Nashta Kiya, breakfast? This funny line from a relatively obscure movie, Fruit & Nut, starring Boman Irani and Cyrus Broacha had become part of routine for some time a few years ago and has been with me since. Breakfast, they say is the most important meal of the day. You can skimp on lunch and ditch an elaborate dinner every once in a while, but skipping breakfast is a complete no-no. Mornings are the most productive time of the day for me and I don’t think I can give my best without a healthy breakfast.
However, unfortunately, this is the meal we have least time to spend on. In the morning rush to beat the office-hour traffic and put the most of my productive time to use, I have always strived to find a way to get the best with least efforts.
Eggs, of course, are a staple but still take time to cook. Summers do not really inspire early cooking or a hot steaming breakfast. In these times, cold cereals become the breakfast mainstay. But to get different things out of cornflakes without buying the sugary cereals that seem appealing is a big challenge. It is very easy and convenient to pick the Kellog’s box off the shelf and dump a glass of milk. Cold milk and the corn or wheat flakes give a good balance of crunch and moistness. Warm milk isn’t the option for me, the cereal gets all soggy and lumpy.
When I met Guptaji the other day with his kids running around, they seemed very chirpy, enjoying the Happy Streets concept. Their secret, it turned out was a tasty and healthy cereal breakfast. Cereals and tasty? Hunh. Now that’s new. My envy got better of me and I coaxed him into inviting me over for breakfast on Wednesday next week on the way to our office.
Aaah. That meant one day less to worry about breakfast. I was hoping to get something cooked fresh. But I guess I am not the only one who avoids early morning cooking marathons. Everyone at his house seemed busy as he ushered me in and sat me down at the table. There was not much time to chit chat and he quickly dumped some cornflakes from the Kellogg’s box in my bowl along with honey and some fruits. It was quick but very fresh and invigorating. I had to ask him what it was and he simply said “it’s our recipe – Jagah Banane Wala Nashta.” This has the perfect balance of milk, cereals, fruits and is quick, he said. What’s important is kids love it and we don’t need to run around to get them to eat it.
So that was it, I had a quick chat with him and his wife and they rattled off a few more quick and some intricate recipes, just like that. I know I can’t remember them all, but now I know Guptaji has a treasure trove of cornflakes recipes.
And with that we picked our office bags and helmets to brave the streets to our office.