Dealing with rising prices of sliced white bread? Try these alternatives for breakfast

As bread has become expensive, dishes like dosas and chillas can be tried as breakfast. Pic courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

For a week now, bread has seen a rise in price due to the increasing cost of maida. This has proved costly for people whose morning staple includes sliced bread or bread-related dishes. We speak to two home chefs who share cost-effective, delicious and quick-to-make breakfast options that can be tried as options for bread or bread-themed eats using ingredients readily available in the kitchen.

Options all the way

Instead of bread, there are many healthy and good options for breakfast these days and there's no need to buy anything extra for it too. For a yummy breakfast, you can utilise types of dals, oats, and vegetables found in the kitchen. Try making pancakes, crêpes or chilla from ragi or besan; onion chilla, in particular, is easy and extremely nutritious. If you are on the lookout for a slightly heavy meal, you can stuff these with spinach and boiled egg. Cook up moong dal dosa with coconut chutney, appam or dosa with a poached egg, and if there's some leftover coconut gravy, you can whip up Kerala eggs Benedict. Oats chilla are super quick to make and delicious. You can also make parathas that are made of mixed grains or dal cauliflower.
Inderpreet Nagpal, rummyskitchen

Nutritious is best

I think it's best to look at our good old breakfast alternatives like poha, upma and dishes made of rawa [suji]. There's onion or potato poha, and if you'd prefer, add more peanuts to make it extra nutritious. Try making upma made of suji or if you want some variation try making it from semiya or suji appe - suji is usually a common ingredient in our households. Chillas are a safe, nutritious and quick-to-make option. Cook up chillas made of besan or moong dal. Dosas of any type are one of the cheapest options that you can opt for. Additionally, the dosa batter can stay good in the fridge for a few days. Eggs scrambled, boiled or fried are good options too. For the health-conscious, try making salads with sprouts, boiled or raw vegetables.
Marlyse Rebello, Nom Nom by Mars

Besan and onion chilla

Ingredients
>> 1 cup besan
>> 1 onion finely chopped
>> 1 tsp chopped coriander
>> 1 finely chopped green chilli
>> 1/4 tsp ajwain
>> 1/2 tsp powder saunf
>> 1/4 tsp haldi
>> 1/2 cup water or add as required
>> Salt to taste
>> Oil as required

Method
In a bowl, mix together besan, onions, green chillies, coriander and all the spices. Add little water and mix with a wired whisk. If the batter looks thick, then add tablespoons of more water. Depending on the quality and texture of besan, you can add less or more water. Mix to a smooth flowing consistency of the batter. Heat a frying pan. When the pan is medium hot, pour the batter on the pan. Gently, with the back of the ladle, spread the batter, so that the chilla does not break. On a low flame, cook the chilla till the top begins to appear cooked. Then drizzle little oil on it and around the edges. Cook till the base is light golden. Flip and cook the other side till it becomes golden. Serve hot with chunda or sauce.

Tip: You can also add vegetables to the batter.

Recipe and pic courtesy: Inderpreet Nagpal

Leftover bread? Try this

Bread toast

>> You can make dishes like bread pakora or bread cutlet
>> If deep-fried dishes aren't your game, you can always make a French toast with or without eggs
>> Toast the extra bread slices and have them with a cup of tea or coffee.
>> You can make croutons out of bread which can be used for soups.
>> Breadcrumbs are an excellent binding agent for croquettes, cutlets and tikkis. So, in a mixer, put the extra bread and make it into crumbs.

Rs 2-Rs 8
The amount to which the price of white bread loaves has hiked