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Sunday, February 08, 2009

Cooking with leftovers - idli manchurian

Has anyone perfected the art of cooking just enough for two people? Let me in on your secret, will you??? I am never able to cook just the right amount. When it is just the two of us, the leftovers are manageable as in they last only for a few servings for the next meal. When I have guests though, I end up cooking much more than is needed. Somehow, I have this weird thing about it being better to have more of a thing that to fall short of it when there are guests.
This morning, I made idlis for breakfast and none of us (that includes the little girl 'coz she's fond of idli) ate any 'coz we just weren't hungry. Here's something that I came up with to use up those idlis. It's close to midnight and my brain refuses to come up with a name for the dish , so let's just call it idli manchurian.There are no set measurements. I just threw in a little bit of whatever I had.

Tear the idlis into little bite sized pieces. Deep fry in hot oil until lightly browned and crisp. Drain and set aside.
In a pan, heat some oil. Add some minced green chillies and a finely chopped onion and saute until the onion starts browning. Stir in a chopped tomato and fry for a few minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in some soya sauce, red chilli sauce and tomato ketchup. When the sauce thickens, add the fried idli pieces and stir well. You don't need to add salt 'coz the salt in the sauces and the idli will be sufficient. Switch off the heat and garnish with freshly chopped corriander leaves.
Serve hot.

This is off to Pallavi's Sunday Snacks - Grab 'n Go event.

27 comments:

Cham said...

Those are such a nice idea, love the manchurian

FH said...

Your blog looks beautiful, Jaya. I ma scared even to change anything in mine, I an not very techy! :D

Idli Manchurian, that's clever. Looks mouthwatering, great color too. Enjoy. See you later! :)

mitr_bayarea said...

Idli manchurain-a? Looks fiery red and spicy, will make do for a nice rainy afternoon, like we are experiencing now in Bay area.

Jayashree said...

Thx Cham.
Asha, Iam not very techy either. The background is from website that offers it for free.
Mitr, nice to see you here again. It also makes for a good starter. No one will know what went into it unless you tell them :-))

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

this looks super yummy! i am hungry now :(

jayasree said...

Wow, you have transformed our humble idly to an exotic chinese dish. Looks absolutely yummy. Can be easily mistaken as gobi manchurian.

Deepa Hari said...

Idli manchurian looks great...Nice idea to use the leftovers.

Priya Suresh said...

Love ur manchurian Jaya, looks very delicious:)

Unknown said...

I have something called Dosa Plaza out here - they sell some really funky stuff. So they also have something similar and they call it Idli Manchurian too :)

Yours' looks lovely

DK said...

It looks just like the restaurant Gobi Manchurian. Does look like idli manchurian at all. Yes when it come to guests, even I cook more than less - its ok if we both fall short..but guests! Unimaginable.

Your manchurian looks delish Jaya

Vibaas said...

Looks so yum. my aunty makes this and i love it :)

sa said...

The picture looks very inviting to give it a try. Thank you for a new idea. Please do post your blog articles in www.newspaanai.com

It is a tamil social bookmarking webiste wherein you can post articles in english/tamil and share it with other worldwide readers.

For easy adding of your articles with a click of a button please visit http://www.newspaanai.com/easylink.php

Adlak's tiny world said...

unique one and gr8 idea....

sansmerci said...

oh yea i always do this and love it! u can add green pepper/capsicum to it to add some more crunch :)

sra said...

Yeah, and when you find the secret to cooking just for two, please let me too in on it!

soma said...

Thats one unique idea to utilize idlis! very very innovative. Lovely pic.
Soma(www.ecurry.com)

Archana Vivek said...

Looks very nice. Very nice idea too.

Poonam said...

first time here!!!really tempting nice way to use the leftover!!!

Finla said...

Wow idlie manchurian looks so yummy delicious.

Trupti said...

hey jaya new layout looks very beautiful..

what an idea of idli manchurian ..looks very mouthwatering


Check out MBP: Kids Menu & if possible do participate in it

Vani said...

What a neat idea, J!

Unknown said...

Very gud idea...Now am waiting to try it out!

Indian Khana said...

Oh boy this look gud...I never tot of idli manchurian let along trying that..wonderful dear....you are creative indeed :)

Gayathri said...

very unique entry, i love that

Seena said...

Hm, looks like a non dish! ;)
Jaya, how r u? It has been long since I commented here. Nokku Jaya, adhikavum enikku comments idan pattarilla, pinne ningalokke google readeril ullathu kondu ellam njan nokkarundu.. :)Ividathe currentinte karyam parayandallo, mine is a bsnl connection..
pinne, naattil vararundo..

anudivya said...

I wanted to make these today and googled and landed here. This looks fab. I might try to make it today...

Mythreyi Dilip said...

Hey, this is how i also make with left over idlys i call it as "Chilly idly" and instead of deep frying the idly, i roast it in oven. Yours looks delicious.