The Department of Women and Child Development of the Kerala government has released its newly revised anganwadi food menu, after a video of a 3-year-old boy asking for anganwadis to replace upma with biriyani and fried chicken went viral a few months ago.
Health Minister Veena George had shared the video of the boy, named Shanku, promising to review the anganwadi menu. She delivered on her promise on Tuesday by officially unveiling the ‘model food menu’ at the state-level anganwadi reopening event in Pathanamthitta.
In the video that went viral in January 2025, Trijal S Sundhar, 3, was seen telling his mother, “I want biriyani and chicken fry at the anganwadi instead of upma.” His mother recorded the video when Shanku, as Trijal is fondly known, made the request while she was feeding him biriyani at home on January 26. The mother then posted the video on Instagram, after which it was widely shared in the following weeks.
The new menu consists of food rich in energy and protein—essential for the growing age—while cutting back on salt and sugar content. It now incorporates egg biriyani and vegetable pulao and has increased the serving of milk and eggs from twice a week to thrice a week.
This menu marks the first time the state is implementing a uniform menu across all constituent anganwadis.
The menu includes ragi ada, soya dry curry, sprouts, raita, fruit cup, nutri laddu, and ‘parippu payasam’ on different days.
The revised menu also lists the ingredients and their quantities in its meal plan.
