Every weekend that I visit home, a couple things are certain: one, I’ll be forcefully woken by 9 a.m. no matter how many movies were watched the night before, and two, jave will be served for breakfast.
Pronounced “juh-vey,” this dish is a staple Indian breakfast originating from Uttar Pradesh, consisting of the namesake jave, akin to shortened vermicelli noodles. Jave is akin to a warm, savory dish of fried rice, but softer. It’s the perfect way to start or end the day, and everything in between. I always think of my mom when I have it, and the warmth that she, and the dish, gave me growing up.
I recommend having jave first thing in the morning, with your favorite warm beverage in hand.
Everyone has a dish that transports them to their childhood, and jave is that for me. For me, this dish elicits feelings of comfort and stability, of secretly reading my mom’s “Archie” comics at the table while she, a busy bee, ran to and fro, still modifying the dish in a half-empty plate in the kitchen — “not enough salt” or “too much salt.” That’s just the kind of person that she is, dynamic and loving, everything I hope to be. These qualities, along with the ability to cook this recipe as well as she can, are few of the many things I hope to inherit from her.
The special ingredients required by this recipe, a.k.a. the jave and garam masala (a blend of ground spices used commonly in and near the Indian subcontinent), have to be purchased at an Indian store or through a delivery service. I recently discovered the Asian delivery service Weee!, which should do the trick if you’re feeling a bit lazy.
I personally cannot cook this dish, but maybe you will have better luck with my mother’s recipe than I have. To my friends that wonder why I go home so many times in a month, now you know …
Jave Recipe
Duration: 30 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
- 2 cups jave
- 1 large potato
- ¾ -1 cup peas (depending on how much you love peas)
- 1 tomato
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon oil (vegetable oil preferred)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoon salt
- A pinch of black pepper
- Water (see recipe for specifications)
- Optional: pinch of garam masala
Instructions:
- Dice your tomato and cut your potato as you like (small and diced is preferred)
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low-medium flame until hot, then add jave and fry until golden brown
- Add turmeric and repeat step 1 until thoroughly mixed
- Add water until jave are covered and slightly above, then add salt, lemon juice, and tomatoes, and cook on medium heat until jave and tomatoes are soft
- Meanwhile, fry your potatoes as you like in a separate pan, then season with salt and pepper
- When your jave noodles are halfway cooked (when water has gone down, but not entirely), add peas and potato and cook until all the water has evaporated
- Serve, and enjoy!
For my spice lovers, I recommend 1-2 chopped green chilis and a dash of red chili powder, as it can make all the difference. But again, feel free to make whatever modifications you’d like with the vegetable content, so long as you follow the skeleton of the recipe above. I’ve seen onions, coriander and many other vegetables added to brighten up this dish, depending on one’s taste. Also, this is a dish that can be reheated and eaten again and again, but it loses something after it initially cools down, so I recommend eating it while it’s still piping hot. I hope this recipe can become something of a comforting staple for you, just like it has for me.
A version of this article appeared on p. 19 of the February 20th, 2025 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
