Alright, so I wanted something different for breakfast. Something fast, you know? Got tired of the same old toast and cereal routine. I remembered hearing about some Indian breakfast dishes being pretty quick, specifically stuff people make back in India, like real simple home-style things.
So, I started looking around. Typed “easy and quick breakfast recipes in hindi” into the search bar, just to see what popped up. Lots of videos, lots of blogs. Honestly, a bit overwhelming at first. Everything looked colourful but also kinda complicated with spices I wasn’t sure I had.
First Attempt: Poha Maybe?
I settled on trying Poha first. It looked like flattened rice, seemed straightforward enough in the pictures. The lists usually mentioned:
- Poha (flattened rice)
- Onions
- Mustard seeds
- Curry leaves (if you can find ’em)
- Turmeric
- Maybe some peanuts or veggies
Okay, finding the Poha itself took a trip to a specific Indian grocery store. Not exactly ‘quick’ for the first step! Got the stuff home. Rinsing the Poha was weird, gotta be gentle or it turns to mush. Chopped an onion, tiny pieces like they showed. Got the pan hot, added oil, tossed in mustard seeds. Wow, those things pop! Like tiny explosions, had to jump back. Added the onions, curry leaves (found some dried ones), turmeric. Stirred it all up, got that yellow colour going.
Then you add the damp Poha, some salt, maybe a squeeze of lemon at the end. Mixed it all together. It looked… okay? Sort of yellow and clumpy. The taste was pretty good, actually! Salty, a little tangy. Not bad for a first go. Took maybe 20 minutes once I had everything ready. Cleanup wasn’t too bad either.
Giving Upma a Shot
Next weekend, felt brave enough to try Upma. This uses semolina, or ‘sooji’ they called it. Looked like cream of wheat but savory. The process seemed similar: heat oil, pop mustard seeds (was ready this time!), sauté onions, maybe some ginger and chilies. Then you roast the semolina a bit in the pan until it smells nutty. That part was kinda nice.
Then comes adding hot water. Carefully! It splutters like crazy. You gotta stir constantly, like making porridge, so it doesn’t get lumpy. It thickens up super fast. Added salt, maybe some peas I had in the freezer. Let it cook for a few minutes covered.
The result? It was… interesting. Texture was soft, taste was mild. Definitely filling. Again, maybe 20-25 minutes total. Faster than I thought it might be.
So yeah, my little experiment with quick Hindi breakfasts. Was it ‘easy’? Kinda, once you figure out the steps and have the ingredients. The spice popping was a surprise! ‘Quick’? Yeah, reasonably quick to cook once prepped. Finding ingredients was the only slow part initially. Definitely tastier than plain old cereal, I’ll give it that. Might actually make Poha again soon.