Top 32 Indian Breakfasts

At its core, chole bhature is a combination of two dishes: chole - a spicy chickpea curry, and bhature - a type of fried bread made with maida flour. Popular throughout North India, the dish was invented in Delhi in the 1940s. It is commonly accompanied by onions, pickles, mint chutney, and chilled lassi. Chole bhature can be found at most street carts in North India, but it can also be easily prepared at home. Although it can be eaten any time of the day, chole bhature is especially popular in the morning, when bhature are filled with potatoes or cottage cheese, making it a heavy, nutritious breakfast.Expand

Golden-brown in color, flaky and layered, paratha is a type of Indian bread that is typically consumed for breakfast. The name comes from a combination of words parat and atta (flour), referring to the cooked, layered dough. It consists of whole wheat flour that is baked in ghee (Indian clarified butter) and comes in round, triangular, square, or heptagonal shapes. Parathas are often stuffed with ingredients such as boiled potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, chili, paneer, or radish. They are sometimes accompanied by pickles, yogurt, homemade chutneys, or meat and vegetable curries. In Punjab, paratha is traditionally paired with lassi, a popular yogurt-based drink. Although the flatbread originated in Peshawar, Pakistan, it has spread throughout India where it can be found at numerous street stands and roadside eateries. The southern Indian version is called parotta. Another way of eating paratha is to roll it into a pipe and dip it into tea. Versatile, buttery, and aromatic - parathas are irresistible in the morning, and that just may be the key to their popularity.Expand

Misal is a specialty dish of the Indian state of Maharashtra, its name literally translated to a mixture of everything, so the ingredients vary from cook to cook. However, a combination of these ingredients is the most common in a typical misal: curd, moth bean or pea curry, gravy, spiced potatoes, and garnishings such as onions, coriander, and tomatoes. It is mandatory for a true misal to be spicy, while the base needs to be crunchy. Visually, it should look like a work of art, with lots of colors - typically red, brown, orange, and green. The earliest mention of the dish appeared around the early 20th century. Since it is highly nutritious, easy to prepare, and relatively inexpensive, it remains one of the most popular meals in Maharashtra.Expand

Nihari is a popular meat-based dish originating from Old Delhi. When Pakistan gained independence in 1947, numerous immigrants from Delhi settled in Karachi, where they established their own restaurants, so nihar is also associated with Pakistani cuisine. The dish consists of slowly cooked meat such as beef shanks, mutton, or chicken. The meat is cooked together with stock and numerous spices such as cumin, cloves, garam masala, and cardamom in big vessels which are sealed with dough. It takes anywhere from six to eight hours for nihari to be cooked properly, and it is traditionally consumed for breakfast, since the name of the dish is derived from the Arabic word nahar, meaning morning. Originally, nihari was consumed by the Nawabs in the Mughal Empire as a breakfast dish, before the usual morning prayers, although some people believe that the dish was invented in the royal kitchens of Awadh. It is usually served with tandoori rotis or khameeri rotis, and some like to garnish nihari with green chilis on top. Nihari's texture, spiciness, and tenderness of the meat make it a favorite among many Indian and Pakistani people.Expand

Aloo paratha is one of the most popular breakfast foods in northern India, a flatbread stuffed with a spicy potato mixture. Its name is derived from aloo, denoting a potato, parat, denoting layers, and atta, denoting flour. The flatbread is made from whole-wheat flour, salt, and ghee, forming flaky, soft, and crispy layers that are golden-brown in color. The filling consists of mashed potatoes, ginger, green chilies, coriander, dried pomegranate seeds, chili powder, and salt. The dish is often topped with Indian homemade butter called makhan and it is traditionally served with chutneys, pickles, onions, and yogurt or tea on the side. Due to its popularity, it spread from Punjab to various parts of the Indian subcontinent, but also to Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore and the Caribbean.Expand

Misal pav is a traditional dish originating from Maharashtra. Its two main components are misal – a curry made with sprouted moth beans, usually topped with chivda, onions, chilis, and potatoes – and pav, bread rolls used to mop up the flavorful curry. Misal pav can be served for breakfast, as a snack or a main dish. It is commonly found in roadside stalls, breakfast joints, and office canteens.Expand

Palak paneer is a popular Indian vegetarian dish made with paneer cheese in a rich, thick sauce consisting of puréed spinach mixed with tomatoes, garam masala, garlic, and numerous spices. The key ingredients are even mentioned in the name of the dish, since palak means spinach in hindi, and paneer refers to the cheese. Palak paneer has roots in the Punjabi region, but there are also other variations of the dish throughout India. It is a highly nutritious meal that can be consumed either for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, accompanied by rice or Indian flatbreads such as naan and roti.Expand

Indian masala omelet is a traditional egg-based dish originating from South India. The dish is made with a combination of eggs, onions, green chili peppers, coriander, chili powder, and turmeric powder. The eggs are whisked with the other ingredients, and the mix is then cooked on both sides in a pan until the omelet becomes slightly crisp on the edges. This spicy omelet is traditionally served for breakfast and it's recommended to eat it with pav (bread). If desired, it can be rolled in hot chapati flatbread. The dish is also often prepared and sold at street stalls in the area, and some vendors add ingredients such as tomatoes, coriander leaves, and cheese to the omelet.Expand

A specialty of North India, chana masala is a tangy chickpea curry that is commonly consumed as a snack, main meal, or breakfast. Arguably, it is the most popular vegetarian dish in India, commonly found on railway platforms, at work, in school canteens, or at ceremonies and festive occasions in India and Pakistan. Chickpeas are simmered in a combination of spices and herbs, often served with rice or Indian flatbreads such as roti or naan, then garnished with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. Due to chana masala's popularity, there are also regional versions of the dish, such as the Pakistani version called aloo chole, made with chickpeas and potatoes.Expand

Gobi paratha is a traditional flatbread originating from North India. This type of paratha is stuffed with spiced cauliflower. The dough is made with a combination of flour, water, salt, and oil. Once shaped, it's stuffed with spiced cauliflower, fried on both sides and brushed with butter or ghee until golden brown and fully cooked. The stuffing is typically made with a combination of cauliflower, ginger, turmeric, red chili powder, coriander, cumin, garam masala powder, dry mango powder, and salt. It's recommended to serve gobi parathas hot with chutneys, curd, raita, or Indian pickles. The dish can be found on most street food stalls in the area, where vendors serve gobi paratha for breakfast.Expand