Thirteen varieties of rice and four types of egg ‘masala’ will soon enrich the plates of students benefiting under the nutritious noon-meal scheme of the State government, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the Assembly on Friday.
Making a suo motu statement, she said the purpose was to break the monotony in the menu under the scheme introduced by former Chief Minister M.G. Ramchandran 30 years ago and to make them palatable.
The government consulted well-known chefs and nutrition experts on this issue and ‘channa biriyanai’ and pepper egg were served on an experimental basis in a school in Saidapet and the Andhanallur panchayat union school in Chief Minister’s Srirangam constituency.
The students liked it and the chefs demonstrated 13 varieties of rice and four types of egg ‘masala.’
The Chief Minister said the new scheme would be introduced in one taluk in every district and depending on the feedback, this would be extended to other areas gradually.
There would be one set of menu for the first and third weeks of a month and another set for the second and fourth week.
The students would be served vegetable ‘biriyani’ and pepper powder egg on first and third Mondays; ‘channa-pulav’ and tomato ‘masala’ on Tuesdays; tomato rice and pepper egg on Wednesdays; rice, sambar and boiled egg on Thursdays and curry leaf rice or green (keerai) rice, egg masala and roasted potato on Fridays.
The menu of second and fourth Mondays would be ‘sambar’ rice, onion and tomato egg ‘masala’; mealmaker and vegetable mixed rice and pepper egg on Tuesdays; tamarind rice and tomato egg ‘masala’ on Wednesdays; lemon rice, tomato egg ‘masala’ and ‘sundal’ on Thursdays and rice, sambar, boiled egg and roasted potato on Fridays.
The Chief Minister said the government would also provide a variety of dishes to the children attached to ‘anganwadis’ in the State. Special attention would be made to the children, considering their requirements and digestive capacity.
The children would get tomato rice and boiled egg on Mondays; mixed rice and ‘sundal’ on Tuesdays; vegetable ‘pulav’ and boiled egg on Wednesdays; lemon rice and boiled egg on Thursdays; ‘dhal’ rice and boiled potato on Fridays and mixed rice on Saturdays and Sundays.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said the new menu would increase the number of students attending school and improve their nutritional requirement.
