During our podcast interview with Yulia Denisyuk, Yulia spoke about a beautiful breakfast recipe that she shared with her mother back in their home town of Estonia. Her distinct memories of having a delicious breakfast of eggs and tomatoes that her mother would make in their tiny kitchen brought back such pangs of nostalgia and longing for the good old days!
If you missed her inspiring podcast interview, you can catch it here.
Yulia’s breakfast tradition with her mother got us so inspired to explore some other breakfast recipes and traditions from around the world. So we set forth, on a virtual tour, asking our lovely community on what their favorite and classic breakfast traditions were.
Here are a few yummy breakfast recipes for you to try out with your friends and family and perhaps add a global pallet to your kitchen table.
#1 Puri and Jalebi from Varanasi, India
Varanasi is a city in the northern part of India. Considered one of the holy cities in Hindu culture and religion, Varanasi also known as Banaras sits on the banks of the Ganga, India’s holiest river. In Hindu culture, it is believed that a dip in the Ganga will absolve you of all your sins and lead you to attain ‘moksha’ / salvation when you die.
Needless to say, Varanasi is a very crowded city with many people who come just to bathe in the Ganga and visit all the various temples and religious places around. So the number of tourists far out weight the number of residents. As a result, restaurants and eating establishments are numerous with street food being the most popular. Many people arrive in Varanasi and immediate upon visiting the Ganga and having a bath, flock to a street food vendor to grab a quick bite to eat. Hence breakfasts in this city tend to be heavy and filling rather than light and easy on the stomach.
Here is a recipe for puri that we like to use when we are in the mood for something heavy, fried and filling.
A typical street food vendor in one of the many by-lanes of Varanasi.
#2 Magdalenas from Spain
In Spain, breakfast (el desayuno) is the smallest meal of the day. It’s typically rather light and more like a continental breakfast than anything else.
A typical breakfast might include café con leche (strong coffee with hot, frothy milk), bollos (sweet rolls) with jam, toast with jam or mild cheese, or simply “Maria” crackers dunked in hot milk. Some families still enjoy sweet and lemony magdalenas from the neighborhood bakery. Generally, breakfast in Spain is eaten at home, before dashing off to work or school. But mid-morning coffee breaks are very popular and a great way to get a quick caffeine pick-me-up.
In Spanish, magdalenas simply means cupcake or muffins. We found this easy recipe for a sweet, lemony, and rich-tasting magdalena with a light and fluffy texture.
#3 Roti Canai from Malaysia and Singapore
Roti Canai (also known as roti paratha) originated from southern India, but was modified and made famous by the mamak (Muslim-Indian) hawkers in Malaysia and Singapore. In Malaysia, this crispy and buttery flat bread is called roti canai but across the straits in Singapore, they are commonly known as roti paratha.
Roti canna is a classic breakfast staple especially on the streets of Malaysia and Singapore. It is cheep, filling and so delicious. Many hawkers and street food vendors sell roti canal as a to-go breakfast dish with a cup of hot, sweet tea packaged is a plastic bag with a straw for office-goers. They start really early in the morning when it is still dark outside and by dawn’s first light, all the breakfast meals are ready in to-go packs. Roti canai can also be had the plain way with just some sugar.
Today Malaysian paratha or Malaysian roti can be found in almost any South Asian grocery store outside of Malaysia. Making it is a bit of a process but here is the best recipe we found to make it from scratch.
#4 Vareniki from Ukraine
Vareniki a.k.a Pierogi is one of those classically Ukrainian dishes that makes you keep coming back for me. Who doesn’t love a dish made with potatoes and cheese, right? Today pierogies can be found in many different flavors with a variety of fillings. They can be sweet or savory and come in variety of fillings: potatoes, sauerkraut, cherries, cottage cheese, blueberries just to name a few. But that classic potato pierogie will always be popular at our breakfast table. The best part is that this dish can also be had as a mid-morning or late-afternoon snack for kids and adults.
This is the best vareniki recipe we found that is easy to make.
{Photo and Recipe credit : Gratrosenses.com}
#5 Baghrir from Morocco
Baghrir is also known as Moroccan pancake or crepes. It is light and fluffy and used made and enjoyed during Ramadan fasting. Moroccan Baghrir are also know as spongy semolina pancake. When pulled apart, they look just like the inside of an English muffin but in pancake form. Baghrir is light and fluffy, soft and spongy, it will definitely pull anyone to have more than one. The ingredients are easily available. They’re usually served with the Moroccan warm honey and butter sauce.
Baghrir gets its spongy consistency by using baking powder and yeast together. These pancakes are prepared either with all purpose flour or fine semolina, however the authentic one always goes for the fine semolina. They are cooked only on one side and have a soft texture with a beautiful honeycomb like appearance.
These pancakes can be made in advance and stored in fridge few days.
This is the best baghrir recipe we found that looks easy to make.
It is amazing how incredibility diverse food is around the world. A little pre-work and a little patience can ensure we don’t ever eat another boring breakfast of cereal and milk again, right!
What do you like to have for breakfast? Let us know in the comments.
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