Kerala Women and Child Development Minister Veena George has announced that egg biryani has been added to the food menu at anganwadis (rural childcare centres). The development came following a viral video of a toddler expressing his dislike for upma (a traditional South Indian breakfast dish made primarily from dry-roasted semolina) and wished for biryani and fried chicken at his anganwadi.
George said: "After video of a toddler named Shanku that went viral where he told his mother that he does not want upma but biriyani and chicken fry, in his and many other anganwadis, biryani was served.”
“We thought about how this can be implemented? We are giving eggs at anganwadis, and we changed it from two days a week to three days a week. We have decided to include egg biriyani now,” she added, speaking at the state-level reopening ceremony of anganwadis.
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The updated menu now includes nutri laddoo (a nutrient-rich ladoo made from a mix of protein and fibre-rich ingredients), dal payasam (a traditional South Indian dessert made from lentils, jaggery, coconut milk, and flavoured with cardamom), ragi ada (a traditional South Indian snack), soya dry fry, and wheat pulav, along with egg biryani.
Veena George added, “This is the first time a unified model food menu has been prepared.”
In the video that went viral in February this year, the child, Rijul S Sundar, who is also known as Shanku, told his mother that they should give “birnani” (biryani) and “poricha koi” (fried chicken) in his anganwadi instead of upma. His mother took to Instagram to share the moment, which was quickly taken note of by Minister Veena George, who then promised a revised menu.
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