Breakfast

Dosas, idlis, parathas and more

Upma · Tamil Nadu. Classic South Indian rava upma: roasted semolina cooked soft and fluffy with mustard seeds, curry leaves, onion, ginger and green chilli, finished with ghee and a squeeze of lemon.
Besan Chilla · Rajasthan. Rajasthani gram-flour pancakes speckled with onion, tomato and chilli. Whisked in a bowl, cooked in a frying pan, and full of protein.
Bread Upma · Karnataka. Karnataka's answer to stale bread: cubes tossed with a mustard and curry leaf tadka, onion, tomato and peanuts until they soak up the masala.
Masala Omelette · Delhi. The Delhi dhaba breakfast: a thin omelette packed with onion, green chilli and coriander, with buttered toast on the side.
Egg Bhurji · Maharashtra. Mumbai street-cart scrambled eggs cooked in butter with onion, tomato and green chilli, scooped up with soft pav.
Ven Pongal · Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu's soft, savoury rice and moong dal porridge, cooked mushy and finished with a ghee tadka of whole pepper, cumin, ginger and cashews.
Idli with Coconut Chutney · Tamil Nadu. Soft, fluffy steamed rice and urad dal cakes from a naturally fermented batter, with a fresh green-chilli coconut chutney and a mustard-seed tadka.
Appam with Vegetable Stew · Kerala. Lacy, bowl-shaped rice and coconut pancakes with soft spongy centres, served with a mild, peppery Kerala stew of vegetables simmered in coconut milk.
Kanda Poha · Maharashtra. Maharashtra's weekday breakfast: thick flattened rice tossed with onions, peanuts, mustard seeds and curry leaves, finished with lemon and fresh coconut.
Masala Dosa · Karnataka. Crisp golden dosas folded around a turmeric potato masala, with coconut chutney and sambar on the side.
Sarva Pindi · Telangana. Telangana's crisp rice-flour pancake with peanuts, chana dal and sesame, pressed into a pan by hand and dotted with holes.
Pesarattu with Allam Pachadi · Andhra Pradesh. Thin, crisp green moong dosa from coastal Andhra, scattered with onion and chilli and served with a sweet-sour-hot ginger chutney.