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In Pune, breakfasts are a very early morning activity. Over the years, the bustling cityscape has actually carved a space for street food thelas and college canteens which serve quick and early breakfasts to the many students, boarders and hostelites who have made this city their home. 
Evidently, this changing landscape has also meant a shift in food cultures which now tend to focus on quick eats and delicious serves that brighten up the beginning of a day. Quirky food combinations have come up as popular street food breakfasts experiences that are here to stay.
Poha Sample
One of the more interesting features of Puneri street food breakfasts is that they are one-dish meals. It’s all about standing on the roadside in the wee hours of the morning and gorging on a plateful of poha or flattened rice tossed in simple masalas before heading to class or work. What brings added flavour into the simple poha serving is a curry called the ‘sample.’
The sample is essentially a very thin and spicy watery curry akin to the misal tarri, often made with the classic Maharashtrian black masala, coconut and ginger-garlic paste. The sample is poured over the poha and the dish is finished off with sev and freshly chopped coriander. A slice of lime brings an acidic balance into the spicy dish. Tarri pohe or poha sample endures as an easy-on-the-pocket breakfast for students and learners boarding in the city on a budget. 
Batata Vada Sambar
This is another fusion dish which brings together crispy potato croquettes with southern Indian sambar in a street food-style delight popularised for its bold and spicy flavours. The batata or potato vada is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is served warm in a small plate and topped off with piping hot, flavourful sambar.
The spiciness of the vada and the equally aromatic and robust taste of the sambar makes for a rather complimentary flavour pairing. Delicious and indulgent, batata vada and sambar is a meal sumptuous enough to keep you full for hours.
Sabudana Khichadi And Cucumber Raita
Popularised at several iconic breakfast spots situated outside many of Pune’s famed educational spaces, sabudana khichadi is served with a cooling twist in this rendition: it is paired with a freshly-made cucumber raita. Curd is whisked until thin and airy, and slices of cucumber are stirred in, with a little bit of chopped coriander. This crunchy and fresh raita is poured on the side of a sticky, chewy and filling sabudana or sago khichadi flavoured with green chillies and crushed peanuts. This breakfast is almost always finished off with masala chaas which aids in digesting the heavy sabudana.
Thalipeeth And Loni (White Butter)
Convenience and swiftness is what epitomises Puneri street-style breakfasts, with a top contender in the list being thalipeeth or a savoury pancake made using millet flour. The street-style thalipeeth is smaller in size, is served on a banana leaf and accompanied by small bowls of curd and chutney.
Chopped onions, some coriander and red chilli powder bring a more intense and nuanced spice into the warm thalipeeth topped off with melting white butter or loni. Wholesome, flavourful and excellent as a quick eat, thalipeeth is a great power-packed start to a long day.
Davangere Dosa
Hailing from the southern Indian province of Karnataka, the davangere dosa has made quite a journey to become one of Pune’s more sensational street-style morning meals. It has carved a spot for itself in Puneri street food cultures that focus on simple but hearty flavours.
Davangere dosa is essentially a sponge dosa lathered in white butter. Akin to the benne dosa, it is generally the size of a pancake and is served with coconut chutney and sambar. A couple of these benne dosas make-up one street-style plate at a Puneri stall. Although they can be gobbled up in just a few bites, they are quite surreptitiously filling.
