Hiya All
Here I am bloggin my thoughts, ideas, journals and ofcourse my inevitable ramblings. Greatly appreciate you'll stopping by and add comments if you will. See ya!
Here I am bloggin my thoughts, ideas, journals and ofcourse my inevitable ramblings. Greatly appreciate you'll stopping by and add comments if you will. See ya!
Tiffin
Posted 30th October 2007 at 09:18 PM by Anandchitra
When we were growing up each evening as we returned from school our first question used to be "What's for tiffin today?". Tiffin is that word which denotes mainly evening meal, shall I say? Something we prepare lightly but not too light to be called snack. Not too heavy to qualify for a meal like lunch or dinner. Mostly items that go well with afternoon time to hold off till dinner. My mother used to make dosai, or puri (hmmmmm.....
) or even pakodas or ribbon pakoda or thenkuzhal. Those days when we were kids anything could pass off as tiffin. The point was to take a break after removing school clothes and washing hand and feet, (a must) and then sitting and eating Tiffin. Mother and grandmother used to sit with us we called her patti so amma and pattee and we would all go over the day's events conveniently forgetting to tell of any scoldings etc.
Well today this Tiffin seems to be fast disappearing. Ofcourse when my son comes from school he does take a break but No Tiifin. He has some fruits or some mild snacks and such health (!) conscious foods. No Tiffin. I can only use my home as a reference but maybe your households still continue the Tiffin. I do cook Tiffin items over the weekends or holidays but then I cannot call them Tiffin. Since the timing has changed. It might be for dinner or lunch or more likely as Brunch. To me that special name with the special association has gone or fast going. My son is not familiar with it and refers to as snack time. My husband just asks for upma or such but not referring to Tiffin. So do you also think we are fast losing our Tiffin or is it cooking in your house and homes??
) or even pakodas or ribbon pakoda or thenkuzhal. Those days when we were kids anything could pass off as tiffin. The point was to take a break after removing school clothes and washing hand and feet, (a must) and then sitting and eating Tiffin. Mother and grandmother used to sit with us we called her patti so amma and pattee and we would all go over the day's events conveniently forgetting to tell of any scoldings etc. Well today this Tiffin seems to be fast disappearing. Ofcourse when my son comes from school he does take a break but No Tiifin. He has some fruits or some mild snacks and such health (!) conscious foods. No Tiffin. I can only use my home as a reference but maybe your households still continue the Tiffin. I do cook Tiffin items over the weekends or holidays but then I cannot call them Tiffin. Since the timing has changed. It might be for dinner or lunch or more likely as Brunch. To me that special name with the special association has gone or fast going. My son is not familiar with it and refers to as snack time. My husband just asks for upma or such but not referring to Tiffin. So do you also think we are fast losing our Tiffin or is it cooking in your house and homes??
Total Comments 22
Comments
 |  AC, You are taking me back on memory lane to much yaar......... Those tiffins..even little parruppu sadam with avakkai if nothing else was there... i think those days we did not have these health problems, the stress and strain of being a student like our kids face today... My children just come home...with nose in the air.. to know if i have made something to their liking...sometimes, i give them jelly,custards, with fruits..thenkuzhal, ribbon...all made at home.. i have 3 kids at home...(children and fil..) all like to eat something at 4.00... but it is light..because our dinner is over by 7.30. |
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| |  Dear Shanthi I am also like you . We also have early dinner so only healthy snacks at home. maybe we can walk down memory together and think of the good old days.. |
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| | We used to get a big ball, a little smaller than the football, of sambhar rice or vathakuzhambu for tiffin. No coffee or milk, could not afford. Mother will add gingelly oil for the rice. Or else thengai mavu (processed rice flour roasted well with coconut) with jaggery- also given as balls. Sometimes it would be roasted wheat atta with jaggery, or aval with vellam and coconut or peanuts with a small ball of jaggery. We will gobble the rice also, balancing the ball in the hand and run off to play till 6. Then, come home and wash. Then sit in front of the lamp and chant all the slokams grandpa has taught together. There will be a competition to say it louder. Then studies. Now my son comes at 6 and so I am making something light, tiffin I shall call if henceforth, then dinner at 8. he goes for maths coaching at 8.30 and comes back after 10. So this new scheme. I have no idea when it will change. |
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| |  I never remembered tiffin.. When we felt hungry, have some rice... Since we had the schools on shift basis, will be coming from school around 5.30... will have cofee and jhoot.... Vanished for playing... But today, we try to provide to our kids, some snacks... Thanks to them, I too used to get something in the evening with coffee... |
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| |  Dear AC, tiffin is a word of my era !In my younger days, more than other meals, tiffin was the most eagerly looked forward to, because we would return home from school, ravenously hungry. Those days, the standard tiffins were, idli, dosai, adai & upma ! Puri was a rarity. Chappathi was still more a rare dish. If ever we protested whether there could not be anyother tiffin, Amma would say "appo rendam tharam sappidungo" which meant rice again ! Who ever heard of even cutlets? Oh, those were the days ! I can't help saying, you have the uncanny knack of choosing nostalgic topics !! Love, Chithra. |
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| | Dear Veda You sound like my father when you comment about tiffin. He too used to say the same. It seems his patti, he grew up with grandmother , would have a big mud pot filled with rice immersed in water and another such pot with liquidified buttermilk. so if anyone was hungry had to take some frome ach pot and have. Since there were so many cousins his share would be tiny, if that. |
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| | Dear Varloo I can relate to your reply totally. nowadays every thing at home revolves around our childs schedule. I amdreaming this will change when our kiddie goes off to college and there after. But having second doubts though!! |
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| |  Hi Chitra, Memory down the lane.......... For us (me and my brothers), tiffin means the launch we used to take to school to eat during launch time.....As it was not heavy nor too light, we called it tiffin.......so every morning while putting the box into our school bags/college bags, I always asked mom what she has for me inside that.......Mom is a very good cook....so she used to give different things on different days and all my frds along with me savour all my mom's delicacies and even the hostel stayers will ask mom to cook some of their favourites............and I felt proud to have a Gr8 mom........really, missing those days of praise......... Other times, we call it breakfast / snacks. Now even I am saying the same as I am still bringing my launch from home as I find difficulty in eating most of western foods..... About the evening time snacks........no time for that......as soon as we reach home, almost around 6:30, we start for dinner prep and have dinner at about 7:30....so no time for tiffin........... Regards |
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| | AC, Ooooh, all i can say brought back so many memories. Since my patti used to live with us, tiffin was a must in the evenings ( palaaharam as she called it). So every day it was idli, pongal, upma, morkali , puli aval, adai, thavaladai etc... yummy stuff indeed. Now in my in laws place , yes there is still the tiffin tradition. They have brunch by 10.30 -11.00 am , so tiffin around 4 is a must. But here, since we follow the breakfast, lunch dinner routine, tiffins are restricted to weekends ( when we go the brunch way, then i make a heavy tiffin , call it high tea, and light dinner). Weekdays, mostly like you its a light snack.These days, My older one has got an addiction to Bhel, so end up making that , and then yes the usual fruits and other snacks..... But yes the only time i get to have all the age old , time tested tiffin items is when i go back home( then i give my MIL the tiffin menu and she lovingly makes for me!!) |
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| | Dear Vandhana My patti too called it Palakaram. They liked to have something in the afternoon and in my house it used to be with Tea. I still have to have Tea in the afternoon so does rest of household. Your list of morkali and puli aval and thaval vada hmmmmm?? |
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| |  Hello AnandChitra, You have got a way with foodies I guess in your blogs. You remind me of my school days when I used to come home smelling what tiffin is cooked in the kitchen. My mom was a school teacher who used to come a little earlier than me and made some mouth-watering (light) tiffin like aval upma, kunuku (made in adai maavu), bajji, potato bonda, bread upma, kuzhi paniyaram and more good stuff. But you know, she first checks my lunch box, if I had some left overs I would be punished to have that first and then only tiffin. These days I hardly make any tiffin. Also no time and health consciousness adds to making some kara mura snacks like murukku, seedai, etc. So all we have in the evening is a couple of thin wheats or cookies or few nuts along with a cup of tea. Time changes everything including our food habits. - Rathi |
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| | Rathi Could not agree with you more about eh thin wheats , nuts, fruits cheese and TEA. But dont you think we should atleast relive our old days thru these blogs. |
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| |  AC, Naashta, tiffin, palahaaram whatever name you call it by, is enjoyed by me and my husband only. for the kids a bite from our plates seems to suffice (they call it a snack). Growing up it was always a pleasure to return to home from school with the whole house filled with aroma that wafts out of the kitchen poha, puffed rice boondi, boiled raw peanuts, seasonal treats (like the roasted green channa in the pods) .....I am in heaven =)_ |
| Updated 1st November 2007 at 05:05 PM by Blondie |
| | Blondie Totally with you with the kids part and also the aroma I think right there is the catch phrase. That aroma takes us right back to childhood. I am in heaven with you too (maybe thats not what u want !!!!!) |
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| |  Chithra - tiffin is a thing of the past in my house. Now it is only dinner on weekdays that is even cooked in the house - so a lot of times, it is tiffin for dinner. Like today, it was wheat rava upma with mixed vegetables - a one pot meal!! No one wants a heavy dinner and hence upma it is!! Almost all items that were served as tiffin has become the main meal!! |
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| |  Ac, I am missing this tiffin item a lot now. Before marriage, all weekends, especially Sundays were full of expectations as to what the tiffin will be. It will be either Chole Patura or Paratha Channa or Cutlet or Sambar Vada and Thayir Vada, and so many special items which will be very good to eat hot. The other days the tiffin will be chappati, idly, dosa etc. But mom will make sure that one will not be repeated again in the week. So every day when we come back from school or college we used to come home with a shout amma inniku enna tiffin. As the time schedule have changed a lot, though I give tiffin for my kids in the evenings I could not keep repeating the same atleast once in a week. Also weekends we go out so no specials. But I am really waiting to make things like that for my kids too. |
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| | Shobana I am with you in that one pot meal. It is convenient especially for smaller households. And the veggie upma is good because we are adding vegetables to it. I am slowly moving towards your house.... |
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| | Dearest Rajmi We are in the same boat (dont worry I will be careful not to tip it) Since times ar echanging we need to adapt. I do cook Tiffin items in the weekend but not on weekdays. Even if its cooked it becomes dinner meal. |
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| | I am new to Indusladies and I must mention that you guys are awesome. The messages made me relive my childhood for a few minutes. So very refreshing... Since my Mom was working, we used to return home together. As soon as we got back home, we freshened up and I remember, Amma going to Kitchen rightaway and getting something ready for us. Horlicks/Boost, some sweets she always used to make and stock it up, biscuits, thenkuzhal etc or if we were specially hungry wheat dosai, Parantha ( I was born and raised in Delhi), pakoda, upma... I have a 3 year old and I am working ...as you all mentioned ...things have changed a lot...I hardly get time to make tiffins the same way...I would love to though...at least twice a month !!! I want to take this opportunity to salute all our mothers...they absolutely rocked...I cannot imagine how they did so much ..... Things are much easier in a way and harder in another way now( especially here in US)...Your messages helpmed me rethink my childhood days and inspires me to do more and be better ... Once again, Hats off to all our mothers and Pattis. |
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| | Welcome to IL Anu..glad you are liking our posts and enjoying the blogs..Yes HATS off to our mothers and pattis..keep blogin.. |
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Recent Blog Entries by Anandchitra
- Winter vegetables and more (2nd December 2008)
- Rama's Choice (25th November 2008)
- Come Catch me Fat Ghost (19th November 2008)
- Dare to Dream (12th November 2008)
- Shove from Nest (10th November 2008)
