Air India food menu changed: Say goodbye to fried items! Savour Aam Panna, Jaljeera, Upma, Poha, Masala Lassi and more

Air India food menu: India's largest Airline, Air India has given a make over to its food menu. The new menu offers curd-rice instead of green salad in summer on flights to the US, traditional welcome drinks such as Aam Panna and Jaljeera, round-the-clock coffee for business class passengers and sweets from renowned Indian confectioners instead of sweet fruit juices. Air India is all set to change its menu on April 1, which it serves the passengers on its international flights. 

The national airline officials also claimed that they will avoid fried foods, replacing them with Upma or Poha with tea. The changes are being done to give an Indian feel to food on board, keeping in mind health aspect too. The airline will focus on better quality, taste, presentation and choice. All fried items will be avoided and changes will be made to breakfast, lunch/ dinner, high tea and welcome drinks, a senior Air India official told Hindustan Times.

The business and first class passengers on long haul flights will also have options of chutneys and home-made pickles to choose for their meals. Air India hasn’t forgotten desserts in the revised menu. High-quality sweets either prepared in house or procured from renowned sweet shops will be on offer.

The flights will have new welcome drinks now as the passengers will get summer refreshers such as Aam Panna, Jaljeera, Masala Lassi and butter milk instead of cold drinks and sweetened juices. While for breakfast, chilled flavoured yoghurt will be given in place of sliced fruits and croissants will be offered in place of bread rolls. Also, new menu will have focaccia rolls and masala bread instead of plain soft rolls, the official was quoted as saying.

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In lunch/dinner, the passengers will have two courses instead of three and mint green and ginger tomato chutneys will replace salad. Also instead of fried snacks, the airline will offer packed food items, pao bhaji, vegetable upma, vegetable poha, cutlets/puffs, ragda pattice with high tea.

Air India spends over Rs 800 crore on catering services annually and the company has been experimenting with the menu for about two years now. Earlier, Air India stopped offering non-vegetarian food on domestic flights (to save cost), then started with calling passengers to know about their food preferences prior to their journey, in order to avoid food wastage. 

Also, the airline had recently started carrying food from India to long-haul destinations, which called out heavy criticism from people and experts, saying that the company was compromising on food quality and its freshness to save money. Meanwhile, the new menu has already been rolled in some of the domestic flights of Air India, while on international flights, the changes will take effect on April 1.