Interesting recipes of dishes made from leftover food items

Our parents and elders have often taught us that wasting food is a bad habit According to statistics published in various publications India wastes food worth R44000 cr every yearAs per a report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in the year 2012 48 per cent of children under the age of five have stunted growth and are severely malnourished These figures and the rising inflation should be good enough reasons for us to stop wasting foodAnd while we are at it how about turning last nightrsquos plain old dal and rice into lipsmacking snacks or a whole new meal by itself During the monsoon food items donrsquot perish as quickly as they do in summer so itrsquos the ideal time to revamp leftover food Three bloggers show us how we can add some zing to staple food itemsCake pops from leftover cakeLeftover cake can be used to make cake pops says Hyderabadbased food blogger Arundati Rao ldquoCrumble the cupcakecake in a blender till it looks like fine bread crumbs Add cream to the crumbs and mixwwwarundatiwordpresscomDivide this into 12 parts and roll like a laddurdquo explains Rao ldquoPlace on a plate and keep in the freezer for 15 minutes Dip about frac12 inch of the skewer stick into the melted chocolatePoke it into the middle of the cake balls Dip this into the melted chocolate and using a spoon pour the melted chocolate over the cake pops Pour a few sprinkles over the cake pops Stick the skewer into a glass filled with sugar till they dryrdquo she saysArancini made from riceLeftover rice can be used to make Sicilian rice balls Arancini ldquoUse cooked rice that is gooey For the filling saute chopped onions grated carrots and thinly sliced french beans till they are cooked but not limprdquo says Goabased food blogger Aparna Balasubramanian ldquoSeason with salt pepper and if needed Italian herbs and chilli powderOnce cool add grated mozzarella cheese to this Beat an egg and add to the rice Roll a handful of rice Make a hole stuff it with filling and close Roll this in breadcrumbsDeep fry in hot oil till golden brownrdquo she adds Bhakri rotis can be made from overcooked rice says Delhibased food blogger Sangeeta Khanna ldquoAdd millet flour onions chopped coriander leave and make rotisrdquo she addsMoulding dal into chapatis and moreAparna Balasubramanian transforms dal into chapatisparathas every time she has leftover lentils ldquoI run the dal through a mixer to make it smoothI then knead it for chapatis or parathas The dal makes for very soft phulkasrdquo she explains Leftover upma can also be made into flat patties by covering it with seasame seeds and shallow frying them says Sangeeta KhannaUttapam made from Vegetable raitaVegetable raita is perhaps one of the most difficult dishes to tweak into a new dish thanks to the curd in the dish ldquoThe raita gets a bit sour if you keep it for a long timerdquo points out Sangeeta KhannaPic for Representation onlyldquoSo to the vegetable raita I add besan and a little suji or rice powder or ragi flour or millets and cook it into an uttapamrdquo ldquoYou can cook the uttapam along with curry leaves and chilli I usually serve it with gun powder as it already has many vegetables inside itrdquo adds KhannaKothu parotta from chapatisArundati Rao spent her college years in Coimbatore Tamil Nadu where Kothu Parotta a minced or shredded version of the paratha was a favouriteThis popular south Indian dish she explains can be made with leftover chapatis ldquoFor this first you need to shred the chapatis into small pieces Heat oil and add onions tomatoes and spices to it I like to add a bit more red chilli powder as it gives a kickYou can also add readymade masalas like meat masala scrambled eggs sausages leftover shredded chicken and the like Add the shredded chapatis and garnish the dish with coriander or pudinardquo explains Rao Chapatis and parathas can also be cooked like poha after running the rotis through a blender