Pondicheri offers a number of exemplary South Asian-inspired breakfast items, including the much-lauded "morning thali," an a beautifully compartmentalized platter of beef keema, curry, uppma, saffron yogurt, fruit, paratha and fried egg. If you're visiting Pondicheri for breakfast for the very first time, get the morning thali.

On your second visit, try the saag paneer omelette. This amazingly fragrant dish is likely to cause you to become a repeat offender when it comes to ordering off the breakfast menu, and for good reason.

Three eggs, lots of spinach and mustard greens, paneer, and a handful of spices, probably including but not limited to, turmeric, cayenne, and ginger, come together in a dense yellow pancake browned with ample ghee. Ghee, in case you didn't know, is a type of butter that's clarified such that the milk solids are caramelized, which gives rise to a headier, slightly sweet flavor. Although it's not common practice to schmear the stuff over carbohydrate surfaces as it is with Western butter, in the privacy of your own home, there's no one stopping you from applying a thin layer to the accompanying carrot paratha.

The omelette, however, needs no additional fatty adornment since the seasoning, protein base and liberal chunks of curd cheese in combination ensure perfect satiation.

You might, though, just have a wee bit room left for a chocolate chili oatmeal cookie.