Kerala Education Department to Revamp School Midday Meal Menu with Focus on Nutrition and Variety

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Education Department is set to expand and revise the midday meal menu in state schools, based on a report prepared by an expert committee assigned to scientifically examine and update the current offerings. Education Minister V. Sivankutty announced that as part of the menu revision, when planning daily curries, appropriate alternative vegetables should be provided to replace the usual ones.

The Minister stated that when leafy vegetables are used in curries, pulses or lentils must be added. There is also a directive to prepare various types of rice dishes, such as vegetable fried rice, lemon rice, and veg biryani, using fortified rice once a week. These will be served along with vegetable curries like Koottukari or Kuruma, he added.

According to the expert committee’s opinion, microgreens can be included in the menu once or twice a month as a substitute for other vegetables. The inclusion of chutney prepared with mint, ginger, gooseberry (nellikka), and raw mango is also under consideration. For variety, these chutneys can be served as a side dish with vegetable rice, biryani, or lemon rice, the Minister instructed schools.

Highlighting the importance of small grains, the Minister informed that the revised menu will feature diverse dishes made from ragi and other millets. These include ragi balls, ragi kozhukkatta (made with moderate amounts of jaggery and coconut), ilayada, aval kuthirthathu (flattened rice preparations), carrot payasam with milk, and payasam made with ragi or other millets.