Kid's Tiffin: 7 Indian Chefs Share Yummy & Easy Kids Lunchbox Recipes

This article is a part of Slurrp’s Back To School series, where we provide all the tips, recipes and guidance parents need to ensure that children resuming school this year get all the food and nutrition they need and deserve.    

Making the perfect tiffin box or lunch box for kids is not the easiest thing in the world, and every parent and guardian knows this. You not only have to cater to kids who are picky eaters, but also ensure that they get plenty of nutrition from their food. This means walking the difficult tightrope of making delicious yet nutritious recipes every single day.  

Also Read: 7 Quick & Easy Rice Dishes For Your Kid's Tiffin Box

Mexican Bean Quesadilla, By Chef Neha Deepak Shah, Recipe Curator and MasterChef India Season 4 Finalist  

Ingredients:  

4 rotis 

For Beans & Veggies filling –  

1/2 cup boiled rajma 

1/2 cup boiled mixed veggies, chopped & blanched 

1/2 onion, chopped 

2 to 3 cloves of garlic 

1 green chilli, fine chopped 

2 tsp oil 

1/4 tsp cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder  

2 tsp lime juice 

Some lime zest 

A pinch of oregano 

1 tbsp ketchup 

2 tsp chilli sauce 

Salt & pepper, to season 

2 cubes of cheese 

Butter, as required  

Salsa, sour cream and guacamole, to serve 

Method: 

Heat oil in a pan and add onion, garlic, green chilli. Cook for a few minutes.  

Add in the veggies along with rajma. Add in all the other ingredients except cheese, lime zest and cook it.  

Add some lime zest towards the end and cool this down. 

For the quesadilla - 

Take a roti, put some mixture on ½ in a semi-circle & grate ½ cube of cheese on it. 

Fold it into a semi-circle, apply butter on both the sides and cook on the tawa. 

Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole. 

Almond Falafel Recipe, By Executive Chef Deepak Dandge, The Orchid Hotel, Mumbai 

Ingredients: 

1 cup almonds 

1 cup chickpeas 

1 medium-sized onion 

2 cloves garlic 

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley 

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 

Oil for deep frying 

Method: 

Put almond in a bowl and cover with 3 cups cold water. Leave to soak for 4 hours. 

Put chickpeas in 3 cups cold water and soak overnight. 

Drain almond and chickpeas and remove the skin from almonds.  

Combine both with roughly chopped onion, parsley and garlic and grind twice in a food grinder. 

Combine with cumin and add salt and pepper to taste. Knead well and leave to rest for 30 minutes. 

Shape a tablespoon of the mixture at a time into balls, then flatten into thick patties. Place on a tray and leave for 30 minutes at room temperature. 

Deep fry by adding 6-8 patties at a time, and fry until they turn brown evenly. 

Remove and drain extra oil using paper towels. 

Serve with homemade pita, or wrap for lunch in a paratha alongside a dip of your kids’ choice. 

Also Read: 8 Amazing South Indian-Style Lunch Box Ideas For Your Kids

Protein Power Puff Sandwich, By Chef Abhimanyu Sen, Entrepreneur And Co-Founder Of Breaking Basmati 

Ingredients: 

For the homemade cheese spread- 

Cottage cheese 

Sour cream or hung curd or mayonnaise 

Blanched and deskinned tomato 

Green Capsicum 

½ teaspoon salt 

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1 teaspoon chilli flakes 

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic 

1 tablespoon finely minced green onions or chives 

1 tablespoon finely minced parsley or 1 teaspoon oregano (as per convenience) 

Extra Virgin Olive oil for preservation 

For The Sandwich 

4 boiled eggs 

2 tbsp herbed cottage cheese spread 

4 slices of bread 

2 tablespoons of Mayonnaise 

A little butter 

3-4 slices of Iceberg lettuce leaf (optional) 

2 slices of cheese (optional) 

Plain potato chips, to serve 

Method: 

Combine the cottage cheese and sour cream (in case you’re using hung curd, make sure to add salt and whisk it lightly before adding it to the bowl) in a medium bowl and blend well.  

Add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and adjust seasonings.  

Pour in extra virgin olive oil generously and judiciously.  

Transfer the herby creamy spread onto a glass jar with an air-tight lid and refrigerate it well before serving.  

Feel free to spread it on toasted bread or plain cream-cracker biscuits or just eat a spoonful as is. Do not forget to garnish with fresh parsley and freshly squeezed lemon juice if serving as a dip. 

Now for the sandwich, hard boil the eggs (roughly for 12mins), cool and peel (Extra tip: For best peeling experience, add a pinch of baking powder into the water before putting in the eggs for boil).  

Halve and remove the yolks and finely chop the egg whites.  

Mix the yolks with mayonnaise until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the chopped eggs. 

Rinse the lettuce and shake it dry.  

Spread the herbed cottage cheese on the slices of bread, and lay a slice of cheese.  

Arrange the lettuce leaves on it and top it off with the egg salad.  

Cover with the remaining slice of bread, slice in half and secure with wooden skewers(optional).  

If you want score some extra brownie points from the little ones then do not forget to serve the sandwiches with their favourite bag of chips. 

Veggie Waffle Dosa, By Chef Nitish Chandra Phani, Executive Chef, The Tamara Kodai 

Ingredients: 

200 grams Dosa batter 

1 Tablespoon Onion, chopped   

1 tablespoon Coriander, chopped 

1 tablespoon Carrots, grated 

1 teaspoon seedless tomato, chopped  

6 nos. curry leaves 

Salt to taste  

1 tablespoon butter 

Method: 

Take a bowl and add dosa batter, chopped onion, coriander, tomatoes, grated carrots, and curry leaves and mix well.  

Heat a waffle maker. Brush with butter and pour the batter in. Cook till golden on both sides and carefully remove the dosa waffles onto a plate. 

Serve with an assortment of chutneys like coriander or tomato chutney. 

Also Read: 7 Healthy & Tasty Lunch Box Ideas For Kids

Mini Idli Sandwiches, By Chef Amulya Kumar Das, Novotel Goa Candolim 

Ingredients: 

6 nos. mini idli 

10g tomato, chopped 

10g onion, chopped 

1 slice cheese  

20g tomato ketchup 

5g sugar 

20g popcorn 

Method: 

Grease the mini idli molds with ghee and spoon out the batter on to them.  

Place the idli plates in the idli steamer and set the heat on high. 

When the steam has been coming sufficiently, set the flame to sim and keep on range for 10 minutes.  

No need to add weight. Place a spoon in a little cup of water sprinkle water on the idli plates and use this spoon to scoop out the idli.  

Take out the serving bowl and add chopped onion, tomato & tomato ketchup and mix well.  

Add on the idli on top one lettuce leave and apply the onion tomato salsa & cheese covered in another idli and nicely serve to your kids a tasty yet healthy breakfast along with healthy buttered popcorn. 

Quinoa Chia Porridge, By Chef Rahul Patil, Chef De Cuisine, Hyatt Regency Pune  

Ingredients: 

3/4 cups Quinoa                         

120 ml almond milk (or your favorite nut milk)           

Water, as required  

60 gms chia seeds                         

1 tsp Coconut butter (optional)                 

2 tsp Sweetener of choice (raw honey, maple syrup)     

Sea salt, a pinch  

1 vanilla pod   

2g ground cinnamon      

2 nos cardamom pods      

2g fresh turmeric          

40g red currants  

1/2 peach, roughly sliced/chopped      

1/2 nectarine, roughly sliced/chopped     

10g parmesan shavings              

5g thyme 

Method: 

Add the quinoa first in simmered water to boil till it gets soft. 

Add all the other ingredients for the porridge to a pot and place on medium to low heat.  

Keep stirring the porridge till it becomes thick.  

Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to the minimum. 

Simmer until cooked, covered, stirring every now and then and making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.  

Once ready, add the toppings and serve warm. 

Garnish with parmesan shavings and chopped thyme and serve. 

Also Read: 8 Healthy Tiffin Snack Ideas For Kids

Paushtik Amboli, By Chef Vikram Patil, Courtyard by Marriott Pune-Chakan 

Ingredients: 

100g Sattu Atta 

100g Ragi Atta 

100g Bajra Atta 

100g Oats 

100g Bhagar Atta 

20g Matki Sprout 

20g Black Urad Sprout 

20g Green Moong Sprout 

20g Chopped Onion 

20g Chopped Tomato 

20gChopped Coriander 

10g Chopped Green Chilies 

10g Chopped Capsicum 

Salt, to taste 

Sugar, to taste 

50g Oil 

Method: 

Mix together all the flours, add salt, sugar, and set the mixture aside overnight to ferment. 

Heat a griddle and grease it with oil. Maintain medium heat. 

While the griddle heats up, prepare all the chopped vegetables. 

Pour the fermented batter onto the griddle, similar to making uttapam. 

Spread the chopped vegetables evenly over the batter. 

Cook the amboli until it turns golden brown on both sides. 

Serve hot with any kind of chutney.