5 ms·

Breakfast in South India esp. Karnataka/Bangalore is quite varied. Each day means a different breakfast and both parents and kids usually eat the same food. Wha

Breakfast in South India esp. Karnataka/Bangalore is quite varied. Each day means a different breakfast and both parents and kids usually eat the same food. What we do is pick from one of these each day 1. Dosa - Similar to Crepes but not sweet. 2. Idli - A Rice Cake 3. Uppittu or Upma - Semolina with Vegetables 4. Rava Dosa 5. Rava Idli 6. Vada - Deep Fried rice doughnut 7. Cereal - Not a traditional breakfast and usually rare 8. Toast with Jelly/Butter 9. Vermicelli with Vegetables 10. Awwalaki or Poha - Flattened Rice with Vegetables It's a bit over the top for sure, even by Indian standards. I'm not sure if people from other states in India choose between all these. I would be bored stiff to eat the same breakfast everyday. One other thing to note is that usually traditional breakfasts are not sweet and do not have any sugar in them. That's for later!

pvncad 12y ago
I am also from Bangalore. To cater for varied tastes of my siblings, my mother is following a timetable for morning breakfast in which nothing repeats in a month except for Idli and Dosa(which are there once in a week),
arjunnarayan 12y ago
I grew up in Bangalore for the first 15 years of my life. I consider my upbringing to have been pretty spoilt in terms of culinary things (among others, I'm sure), but I never had as much choice as you seem to have! My breakfast consisted of four idlies each morning 5 days a week. Friday was dosa day, which I had to negotiate seriously for. Vada/Upma/Poha/Rava idli were all weekend breakfast/brunch things and not every weekend. I'd compare it to about the frequency that I have waffles/omelettes/sausage and bacon over here in the US.
msravi 12y ago
Agreed. 1, 2, 3, and 10, are/were pretty common stuff that I eat/ate. 4, 5, and 9 were less common 15 years ago, but is today a lot more popular, thanks to readily available breakfast mixes (primarily from MTR http://www.mtrfoods.com/products/breakfast-mixes http://www.mtrfoods.com/products/breakfast-mixes )
lemming 12y ago
One thing I've always wondered - at what age are Indian kids (or kids from other cultures with spicy cuisines) introduced to spicy food? They mention kimchi for toddlers in the article, what about in India?
- FraaJad 12y ago
  Spice-"lite" (ie., the less spicy part of sambar etc.,) are introduced as early as 1 year. Kids essentially eat the same food as their parents by age 2, even if they are still hand-fed by their mothers (sometime even up to the age of 5). (speaking as a South Indian).
- FraaJad 12y ago
  FWIW, my american born daughter (to us south Indian parents), started eating spicy food at the age of 1. She can bat down spicy chicken and fish to make both her grandmothers proud.
- cubancigar11 12y ago
  Well, the concept of spicy or non-spicy food is non-existent, at least that is how it was in my family. Some people like a lot of spices, others do not - it is like a family tradition. Generally the mother controls the family taste, husbands fall in line :)
- pbhjpbhj 12y ago
  I'm not Indian but spicy food is effectively introduced pre-birth. The nutrient range that one gets from ones mother pre-birth appears to have a bearing on ones taste later. Certainly some flavours are passed on to breast-milk, eg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2452382/Mothers-shown-how-to-produce-flavoured-breast-milk.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2452382/Mothers-shown-how-to.... The first solids one of my kids (UK) had was Thai green curry, at 5 months, but it wasn't very spicy. Our kids just ate what we eat when they were ready to ween [move on to solid foods]; I can imagine this is probably quite common and so in many cultures if the adults are eating spicy food then the kids are from the time they begin to ween.
- rayiner 12y ago
  When I was growing up they'd tone down the spice for kids until they were 5-6+. Still slices compared to American food. Our daughter has been eating spicy food since one or so. Not the super hot stuff that even makes Indian people sweat, obviously.
liotier 12y ago
I am a 38 years old French with extensive travel experience and the Indian breakfast buffet at the Taj Palace in Delhi has been my all-time favourite... More than ten years later I still fondly remember it ! I guess that it is incomparably more luxurious compared to what the average Indian gets, but I believe that the principle of having proper non-sweet hot dishes for breakfast is a wonderful idea. As a low cost alternative in East Africa I love to head through the market and get maize meal with curry sauce as a breakfast on the way... But in the morning family rush of my French routine I would have a hard time organizing anything more elaborate than baguette and chocolate milk...
- Moru 12y ago
  I think the trick is to organize this the day before and prepare things for lunch/dinner that easily transfers as extras for breakfast. Cold meat, feta-cream, olives, cous cous-dishes and other things that fits cold the day after. And ofcourse some proper bread which is completely impossible to get up here in north Sweden... The industrybread here is awful.
justincormack 12y ago
I have a memory of having some porridge like breakfast but with curry leaves and fruit when I was there as well. I love dosas, used to get them in the tiffin restaurants, the only restaurant I have ever been to that closed for lunch. Fortunately there are a few places in London that sell these.
kartikkumar 12y ago
That's really awesome! I'm too lazy to make myself any breakfast ... so I usually just stumble into work and then my stomach tells me at around 11am that I'm missing something important. It's too late for breakfast by then, so I just hold out for lunch. When I'm back in India, I definitely try to take advantage of the awesome Udupi [1] options. MTR [2] @Lalbagh Rd remains an absolute favourite! Coincidentally, there's a new breakfast business in Bangalore called Brekkie [3] that's getting a lot of rave reviews (disclaimer: started by a good friend of mine). They serve Indiranagar and surrounding areas with a variety of bites. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupi#Cuisine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupi#Cuisine [2] http://www.mavallitiffinrooms.com http://www.mavallitiffinrooms.com [3] http://www.brekkie.in http://www.brekkie.in
- shortsightedsid 12y ago
  Need to try Brekkie the next time I'm in Bangalore for sure!
contingencies 12y ago
Exact opposite experience here: after three months in a range of smaller towns and larger cities across South India I found the ubiquitous idli, vada, dosa menu horridly repetitive. (I am an Aussie living in China and here the local breakfast options are to my mind far more varied: steamed buns, rolled up rice paper snacks, various soups, congees, noodles, breads, fruits, etc.)
- FraaJad 12y ago
  Not surprised. The North Indian compatriots who die to eat Idli, dosa etc., get tired of it soon after they land in South India (after a week or so)... However, an actual south indian person does not eat the same things over and over again. As someone mentioned above, the menu rarely repeats over the course of a week, even 2 weeks. Even if the base dish (Dosa) repeats, the side-dishes can vary wildly during a month.
  - contingencies 12y ago
    Unfortunately as a tourist it's very hard to avoid this horridly repetitive and limited menu. Give me a thali any day. It is often observed that there are three kinds of food on offer in South India: VEG, NON-VEG, and CHINESE. Perhaps idli, vada and dosa are the corresponding trinity of staple breakfasts?
AshBrekkie 12y ago
Hopping on the comment Kartik mentioned below, we just started Brekkie with the sole purpose of curing people of boring breakfasts ;) check us out on facebook.com/BrekkieBlr or give us a ring (number is on the website: www.brekkie.in) - mention that you're the ycombinator guy and your first breakfast is on me!
redraga 12y ago
You forgot one of my favourites, Akki rotti - savory stiff crepe made from rice
- vram22 12y ago
  The name Akki reminded me of Akoori (something quite different) - a Parsi version of scrambled eggs - it's a bit wetter than regular scrambled eggs, but tasty. Had it a few times in a restaurant. Googling for the term shows many links.
anjanb 12y ago
kids and parents have the same breakfast. We're from bangalore and in bangalore. Here's what we eat most days of a month. Rotti, dosa and chapati gets repeated more than other items. 1) Bisibelebath -- http://goo.gl/zqlaFd http://goo.gl/zqlaFd 2) pongal(spicy and sweet)/kichdi -- http://goo.gl/KvFH4m http://goo.gl/KvFH4m 3) idli/RavaIdli plus chutney/samabar -- http://goo.gl/ykGnQa http://goo.gl/ykGnQa, http://goo.gl/RQro5r http://goo.gl/RQro5r 4) dosa plus chutney/palya -- http://goo.gl/NzfOjj http://goo.gl/NzfOjj, http://goo.gl/kWDD8o http://goo.gl/kWDD8o, http://goo.gl/Jg9BD9 http://goo.gl/Jg9BD9 5) poori with palya/chutney/saagu -- http://goo.gl/m4D4QR http://goo.gl/m4D4QR, http://goo.gl/OVvL5Z http://goo.gl/OVvL5Z 6) chapati with palya/chutney/gojju -- http://goo.gl/gPPPdV http://goo.gl/gPPPdV, http://goo.gl/Yqe6CT http://goo.gl/Yqe6CT, http://goo.gl/kfV4OY http://goo.gl/kfV4OY 7) akki/raagi/wheat rotti with palya/gojju/chutney/sambar -- http://goo.gl/GXxvyF http://goo.gl/GXxvyF, http://goo.gl/gYZ9kg http://goo.gl/gYZ9kg, http://goo.gl/rs7Ucn http://goo.gl/rs7Ucn 8) chitraanna/soppanna/huliyanna/puliogare -- http://goo.gl/bmcxOT http://goo.gl/bmcxOT, http://goo.gl/ppxeMY http://goo.gl/ppxeMY, http://goo.gl/K0uzVS http://goo.gl/K0uzVS, http://goo.gl/MifvBT http://goo.gl/MifvBT 9) avalakki(poha) (spicy and sweet) -- http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh 10) uppittu/upma plus kesaribaath(sweet) -- http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh, http://goo.gl/RPjWoV http://goo.gl/RPjWoV 11) Noodles 12) vangibath(rice with brinjal) -- http://goo.gl/8YI6J7 http://goo.gl/8YI6J7 13) raagi mudde -- http://goo.gl/5UTwHR http://goo.gl/5UTwHR --------- rotti -- can be made in rice, raagi, jowar or wheat flour palya -- dry curry -- can be made in practically any vegetable gojju -- wet curry -- can be made in practically any vegetable
- vram22 12y ago
  Interesting. I know we can google, but some of the lesser-known among those items might not show up in the results. In any case, it would be great if you could add a few words of English describing at least the less common items. Spoken as a bit of a foodie :) Other readers might appreciate those descriptions too.

pvncad 12y ago

I am also from Bangalore. To cater for varied tastes of my siblings, my mother is following a timetable for morning breakfast in which nothing repeats in a month except for Idli and Dosa(which are there once in a week),

arjunnarayan 12y ago

I grew up in Bangalore for the first 15 years of my life. I consider my upbringing to have been pretty spoilt in terms of culinary things (among others, I'm sure), but I never had as much choice as you seem to have! My breakfast consisted of four idlies each morning 5 days a week. Friday was dosa day, which I had to negotiate seriously for. Vada/Upma/Poha/Rava idli were all weekend breakfast/brunch things and not every weekend. I'd compare it to about the frequency that I have waffles/omelettes/sausage and bacon over here in the US.

msravi 12y ago

Agreed. 1, 2, 3, and 10, are/were pretty common stuff that I eat/ate. 4, 5, and 9 were less common 15 years ago, but is today a lot more popular, thanks to readily available breakfast mixes (primarily from MTR http://www.mtrfoods.com/products/breakfast-mixes http://www.mtrfoods.com/products/breakfast-mixes )

lemming 12y ago

One thing I've always wondered - at what age are Indian kids (or kids from other cultures with spicy cuisines) introduced to spicy food? They mention kimchi for toddlers in the article, what about in India?

FraaJad 12y ago
Spice-"lite" (ie., the less spicy part of sambar etc.,) are introduced as early as 1 year. Kids essentially eat the same food as their parents by age 2, even if they are still hand-fed by their mothers (sometime even up to the age of 5). (speaking as a South Indian).
FraaJad 12y ago
FWIW, my american born daughter (to us south Indian parents), started eating spicy food at the age of 1. She can bat down spicy chicken and fish to make both her grandmothers proud.
cubancigar11 12y ago
Well, the concept of spicy or non-spicy food is non-existent, at least that is how it was in my family. Some people like a lot of spices, others do not - it is like a family tradition. Generally the mother controls the family taste, husbands fall in line :)
pbhjpbhj 12y ago
I'm not Indian but spicy food is effectively introduced pre-birth. The nutrient range that one gets from ones mother pre-birth appears to have a bearing on ones taste later. Certainly some flavours are passed on to breast-milk, eg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2452382/Mothers-shown-how-to-produce-flavoured-breast-milk.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2452382/Mothers-shown-how-to.... The first solids one of my kids (UK) had was Thai green curry, at 5 months, but it wasn't very spicy. Our kids just ate what we eat when they were ready to ween [move on to solid foods]; I can imagine this is probably quite common and so in many cultures if the adults are eating spicy food then the kids are from the time they begin to ween.
rayiner 12y ago
When I was growing up they'd tone down the spice for kids until they were 5-6+. Still slices compared to American food. Our daughter has been eating spicy food since one or so. Not the super hot stuff that even makes Indian people sweat, obviously.

liotier 12y ago

I am a 38 years old French with extensive travel experience and the Indian breakfast buffet at the Taj Palace in Delhi has been my all-time favourite... More than ten years later I still fondly remember it ! I guess that it is incomparably more luxurious compared to what the average Indian gets, but I believe that the principle of having proper non-sweet hot dishes for breakfast is a wonderful idea. As a low cost alternative in East Africa I love to head through the market and get maize meal with curry sauce as a breakfast on the way... But in the morning family rush of my French routine I would have a hard time organizing anything more elaborate than baguette and chocolate milk...

Moru 12y ago
I think the trick is to organize this the day before and prepare things for lunch/dinner that easily transfers as extras for breakfast. Cold meat, feta-cream, olives, cous cous-dishes and other things that fits cold the day after. And ofcourse some proper bread which is completely impossible to get up here in north Sweden... The industrybread here is awful.

justincormack 12y ago

I have a memory of having some porridge like breakfast but with curry leaves and fruit when I was there as well. I love dosas, used to get them in the tiffin restaurants, the only restaurant I have ever been to that closed for lunch. Fortunately there are a few places in London that sell these.

kartikkumar 12y ago

That's really awesome! I'm too lazy to make myself any breakfast ... so I usually just stumble into work and then my stomach tells me at around 11am that I'm missing something important. It's too late for breakfast by then, so I just hold out for lunch. When I'm back in India, I definitely try to take advantage of the awesome Udupi [1] options. MTR [2] @Lalbagh Rd remains an absolute favourite! Coincidentally, there's a new breakfast business in Bangalore called Brekkie [3] that's getting a lot of rave reviews (disclaimer: started by a good friend of mine). They serve Indiranagar and surrounding areas with a variety of bites. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupi#Cuisine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupi#Cuisine [2] http://www.mavallitiffinrooms.com http://www.mavallitiffinrooms.com [3] http://www.brekkie.in http://www.brekkie.in

shortsightedsid 12y ago
Need to try Brekkie the next time I'm in Bangalore for sure!

contingencies 12y ago

Exact opposite experience here: after three months in a range of smaller towns and larger cities across South India I found the ubiquitous idli, vada, dosa menu horridly repetitive. (I am an Aussie living in China and here the local breakfast options are to my mind far more varied: steamed buns, rolled up rice paper snacks, various soups, congees, noodles, breads, fruits, etc.)

FraaJad 12y ago
Not surprised. The North Indian compatriots who die to eat Idli, dosa etc., get tired of it soon after they land in South India (after a week or so)... However, an actual south indian person does not eat the same things over and over again. As someone mentioned above, the menu rarely repeats over the course of a week, even 2 weeks. Even if the base dish (Dosa) repeats, the side-dishes can vary wildly during a month.
- contingencies 12y ago
  Unfortunately as a tourist it's very hard to avoid this horridly repetitive and limited menu. Give me a thali any day. It is often observed that there are three kinds of food on offer in South India: VEG, NON-VEG, and CHINESE. Perhaps idli, vada and dosa are the corresponding trinity of staple breakfasts?

AshBrekkie 12y ago

Hopping on the comment Kartik mentioned below, we just started Brekkie with the sole purpose of curing people of boring breakfasts ;) check us out on facebook.com/BrekkieBlr or give us a ring (number is on the website: www.brekkie.in) - mention that you're the ycombinator guy and your first breakfast is on me!

redraga 12y ago

You forgot one of my favourites, Akki rotti - savory stiff crepe made from rice

vram22 12y ago
The name Akki reminded me of Akoori (something quite different) - a Parsi version of scrambled eggs - it's a bit wetter than regular scrambled eggs, but tasty. Had it a few times in a restaurant. Googling for the term shows many links.

anjanb 12y ago

kids and parents have the same breakfast. We're from bangalore and in bangalore. Here's what we eat most days of a month. Rotti, dosa and chapati gets repeated more than other items. 1) Bisibelebath -- http://goo.gl/zqlaFd http://goo.gl/zqlaFd 2) pongal(spicy and sweet)/kichdi -- http://goo.gl/KvFH4m http://goo.gl/KvFH4m 3) idli/RavaIdli plus chutney/samabar -- http://goo.gl/ykGnQa http://goo.gl/ykGnQa, http://goo.gl/RQro5r http://goo.gl/RQro5r 4) dosa plus chutney/palya -- http://goo.gl/NzfOjj http://goo.gl/NzfOjj, http://goo.gl/kWDD8o http://goo.gl/kWDD8o, http://goo.gl/Jg9BD9 http://goo.gl/Jg9BD9 5) poori with palya/chutney/saagu -- http://goo.gl/m4D4QR http://goo.gl/m4D4QR, http://goo.gl/OVvL5Z http://goo.gl/OVvL5Z 6) chapati with palya/chutney/gojju -- http://goo.gl/gPPPdV http://goo.gl/gPPPdV, http://goo.gl/Yqe6CT http://goo.gl/Yqe6CT, http://goo.gl/kfV4OY http://goo.gl/kfV4OY 7) akki/raagi/wheat rotti with palya/gojju/chutney/sambar -- http://goo.gl/GXxvyF http://goo.gl/GXxvyF, http://goo.gl/gYZ9kg http://goo.gl/gYZ9kg, http://goo.gl/rs7Ucn http://goo.gl/rs7Ucn 8) chitraanna/soppanna/huliyanna/puliogare -- http://goo.gl/bmcxOT http://goo.gl/bmcxOT, http://goo.gl/ppxeMY http://goo.gl/ppxeMY, http://goo.gl/K0uzVS http://goo.gl/K0uzVS, http://goo.gl/MifvBT http://goo.gl/MifvBT 9) avalakki(poha) (spicy and sweet) -- http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh 10) uppittu/upma plus kesaribaath(sweet) -- http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh http://goo.gl/YtH1Lh, http://goo.gl/RPjWoV http://goo.gl/RPjWoV 11) Noodles 12) vangibath(rice with brinjal) -- http://goo.gl/8YI6J7 http://goo.gl/8YI6J7 13) raagi mudde -- http://goo.gl/5UTwHR http://goo.gl/5UTwHR --------- rotti -- can be made in rice, raagi, jowar or wheat flour palya -- dry curry -- can be made in practically any vegetable gojju -- wet curry -- can be made in practically any vegetable

vram22 12y ago
Interesting. I know we can google, but some of the lesser-known among those items might not show up in the results. In any case, it would be great if you could add a few words of English describing at least the less common items. Spoken as a bit of a foodie :) Other readers might appreciate those descriptions too.