Steps at a glance
- Fix the base of every boxDecide what every box always has, for example rotis or rice, a dal, a vegetable and a salad.
- Give each day one main dishChange one or two dishes a day. Keep a theme per day so the week is easy to remember.
- Balance heavy and light daysFollow a rich dish with a simple one, and keep one lighter day mid-week.
- Make a shopping list for the weekList dry goods for the whole week and fresh vegetables for every two or three days.
- Share the week on the weekendSend the full week once, then a short reminder the evening before each day.
- Note what comes back uneatenChange the dish customers leave, and repeat the ones they ask for.
What should every tiffin box contain?
A good tiffin feels like a home meal: filling, balanced and not too oily. A fixed base makes your work easier and your cost steady.
- A grain: rice, rotis, or both.
- A protein: dal, beans, chickpeas, curd, egg or a non-veg dish on fixed days.
- A vegetable dish, dry or with gravy.
- Something fresh: salad, pickle or a few slices of cucumber.
- On some days, a small sweet. Customers notice the Sunday or Friday treat.
Keep the portion of each part the same every day. Write it down: so many rotis, one cup of dal, one cup of vegetable. Steady portions mean a steady cost per box.
A small kitchen scale and the same set of serving spoons every day help more than any recipe book. When a helper packs the boxes, show them the spoon for each dish once, and every box will look the same.
What does a balanced week look like?
Here is a sample week for a lunch and dinner service. Change the dishes to what you cook best and what your customers like.
| Day | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Dal, rice, 2 rotis, mixed vegetables, salad | Vegetable pulao, raita |
| Tuesday | Chana masala, rice, 2 rotis, salad | Aloo gobi, 3 rotis, dal |
| Wednesday | Kadhi, rice, 2 rotis, beans stir-fry (light day) | Vegetable khichdi, curd |
| Thursday | Dal, rice, 2 rotis, okra fry, salad | Mixed dal, 3 rotis, carrot and peas |
| Friday | Lemon rice, dal, 2 rotis, cabbage, small sweet | Egg curry or potato curry, rotis |
| Saturday | Chickpea pulao, raita, salad | Day off for dinner |
| Sunday | Closed | Closed |
Notice the pattern: the base repeats, one dish changes, Wednesday is lighter, and Friday has a small treat. Next week, keep the pattern and swap a few dishes.
How do you plan shopping and cooking for the week?
- Buy dry goods (rice, flour, dal, oil, spices) once a week.
- Buy vegetables every two or three days so they stay fresh.
- Plan dishes that share ingredients. Tuesday's potatoes and Friday's potato curry can come from one bag.
- Prepare what you can the night before: soak dal, chop onions, knead dough.
- Never put yesterday's leftovers in a customer's box. Fresh every day is your promise.
A simple shopping plan for the sample week above could look like this:
| When | What to buy | For which days |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | Rice, flour, dals, chickpeas, oil, spices | The whole week |
| Saturday | Potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots | Monday to Wednesday |
| Wednesday | Okra, beans, salad vegetables, curd | Thursday to Saturday |
| Every day | Small top-ups only | Tomorrow |
How do you change the menu with the seasons?
Keep the weekly pattern, and change the vegetables with the season. Seasonal vegetables are cheaper, fresher and taste better, so your cost goes down while the food gets better.
- In hot months, add more curd, buttermilk and light dishes, and fewer heavy gravies.
- In cold months, customers enjoy richer dals, more rotis and warm soups.
- On festival days, a small sweet or a special dish costs little and is remembered for long.
- If a festival means many customers are away, send the menu early and ask who wants a box.
Lunch and dinner do not need two separate plans. Many cooks keep lunch filling and dinner lighter, and use the same weekly pattern for both, so shopping stays simple.
How do you handle diets and special requests?
Customers will ask for less oil, less spice, no onion or garlic, or eggless food. You cannot cook a different menu for each person. Decide what you can offer and say it clearly.
- Offer one or two fixed options, for example veg and non-veg, or regular and less spicy.
- Mark each dish as veg, egg or non-veg in your menu.
- Tell customers when a dish has nuts, egg, milk or other common allergens.
- Say no kindly to requests you cannot do safely every day. It is better than a mistake.
If you cook both veg and non-veg, keep them apart: separate pots, spoons and boxes, and pack the veg boxes first. Some customers will only eat from a kitchen that keeps them apart, so tell them how you do it. If you cook non-veg only on some days, say which days in the weekly menu.
How should you share the menu with customers?
Send the full week once, on Saturday or Sunday. Then send a short message the evening before each day. Write the price in the weekly message, so new people know what it costs without asking.
A menu shared at the same time every week becomes a habit. Customers start looking for it, forward it to friends, and plan their week around your food. That forwarding is free advertising, so make sure the message also says how to order and where you deliver.
Mon: Dal, rice, 2 rotis, mixed vegetables
Tue: Chana masala, rice, 2 rotis
Wed: Kadhi, rice, 2 rotis, beans
Thu: Dal, rice, 2 rotis, okra fry
Fri: Lemon rice, dal, 2 rotis, small sweet
Sat: Chickpea pulao, raita
Single box ₹110 · Monthly ₹2,600
Reply to order. — Tom
For more ready-to-copy texts, see WhatsApp order messages for your tiffin service.
What if you need to change a day's menu?
It happens: the vegetable seller had no okra, or you are unwell. Tell customers as early as you can, keep the same price, and swap like for like: a dry vegetable for a dry vegetable, a dal for a dal. A short honest message is enough.