How to plan a weekly tiffin menu (with an example week)
A good tiffin menu is boring for the cook and interesting for the customer. Keep the base the same every day, rotate the main dish, and balance cheap and expensive days. Here's how, with an example week.
· 2 min read
Keep the base, rotate the main
Most tiffin kitchens fix a base that comes every day (for example dal, rice, 4 rotis and salad) and change one main dish. Customers get variety where it counts, and your kitchen cooks the same base every morning on autopilot.
An example week
| Day | Veg main | Non-veg main | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Aloo gobi | Butter chicken | Low / High |
| Tuesday | Chana masala | Egg curry | Low / Low |
| Wednesday | Palak paneer | Chicken curry | High / Med |
| Thursday | Mix veg | Keema matar | Low / High |
| Friday | Rajma chawal | Chicken biryani | Low / Med |
Five rules for a menu that works
- Balance cost across the week. Put paneer and lamb days next to chana and aloo days. Work out each dish with the food cost calculator.
- Don't repeat a main within two weeks. A 10–15 dish rotation is enough.
- Cook in the order of the week. Soak rajma on Thursday night, not Friday morning.
- Make Fridays special. A biryani or a sweet on Friday is a cheap reason for customers to stay.
- Plan around allergies. Know which mains have nuts, mustard or dairy so you can swap for customers who need it.
Share it every week
Post the week's menu on Sunday on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. The free weekly tiffin menu template makes a printable menu in two minutes.
In Tiffinware, the weekly menu planner shows the menu on your ordering page, turns it into the morning's quantities, and prints it on every label.
Menu ideas by style
| Style | Base | Mains to rotate |
|---|---|---|
| Punjabi / North Indian | Dal, rice, rotis, salad | Rajma, chole, kadhi pakora, aloo gobi, paneer butter masala, baingan bharta, mix veg |
| Gujarati | Dal or kadhi, rice, rotlis, farsan on some days | Sev tameta, undhiyu (seasonal), ringan nu shaak, bhinda, dudhi chana, khichdi on Friday |
| South Indian | Rice, sambar or rasam, curd | Poriyal, kootu, avial, kurma, lemon or tamarind rice days, chapati on some days |
| Jain | Dal, rice, rotis, no root vegetables | Gatte, kaddu, tindora, moong, raw banana, paneer with no onion or garlic |
| Non-veg | Same base as veg | Butter chicken, chicken curry, egg curry, keema, fish curry, biryani day |
Portions that keep customers and food cost happy
- Decide portions by weight or count once and stick to them: for example 4 rotis, 250 g dal, 200 g sabzi, 200 g cooked rice.
- Write them on the recipe card so a helper packs the same box you would.
- Offer a bigger plan (6 rotis, more rice) instead of giving everyone more.
- Weigh a few boxes each week. Portions creep up when nobody checks, and food cost follows.
Shopping from the menu
Once the week is planned, your shopping list is the menu times the count. Buy staples (atta, rice, dal, oil, onions) weekly in bulk, and fresh vegetables two or three times a week. A dish that needs an expensive or hard-to-find vegetable is a good candidate for the rotation's "once a month" slot.
Using what customers tell you
Every month, look at which days have the most skips. A main that people skip is a main to replace. Ask customers to rate dishes, and keep the favourites on a fixed day, like rajma every Friday. In Tiffinware, the menu report shows which dishes sold, and customers can rate their boxes from their account.
Questions
How many dishes should a tiffin menu have?
One main dish a day per plan (veg, and non-veg if you do it) plus the same base every day, like dal, rice and rotis. A rotation of 10–15 mains keeps it fresh without slowing your kitchen down.
How often should I change the tiffin menu?
Rotate the mains every week so no dish repeats within two weeks, and review the rotation monthly using what customers liked and what each dish costs.