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Tiffin is aSouth Asian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods.[1] In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the middayluncheon or, in some regions of theIndian subcontinent, a between-mealsnack.[2] When used in place of the word "lunch", however, it does not necessarily mean a light meal.[3]
In theBritish Raj, tiffin was used to denote the British custom ofafternoon tea that had been supplanted by the Indian practice of having a light meal at that hour.[4] It is derived from "tiffing", an English colloquial term meaning to take a little drink. By 1867 it had become naturalised amongAnglo-Indians in northern British India to mean luncheon.[5]
InSouth India and in Nepal, tiffin is generally a snack between meals:dosas,idlis,vadas etc.[6] In other parts of India, such asMumbai, the word mostly refers to apacked lunch of some sort.[7] In Mumbai, it is often delivered to them bydabbawalas, sometimes known astiffinwallahs, who use a complex system to get thousands oftiffin carriers to their destinations. In most of India, a school-going child's lunch box is fondly called a tiffin box.[8] It is also used heavily in Pakistan where people use tiffin boxes in places like offices, schools or during picnic. This practice is also common in India.
When used in place of the word "lunch", tiffin often consists of rice,lentils,curry, vegetables,chapatis or "spicy meats".[9] In addition, thelunch boxes are themselves calledtiffin carriers, tiffin-boxes or just tiffins.
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