15 Indian Breakfasts You Need To Try At Least Once

Have you ever woken up in the morning and pondered what to eat for breakfast? Often touted as the most important meal of the day, each culture has its traditional breakfast foods. While some people reach for toast or cereal, in comparison, Indian breakfast dishes are vibrant, varied, and vast.

Surprisingly, the concept of breakfast is relatively new in India. Talking to the New Indian Express, businessman and CEO Amarnath Halember said it was unusual to eat breakfast in India until the 14th century. He continues by explaining that this was due to the general population chiefly working on farms. As time passed and contractual employment picked up speed, more people had time for breakfast. This change resulted in the creation of new recipes, and soon breakfast became commonplace in India.

Since the advent of breakfast foods, India has stuck to its traditional fare — or at least, mostly. Commercialized breakfasts have caught on, although not in the way you may expect. According to The Print, American food manufacturing brand Kellogg's attempted to break into the market with cereal. Indians were reluctant to bite, and Kellogg's adapted to the Indian market by offering ready-to-eat upma. Nonetheless, most people prefer to cook breakfast at home or grab a street food snack — no wonder, considering the delights on offer. Now, let's dig in and explore breakfasts eaten in India.

Long before Just Egg hit our shelves, Indians have been making vegan omelets from chickpeas or lentils. Cheela (sometimes also called pudla) is a North Indian breakfast staple packed full of beneficial nutrients. This dish takes no more time to prepare than a traditional omelet yet has the added benefits of being incredibly versatile, naturally gluten-free, and plant-based.

Chickpea flour, known in Hindi as besan, is the base of the most common iteration of the dish, besan cheela. Per Healthline, just 1 cup of chickpea flour contains 20 grams of protein, plenty of fiber, and the entire daily requirement of folate. It has a pleasantly earthy and nutty flavor which pairs beautifully with the rich spice of Indian cuisine. Treat the chickpea flour as you would egg. Whisk it in a bowl with water to adjust the consistency, seasonings of your choice, and chopped vegetables for extra nutrition. Diced onions, bell peppers, spinach, and beetroot are commonly incorporated, although optional. Once whisked, the batter is poured onto a hot griddle and cooked into thin crêpes. Besan cheela can be folded and stuffed with paneer (or tofu) or served with a combination of green chutney and ketchup.

Known as a staple of South Indian cuisine, idli is a fermented rice cake. It may sound strange to the uninitiated, but it's the best way to describe the light, fluffy, savory, and somewhat sour texture and flavor. Idli batter consists of soaked rice, white lentils, and fenugreek seeds. Next, it's ground to a smooth paste and fermented overnight, which gives the idli their distinctive sour taste. The batter is poured into a special pan and steamed for a few minutes. What comes out of the idli steamer is unrecognizable: spongy, delicate, and aromatic little discs.

Fermented rice dishes have a long history in India, particularly in the South. University College London states there is evidence of rice cultivation as early as 6,500 BC, while a paper published in the Journal of Ethnic Foods dates the practice of fermenting foods to 7,000 BC. It's unknown whether idli originated from India or traveled from then-Hindu-ruled Indonesia, as speculated by KT Achaya, (via Indian Express). What is certain, though, is that idlis have a long and beloved history for a good reason: They're delicious. You're most likely to find them stacked high and served alongside a trio of colorful chutneys or steaming hot sambar (spicy lentil soup with vegetables).

Bread is a staple that makes an appearance on breakfast tables worldwide thanks to its universal appeal and versatility. Indians, though, do bread better than most; there's a type of bread for every occasion, and breakfast is no different. Perhaps most prevalent is paratha, an unleavened and layered flatbread. One common iteration has a spiced filling in between two layers of dough, which is then shallow fried on a tawa until golden and crispy. In this case, you'll find mashed potatoes mixed with onions and fiery spices encased in a crispy dough and topped with butter. Serve it with sweet yogurt and spicy Indian pickles on the side — you couldn't ask for more.

This breakfast is in demand all over India, although it likely originates in the North-Western state of Punjab. According to a paper published in the International Journal of Applied Research, parathas feature in the book "Panjāb under the Sultāns 1000-1526 AD." The author claims that parathas were popular with the Punjabi nobility of the era. So next time you eat paratha, sit back and feel like royalty!

All across India, from the plains of the Himalayas of the North to the rainforests of the South, you'll find street vendors selling hot, puffy, and crisp puri stacked high and served with a small steel plate of batata bhaji (dry potato curry). Hearty, filling, and moreish, it's a breakfast that sustains millions of workers daily. Stalls typically sell three types of puri: sada (plain), masala (stuffed), and palak (spinach). With such variety, it's impossible to grow tired of puri bhaji.

At home, this breakfast is usually reserved for weekends since puris are a deep-fried treat. Batata bhaji with puri is also commonly eaten at Hindu festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Nag Panchami, especially in Maharashtra. Passionate devotees will abstain from using onion and garlic in the recipe, and traditions declare that using a knife to cut vegetables on this day is forbidden, (via The Times of India). Puri bhaji is then given as Prasad or Naivedhya, an offering to the Gods.

Amul, India's largest dairy brand, has turned over an annual revenue of $560 million, (via The Economic Times). According to BBC, the group formed in 1946, one year before India's independence, as a cooperative of farmers. In the modern age, Amul is known for making butter, milk, and cheese, amongst other dairy products. But why are we telling you about Amul? Indian street food is full of cheese — Amul cheese, to be specific. Yet, one cheesy street food was there before all others. It's India's answer to American grilled cheese and Welsh rarebit: Chilli cheese toast. Crispy, toasted bread topped with oozing cheese, umami tomato, fresh cilantro, and plenty of chilli... that's chili cheese toast.

The Hindustan Times writes that the likely inventor of chilli cheese toast was the ex-executive chef of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, Satish Arora. From that day in 1975, it seemed to spread like wildfire: Soon, every street food stall, Irani cafe, and hotel in Mumbai sold the cheesy, spicy breakfast. And now, back to Amul. In the cookbook "Dishoom: From Bombay with Love," British-Indian restaurateur Shamil Thakrar notes that Amul cheese will make the whole thing taste more authentic, but in place of that, mature cheddar will also do.

Let's begin by explaining what sabudana is. Per Tarla Dalal, sabudana is made by extracting milk from tapioca root, processing it, and making little "pearls" from the liquid. Now a staple in the Indian diet from Maharashtrian sabudana khichdi to South Indian coconut and cardamon tapioca pudding, tapioca was first popularized in the late 1800s, according to Condé Nast Traveller. Filling and cheap, it became the perfect solution to a famine-struck Kerala and would go on to save the day again when a rice shortage struck India in the fallout of World War II.

Sabudana has only gained traction since then, especially as a fasting food. Sabudana khichdi is a particularly adored breakfast during Navratri, a nine-day Hindu festival that traditionally involves upvas (fast). Commonly made without onions and garlic, it's also a sattvic food, described by WebMD as an Ayurvedic diet believed to help increase energy and mental clarity. Sabudana khichdi has minimal spices: Cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chili, and rock salt are standard, while coconut and sugar are optional. Soaked sabudana is mixed with these spices, then sautéed with boiled potatoes, whole peanuts, fresh cilantro, and lemon juice. Often fresh yogurt is served alongside the comforting meal.

Soft, spongy, and airy, dhokla is a savory sponge cake native to the Western-Indian state of Gujarat. The traditional method involves fermented rice, yogurt, and lentil batter, (via Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverages of India: Science, History, and Culture), while the modern "instant" dhokla recipe includes chickpea flour and a raising agent like fruit salts, citric acid, or baking soda. Water seeped with ginger, garlic, and green chili adjusts the consistency, then the batter is poured into a cake mold and steamed until light and fluffy.

The final step in making dhokla may surprise you. Black mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chili, sesame seeds, asafoetida, salt, and sugar are fried in oil before you add water. The mixture is left to simmer for a few seconds, then poured over the hot dhokla. It infuses the sponge with bold spicy, sweet, and tangy flavor notes, and the finishing touch is to garnish with fresh cilantro and grated coconut.