What are Easy Indian Breakfast Recipes to Try at Home?
Busy mornings call for breakfast ideas that are quick, tasty, and made with everyday ingredients. These 15 Indian breakfast recipes cover everything.
1. Poha
How to make it? First, wash poha quickly in a strainer, don’t soak it. Then let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Heat oil, fry peanuts, then add mustard seeds, curry leaves, chilli, and onion. Once the onion is soft, add haldi, salt, and then poha. Mix lightly, cook for 2-3 minutes. Lemon on top at the end.
2. Aloo Paratha
Mash boiled potatoes, add dhaniya, green chilli, jeera powder, and salt. Stuff it inside atta dough, seal properly, and roll slowly, don’t press too hard. Cook on a hot tawa with ghee till both sides get brown spots. Best with curd, pickle, or just butter. If the filling is wet, add more potato, not water.
3. Besan Chilla
Tastes great with green chutney or ketup. Add crumbled paneer if you want it to be more filling.
4. Vegetable Upma
Roast 1 cup suji dry till you get a nice aroma, keep aside. In the same pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, onion, and veggies like carrot, peas, and beans. Add 2.5 cups of water and salt. When it boils, slowly add the roasted suji and keep stirring so lumps don’t form. Cover for a minute, and it’s done.
5. Idli
Extra idlis? Put them in the fridge. Next day, cut them and make masala idli. Toss with mustard seeds, curry leaves, onion, and a little masala.
6. Dosa
If dosa sticks, the tawa is either too hot or not seasoned. Don’t pour more oil immediately; adjust the heat.
7. Bread Poha
Lemon juice at the end gives freshness. Peanuts add crunch. This is probably the fastest breakfast when you don’t want to knead anything.
8. Paneer Paratha
More filling than aloo paratha and tasty too. Crumble paneer, add dhaniya, green chilli, jeera powder, and salt. Stuff in atta dough, roll carefully. Cook with ghee on a tawa. Keep the stuffing dry. If paneer has water, the dough will tear. You can crumble paneer and chop dhaniya at night and keep it in the fridge, in the morning, it will be faster.
9. Suji Cheela
Same idea as besan chilla but with suji. Curd makes it softer. Mix 1 cup suji with ½ cup curd, salt and water to make a thick, pourable batter. Rest for 10 minutes. Then add chopped onion, tomato, and dhaniya. If the batter is thick, add a little water. Spread on a greased tawa and cook on medium flame. Don’t make it too thick, or the centre stays uncooked.
10. Medu Vada
11. Dhokla
Gujarati style, soft, slightly tangy. Good for breakfast, snack, and lunchbox. Mix 1 cup besan with curd, water, grated ginger, green chilli, salt, and lemon juice. Add fruit salt or Eno just before steaming and mix lightly. Pour into a greased tin and steam till a toothpick comes out clean. For tadka, heat oil with mustard seeds and curry leaves, add a little water and pour over the dhokla. Cut after it cools a bit.
12. Uttapam
Best way to use leftover dosa batter. Thicker and softer than dosa. Pour one ladle of batter on a greased tawa, don’t spread too thin. Put chopped onion, tomato, chilli, and dhaniya on top. Cook on medium flame, flip and cook the other side. Don’t put too many toppings at once or it won’t flip, and the centre stays raw.
13. Masala Dosa
Oats don’t have to be sweet and boring always. With onion, tomato, and tadka, it becomes a proper Indian breakfast. Heat oil, add jeera and onion. Once the onion softens, add tomato, peas, carrot, haldi, mirch powder, and salt. Add oats and water, cook till it thickens. Use less water if you like it thick, more water if you like porridge style. Check packet-rolled oats and quick oats cook differently.
14. Moong Dal Chilla
Healthy, light, and full of protein. Need to soak dal though, so little planning needed. Soak moong dal for 3-4 hours, drain and grind with ginger, green chilli, jeera, salt, and water. Batter should spread easily but not be watery. Pour on a greased tawa and make a thin circle. When the edge starts lifting, flip. You can stuff paneer inside or eat with curd. Even palak can be added to the batter.
15. Thepla
Thepla is from Gujarat, made with wheat flour, methi, and spices. Methi thepla especially stays good for a long time, so you can pack it. Mix atta with chopped methi, curd, haldi, red chilli powder, jeera, salt, and a little oil. Add water slowly and make a soft dough. Roll thin and cook on a hot tawa till brown spots appear on both sides. Goes well with curd, pickle, and chai. Dough can be made earlier and kept in the fridge.
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What To Make When You're Really Short on Time?
Don’t overthink breakfast every day. Just see how much time you have.
- Under 15 mins: Bread poha, masala oats
- Around 20 mins: Poha, besan chilla, upma
- When you want something heavy: Aloo paratha, paneer paratha
- Light and steamed: Idli, dhokla
- Weekend special: Medu vada, dosa
- To pack in tiffin: Thepla, aloo paratha
If you want it healthier, add curd, paneer, dal or some veggies alongside. Adjust oil/ghee as you like.
Easy Indian Breakfast Recipes for Every Morning
Keep staples like atta, suji, besan, poha, and seasonal vegetables in your kitchen. Prepare batters or chop vegetables ahead of time when possible. Try different Indian breakfast dishes throughout the week to keep your meals varied and interesting. With these 15 quick Indian breakfast recipes, deciding what to cook each morning becomes much easier.
