BREAKFAST DISHES

Most of our Indian breakfasts such as poha, upma, dalia, parathas, etc can easily be made vegan and healthy by omitting the ghee and using minimal or no oil. Idlis and dhosas are healthy because they are fermented, but these are best made with whole red rice. Dhosas can be made with minimal or no oil on a good tawa.

Soak 2 cups red rice or 1 cup red rice and 1 cup parboiled rice for 6 - 8 hours. (its better to use half and half the first time till you get a feel for it)
Soak 1 cup white udad dal for 6 - 8 hours separately. (Now I also use split unpolished udad dal)
Soak 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds either with the rice or dal.
Salt to taste

Grind the soaked rice in the blender (or idli grinder) till you get a slightly coarse (but almost smooth) paste and pour into a large bowl.
Grind the soaked udad dal in the blender till very smooth and mix with the rice paste.
Allow this mixture to ferment for 8 - 12 hours depending on the room temperature. In summer days 8 hours is sufficient, but on cooler days it takes longer. You can smell it to tell whether it is ready or not. It should have a slightly sour, fermented smell. (I like it a bit more sour so I always keep it out 14 hours). Add water so that it is of the consistency of dhosa batter. (somewhat similar to pancake batter)
Add salt to taste. This batter is ready to pour into idlis or dhosas, and can be kept in the fridge for 4 - 6 days and used when desired.
Variation : an equal volume or less of finely grated lauki (dudhi) or pumpkin can be mixed with the mau along with ginger chilly paste to taste. This makes tasty slightly thicker dhosas which are a big hit with kids and a good way to feed them the vegetables they don't care for.

Serves 2

1 200 gm package tofu,
Finely chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies, capsicum, mushrooms or any other desired vegetables.
Salt, turmeric
Pepper or crushed garlic as desired
A little oil for cooking
Finely chopped coriander for garnishing

Using a fork or potato masher, crumble the tofu into small pieces.
In a non stick or thick iron pan, lightly sauté the onions, chillies and other vegetables. Add crumbled tofu, turmeric and spices and sauté a bit further and serve. Garnish with coriander.
Variations : for a more cheesy or egg like flavour add 1/2 cup nutritional yeast to the mixture while cooking.

Western style breakfasts need a bit more innovation to make them vegan and healthy. Here are some ideas.
Makes 6 pieces

250 gms tofu
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon sweetener (molasses or maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 banana
6 slices of whole wheat bread

Mix all the ingredients except the bread in a blender until smooth. Pour the mixture into a shallow dish, dip the bread, and cook on a non-stick pan, turning once when the edges begin to brown.
Serve with fresh berries or maple syrup or date syrup.

French Toast - here is another recipe for French toast. Try them both out and choose your favourite

3 cups soy milk
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
A few tbsp vegetable oil for cooking
8 - 12 thick slices of bread

Whisk all the ingredients except the bread and oil. Soak the bread slices in the mixture until soft. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry each bread slice until both sides are golden brown and crispy. 5 - 7 minutes per slice. Serve warm with the syrup below.

For the syrup

2/3 cup + 2 tbsp apple strawberry juice.
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp cornstarch

Combine 2/3 cup of juice with the strawberries and cinnamon and bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir the 2 tbsp juice with the cornstarch until dissolved. Add to the other mixture and simmer. Stir till thickens. Serve hot over french toast.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups soymilk or water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix together the dry ingredients and then stir in the wet ingredients. If the batter is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until reaching the desired consistency.
Pour onto a pan with a nonstick surface and cook over medium heat, turning once when the edges begin to bubble and brown. Serves 4.

This vegan porridge is creamy, tasty and very satisfying.

1 cup water
5 tbsp oatmeal
1 1/2 tbsp jaggery
1 tsp sesame butter
1 tbsp sunflower seeds

Mix the water and oatmeal in a pot and cook over a medium flame stirring constantly till the porridge is ready. Some oatmeals are precooked and require just a minute of cooking and others need more. See the instructions on the package for the time of cooking. Once the oats are cooked stir in the jaggery and sesame butter. Roast sunflower seeds separately and sprinkle them on top. Serve. Makes one serving.
Variations: Replace sunflower seeds with almonds or nut mix or dried fruit mix.
Replace sesame butter with soya milk or other nut butters.

4 tbsp ragi flour
1 cup cold water
2 tbsp jaggery
1 tsp ginger
1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix the ragi and water till there are no lumps and cook for about 5 minutes on a medium flame till the ragi is cooked. Stir briskly all the while because ragi flour tends to form lumps. Add jaggery and ginger and turn off the flame. Top with coconut milk and serve.
Serves one.
Variations: Replace ragi with cracked wheat
Replace ginger with cinnamon and cardamom
Replace coconut milk with Soya, nut or rice milk

(These vary according to availability and taste)
Any whole grain flakes or oat flakes
Jaggery
Mixture of nuts and seeds - almond, pistachios, walnuts, sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, sesame seeds
Some dried fruits - raisins, dates, apricots

On a thick iron pan, roast the whole grains flakes till crisp and sprinkle a little jaggery to cover it all and cook a little more. Take off the fire and cool.
Repeat the same with the nuts and seeds, roasting first till crispy and then with a little jaggery.
Mix the above two mixtures and the dried fruits in the quantities desired, and its ready! It can be stored and used as needed.
Serve dry as a snack or with soy or nut milks

Some children enjoy this nutritious drink because of its chocolate color

1 glass water
3 heaped tbsp ragi malt
1tsp jaggery / 1tbsp date syrup
1glass soya milk

Mix the water and ragi well and cook on a medium flame till it thickens - about 3 minutes. Mix in the sweetener and soya milk and enjoy. Serves 2.
Variations : Add ginger, cinnamon or cardamom to the drink