Tiffin is an Indian and British English dialect word meaning a light meal eaten during the day. The word became popular in British India , deriving from tiffing, an old English dialect or slang word for taking a little drink or sip. In southern India Tiffin is reffered to the snacks taken along with afternoon Tea at home.
In modern day India , the word mostly is used for light lunches prepared for working Indian men by their wives after they have left for work, and forwarded to them by Dabbawalas who use a complex system to get thousands of tiffin-boxes to their destinations. The lunches are packed in tin boxes, also sometimes called tiffins or tiffin-boxes. A common approach is to put rice in one box, dal in another and yet other items in the third or fourth. The other items could be breads, such as naan, vegetable curry and finally a sweet.
In Chinese cultures, the stacked porcelain or metal round trays with handles are called tiffin carriers. |
