Assamese breakfasts: 5 dishes to kickstart your mornings
What's the story
Assamese cuisine has some delicious vegetarian breakfast options that are healthy and tasty at the same time. These traditional dishes ensure you have a healthy start to the day. From rice-based preparations to lentil dishes, the variety in ingredients means there's something for everyone. The simplicity of these recipes makes them easy to prepare while keeping the authentic taste intact. Here are five vegetarian dishes from Assam that can energize your mornings.
Rice cake
Pitha: A traditional rice cake
Pitha is a staple breakfast item in Assamese cuisine and is generally made out of rice flour. It can be steamed or roasted, sweet or savory. Jaggery and coconut are commonly used for sweet ones and vegetables are added for savory ones. Pitha is filling, but also supplies you with carbohydrates required to keep your energy levels up throughout the day.
Light meal
Jolpan: A light morning meal
Jolpan is basically a light meal that includes items such as flattened rice or puffed rice served with curd and jaggery or sugar. Sometimes served with seasonal fruits, it makes for a refreshing morning without being too heavy on the stomach. It is quick to prepare and offers a balanced combination of carbohydrates and proteins.
Lentil dish
Khar: A unique lentil dish
Khar is an Assamese dish prepared with raw papaya, pulses, and alkaline water filtered through sun-dried banana peels called kola khar. The dish is known for its unique taste because of its unique preparation method. When consumed regularly as part of breakfast, khar helps digestion and serves as an excellent detoxifying agent.
Fermented rice
Poita bhat: Fermented rice delight
Poita bhat entails soaking leftover rice overnight in water so that it ferments a little by morning. This fermented rice is consumed with salt, mustard oil, onions or green chilies, as per preference, during breakfast hours in many homes in the Assam region itself. Its probiotic nature keeps gut healthy efficiently over long stretches if consumed regularly on a weekly or monthly basis.
Fried bread
Luchi-sobji bhaji: Fried bread with vegetables
Luchi-sobji bhaji mainly features deep-fried bread, popularly referred to as luchi, served with a vegetable curry called sobji bhaji, locally. The combination serves up delicious flavors together, making it the perfect choice for those looking for a hearty yet satisfying meal, early on, before heading into their busy schedules ahead in their daily life routines themselves!