Anonymous wrote:I’ve done kalakand (no nuts), naan and dal, ribbon pakoda, and kheer. And once I also gave candy coated fennel seeds.

Not Indian here, but grew up with longtime vegetarian parents who adore Indian cuisine, which we would eat at least once a week, if not more often. My siblings and I would go nuts at the end of a meal to get to the candy coated fennel seeds at Indian restaurants. Sweet and also so pretty! I bet these would be a hit with even fairly bland palates. Now I want some!

When I was a kid, my mom always sent Gulab Jamun for events where I needed to bring an Indian food item to share. They are a big hit with kids. To this day, I remember a classmate (with whom I shared a classroom several years in elementary school) who loved them and referred to them as "pancake eggs"

Kids also like kulfi, but it often has nuts and the logistics of keeping it cold can be challenging.

I’ve done kalakand (no nuts), naan and dal, ribbon pakoda, and kheer. And once I also gave candy coated fennel seeds.

If nuts are okay:

https://nuts.com/snacks/indian/madrasi-mix.html?utm_content=valentine-fudge-sampler-gwp-pla-0201&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI84bqlry55wIViZ6zCh1PFQEBEAQYAyABEgLAT_D_BwE&redirected=1

I did this super easy kalakand for my kid's K class. I didn't top with nuts but rather rainbow sprinkles. Most of the kids really liked it! https://showmethecurry.com/desserts/quick-kalakand.html

Kids like samosas. You can get it made at any Indian restaurant or caterer and ask them to make it less spicy and smaller in size.

Another favorite is veggi pakodas. Don't do the parle g biscuits or banana chips etc. They are from India but they do not qualify as an Indian snack.

Gulab jamuns are another hit. I would use the ghasita ram tins because they make small sized gulab jamuns and rasgulla.

If you had no problems serving cold dish - Kulfi or mango icecream is also popular.

My kids love chicken seekh kebabs, but we are omnivore North Indians.

A cheaper option is to make cholle, and serve with mini naans or naans cut in small pieces.

There are some lentil and chick pea snacks that are just roasted/salted but not spiced. I sent that in with my kindergarten kid for heritage week with a few jugs of mango juice.

Any of the savory snacks that aren’t spicy. Papad, or better still the ones you fry yourselves that aren’t as peppery as Lijjat papad. Also murukku, thenkuzhal (Tamil snacks)
Sweets I'd skip. I’m Indian and cannot stand most Indian sweets! Maybe Bourbon biscuits.

Curry toast

Naan

And Milk Bikis if they can have sweets.

Banana chips. Any kind of namkeen that isn’t spicy. We did ghatia because it was easy and most kids at least tried it.

Papad
Ghatiya
mini samosas
Parle G cookies

I would stay away from any pre-made sweets since those have all sorts of nuts in them.

pappadum?

It’s heritage month at my kids school and I need to send an Indian snack for the whole snack. I need kid friendly, but free Indian snack ideas please. Thank you!