Leftover Dal? Leftover Porridge? No worries!

~  Menu  ~

Dal Roti with Cashew Nut Salad

White Wine Spritzer

 Honey Oatmeal Scones and Coffee

Having run the gamut of things to do with leftover Pease Pudding (soup, fritters and dal) I had a little of the spiced pudding, aka dal, left and was going to make myself a dal vada/ fritter of sorts when inspiration struck.  

Pin for later, perhaps?

What would happen if I mixed flour into the dal to make a dough?  

This is what happened ...

Dal Roti – Instructions

~    Mix enough flour (I used plain flour but rolled the dough out on wholewheat – probably chapatti flour would be best) into the dal to make a workable dough.

~   Roll into walnut sized balls and then roll out into thin rounds.

~   Fry in a lightly oiled pan till the first side is speckled with brown turn and do the second side.

What a nice surprise these were!  I quickly whipped up a salad, added some cashews and a simple balsamic dressing and dolloped a spoonful of Greek yogurt (fusion!) on the top.

This was all very spur of the moment – I am sure these little breads would be great used to scoop up curry or similar.

After lunch I messed around in the fridge, as one does, and came across a cup of cold porridge.  Obviously I was delighted, who wouldn’t be?  

As I was fresh from munging flour into cold dal my mind ran along similar lines and I decided to make …

Honey Oatmeal Scones

Based on an Original Idea by Mrs. Beeton!

Quite a while ago now I wrote an article for Vegetarian Living on Mrs. Beeton’s Vegetarian Cooking and this was one of her good ideas.  In my grandmother’s edition Mrs. B says to knead into cold porridge “as much flour as will enable it to be rolled out ¼” thick but that was a bit too basic and heavy for me so here is my version

300g cold porridge
30g soft butter
1 tbsp honey
self-raising flour
(or plain flour and baking powder in the rations 100g flour:1 tsp baking powder

~   Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC/170ºC fan/gas 5.
~   Mix together the first three ingredients and then work in the flour to make a soft, sticky but manageable dough.
~   Knead lightly then roll out on a floured board to a thickness of about 20mm.
~   Cut into rounds or other shapes and lay on a greased baking tray.
~   Brush with milk and bake for 20-25 minutes till risen and golden.

Other ideas for cold porridge can be found here .

Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers

I have so many ideas for leftovers of all sorts that I wrote a book. Originally it was called The Leftovers Handbook but the second edition has a new cover, a new name and, best of all, a new and cheaper price. In it I give ideas, recipes, handy hints, cook's treats, storage instructions and food pairing for over 450 possible scraps and remains.

Never waste a good eating opportunity again! - read more here.