The tiffin system is one of the smartest meal traditions in South Asian culture. Instead of cooking from scratch every day, you batch-cook a base on Sunday, use a few efficient techniques during the week, and eat genuinely good homestyle food at your desk in Kanata on a Tuesday. Here's a full five-day plan.
We run a tiffin delivery service out of our two Ottawa locations — Bells Corners and Stittsville — so we think about weekly meal variety constantly. This plan is based on the rotation we use: enough variety to stay interested, but enough overlap in technique that Sunday prep is manageable.
The Sunday Prep Foundation
Before Monday, spend about 90 minutes doing these four things: (1) Cook a big pot of basmati rice — it keeps well for 4 days. (2) Soak chickpeas overnight if you're using dried (or buy canned to skip this entirely). (3) Make a large batch of onion-tomato masala base — this is the common foundation for chole, chana, and dal makhani. Cook 3 onions and 5 tomatoes down with ginger-garlic and basic spices. Refrigerate in portions. (4) Wash, dry, and chop coriander; it'll keep in a damp paper towel for 5 days.
With that base done, each day's cooking drops to 20–30 minutes. Here's the full plan:
Monday: Punjabi Chole
What makes it Punjabi: Dried pomegranate powder (anardana) and chole masala — not the generic curry powder found in most non-Punjabi versions. The colour should be dark, almost black-brown, not bright orange.
Using your base: Reheat one portion of the onion-tomato masala. Add 2 cans of drained chickpeas, 2 tsp chole masala, 1 tsp amchur. Simmer 15 minutes. Finish with a tablespoon of ghee.
Pack with: Rice or bhatura (if you're ambitious Sunday night). Pickled red onion always.
Tuesday: Rajma
What makes it Punjabi: Rajma is the comfort dish Punjab is arguably most famous for. It's the Indian equivalent of your grandmother's chili — thick, warming, and deeply onion-forward.
Quick method: Use canned red kidney beans. Reheat your masala base, add beans with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp garam masala, a squeeze of lemon. Simmer 20 minutes until thick. It should coat the back of a spoon.
Pack with: Rice (rajma-chawal is sacred). Do not substitute pasta.
Wednesday: Paneer Sabji
What makes it Punjabi: Fresh paneer, not rubbery. If you buy from a South Asian grocery (Iqbal Foods on Greenbank is reliable), the paneer will be noticeably better than the packaged variety.
Quick method: Cube 200g paneer and lightly pan-fry in ghee until golden spots form. Set aside. Reheat masala base, add 1 cup green peas (frozen is fine), cook 5 minutes. Add paneer, salt, garam masala, 2 tbsp cream. Simmer 5 minutes.
Pack with: Rotis are the right call here. Rice works too.
Thursday: Chana Masala
Different from Monday's chole: Chana masala is drier and spicier, using a different spice profile — more coriander, less anardana. Think of it as the street food version versus Monday's sit-down restaurant version.
Quick method: Canned chickpeas again. Fresh masala this time (or new portion of your base) with 1.5 tsp chana masala powder, 1/2 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves — key flavour), 1 tsp coriander powder. Cook drier than Monday's version.
Pack with: Puri or rice. Chana masala with plain rice is underrated.
Friday: Dal Makhani
Be honest about this one: A proper dal makhani takes 8 hours. You can make a respectable version in 90 minutes with a pressure cooker, but it won't taste the same. For Friday's tiffin, either start the dal Thursday evening, or subscribe to our tiffin service and let us handle it.
90-minute method: Soak black urad dal overnight. Pressure cook for 20 minutes. Build a butter-ghee masala base with onion, tomato, ginger, garlic. Combine and simmer for 60 minutes minimum on low. Add cream at the end.
Pack with: Naan or roti. It's the most satisfying end to a work week you can put in a container.
Key Prep Tips
Double the masala base. The Sunday base is where all the effort is. Double it and freeze half. Two weeks from now, your Monday cooking drops to 15 minutes.
Invest in canned legumes. There is no dishonour in using canned chickpeas or kidney beans. They're cooked in brine, which means zero difference in flavour once they're in your masala. Save the soaking for occasions when you have time.
Rotis freeze well. Cook 20 rotis on Sunday, freeze in stacks of 4 with parchment between. Reheat directly on a gas flame or in a dry pan — 30 seconds per side. This is the single biggest time-saver in the whole plan.
"The tiffin system works because it's honest about how real cooking fits into real life. Batch once. Eat well all week."
— Desi Tadka TeamWhat's in a Desi Tadka Tiffin
If you'd rather skip the Sunday prep altogether, that's exactly what our tiffin service is for. Every tiffin includes 5 rotis, dal, sabji, rice, and salad — freshly prepared at our kitchen and delivered to Kanata and Stittsville on weekday mornings. The weekly plan rotates through dishes like the ones above, plus seasonal specials.
Weekly subscription is $64.99. Monthly is $239.99. Both plans run Tuesday to Saturday — same 11am delivery window, so your lunch arrives before noon. See all options on the tiffin page, or reach us directly if you have questions about the delivery area.
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Desi Tadka Tiffin — 5 rotis, dal, sabji, rice, salad. Delivered Tuesday to Saturday to Kanata and Stittsville. Weekly $64.99 · Monthly $239.99.