Indian breakfast recipes

Indian breakfast recipes that are simple, delicious and easy to make. Breakfast is a meal commonly eaten in the morning to break a over night fast and rejuvenate the body & mind. After a over night fast our body needs a good nutritious breakfast to keep us going good through out the day. This post on collection of Indian breakfast recipes may help you to plan your next morning’s meal quickly .

Indian cuisine has a wide array of breakfast varieties that differs from region to region. In south India, idli, dosa, upma, poori, vada are some of the most commonly eaten foods while in North India parathas, cheela and aloo puri are most commonly eaten.

In this post I have compiled the breakfast recipes that are popular with the readers. For each breakfast, I have also mentioned the alternates or similar recipes hoping it will help you to make a good choice.

More Recipe collections you may like
Sandwich recipes
Chutney recipes
Oats recipes
Ragi recipes

Instant Indian breakfast recipes

1. Upma recipe : Upma is a basic south Indian breakfast made with semolina & tempering ingredients. It is one of the quick fix breakfast to make when you are short of time. Upma can be made just under 15 mins. It is usually eaten with a spicy lentil podi.
More upma varieties on the blog
Tomato upma
Khara bath & Rava kesari
Oats upma
Bread upma
Quinoa upma

2. Rava idli is an instant breakfast, popular in Karnataka. There is no grinding or fermentation required to make the batter. Rava idli are made with semolina, some veggies & spices. This recipe will give you soft, fluffy and delicious rava idli similar to those you get in tiffin centers. These are eaten with coriander coconut chutney & aloo sagu. However they can be served with any chutney or sambar. Healthier alternates to this is the Oats idli

3. Poha recipe : Poha is flattened rice or beaten rice and is known as aval, avalakki or attukulu in the South. Preparing poha is one of the most easiest to make even on a weekday and it just takes about 20 mins. More poha recipes on the blog
Milk poha in 10 mins
Poha or Aval upma

4. Semiya upma : is another south Indian breakfast made with wheat vermicelli and tempering ingredients. This post shares 2 ways of making semiya upma – without vegetables and with mix vegetables. Semiya upma can be eaten alone or with some podi, pickle or curd.
More semiya recipes for festive breakfast,
Semiya payasam
Semiya kesari
Sweet vermicelli without milk

5. Besan chilla or cheela are instant pancakes from North indian cuisine. These are made with gram flour, spices and herbs. Cheela can be eaten alone with some tea. However they go well with a chutney or pickle. For variation you can check these Oats cheela.

More breakfast recipes

6. Poori recipe : Poori or puri is a deep fried breakfast made almost in every region in India. It is mostly eaten with aloo or Poori masala. However in South India it is also eaten with Veg kurma, chana curry, Sagu or bombay chutney.

7. Wheat dosa or atta dosa – These instant crispy dosas are made using whole wheat flour or atta and can be made just under 15 mins. You can have these even without chutney if you use enough chilies and onions. For a change you can also try these
Crispy oats dosa
Ragi dosa

8. Soft Idli recipe : Idli is one of the most healthiest breakfast dishes from South Indian cuisine as they are naturally fermented and steamed for short time to retain the nutrients. These take just about 15 mins to make if you have the batter ready. Idli is usually eaten with chutney or idli sambar
or with idli podi . If you have fussy kids home, you can also try this Podi idli. You can also use up your surplus idlis to make this idli upma.

9. Akki roti is a simple, quick to make flat bread or roti using rice flour. These are popular in karnataka and are eaten for breakfast with coconut chutney. However any chutney goes well with this. This post shares how to make soft akki roti. Similar recipes you can try
Ragi roti

10. Thepla is a popular flat bread from Gujarati cuisine made with whole wheat flour & spices. These flavorful & delicious theplas go well with any pickle & also with curd / yogurt.
For variations you can try these
Methi paratha

11. Dalia or daliya is a one pot delicious, healthy & protein rich dish made with broken wheat, lentils & veggies. Dalia is fiber rich, very filling and keeps you energetic for longer. This is also good for kids & toddlers. You can also check this Oats khichdi

12. Instant Rava uthappam : Usually uttapam are made with idli and dosa batter. But these instant rava uttapam are super quick and easy, no grinding and no fermenting. 2 servings can be prepared just under 20 mins. For a healthier option you can make these instant oats uttapam.

13. Pongal recipe – Pongal is the south Indian version of Khichdi. It is one of the simplest protein packed dish made with lentils & rice. On occasions & some fridays, we also make Sweet pongal. First we offer to the Godess and then have it for our breakfast.

14. Medu vada are another south Indian breakfast made with lentils or urad dal. Vada make a great weekend breakfast. These are eaten with sambar or chutney. This post guides you step by step to make the best fluffy and crispy vada using a mixer grinder. If you are new to making vada, then you can also shape the batter to bonda. You can check this post on urad dal bonda for details.

15. Dosa recipe : Dosa is a traditional South Indian breakfast recipe made with ground lentils and rice batter. Though preparing dosa batter takes some time, making them is super quick and easy. This post shares 4 basic dosa recipes from plain dosa, crispy dosa, masala dosa and healthy high protein dosa. You can also use the same batter to make Paniyaram & Punugulu.
You can also check these dosa variations:
Neer dosa
Set dosa

More breakfast recipes

16. Veg sandwich recipe : Most people prefer recipes using bread for their breakfast to make toast & sandwich as they are quick to prepare. This veg sandwich recipe just takes 15 mins and can be made on a tawa. More simple sandwiches you can try
Mayonnaise sandwich
Cheese sandwich
Grilled sandwich
Paneer sandwich
Paneer bhurji sandwich in 10 minutes

17. Masala dosa is yet another delicious & most popular breakfast recipe from south Indian cuisine. This post guides you to make the best restaurant style masala dosas along with potato curry and chutney. Preparing for masala dosas does take some time. If you are a working person, then you can plan this for a weekend breakfast or meal. For variations you can also check
Cheese dosa
Egg dosa

18. Pesarattu is a fiber rich & protein packed healthy breakfast from Andhra cuisine. It is made of whole mung beans or green gram, ginger, chilies & cumin. These are delicious if made properly. Upma- pesarattu is a popular combo which most people love. Pesarattu is eaten with ginger or allam chutney.
For variations you can also check this Instant moong dal dosa.

19. Adai recipe : adai is a traditional dish from Tamilnadu cuisine, made with mixed lentils or dal. Each home has their own ratios of dal & rice to make adai. I have shared the recipe I follow at home. These turn out to be flavorful, delicious & are healthy. Lastly for variations you can also try these
Mixed dal dosa
Kambu dosa (bajra or sajjalu, millet dosa)
Jowar dosa

Breakfast recipes

20. Kathi rolls or roti rolls are a favorite with most people. I have shared a simple recipe which I usually make for my kids. You can skip the green chutney if making for the school box. You can also check this Veg frankie made with mix veggies.

21. Paratha recipe : Firstly making paratha does take some time if you are a beginner. I often make parathas for breakfast and lunch together. This saves some time as we don’t need to juggle between the preparation of 2 foods (one for breakfast & other for lunch). These plain parathas can be served with some quick to prepare sides like Egg bhurji & Paneer bhurji
For a variation you can also try these
Palak paratha
Vegetable paratha

22. 6 Egg omelette recipes you can try for your breakfast. Serve with bread, paratha, thepla or roti. You can also check these
Egg paratha – A filling, nutritious and healthy breakfast made with eggs and whole wheat flour. This takes about 30 minutes. However if paratha is not your thing, then you may try this 8 mins egg bread toast. Lastly if you are a vegetarian and do not eat eggs, you can try this besan bread toast.