Breakfast Serial: Serendipitous breakfasts that would appeal to a king

This is a series of articles written by Silver Talkies members, following their participation in a writing workshop conducted by Silver Talkies Magazine editor Priyanka Borpujari.

As the name suggests, breakfast is a meal which we have after a period of fasting, generally overnight. The famous saying goes: “Have breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” I have, to a large extent, followed this mantra, right from the time I was a kid.

I did my schooling in Pune (then Poona) and subsequently in Madras. Irrespective of where we were, my mother believed in feeding the family a sumptuous breakfast. She ensured that my siblings and I woke up early and got ready for school in time, so that we did not need to have a hurried breakfast—as most school kids do nowadays.

Breakfast was also the family bonding time. We had a large eight-seater rosewood table in our dining room, where my parents and four sisters would sit together for breakfast. The dining table also was our writing table where my sisters and I sat and did our school homework. But breakfast time was also when various topics were discussed: ranging from what was happening in school, to the day’s headlines, Bollywood gossip, news from the sports field, etc.

My mother was a great cook. On weekdays, it was generally a South Indian breakfast: soft idlis, crisp dosas, fluffy puris, fragrant pongal and upma; all accompanied with coconut or peanut or tomato or mint chutney, in addition to sambar or potato masala. On Sundays, the breakfast was fluffy omelettes with crisp toast, or the softest appams with crisp edges, to be eaten with chicken stew or sweet coconut milk. To this day I have not found any restaurant which has been able to replicate the taste and flavour of my mother’s breakfast. Was her love for her family the secret ingredient that made it so delicious? Or was it some other magic potion?

I am fortunate that my wife is as good a cook as my mother and has carried on the tradition of the family sitting together for breakfast.

But there are also some other breakfasts in other locations that are equally memorable.

One unforgettable breakfast I had was on the railway platform of Hubli station in Karnataka. I had caught the night train from Bangalore in a rush, and had missed dinner. Tired, I immediately went to sleep, and woke up the next morning ravenously hungry. The train reached Hubli station early in the morning. Just outside my compartment was a vendor on a cart making omelettes. Beaten eggs mixed with just the right quantity of chopped onions, soft and fluffy. Usually, the omelette is sandwiched between two slices of bread. But this one was different: the omelette was wrapped around the sliced fresh bread! Buying it from the window of the train seat, I first bit into the omelette, followed by the slice of bread. It was delicious! More so because I was so hungry since the previous night. Two of these omelette sandwiches—washed down with piping hot tea—made my day. It is a memory of a simple breakfast that has stayed in my memory forever.

One more breakfast which I can never forget is one from a particular suhoor—the predawn breakfast during the holy month of Ramzan—which I had with my friend Zia and his family in Pune, around 40 years ago.

Most friends of people who fast during Ramzan get invited for iftar, which is the evening meal after breaking the fast. But my friend Zia insisted that I join him and his family for the suhoor, which is also known as sehri. So I reached his home at 4am. After the morning prayers, breakfast was served. It started with dates, dry fruits and nuts, fresh fruit juice, and a lot of cut fresh fruit.

During this period of Ramzan, people who fast eat protein-rich food, to sustain themselves for the rest of the day. So we had rotis made with whole wheat flour, accompanied by the most delicious chicken dopiazza, steamed fish, soft pieces of paneer, and low fat yogurt. We finished the meal with delicious gaajar halwa cooked with raisins and nuts.

The early morning quiet ambience while the rest of the city was fast asleep, the reverence with which the entire family prayed and then broke their fast: all this made that breakfast very special for me.

There are so many other breakfasts from my travels that I have enjoyed, but these two are stamped in my memory.

As I grow older, the quantity of food I eat for breakfast has come down. I can no longer eat like a king in the morning. Now breakfast is like a prince, lunch is just a salad, but dinner is still like a pauper! Even so, breakfast continues to be my favourite meal of the day.