Why throw away the leftover food when you can make some awesome tasteful dishes with it? Here’s a list of some of the dishes which you can make with your last evening’s leftover meal and you don’t need to go to your local grocery for the ingredients.
1. Masala Idli
Made from: Leftover Idlis
Make small pieces of idli and keep it aside. If they are small, then avoid making pieces. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the leftover idli, stir fry them until they are lightly crisp. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside. In 2 teaspoons of oil in the same pan, add some onions, capsicum, green chillies and saute them on medium heat until tender. Add chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, turmeric powder, chilli powder and stir well. Saute until the tomatoes turn soft. Add the mixture in the fried idli bowl and also sprinkle chopped coriander and mint leaves. Stir fry on high heat until well combined just for about a minute. Turn off the heat and serve with ketchup.
2. Chapati Upma
Made from: Leftover chapati
Make small pieces of the leftover chapati. Chop onions, green chilli and capsicums finely. In a pan, add oil and add mustard seeds and jeera. Later, add the green chilli and the chopped onion and saute for few minutes. Add the peanuts and sesame seeds. Roast on a low flame till it turns golden brown. Add the capsicum and saute for few minutes. Add the torn chapatis to this and mix well. Saute on a low flame and switch off the flame. Mix well and garnish with coriander.
3. Fried Rice
Made from: Leftover rice
All you have to do is literally fry the leftover rice in your favourite vegetable mixture. You can even add eggs. However, here’s an easy-peasy recipe. Heat oil in a pan, add vegetables like celery, spring onion whites and sauté over a high flame for 3 to 4 minutes till the vegetables soften. Add the leftover rice, soya sauce, spring onion greens and salt. Mix well and sauté for 2 minutes. Your Chinese fried rice is ready at home!
4. Dal Pav Bhaji
Made from: Leftover dal
If you have leftover dal and you do not want to waste it, then here’s something cool you can make with it. Dal Pav Bhaji will taste like your regular pav bhaji but with the sweet flavour of dal. First boil the veggies you would like to add in the bhaji. Put them all in the pressure cooker and wait for two whistle. When the mixture cools off, mash it and keep it aside. Heat the leftover dal, add ginger garlic paste to it. Add the mashed vegetables in the dal and keep stirring on a high flame. Keep stirring till the dal turns thick. Add pav bhaji masala and salt accordingly. Add butter and serve with bread.
5. Vegetable Cutlets
Made from: Leftover sabzi
You will have to dry the leftover vegetable curry or the gravy to make cutlets. To make it dry, add cheese and bread crumbs to it. Mix well and roll them into small balls, and press them to make a dough. Heat oil in the pan and fry the cutlets. Serve them with ketchup.
6. Dahiwala Bread
Made from: Leftover bread
Take curd in a bowl and add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt with 2 tbsp of water and mix well. Add cubes of bread and mix well till the bread is coated with the curd mixture. Next, heat oil in a non-stick pan and add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the asafoetida, curry leaves and ginger and sauté for a few seconds. Add onion slices and sauté till they turn brown. Add the bread mixture and sauté over low heat, stirring occasionally till the bread browns lightly. Serve hot, garnish with coriander and more curd.
7. Keema Parantha
Made from: Leftover minced meat
Knead the dough for parathas. Take one rolled bread. Put some water over the edges of the dough. Spread some keema over the dough leaving the edges. Place another roti (flat bread) over it. Now press the edges on all sides. Take a frying pan and place on high heat. Place the stuffed roti over the hot pan. Spread some clarified butter over the sides. Fry until golden specks are visible. Serve hot with sauce or chutney. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.
8. Rice Kheer
Made from: Leftover rice
Heat 1 litre of full fat milk in a wide pan or saucepan and let it boil. Add the leftover rice to it. Add 5-6 tbsp of sugar. Then add cardamom powder, almonds and cashews. Keep stirring. When the mixture becomes thick, switch of the flame. Serve hot.
9. Bread Gulab Jamun
Made from: Leftover bread
You must be familiar with regular gulab jamuns. However the ones made with bread are somewhat different in taste. To make them, slice off the edges of all the bread slices and keep aside. To make the syrup, take sugar, saffron strands and cardamom powder in a container. Add water and heat it up until the sugar dissolves completely. Keep it aside and start making the jamun balls. When the sugar syrup starts turning sticky switch off. Dip each bread slices in milk, squeeze out the excess milk, and transfer it to the mixer. Repeat this process for all the bread slices. In the mixer, add milk powder along with crushed bread slices and pulse it for a few seconds, and grind it into a smooth paste. Add cooking soda and mix well. Don’t apply pressure while rolling and also do not roll them tight. Heat oil in a pan and add a few balls at a time. Fry on a low flame till golden brown. Add the jamuns immediately into the warm sugar syrup. Cover and let it rest for 2 hrs for the jamuns to absorb the sugar syrup well.
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