When you crave for something other than the regular rice, roti, dal or chicken and mutton curry, then here’s what you can do. Organise basic ingredients and turn them into interesting delicacies. So, roti could become noodles, dal would turn into a crispy missi roti and rice into pakoras.
Turning leftover food into interesting recipes doesn’t require much effort. Just a little bit of thinking and a quick, interesting meal is ready. And it’s healthy too. Chef and owner of Mint Leaf, Raminder Malhotra, says that a lot of people think leftovers are stale. “But this is not correct. Leftovers can be given a cool makeover,” he says adding that the famous missi roti is a recipe that came from leftover dal.
He talks about his experimentation with leftover mutton or chicken curry. “Usually, leftover curries are dried up and converted into fillings for sandwiches. But I always prefer to make biryani out of it. Since the gravy is ready, adding some rice and water and cooking it for a while makes an amazing chicken or mutton biryani,” says Raminder.
And it is usually housewives, who have fantastic ideas. Manju Gupta, 45, was surprised to know that her kids and husband had a wonderful time cooking and experimenting while she was out for two days. “Behind me, they experimented with the chapattis that I made before leaving and turned it into noodles,” she says lauding her husband’s great idea.
But it was later that Manju in some time became the expert of roti noodles in her locality. You only need soft chapattis and some green vegetables. “After rolling the chapatti, cut it horizontally and make noodle like strings out of it, the same process is followed as in making chowmein,” she says.
Even Rita Seth has become an expert in making rice pakoras that can be made with leftover plain rice mixed with onions, garlic and coriander leaves. The idea came to her when she was making steamed rice and she got busy over the phone and ended up with overcooked, starchy rice. “I didn’t want to waste it, so I came up with the idea of making pakoras out of it. I mixed a spoon of cornflour (so that it sticks together) with chopped onions, ginger and coriander leaves, made balls with the mixture and deep fried it,” she says. Now it is a delicacy and her kids love it.
MINCED CHICKEN AND HAM IN TOMATO CASES
Ingredients
w 6 tomatoes
w 1/2 cup finely chopped or minced leftover chicken
w 1/4 cup minced ham (optional)
w 3/4 cup fresh bread-crumbs
w 2 tsps salt
w 2 tbsp melted butter
w 1/2 teaspoon pepper
w 1/2 teaspoon mustard
Process:
Select medium-sized tomatoes. Cut a slice from the stem end and carefully remove the pulp with a spoon. Mix all the ingredients together with the tomato pulp. Season the inside of the tomato cases with salt and a very little sugar, and fill them with the mixture. Put a piece of butter on top of each. Bake in a pan in a hot oven for about 15 minutes. The cases should be cooked until tender, but not broken.