Diwali 2023: Three chef-approved festive breakfast dishes you can make at home

Plans for lunches and dinners during festive weekends are usually sorted: you either have a set menu of festive delights passed through generations that you prepare as a holiday ritual or take this chance to try a new restaurant out. The real catch is the breakfast –  you neither want to have your usual cereals slash quick fixes nor are in the mind to have your run-of-the-mill paratha. But fear not because like always, we've got your back. Here are three quirky breakfast ideas with recipes shared by some of the best chefs of Bengaluru. Bon Appétit!

Who says festive breakfast always needs to be desi? In lieu with 2023 being the year of millets, here is the recipe of a French delicacy, shared by Chef Amiel Guerin from Amiel Gourmet.

Ingredients

For Millet Croissant

Millet flour: 300 gms
Milk: 150 ml
Sugar: 50 gms
Salt: 5 gms
Yeast: 6 gms
Butter: 180 gms
Eggs: 2 nos

For Plum & Ginger Jam

Ripe Plum: 1 kg
Lemon: 1 nos
Sugar: 600 gms
Grated ginger: 1 tbsp    

Instructions 

Procedure for Millet Croissant

1. Mix millet flour, sugar, salt, yeast, one egg, milk, and 30 grams of butter in a mixing bowl at a slow speed for 5 minutes and continue at a high speed for another 10 minutes.
2. Rest the dough for 12 hours overnight.
3. Bring the dough at room temperature and roll it down
4. Apply the remaining butter on the dough and fold, repeat this 3 times. Roll the dough flat again
5. Cut the dough into triangles. Roll the croissant down starting from the larger edge.
6. Proof the croissant for 45 minutes at room temperature on a baking sheet.
7. Apply egg wash on all the croissants.
8. Bake at 160 degrees Celsius in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.
9. Serve warm or cool it down at room temperature.

Procedure for Plum & Ginger Jam 

1. Cut the plums in half, remove the pits, and place the plum halves in a large ceramic bowl. Keep 10 to 12 plum pits and discard the rest.
2. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of sugar over the plum halves.
3. Cover the bowl with a tea cloth and let it sit for 2 hours at room temperature. If possible, refrigerate overnight for better results. As time passes, you'll notice the sugar melting and the plums releasing their juices. This indicates it's time to make the jam.
4. In a large, heavy-bottomed or preserving pan, combine all the plums, their juices, the remaining sugar, and the ginger (if using). Stir over medium heat until the sugar completely dissolves. Increase the heat and let the mixture bubble, boiling for about 10 minutes. Stir every 2 minutes to prevent the sugars from sticking to the pan's sides.
5. Place a clean saucer or tea plate in the freezer.
6. Crack open the plum pits, extract the small kernels inside, and place them in a teacup. Pour boiling water over the kernels and let them steep for 1 minute. Strain the kernels, ensuring the skin comes off easily. Set them aside.
7. After boiling the jam for 10 minutes, remove the saucer or plate from the freezer. Take a small spoonful of the jam and put it on the saucer. Place the saucer in the fridge for 5 minutes. Push the edge of the jam on the saucer, and if it "wrinkles," it means the jam is ready. If not, continue boiling on high heat. Repeat the jam setting test until the jam exhibits "wrinkles" when pushed.
8. Once the jam reaches the desired consistency, turn off the heat but leave the pan on the burner. Allow it to stand for approximately 10 minutes.
9. Take each hot, sterilized jam jar and use a jug and a funnel to carefully fill them up to the neck.
10. Distribute the extracted kernels among the jars.
11. Cover the surface of the jam in each jar with a wax disc. This will prevent mould formation during storage. Seal the jars with tight-fitting lids or secure cellophane discs with elastic bands. Let the jars cool down.

This soft, half-moon shaped. traditional snack, topped with a layer of creamy, whipped yogurt is usually preferred in the evenings or to solve light hunger pangs. However, if you are a light eater, this can definitely be a good option for you. This recipe has been shared by  Chef Gaurav Bansal, Executive Sous Chef, Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway.

Ingredients

For Gujiya

Urad dal: 1 cup 
Salt: to taste

For stuffing

Raisins: 20-25 nos
Cashews: 15-20 nos
Chironjee: 1 tbsp
Green chilli: finely chopped
Ginger: 1 tsp finely chopped
Salt: to taste
Oil: for fry
Fresh curd: 1 cup
Black salt: to taste    
Red chilli: 5 gms
Roasted cumin powder: 5 gms
Coriander: leaves for garnish
Mint chutney

Instructions 

Gujiya

1. Soak the dal overnight.
2. Blend the dal into a thick paste with a bit of salt and water.
3. Beat the batter until it’s fluffy.
4. Mix the stuffing ingredients.
5. Heat up oil for frying.
6. Use a bowl and a wet cloth to shape the batter into a flat disc, add some nuts to the disc. Fold the disc over to make a half-moon shape.
7. Sprinkle some cumin seeds on top.
8. Fry the gujiya in the oil until its golden brown.

Assembling the Dahi Gujiya

1. Put the fried gujiyas in warm water with a bit of asafetida. Let them rest for 15-20 minutes.
2. Stir the curd until it’s smooth, add a little salt and sugar to the curd.
3. Make a glass of salty buttermilk.
4. Squeeze the water out of the gujiyas, put them in the buttermilk and let them soak.
5. After 15 minutes, take the gujiyas out of the buttermilk and put them on a plate.
6. Pour a lot of the smooth curd over the gujiyas.
7. Add spices, coriander leaves, and green chilies on top.
8. Serve it cold with some chutneys.

Gone are the days where desserts were only reserved for lunches and dinners. It's the festive season – you got to have sweets no matter which meal it is! Here is the recipe for a rather unusual dessert, which is not overtly sweet and hence perfect for breakfast, by Chef Jatinder Pal Singh, Executive Chef, Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Convention Center.

Ingredients

1. Gram flour: 1 kg
2. Hazelnut: 250 gms
3. Sugar: 800 gms 
4. Ghee (clarified butter): 500 grams 
5. Rose paste: 150 grams 
6. Rose petals: 180 gms 
7. Honey: 80 gms 

(Makes 40 nos of 30 gms each)

Instructions 

1. In a thick-bottomed kadhai, cook melt the ghee and add gram flour slowly to it.
2. Cook the gram flour till brown color and then leave it aside to cool down.
3. Hazelnut to be toasted and then crushed into smaller pieces.
4. Make a caramel of the sugar given in the recipe and add the crushed hazelnut to the melted sugar
5. Mix the gram flour mixture and hazelnut mixture.
6. Divide the mixture into 30 gms laddu and coat it with dried petals of rose.
7. For help in coating the rose petals use some honey in hand to roll.

Also read: Chef Vikas Khanna gives a sweet new twist to the traditional ladoo