Five school-day lunchboxes built from the recipes Siddhi recommends for a kids lunchbox or tiffin. Each day has a main, most days add a snack, and every day has a short note on what to do the night before so the morning is quicker.
Three of the rice dishes start from cooked rice, so the night-before step is often just cooking rice with dinner. Siddhi’s rice cutlets are made from leftover cooked rice, which makes Thursday the day to use it up.
Every recipe in this plan is cooked in Siddhi’s own kitchen before it goes live.
The plan at a glance
| Day | Lunchbox main | Snack |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Coconut Rice | Crispy Potato Balls |
| Tuesday | Coriander Rice | Crunchy Paneer Pakora |
| Wednesday | Peanut Rice | Crispy Potato Balls |
| Thursday | Rice Cutlet | — |
| Friday | Sweet Corn Fried Rice | Crunchy Paneer Pakora |
Day by day
Monday
Night before: cook rice with dinner and keep 2 cups aside for the coconut rice.
Lunchbox main
Coconut Rice
Serves 2–3 · 20 min
Cooked rice tossed with fresh coconut and a crunchy tempering. Siddhi says it goes well in a lunchbox or tiffin box.
Snack
Crispy Potato Balls
Serves 4
Siddhi says these potato balls are just as good in a kids’ lunch box.
Tuesday
Night before: keep 1½ cups of cooked rice aside, and grind the coriander and mint paste.
Lunchbox main
Coriander Rice
Serves 2 · 25–30 min
Siddhi calls coriander rice a perfect kids lunchbox and tiffin recipe.
Wednesday
Night before: keep 2 cups of cooked rice aside, and roast and grind the peanut and dal powder.
Lunchbox main
Peanut Rice
Serves 3 · 25–30 min
Siddhi calls peanut rice a perfect dish for your tiffin.
Snack
Crispy Potato Balls
Serves 4
Golden potato balls with a buttery, peppery centre, bound with rice flour and corn flour and coated in bread crumbs. A quick vegetarian snack for parties and lunch boxes.
Thursday
Night before: boil the potato and keep 1½ cups of leftover cooked rice aside for the cutlets.
Lunchbox main
Rice Cutlet
Serves 3
Rice cutlets are made from leftover cooked rice. Siddhi suggests them for the kids lunchbox.
Friday
Night before: cook 2 cups of rice until 90% done, and boil the sweet corn.
Lunchbox main
Sweet Corn Fried Rice
15–20 min
Siddhi calls sweet corn fried rice an easy lunch box recipe.
Snack
Crunchy Paneer Pakora
Serves 4 · 30 min
Marinated paneer slices dipped in a spiced besan and rice flour batter with curd, mint and coriander, deep fried until crisp and golden brown.
Lunchbox notes from Siddhi’s recipes
- Coconut rice, coriander rice and peanut rice all start from cooked rice; sweet corn fried rice uses rice cooked until 90% done.
- Rice cutlets use 1½ cups of leftover cooked rice and one boiled potato.
- Crispy potato balls start from boiled and cooled potatoes.
- Siddhi’s veg white pulao is also a good lunch box recipe, if you want a sixth option.
Shopping list, recipe by recipe
Each list below is the ingredient list from Siddhi’s recipe card, at the serving size the recipe makes. Open a recipe to scale it for your family.
Coconut Rice (serves 2–3)
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 3/4 cup fresh coconut, grated
- 1½ tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tbsp split black gram (urad dal)
- 1/2 tbsp split Bengal gram (chana dal)
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tbsp peanuts
- 8–10 cashews, slit
- A few curry leaves
- 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
- 1 dry red chilli
- 2 green chillies, slit
- 1/2 lemon
- Salt to taste
Crispy Potato Balls (serves 4)
- 4 medium potatoes, boiled and cooled
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 to 5 tbsp rice flour
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 3 to 4 green chillies, crushed
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- Bread crumbs, for coating
- Oil for deep frying
Coriander Rice (serves 2)
- 1½ cups cooked rice
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup carrot
- 1/4 cup French beans
- 1/3 cup paneer (cottage cheese), cubed
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
- 3 cloves and a cinnamon stick
- Salt to taste
- 1½ cups coriander leaves, for the paste
- 1/4 cup mint leaves, for the paste
- 3 green chillies, for the paste
- 1/2 lemon, juiced, for the paste
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder, for the paste
- 1/2 tsp black salt, for the paste
Crunchy Paneer Pakora (serves 4)
- 250 g paneer, sliced into rectangles
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder (for the marinade)
- 1 tbsp chaat masala (for the marinade)
- 1 cup besan (gram flour)
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 2 tbsp curd
- 1/2 cup coriander, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup mint, finely chopped
- 1 tsp green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 tsp fresh garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger paste
- 1 tsp roasted cumin (jeera) powder
- 1/2 tbsp chaat masala (for the batter)
- 1/2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 pinch Eno, unflavoured
- 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
- Salt to taste
- Water for the batter
- Oil for deep frying
Peanut Rice (serves 3)
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1/3 cup peanuts
- 3 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 2–3 dry red chillies
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp chana dal
- 1 tbsp urad dal
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- Curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- Lemon juice, optional
Rice Cutlet (serves 3)
- 1½ cups cooked rice
- 1 large potato, boiled
- 1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp chaat masala
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped or crushed
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- Salt to taste
- Semolina to coat the cutlets
- Bread crumbs, only if the mixture is sticky
- Oil for deep frying
Sweet Corn Fried Rice
- 2 cups rice, 90% cooked
- 1 small capsicum, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup sweet corn, boiled
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 3–4 spring onions, finely chopped, white and green parts kept separate
- 1 inch ginger, julienned
- 3–4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp red chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- Salt to taste
FAQs
Which of Siddhi’s recipes are meant for a kids lunchbox?
Siddhi recommends coconut rice, coriander rice, peanut rice, sweet corn fried rice and veg white pulao for the lunchbox or tiffin, and rice cutlets, crispy potato balls and paneer pakora as lunchbox snacks.
What can I prepare the night before?
Cook the rice. Coconut rice, coriander rice, peanut rice and rice cutlets all start from cooked rice, and sweet corn fried rice uses rice cooked until 90% done. Boil the potatoes for the potato balls and rice cutlets.
How many does each recipe serve?
Coconut rice serves 2 to 3, coriander rice 2, peanut rice 3, rice cutlets 3, crispy potato balls 4 and paneer pakora 4. Each recipe card shows the exact quantities.