With the new menu, Maharashtra has become the first state to bring this change in mid-day meals in government schools under the PM POSHAN scheme. Along with ending the boredom of same-taste food, the new menu also intends to increase nutritional value. Money will be given to schools to make arrangements for the ingredients that are not provided by the government.

As per a Government Resolution issued by the school education department, the menu will ensure that no dish is repeated for at least two weeks. “The local administration will decide the schedule of the menu. In Mumbai, BMC’s education department will decide the meal plan that the schools will have to follow,” stated the GR.

In instructions to prepare the meal plan, the GR suggests that local authority shall decide one each day from 12 different meal options that include peas pulao, vegetable pulao, chana pulao, soyabean pulao, masoor pulao, egg pulao, masale bhaat, moong dal khichdi , beans khichdi, moong-shevga-dal with rice.

For sweet dishes, the GR suggests rice-kheer for four days, millet-pudding on one day. Sprouts will be served on five days, while the remaining one day, students will be served egg or banana, as per their choice. “On this day, the meal will not include sprout or sweet dish,” states the GR.

The GR is attached with a detailed recipe for each of the dishes on the menu, including a salad of sprouts with appropriate measurement of ingredients for one child. The GR mentions that the measurement is such that there will be spare raw material, which can be then used to make rice-kheer and other items.

An official from the school education department, however, said that this may not be enough as there are some new items required to make a few dishes. “Tender for mid-day meal ingredient supply will now also include obtaining soya chunks for pulao. The state has written to the central government for support in acquiring millet for millet pudding,” said the official.

For other items required to be procured, the state will shift a small part of midday-meal funding to schools. Director of school education (primary) is tasked to oversee the expenditure. “If required, an additional arrangement of money can be made,” states the GR issued in this regard by the school education department on Tuesday.

The official said, “This money can be used by schools to procure items such as milk powder, jaggery, sugar, etc. But for vegetables to be used in mid-day meals, schools are encouraged to run kitchen gardens.”

Following the central guidelines to include local food-items in mid-day meals to increase its nutrition values, Maharashtra’s school education department had formed a committee last year to revise the mid-day meal menu. Apart from government officials, the committee included celebrity chef from the state Vishnu Manohar.

The committee initially suggested an exhaustive menu, which can be prepared with simple recipes. “But it was put under revision as it would have required a variety of raw ingredients. It was important to stick to the existing list of raw materials for convenient and effective implementation of the plan. The committee reworked the menu and a new list was prepared that largely includes existing raw-materials apart from a few additions,” said the official.