Friday, February 25, 2011

Saturday, Feb 5th - Leftovers - Indian Stir Fried Rice and Aloo Jeera Sandwiches

Leftover Indian Fried Rice
It's funny.  I think that most of us faced with the predicament of using leftovers tends to stay within the confines of our comfort zone.  Casseroles, Sandwiches, Pasta Sauce or Stir Fried Rice within the paradigms of what ever we know.  I don't know why.  We were in this ski house share as we have done for years and we're all from various backgrounds and we'll generally do a few things for meals year in and year out.  Then on the last night, we trawl out the leftovers or if there is little snow, have them for lunch.  I'm a big fan of this as you may know.  I cannot abide wasting food.  I dropped an apple the other day coming from the market and I was gutted because I knew it would spoil before anyone ate it.  :^/

This year I had my eyes opened to a whole new world of Leftover Opportunities.  I'm terribly excited about this and almost wish I had some leftovers to try them out with :^D.  One of the couples on our trip is Indian.  They usually make a fabuloso Vegetarian Indian meal on one night.  As light as alot of the more carnivorously inclined members of the group might think vegetarian food may be, it was hearty and satisfying and we had a decent bit of leftovers.

The next day for lunch I did the boring option of just heating up some of the Lentil and Spinach Dahl, Aloo Jeera (Spiced Potatoes) and Rice.  I was quite contented because it was yummoriffic.  See? fixed paradigms.  Well, R and A, the chefs of the meal, made a childhood favourite out of the Aloo Jeera which I was right up my alley.  They made Aloo Jeera Grilled Sandwiches.  Simply scoop a good portion of the Aloo Jeera on to two slices of sandwich bread and fry it in Butter or Ghee.  If the Potatoes have been the fridge, you may want to heat them up slightly because the bread may brown quicker than the potatoes are hot.  Serve as you would a grill cheese sandwich.  The frying in Butter was something A insisted was necessary to make it authentic like his mum's.

Then for our big BBQ dinner night, R made an Indian Stir Fried Rice.  Funny how I've always though of Stir Fried Rice as the domain of the SE-Asians.  Why would that be?  I mean India and Pakistan eat as much rice in their diets too, I'm sure.   Though they do have more alternative starches in their regular repetoire like  Breads that are more of an adaptation in SE-Asia which is why when we make Indian at home, we always have more rice than we need because we often make Naan too and D won't eat both.

So there we were with a good 3 c of extra rice because alot of Westerners don't eat two starches in one meal.  R made a lucious Indian Stir Fried Rice which I will have to replicate.  Now, I did not ask her for the proportions but I know what went into it.  You'll have to fiddle with the portions.

Indian Stir Fried Leftover Rice

Jeera Seeds (Cumin Seeds)
1/2 Onion, diced
1-2 Serrano Chiles (leftovers :^D), minced
Black Mustard Seeds
Ground Tumeric
Mango Powder
Chili Powder (dash)
1/2 stick Butter
3 c COLD Basmati or Jasmin Rice
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pan or wok, melt the butter.  You should use a neutral Vegetable Oil, Ghee or Butter.  Do not use Olive Oil.  It will not taste right.  Fry the Seeds until you can smell them or hear the Mustard Seeds pop.  Add the Onions and Chiles and fry until slightly browned.  Add the other spices.  Add the COLD rice, cold because it won't clump up and absorb more liquid too quickly.  All the grains should be fluffy and separate. Season to taste. Mix well to combine and serve.  MMMMMMMM

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3 comments:

Angela said...

The butter-fried sandwich sounds intriguing and delicious, as does this fried rice (that's a LOT of butter!).

Medeja- CranberryJam said...

I like that rice :) usually I dont have patience to make rice, I just boil basmati rice and thats it :))

Unknown said...

We're huge rice people so using the leftovers for fried rice is perfect. This looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing your creation.