Festive

Breakfasts

That Aren’t Just Sweets

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.