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Leftover · rice

Leftover rice recipes

Ideas for leftover rice, with ingredients and steps for each dish. Preparation, resting and cooking times vary.

Recipes

🥞Rice Dosa

you need: leftover rice, semolina (sooji), curd, salt

  1. Blend the leftover rice with half a cup of semolina and half a cup of curd to a thin dosa-batter consistency; add a little water if needed.
  2. Mix in salt and cumin, rest for 15 minutes; the batter sets.
  3. Spread thin on a hot tawa, drizzle a little oil around the edges.
  4. Cook until golden underneath. Eat hot with chutney or sauce.

🍥Rice Pakoras

you need: leftover rice, besan (gram flour), onion, green chilli

  1. Lightly mash the rice; mix in besan, finely chopped onion, green chilli, coriander and salt.
  2. Barely any water: you want a thick mixture that will not drip off a spoon.
  3. Drop small pakoras into hot oil, fry golden on medium heat.
  4. Serve with chai. Evening snack sorted.

🍚Fried Rice

you need: leftover rice, onion, any vegetables, soy sauce

  1. Get a kadhai very hot; sauté onion and whatever vegetables you have (carrot, beans, capsicum) in oil for 2 minutes.
  2. Add soy sauce, a splash of vinegar or lemon, salt and chilli.
  3. Add the leftover rice and toss on high heat; the grains should stay separate.
  4. Finish with spring onion or coriander. Done.

🫓Instant Rice Idli

you need: leftover rice, semolina, curd, Eno (fruit salt)

  1. Blend rice + semolina + curd to a thick idli-batter consistency.
  2. Mix in salt, rest 10 minutes.
  3. Just before steaming, stir in Eno/fruit salt with a gentle hand.
  4. Steam in an idli stand for 12-15 minutes. Eat hot with sambar or chutney.

For your own kitchen

More rice dishes inside the Rasoi app: Achari chicken + rice · Aloo posto + rice · Andhra chicken curry + rice · Andhra gongura dal + rice · Avial + rice · Beans poriyal + rasam rice · Beerakaya curry + rice · Beetroot poriyal + rice · Begun bhaja + dal + rice · Capsicum rice, all matched to what your kitchen actually has.

This page gives everyone the same ideas. In Rasoi, see a suggestion based on your pantry records, its missing ingredients and recipe. 3 months free, then ₹99/month or an optional pass.

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Questions

What to make with leftover rice?

The recipes above are rice dosa, rice pakoras, fried rice and instant idli. Preparation, resting and cooking times differ; follow the individual steps.

What can I make with leftover rice for breakfast?

Dosa and instant idli are the breakfast picks: the batter is ready in 15 minutes, no overnight soaking or grinding. In a rush, rice pakoras work too.

How to make dosa from leftover rice?

Blend rice + semolina + curd, add salt and cumin, rest 15 minutes, spread thin on a hot tawa and cook until golden. The full recipe is above, step by step.

What to do with leftover rice?

Never throw it out; pick any of the 4 recipes above. The Rasoi app goes one better: mark food as "leftover" and the next meal suggestion says "reheat this". Less waste, less spend.