This, more or less, is the current food regime in Urban India. Leaves a rather odd taste in one's mouth, right? After all, Indians are known for their passion for food. In this country, fluctuating prices of onions can bring the ruling party to its knees. Then how did we get tied up to such boring, routine meals? Lack of time and space, tightening purse strings are probably the prime culprits.

But we must not allow the memories of the delicacies to fade away. This issue of Gobar Times is an attempt to recapture the manifold flavours and tastes of India. And, more importantly, it is a nudge to remind ourselves that they are great for our health too.

While every meal reflects the changing food habits of a city-bound Indian, we chose to explore varieties of breakfast. Why?? Because it is the most crucial meal of the day, when the body needs to pool in a lot of energy to gear up for action.

India combines a multitude of cultures. No surprises, therefore, that the dishes we dipped our fingers into were a wide array of lip smacking fares. Right from dosa in Andhra Pradesh to aloo paratha in Punjab.

And we got together a collection of breakfasts, the traditional variety--from different parts of India, which are not just tasty but pack a punch of nutrients too.

Then we experimented some more. We picked items out of the different platters to cook up that one perfect breakfast. Not only the most nutritious but also the most delicious combo!

Now let's begin our gastronomic trip across India--east, west, north and south-- to find out what the people here like to eat. First thing in the morning.

Jammu and Kashmir: A typical Kashmiri breakfast includes sheermal (a soft bread that is slightly sweetened), baqerkhani (bread that looks like pastry puff), and round sesame-seed topped bread, Tsot and Tsochvoru (cream coloured unleavened bread loaves). Kashmiris usually wash down their meals with green tea, called kawah.
 

Bengal:

One of the most popular breakfast items here is Bengali Luchi (a deep-fried flatbread made of bleached wheat flour or maida) which is common to Bengali and Oriya cuisine. Chirer Pulao is another favourite, which is a dish made out of flattened rice, garnished with peas and vegetable and is the Bengali version of poha.

Luchi is usually accompanied by cholar dal (lentils) or alur dum (potatoes cooked in typical Bengali style).

But the nutritional value of these two is debatable, after all fried potato patty early in the morning might not appeal to all. Another less known item is called Misal Pav, which is a salted snack mixed with curry and topped with sprouts and eaten with bread or pav.

They start their day with food that would normally be considered as snacks in other places, like kachori (a potato-stuffed deep fried Indian bread) and samosa (a potato or minced meat-stuffed pastry which is deep fried). Potato curry with pooris (bread fried in hot oil) is also another option. Milk or tea is what they prefer to drink with the meal.

Central Indian states such as, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP), too, have their signature dishes for breakfast. In MP a preparation of grated corn, locally called bhutte ka khees, is a common breakfast item. In UP on the other hand, taftan (naan like bread but slightly salty and sweet), jalebi (small, deep-fried sweets) and sweetened milk are some typical dishes eaten in the mornings.

It can be safely said that jalebi early in the morning might not be every one's cup of tea. Bhutte ka khees, however, is very nutritious, while its caloric count is just 90 (for one corn kernel).

Assam: Chira (meatballs cooked in spicy tomato sauce) with yogurt and jaggery is what the Assamese prefer to start their day with. An accompaniment is tea (saah in Assamese), an indispensable part of Assamese cuisine. It is served in various forms, black, with milk, spiced or lemon.

Interestingly, most northeastern states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh have rice for breakfast, accompanied by side dishes. Their meals are mostly never without fish, meat or lettuce. So on the whole it's a highly nutritious affair.

Now the last lap of our journey. We move to the southern part of India to explore the breakfast habits of the people here.

The popular belief is that all south Indians eat idli (savoury cakes made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils and rice) and dosa (a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice flour and black lentils) for breakfast. But that's not true at all. Even the dosas and idlis have very distinctive features in each state.

Now that we have literally 'drooled' around in every nook and cranny of the country, and are bursting in the seams with food, we can take note of some interesting food facts. Even as every Indian state presents a refreshingly different menu card, the items overlap often. For instance, ghugni is not just a common dish in Bihar, but also in Bengal and Assam. Upma is common to all states in the south and also Maharashtra.

Also, it is quite astonishing to gauge the extent to which our cultures and subcultures influence not only our lifestyle but our palettes too.

But we also realise that some of these breakfast options are a tad bit overloaded. So we chose one breakfast dish from every state and provided you with that one perfect breakfast platter, an even balance of carbohydrates, proteins,fat and fibre.

 Aloo paratha is packed with carbohydrates. So this can be substituted by ghugni, puttu or appam. Chira is high in proteins, so is dhokla. Now add a bowl of sambar that contains pulses and leafy vegetables and is a great source of fibre. Cholar dal can be an option too. Fat is good but only when consumed in moderate amounts, so one can pick uttappam or dosa, but make sure you don't splatter too much of that oil on it!Then add a cup of kawah tea, a rich source of antioxidants, which is low on calories. Dont worry. The picks might be from different platters but they blend perfectly together.