Independent Lens

(bright music) (birds tweeting) (phone ringing) - Hello?

- Rupak!

We're almost there.

We're like five minutes away.

- What?

- [Karan] For that amazing Desi breakfast you promised us.

We're so hungry.

Remember?

- Yeah.

Cornflakes, Cheerios, toast with jam and butter.

For many around the world, that's breakfast.

But if you're lucky enough to have tried Desi breakfast, you know there's a totally different and delicious take on the morning meal.

This is "Spice Road."

Let's go.

Amid our busy lifestyles, the slow soul-enriching breakfasts we once savored are increasingly giving way to grab and go bites.

But as we become more conscious of our need for connection, maybe we can gain back some of that lost breakfast ground.

That's what I'm doing today, Desi style.

Breakfast is served.

And joining me for this sumptuous meal are my dear pals, Roshan Sethi and Karan Soni.

Roshan is an incredible doctor, writer, and director.

Yes, he does it all.

And his boyfriend Karan is a fantastically talented actor.

And the couple recently teamed up on their movie, "A Nice Indian Boy," about an Indian American doctor who brings home his white fianc adopted by Indian parents to meet his traditional family.

- What do we have here?

- I'm glad you asked.

These are Northern India dishes.

These are Southern India dishes.

Uttapam, which is an urad daal and rice-based pancake with some lovely chutneys here, tomato chutney, coconut chutney.

This is another South Indian dish called idli sambar.

Idli is another urad daal rice-based patty.

But what is urad daal?

Known as black graham in English, the legume can be found in household dishes all across South Asia.

In Northern India, colder winters means you'll find it in the hearty dal makhani, a rich comforting food that's usually had at lunch or dinner.

However, in the South, warm coastal climates favor fermented foods.

So the same daal is used in batter for dosas, uttapams, and idlis, which are light, tangy, and perfect for breakfast.

And because urad daal is naturally high in protein, it's a nourishing way to start the day.

When you were growing up, what was breakfast for you?

- Breakfast was Froot Loops every day.

- Cereal.

So boring.

But then I would have a big cup of chai and then I would eat it with seven Parle-G biscuits.

- Oh my God.

- Moving on to the North, here we have chole bhature, which is a leavened deep fried bread that you have with a chickpea curry.

Ah, so good.

A deep-fried unleavened bread called puri that you have with a potato curry.

What is for breakfast at your household?

- I do all the cooking for myself.

(Karan laughs) - For breakfast, I just have a Belvita, like sort of delicate little biscuit.

- It's not delicate.

- Breakfast is Belvita and coffee.

- Yeah.

That's all it is.

- I'm getting a picture here.

To end it all on a sweet note, we have suji ka halwa.

This is a semolina sweet.

My mom would make it like just about every Sunday and the aroma of it cooking in the kitchen brings me back to my childhood, so I wanted us to have it here today.

- On Sundays, just like you actually, we would occasionally have halwa.

My mom loves halwa and she loves making it.

Hers is a lot yellower, I would say, than that.

- Really?

Oh, maybe she puts saffron in it.

- She may be putting food coloring or something, but it's always yellow.

- She's dying it.

As a born and raised American, I am so glad that you all made the trip to this country and are part of the fabric, part of the mosaic, as you say.

Enriched it.

- We took that bumpy, bumpy spice road.

- Oh my God.

(Rupak laughs) But I love that you call it "Spice Road," actually, because I think a lot of people forget that our worlds were so connected, especially in antiquity.

And the idea that we're just all, we've all just recently been introduced to each other and that we've just recently started living in each other's countries when it's been going on for as long as humans are alive.

- Okay guys, Desi breakfast has officially been served.

I hope you enjoyed.

- Oh, it was amazing.

You know the only thing missing is we didn't have any chai.

- Yeah.

Do you have any chai?

- Yeah.

Okay, Spice Roadies, that's a wrap on this one.

So, what's your favorite Desi breakfast?

(upbeat music) (upbeat music fades)