January 3, 2020

My Breakfast Stories From India

Breakfasts in India reflect the diversity of cuisines relished and traditions preserved by various states and regions of India.

Exploring India through its various ‘breakfasts’ is an interesting way to enjoy its diversity. Each state and region of India has so much for your palate that it seems like a never-ending culinary voyage. We talk about all kinds of cuisines across the country, but we barely talk about breakfasts in India.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I think how you begin your day – what you eat in the morning sets the tone of the day. Therefore, I make sure that I have something local and traditional to eat for breakfast wherever I go.

There’s no better way to know a place than to know it through its food. What you have on your plate has stories. So, smell the aroma, savor the flavors and revel in the many hidden tales. Tradition is beautiful. Culture is charismatic. Food is reminiscent. It’s an experience to eat at a new place, which has a different culture than yours. The beauty of a new food experience is that you discover something of your own in the unfamiliarity.

My Breakfast Stories From India

The serendipitous Kashmiri breakfast in Niru Village, North Kashmir.

It was pure serendipity. I had no idea that I’d end up sitting on a carpet in a traditional village home of a Shina, Kashmiri family to have a meal! It was all so beautiful. Since it was a trip in collaboration with J&K Tourism, I was accompanied by a couple of tourism officials, who showed me around. Although they had no idea about the kind of experiences I was looking for, they took me to this village, nestled to the border.

As soon as I reached the village, I was warmly welcomed by the inhabitants there, and one of the men from the village offered me to have tea at his place, which I readily accepted. Well, it was not just a cup of tea. They laid out the breakfast of omelet, chapatis and chai for me. The Kashmiris typically eat maida rotis with a lot of butter, which is interesting, because they don’t seem to gain weight at all!

This breakfast story is special to me because I was welcomed by complete strangers in their home!

Also read: My Food Trail In Kashmir

The jams and jellies of Kumaon, Uttarakhand.

When you are in Kumaon, having a king-size breakfast is the foregone conclusion. The glorious view of the Himalayas, the orchards and the Pahadi hospitality are just some of the joys of being in Kumaon.

Although I have been to Kumaon quite a few times, the last trip was the most memorable one for me as a solo traveler. I enjoyed gazing the mountains with a cup of tea – the usual experience, but so special. The unique part about a Kumaoni breakfast is the variety of jams and jellies that you have on your table – orange, apple, guava, and apricot. I made it a point to have at least a couple of them every day.

The Bhutia breakfast spread in Gangtok, Sikkim.

My breakfast experience in Gangtok is memorable for the effort that my hosts, at the Shire Guest House, took to serve me all the local and traditional dishes of Sikkim. The funny part was that they initially served me all the North Indian stuff for breakfast, such as Pooris and Aloos, which I absolutely didn’t want to have. They had no idea that I’d be interested in their local dishes.

However, when they knew that I wanted to taste all the Sikkimese dishes, they were so sweet to create a beautiful spread of traditional ‘Bhutia’ dishes for me. I absolutely loved their Buckwheat Roti with cottage cheese and Sayee-phi-porridge in butter.

Also read: 10 Highlights Of My Journey Through Sikkim

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The Nepalese breakfast in Dilaram Village, Darjeeling.

I simply can’t recover from this particular breakfast that I had in Dilaram, a village in Darjeeling district. My hosts had taken me on a morning hike through beautiful, not-so-known tea gardens, and while we were returning, a sweet lady, who’s an acquaintance to my host, welcomed us into her home for a quick breakfast.

Well, it was a simple noodle dish (slurp) and a half fry egg with a generous seasoning of mustard oil, which was delicious! Yes, the Nepalese folks use a lot of mustard oil for cooking and seasoning.

The veggie breakfast in Monpa Village, Arunachal Pradesh.

Breakfast in Arunachal Pradesh was really like getting out of my comfort zone. I’m not the kind of person who would have veggies or rice for breakfast. And here I was served cabbage with chapati, but I have to say that I loved it. Yes, it was prepared in such a way that it tasted so fresh and nice. Apparently, they don’t use too many spices or oil. It was a simple preparation with lovely flavors.

Monpa folks have a peculiar tea called ‘butter’ tea, which is quite an experience. To be honest, I did not relish it. However, I did enjoy their other forms of black tea.

Also read: 9 Food & Brews To Try From A ‘Monpa’ Kitchen

The farm breakfast in Pali, Rajasthan.

Breakfast in the fields! Yes, it was one of the most authentic ways to experience the rusticity of Rajasthan – to enjoy a ‘farm breakfast’ prepared on the woodfire stove by the village ladies. Since I am a pukka bread lover, it was an exceptionally joyous experience for me to have a variety of ‘rustic’ breads, such as bajra, millet, jawar and others on my plate. They served a nice tomato chutney, butter and curd to go with the rotis. It was one of my most favorite breakfast experiences, where I was relishing food prepared with locally produced, farm fresh ingredients.

The Kutchi breakfast in Bhuj, Kutch.

I was quite curious to taste the authentic Gujarati thepla made in a Gujarati home, and I got to experience it in a 100-year-old heritage haveli in Devpur Yaksh, a place close to Bhuj (Kutch). The ‘Kutchi’ meals that I had at Devpur homestay were one of my most favorite food experiences in India.

But, I reminisce my first meal in Kutch a little more fondly – big theplas, poha and chai. Enjoying a traditional breakfast served in a beautiful, vintage cutlery was a lovely experience.

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The royal Maratha breakfast in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

The royal ‘Baradari’ breakfast! One of the genres of noshing that takes you closer to the Indian culture and traditions is having a meal in a royal cenotaph in the middle of a beautiful garden, where peacock make appearances. I had such a breakfast at Deo Bagh, a 17^th century property in Gwalior.

They laid a beautiful table for me with all the local dishes, such as the Maratha-style Poha, which has pea and tomatoes in it; then there were parathas with curd, homemade cookies and cake, and of course, some fresh fruits. I felt like a queen!

The safari breakfast in Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh.

There’s nothing better than a ‘safari’ breakfast! I had this unparalleled pleasure of having breakfast on a jeep bonnet in the middle of a jungle in Pench, Madhya Pradesh. The chef at Pench Tree Lodge had prepared quite a few innovative and healthy dishes for me, such as a veggie roll and a baked egg dish.

It was one of my best open-air breakfast experiences ever.

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The dhaba breakfast in Kanker, Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh is an unsung food destination. The capital Raipur is totally an ‘Indian’ breakfast city – it’s famous for a variety of snacks, such as Moong Dal Vada, Jalebis, Samosas, Poha, Dahi Dhoklas, Dahi kachoris and Dahi Samosas. I have had several ‘breakfast’ expeditions in Raipur.

However, I’d like to reminisce my breakfast at Kanker Dhabha en route to Bastar. The idea of having a ‘dhaba’ breakfast on a road trip is always exceedingly fun.

The Irani breakfast in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

I simply love the Irani breakfast in Mumbai. It’s one of my favorite experiences of Mumbai – to sit in a really old and modest Irani café, enjoy Bun Maska, Akuri (Irani-style scrambled eggs), chai, and take in the Irani vibe. Although the ‘Irani or the Parsi’ breakfast experience is not a rare thing in Mumbai, the experience is still unique.