days. Foods cooked on a high flame have lower nutrient content, and certain food items are stored for months, which can deteriorate their quality.
Certain restaurants reuse the same cooking oil multiple times; overburning oil can produce harmful fumes that are considered unhealthy.
The packaging for tiffins must be appropriate; one should use non-recyclable plastic bags, thermocol containers, or silver foil bags. The packaging should not react with hot or cold food and alter its chemical composition.
Since there are multiple dishes in a Tiffin, and each regional Indian meal has different flavours, if you want to have typical Punjabi curries, you should not order a Maharashtrian or South Indian Tiffin. Always check the menu carefully and look for nutritious, budget-friendly options.
A tiffin meal refers to a midday luncheon and, in some regions, a snack or a light breakfast. In India, Tiffin means a packed lunch. The containers in which the lunch was packed were called tiffin boxes or tiffin carriers, and the man who delivered them was a tiffin wallah. Lunch packed in such a container is also called a lunchbox.