Everyone wants to know the answer to the daily question, “what’s for lunch?” And if you’re a regular nine-to-fiver (or a nine to-niner for that matter), eating hot, nutritious and flavourful meals could be imperative to the rest of your day. Eating out all the time is certainly not an option and the monotony of office canteens is easy to gravitate away from. This, then, is the “food gap” that has led to some bright young minds offering home-style tiffin meals. In the film The Lunchbox, the protagonists never meet but exchange missives in a dabba that was originally intended for another. Even though you might argue with the premise of the city’s famous dabbawallahs mixing up deliveries, it’s a film that brings alive the connections you can make through a home-cooked meal. Time Out tried out four tiffin services just so that you didn’t have to. Here’s why you should look forward to lunch hour.

Spice Box
Former investment banker Gurmeet Kochhar noticed that his mum’s dabba would routinely disappear from the office pantry. Eventually, he started bringing seven or eight tiffins for his entire team and from this Spice Box was established in 2011. Simple Punjabi meals, each cooked with only 10 ml oil, that come packed in quality Lock-n-Lock containers. On Fridays, the dabba contains a different surprise cuisine – Italian, Chinese, Thai – which is prepared by a speciality chef. “The idea of the Friday Surprise is to provide a good change from the roti-sabzidal- chawal routine of the week”, said Kochhar. Spice Box is also the only tiffin service that offers nonvegetarian meals (egg or chicken), which are cooked in a separate kitchen. Vegetarian tiffins are priced at R70, the non-veg ones at R80 and you can alternate between both for R77. Currently, you can subscribe online and in about three-six months via an Android app as well. “We cater to a large number of retail customers and several corporate offices, and we found that some amount of food would get wasted as some people skipped their dabbas,” said Kochhar. He has now partnered with the “Share-My- Dabba” initiative of the Mumbai Dabbawallah Foundation. If you plan to skip your dabba, all you have to do is send an SMS the night before. Spice Box will deliver your unopened and untouched tiffin to Share-My-Dabba volunteers who in turn distribute them among street children. 

Verdict: We found Spice Box to be a value-for-money tiffin service, filled with delicious Punjabi meals. If you can’t do without non-veg food, this is the tiffin to order. We also tried their Friday Surprise, which included two types of pasta, bread and a fruit salad. Their packaging is excellent and does not add to disposable waste. Extra brownie points to them for giving back to society by sharing surplus food.
www.spicebox.in, info@spicebox. in, . From R70. Delivery across Mumbai wherever the dabbawallahs operate; delivery charges extra. 2-week trial package available.

Magic-o-Meal
Launched in January 2010, Magic-o-Meal is the brainchild of two friends, Alok Mody and Rahul Agarwal, who met while pursuing an MBA. Having worked in companies, they faced issues with the canteen food in the past.They decided to quit their jobs and start a tiffin service instead, to provide office-goers with North Indian meals. Operating from a 2,000- square foot central kitchen in Andheri, Magic-o-Meal has a dedicated team of a head chef and several cooks. “We also have an in-house nutritionist who ensures that the meals we cook are healthy and are made using less oil,” said Mody. You can choose from four meal plans – Nano (R70), Temptation (R75), Mega Bite (R80) and Big Boss (R92). Magico- Meal also manages canteens for some companies and provides catering for events. In the next six months, the company plans to open a quick service restaurant at Andheri (E) offering homecooked meals. 

Verdict: We tried Magic-o-Meal’s Big Boss tiffin, which was large enough for two people with moderate appetites. There were four rotis, two vegetables, rice, dal and a healthy sprouts salad, which was the highlight of the meal. The perfectly-cooked bhindi masala was a winner as well. We’d recommend choosing a smaller meal plan, unless an afternoon siesta is part of your workday. www.magicomeal.com, info@ magicomeal.com, /33. From R70. Delivery across Mumbai wherever the dabbawallahs operate; delivery charges extra. Four day trial package available.

Soul Care

Mridula Agarwal started Soul Care in 2010, focussing on calorie-counted meals that are low in oil and spices yet high on taste, with a mix of proteins and carbohydrates. “We never marketed ourselves as diet food, which people generally believe to be bland and tasteless”, said Agarwal. Portion control is practised to offer a full meal within the recommended calorie plan. “We also provide special meals for diabetics where the starch content is minimised, while retaining the overall meal’s balance”, added Agarwal. Soul Care offers Balanced Meal plans in the range of R109-R calories) and Low Calorie Meal plans between R79 and R calories). Additionally, Soul Care caters to a few companies, offering not just healthy food but also corporate yoga classes. 

Verdict: If you’re calorieconscious, Soul Care’s meals will hit the mark. The food is prepared without adding any bicarbonates (which is normally added to fluff up rice) or MSG. and we did not feel stuffed despite eating a full meal of rotis, two vegetables, dal and rice. The food was simple, but it was quite flavourful, especially the aloo-mutter.

www.soulcare.in, info@soulcare. in, /32. From R79. Delivery across Mumbai wherever the dabbawallahs operate; delivery charges extra. Ten day trial package available.

Tiffin Mantra
Brother-and-sister duo Jinesh Parekh and Parita Gaglani started Tiffin Mantra in 2011 from Gaglani’s home kitchen, a move that has obviously paid off as they now plan to move into a standalone kitchen shortly. Gaglani runs the show in the kitchen along with a team of cooks, supported by Parekh who handles the business end. “Our USP is no-fuss homemade meals that will leave you feeling energetic for the rest of the day”, said Parekh. “I visit the market every day to pick up fresh vegetables and that becomes the tiffin of the day, which we all eat ourselves as well”, added Gaglani. The food comes packaged in a disposable, microwave-safe tray. Tiffin Mantra offers a variety of vegetarian meals (Gujarati, Punjabi, Maharashtrian and South Indian cuisines) with two options – the Mini Meal is priced at R110 (chapattis, 2 vegetables and salad) and the Complete Meal at R135 (additional rice and dal or soup). 

Verdict: The tray packaging was neatly executed and the items had not mixed together. The food was basic, home-style cooking. However, the dal had a tad extra salt and the chana masala was quite spicy.

www.tiffinmantra.in, service@ tiffinmantra.in, . From R110. Delivery across Mumbai wherever the dabbawallahs operate; delivery charges extra. Three day trial package available.