Crispy rice balls

Don't we all at some time or the other, cook a little too much, and then wonder what to do with the leftovers? It happens to me more often than I care to admit, and I am always on the look out for ideas to turn these leftovers into new dishes that can be made with minimum fuss. Sometimes I have these brainwaves which help me turn an ordinary upma into something unique, or to jazz up rotis into a breakfast dish. This time, though, inspiration came in the form of Tarla Dalal's cookbook - Healthy Snacks for Kids.
Today's dish is a snack that can be made in a jiffy. What's unusual about that? Well, not only is this something that you can whip up quickly, but it is also a great way to use up leftovers. Some left over rice, and chopped/grated veggies of your choice is all that you need to make a really crunchy and crisp tea time snack.

Recipe source : Tarla Dalal's Healthy Snacks for Kids
What you need:
Cooked rice - 1 cup
Carrot - 1, gratedhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2 or 3, minced (adjust to taste)
Corriander leaves - a handful, chopped fine
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Water - roughly 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Make small balls of this and deep fry in medium hot oil until well browned and crisp. Drain on to absorbent paper.
Enjoy with a cup of hot chai.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14

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.

Cooking with leftovers - Vermicelli upma pakoda

When it comes to making upma, I do not know the magic proportion that will yield just enough for two. I ALWAYS end up with more than we can eat. When the same situation arose yesterday and I was left with enough upma after breakfast to safely see us through lunch and dinner and maybe breakfast the next day, I had a brainwave (oh yeah....I do have one of those once in a while...) and that's how this dish was born.

What you need:

Leftover semiya upma
Red chilli powder
Salt
Gram flour/besan
Rice flour
Oil - for deep frying
(Quantities depend on how much upma you have leftover.)

Mix all the ingredients together. Use just enough besan and rice flour to for a really thick batter. Add water only if needed and even then, just sprinkle a few drops at a time.
Heat oil in a pan. Drop spoonfuls of the upma-besan mixture into hot oil. Deep fry until golden brown. Drain excess oil and serve hot with ketchup/chutney.

Thoughts : The pakodas turned out nice, brown and crisp. Perfect way to use up leftovers.

Note : To make upma, heat 2 tsp of oil. Season with mustard seeds and urad dal. Add chopped onions, ginger, green chillies, garlic, tomatoes, veggies of your choice and stir fry for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of water for every cup of vermicelli you use. Once the water boils, add in the vermicelli and salt. Cook until all the moisture is absorbed and the vermicelli is cooked through.

This goes to Rushina's Pakora Contest and also to the Original Recipe Event at Lore's Culinarty.