Breakfast

Champorado is a thick Filipino rice pudding. Originally prepared with chocolate, nowadays it is usually made with cooked glutinous rice blended with sugar and cocoa powder. The origins of the dish derive from a Mexican chocolate-based drink known as champurrado, which was introduced during the colonial period. Usually enjoyed as a hearty breakfast or a sweet afternoon snack, Filipino champorado can be served hot or cold, drizzled with condensed milk, or accompanied by salted dry fish.

Champorado

India

A specialty of North India, chana masala is a tangy chickpea curry that is commonly consumed as a snack, main meal, or breakfast. Arguably, it is the most popular vegetarian dish in India, commonly found on railway platforms, at work, in school canteens, or at ceremonies and festive occasions in India and Pakistan. Chickpeas are simmered in a combination of spices and herbs, often served with rice or Indian flatbreads such as roti or naan, then garnished with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. Due to chana masala's popularity, there are also regional versions of the dish, such as the Pakistani version called aloo chole, made with chickpeas and potatoes.

Chana masala

Colombia

This traditional Colombian soup is typically served for breakfast. It consists of boiled water and milk, green onions, coriander, parsley, and an egg that is cracked into the liquid as it cooks. This soup is usually served with arepas or stale bread on the side, because in the past, it was used as a way to make stale bread edible. Changua is especially beloved in the colder, mountainous parts of Colombia as it is traditionally consumed for breakfast to help the inhabitants warm up and start the day off with a hearty and nourishing meal. Nowadays, it is a popular dish throughout the country, especially on holidays and weekends, after a rough night out, because changua is said to be a great hangover cure.

Changua

Dried radish omelet is a traditional dish consisting of beaten eggs combined with dried daikon radishes. The mixture of eggs, finely chopped dried radishes, and green onions is usually fried in a wok until lightly browned on both sides. The dried radishes are briefly stir-fried before they are added to the beaten egg mixture for a more aromatic dish. Light and fragrant, dried radish omelet is a typical Taiwanese breakfast meal, usually eaten alongside rice porridge. Sun-dried daikon radishes, one of the main ingredients of this dish, are sold in numerous Asian markets and are often used in Taiwanese and Chinese cuisines. This simple Taiwanese omelet is also available in Taiwanese restaurants.

Chhài-pó͘-nn̄g

Bahamian chicken souse is a poultry dish that is eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is made with chicken pieces, onions, potatoes, goat peppers, lime juice, allspice, and butter. The chicken is boiled with other ingredients, and the dish is ready once the potatoes become tender. Chicken souse has a reputation of being a great hangover cure, and it is traditionally served with rice, johnny cakes, or hot grits on the side.

Chicken Souse

Chicksilog is a traditional dish and a part of the silog group of dishes. It consists of fried chicken, fried eggs, and fried rice. This is one of the most famous versions of silog dishes, and it can be cooked on top of the stove or in an instant pot. The chicken meat is fried, followed by frying a combination of cold cooked rice with garlic, oil, and seasonings. The eggs are fried in the end, and the dish is then arranged on a serving plate and served for breakfast with coffee. Chicksilog can be enriched with numerous additions such as chili peppers, tomatoes, corn, and green peas.

Chicksilog

Chilaquiles are, at their most basic, an assembly of fried tortilla pieces drenched in chili sauce with optional meat and vegetables. The dish is popular both in Mexico and the United States as a great way to use up leftover, stale tortillas. The name of the dish is derived from chil-a-quilitl, meaning greens or herbs in a chili broth. Today, there is a great number of regional variations of the dish, so in Sinaloa it is prepared with a white sauce, and in Mexico City, the dish is traditionally topped with epazote sprigs.

Chilaquiles

Georgia

Chirbuli is a traditional dish originating from the region of Adjara. The dish is usually made with a combination of tomatoes, eggs, walnuts, onions, garlic, basil, coriander, paprika, butter, cornflour, and salt. The onions are chopped, saut&eacute;ed in butter over low heat until golden, and mixed with cornflour and chopped tomatoes. Ground walnuts, paprika, salt, coriander, basil, and garlic are added to the mix and stirred. The eggs are cracked onto the sauce, and the dish is cooked until the eggs have poached in the sauce. It's then served piping hot, usually for breakfast or as part of a supra (Georgian feast).

Chirbuli

Chocolate completo, also known as chocolate Santafere&ntilde;o is a traditional meal that is usually served for breakfast. In order to prepare it, a cup of hot chocolate is topped with mild cheese that doesn't dissolve under heat, such as costeno or queso fresco. The cheese is added to the hot chocolate just before serving, and the combination is traditionally accompanied by buttered bread and almoj&aacute;bana (corn and yuca roll). The leftovers at the bottom of the cup are often soaked up with chunks of the buttered bread, but don't worry, being messy while enjoying chocolate completo is encouraged in Colombia.

Chocolate completo

Chok is the Thai version of traditional Chinese congee, a type of rice porridge. It is typically prepared with boiled jasmine rice cooked with water, chicken broth, or pork broth until the dish becomes very thick. Pork meatballs, liver slices, shredded chicken, shrimps, or fish and lightly boiled eggs are typical accompaniments to this rice dish. Thai chok is usually flavored with fish sauce, garlic, white pepper, vinegar, and soy sauce. Warm and filling, this breakfast staple is typically served with Thai donuts on the side, sprinkled with slivered ginger, spring onions, fried garlic, and freshly chopped cilantro. It is available at street stalls throughout the country, but it can also be enjoyed in selected restaurants.

Chok

At its core, chole bhature is a combination of two dishes: chole - a spicy chickpea curry, and bhature - a type of fried bread made with maida flour. Popular throughout North India, the dish was invented in Delhi in the 1940s. It is commonly accompanied by onions, pickles, mint chutney, and chilled lassi. Chole bhature can be found at most street carts in North India, but it can also be easily prepared at home. Although it can be eaten any time of the day, chole bhature is especially popular in the morning, when bhature are filled with potatoes or cottage cheese, making it a heavy, nutritious breakfast.

Chole bhature

Chosilog is a traditional meal and a part of silog dishes that are commonly served for breakfast. The dish consists of chorizo sausage, garlic fried rice, and fried eggs. The Filipino chorizo is a pork sausage known for its savory flavors and tender texture. Cold cooked rice is fried with garlic in oil, and the eggs are fried sunny side up. Chosilog is assembled by arranging all three components on a plate &ndash; the rice is usually topped with chorizo and fried eggs. The dish is traditionally served for breakfast with coffee or milk on the side.

Chosilog

Amazingly tender and extremely light, chouquettes are airy p&acirc;te &agrave; choux pastry puffs studded with the so-called sucre perl&eacute; (lit. pearl sugar); coarse sugar crystals which hold both their shape and crunch when baked. Chouquettes are basically profiterole shells and fall into the category of viennoiseries or, more precisely, p&acirc;tisseries viennoises. These Viennese-style baked goods are found in bakery shops throughout the country and are traditionally consumed for breakfast or as an afternoon snack known as le go&ucirc;ter. Best enjoyed freshly baked, while they're still perfectly puffed, golden, and crisp, chouquettes make for a great accompaniment to a nice cup of coffee or tea.

Chouquette

Guatemala

Chuchitos are traditional Guatemalan-style tamales that are usually made for holiday celebrations and festivities, but are also eaten any day of the year. Chuchito, meaning a small dog or a puppy, consists of warm corn masa dough stuffed with succulent pieces of meat such as pork or chicken and a mild tomato or chili sauce. The mixture of these ingredients is wrapped in a dried corn husk and steamed until the dough develops its typical texture and flavor and is cooked thoroughly. Alternatively, chuchitos can be grilled after they're steamed, giving them a unique, smoky flavor along with their nice visual appearance. Eaten for both breakfast and dinner, these "puppies" can be found on most street corners and local markets in Guatemala. If bought on the streets, the vendors usually unwrap them from the husks and add a bit more sauce or a sprinkle of grated cheese in order to further intensify the flavors.

Chuchitos

A dough of flour, water and salt pressed through a star-shaped nozzle into hot oil, fried until the ridges are crisp and the inside is tender, cut into lengths and eaten with a mug of hot chocolate thick enough to dunk them in: churros are Spain's breakfast and late-night food, sold from churrerías that open before dawn and from carts at every fair. The origin is argued over; the usual candidates are Spanish shepherds frying dough over fires, a Portuguese adaptation of a Chinese fried dough stick, or the Arab world's ridged fritters, and none is documented. What is certain is that by the nineteenth century Madrid's churrerías were an institution, and that the Spanish churro is thin and ridged while the thicker, smooth or lightly ridged loop is a porra. In Mexico and much of Latin America churros are rolled in cinnamon sugar and often filled with dulce de leche or chocolate; in Spain they are plain, or sugared at most.

The dough is the simplest in the fried-pastry family: boiling water, sometimes with a little oil, poured over flour with salt and beaten into a stiff, smooth paste, with no egg and no raising agent in the Spanish version; the Latin American one often adds egg and butter, closer to choux. It is loaded into a churrera, a press with a star-shaped plate, and extruded directly into oil at 190 to 200°C, in straight sticks or a long spiral that is cut after frying. Two to three minutes turns them deep gold; the ridges are what make the surface crisp, because a smooth tube would steam inside its own crust. They are drained, salted or sugared while hot and served in minutes, in paper or on a plate with a cup of chocolate a la taza, which is made with cornflour or a high-cocoa chocolate so that it is thick enough to coat the churro and stay on it.

A good churro is crisp outside, with distinct sharp ridges, and soft and slightly chewy inside, with no raw dough at the centre and no hollow greasy tube. It should taste of fried wheat and salt, with the sugar as a dusting rather than a crust. Mark down churros that are limp or bend without breaking, which means the oil was too cool or they have sat too long; a dark, bitter surface from oil that was too hot or too old; a heavy, doughy centre; and a greasy residue on the paper. The chocolate should be hot, thick and bitter enough to balance, not a thin cocoa drink. Frozen churros finished in a fryer are smooth and uniform and taste of the freezer. A proper order is six or eight sticks and a cup, eaten standing or at a marble counter, and the paper should be almost dry when you finish.

Churros

Chwee kueh is a traditional steamed rice cake originating from Singapore, where it&rsquo;s been created by the Teochew people. The dish is made by mixing rice flour and water into a thin mixture that&rsquo;s poured into aluminum cups and steamed. Once steamed, the rice cake should have a distinctive bowl-like shape with a dimple on top. These rice cakes are bland on their own, but they&rsquo;re typically topped with diced preserved radish (often with saut&eacute;ed shallots and garlic) and served with sambal chili sauce on the side. Nowadays, chwee kueh is a popular dish that&rsquo;s served for breakfast and in hawker centers across the country.

Chwee kueh

Italy

Ciambella is a traditional ellipsoidal-shaped biscuit from the town of San Cataldo in the province of Caltanissetta, in the southwestern part of the island of Sicily. These hard, sugary cookies are made with 00 type flour, sugar, eggs, and a leavening agent. Although the ingredients are simple, the preparation is not, and local bakers unwillingly reveal the tips and tricks that make ciambelle so crispy and good. The eggs must be slowly beaten with the sugar in a bain-marie until the mixture doubles in size, then the flour is carefully added and the biscuits are baked in the oven until they get their characteristical shiny crust. Accompanied by milk or tea, ciambella is often served for breakfast or as a tasty afternoon snack.

Ciambella di San Cataldo

Ciambella molisana is a round, oven-baked sweet made with white flour, sugar, raisins, red wine, olive oil, and a bit of lard. This rustic, simple, yet very delicious dessert can be enjoyed either warm or cold. It is usually served for breakfast, and it tastes even better when dunked in milk or coffee.

Ciambella (Molise)

Small cubes of lamb liver threaded on a skewer with pieces of tail fat between them, grilled over charcoal for a few minutes until the outside catches and the centre is just pink, and served on lavash with onion, sumac, parsley and grilled peppers: ciğer kebabı is the breakfast of Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır and the dish that separates kebab cities from kebab restaurants. In Urfa the liver shops open before six in the morning and the skewers are cooked to order over narrow charcoal troughs, eaten standing with a glass of tea; in Edirne the liver is sliced thin and fried instead, as tava ciğer, which is a different dish. Adana and Gaziantep have their own versions, and across the country ciğer şiş appears as a cheap, quick kebab order. It is about speed and freshness, because liver cooked a minute too long is ruined, and liver that is a day old tastes of it.

The liver must be fresh, from a young lamb, dark red and firm, trimmed of its membrane and the larger vessels, and cut into cubes of about two centimetres. It is salted lightly, sometimes rubbed with a little pul biber, and threaded onto thin skewers alternating with cubes of kuyruk yağı, the tail fat, which renders over the coals and bastes the liver; a skewer with no fat is a skewer that will dry out. The charcoal is hot and close, and the skewers are turned constantly for three to five minutes, no more, until the surface is browned and blistered in places and the inside is still slightly pink. The cook strips the skewer onto a piece of lavash that has been held over the coals, folds in sliced onion with sumac and parsley, sometimes a charred green pepper and a tomato, and hands it over. In Urfa the accompaniment is a plate of raw onion and a hot, thin isot pepper paste.

Judge the cooking first: the liver should be soft and slightly pink inside with a browned surface, tender enough to bite cleanly, with no grey, grainy or chalky texture, which means it was overcooked by as little as a minute. The fat pieces should be rendered and crisp at the edges, and the liver should taste clean and faintly sweet, not bitter or metallic, which points to old liver or a liver that was not trimmed. Mark down dry liver, liver cooked without tail fat, a skewer that has sat in a warming tray, a smell of ammonia, and lavash that is cold or dry. The onion should be fresh and sharp and the sumac generous. A portion is two or three skewers in Urfa; eating six is normal. It should be eaten within a minute of leaving the fire.

Liver Kebab

Çılbır is the Turkish dish of poached eggs on garlic yoghurt, finished with butter that has been heated with Aleppo or red pepper flakes until it foams and turns red, and eaten with bread for breakfast or as a light supper. It has a documented Ottoman past: the word appears in fifteenth-century palace records as a general term for eggs cooked in water, and the yoghurt version is the one that survived into the Republic and onto the menus of Istanbul's breakfast places, where it now sits alongside menemen and sucuklu yumurta. Outside Turkey it has had a second life since the 2010s as "Turkish eggs" on brunch menus from London to Melbourne, often with the yoghurt whipped with feta and dill, which is a different and softer dish. The original is three things on a plate, and each has to be right.

The yoghurt is thick, full-fat and at room temperature, beaten smooth with a crushed garlic clove and salt; cold yoghurt straight from the fridge sets the butter and makes the plate taste of nothing. The eggs are poached in barely simmering water with a splash of vinegar for about three minutes, so the white is fully set and the yolk runs, then drained on a cloth. The butter is the step that goes wrong: it is melted in a small pan, the pepper flakes are added, and it is heated only until it foams and the flakes colour the fat, which takes seconds; longer and the pepper turns bitter and the butter browns. Some cooks use pul biber, some Urfa pepper for a darker, smokier note, and a few add a little dried mint. The eggs go on the yoghurt, the red butter is spooned over so it pools in the yoghurt and runs down the sides, and the plate goes out with warm bread.

Cut the egg first: the yolk should flood into the yoghurt and the white should be fully opaque with no raw jelly. The yoghurt should be thick enough to hold a spoon mark, mildly sour, with the garlic present but not raw-hot, and the butter should be bright red, lightly spiced and fragrant, not brown or acrid. Together on the bread the three should taste richer than any of them alone. Mark down a cold plate, hard yolks, watery or thin yoghurt that has been loosened with water or milk, butter that has been overheated to a brown sludge, pepper flakes that are scorched, and the brunch versions where feta, dill, chilli oil or dukkah are piled on to the point where the egg and yoghurt are lost. One egg is a snack; two is the dish.