Festive

Breakfasts

That Aren’t Just Sweets

Quick Summary

Even the most ardent foodie with a serious case of sweet tooth needs a break from greasy laddoos and halwas, no matter how happening the festive season. Give the FOMO (Feeling Of Missing Out) a pause and go into ROMO (Relief Of Missing Out) mode. How? By swapping to hearty but savory breakfast dishes instead.

Deep Dive

Treat this list of festive breakfasts as your palate cleanser on mornings when the mithai boxes seem endless, and the temptation to pop a few laddoos from last night is high. The mithai can wait for a bit, as high-sugar sweets are not good for breakfast. Savoury or low-sweet items are perfect to start your day and give a decent energy boost, minus the sugar crash of midday.

Adai Dosa

Forget crispy dosas for now, as their batter needs overnight fermentation, and you just might not have time for that. Try the thicker and spongier dosas, like adai dosa from Tamil Nadu. It is a protein-rich flatbread (of sorts) made from a mix of lentils like chana, toor, urad, and moong, and rice. There are also spices added to the thick batter – red chillies, asafoetida, ginger, and fennel seeds. You can also add fried or fresh curry leaves and diced onions for more flavour. You can have it with your favourite achaar or, in true South Indian style, serve it with chutney and sambar. 

Dalia

Dalia has been a staple breakfast item for ages, and it is close to khichdi, but instead of using rice, it uses broken wheat and is cooked like a porridge. You can add a little jaggery (and also milk, dry fruits, and nuts) when cooking to make it sweeter, but it can also be eaten in a savoury form. The savory version uses vegetables and spices along with the broken wheat. It’s rich in fibre and easy to digest; dalia is valued for its ease of preparation, nutritional content, and being light on the stomach.

Handvo

You might see this Gujarati speciality and go – ‘ooh dhokla’, but dhokla is made with besan and handvo is made with rice and dal (fermented batter). There might be added vegetables like grated bottle gourd. As for spices, you get the typical Gujarati tadka – mustard seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves, and cumin seeds, that is added before the batter is poured into the pan. Handvo is often baked or pan-cooked and served with green chutney. Fermentation is essential if you don’t have time; add a mix of lemon juice and baking soda to the batter. 

Rava Upma

Made from roasted semolina (rava), tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chillies, and onions, rava upma barely takes 20 minutes to fix. Water is added to cook the semolina into soft deliciousness. Uppitttu, as it’s known in the South, also uses roasted semolina and starts with the tempering of curry leaves, mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, ginger, green chillies, and hing in ghee or oil. It's often served with lemon, grated coconut, and roasted peanuts. Its comforting warmth and minimal prep make it perfect for festive mornings. 

Pongal

Rice for breakfast? Yes. The South knows the best ways to use rice, be it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Pongal is a traditional dish made from rice and yellow moong dal, cooked into a creamy consistency and tempered with black pepper, cumin, ghee, and cashews. Sometimes a sweet version is made using jaggery and cardamom. It’s a key festive breakfast, especially during the Pongal harvest festival, and is both nourishing and deeply comforting. The dish is often enjoyed with coconut chutney or sambar.

Sabudana Khichdi

This might be a vrat favourite, but you can customise the core ingredient to your liking, turning it from porridge to upma to poha. But sabudana khichdi is the easiest to cook, and also the most familiar. It’s made from soaked tapioca pearls (sabudana), cooked with peanuts, potatoes, cumin, and green chillies, often in ghee. It has a chewy texture and nutty flavour, and you can add roasted and coarsely ground peanut flour to keep the sabudana from sticking.

Munglet

Munglet, also known as Moonglet, is a fluffy, savoury pancake made from soaked and ground moong dal (split yellow mung beans). Often called a vegetarian omelette, it’s loaded with chopped vegetables like onions, capsicum, tomatoes, and green chillies, and seasoned with basic spices. A pinch of fruit salt or baking soda makes it light and airy. Like most chillas, this too is crispy on the outside and soft inside. It’s pan-cooked in ghee or oil and served hot with chutney. Popular as a street-side breakfast in North India, it’s high in protein, gluten-free, and quick to prepare.

Catch A Break With These Festive Breakfasts

When the celebrations begin, sweets pile up. But if you need a break from guzzling down laddoos and barfis first thing in the morning, then pick dishes like adai dosa, sabudana khichdi, and pongal, which are perfect for you to rotate for weeks, cook en masse, and feed your entire family. Each one combines staple grains and pulses, using local spices, vegetables, or nuts, and cooking techniques that bring variety.