What to do with leftoversવધેલું શું કરવું?

Tap what is left over. What you can make from it, how long it takes, and when the right answer is to throw it away.

What is left over?

Leftover rice

How long it keepsCovered in the fridge, today and tomorrow, so two days at the outside, and sooner is better. Rice left on the counter is a same-day thing in summer and the monsoon, and rice that stood out all night goes in the bin.

When to throw itThrow it if the grains feel slimy between your fingers, stick together in strings, or carry any sour smell at all.

Vagharela bhaat10 minutes

Heat two tablespoons of oil, crackle rai and jeera with hing, a slit green chilli, curry leaves and finely chopped onion. Break the rice up with your fingers, add it with salt, haldi and a squeeze of lemon, and stir on a low flame for five minutes until it steams through.

The easiest one, and the best thing to do with fridge-cold rice.

Bhaat na paratha20 minutes

Mash a bowl of rice with your hand, then work in a bowl of wheat flour, salt, haldi, coriander and ginger-chilli paste, adding water only if the dough needs it. Rest it ten minutes, roll out, and cook both sides on a tava with a little oil.

For when only a little rice is left; good for breakfast or a tiffin.

Bhaat na bhajiya20 minutes

To a bowl of rice add three tablespoons of besan, a tablespoon of rice flour, salt, haldi, red chilli and ginger-chilli paste, and bring it to a thick batter with barely any water. Drop spoonfuls into medium-hot oil and fry until golden.

For evening tea, and children will eat them.

Bhaat na muthiya35 minutes

Mix a bowl of rice with half a bowl of wheat flour, two tablespoons of besan, salt, haldi, ginger-chilli, sesame and a spoon of oil into a stiff dough. Shape into long rolls, steam fifteen minutes, cool, then slice and toss in a rai and til tempering.

The slowest of the four, but a bowl of rice turns into a whole snack.

Rice gets reheated once only. Take out of the fridge just the portion you mean to use, because every dish above counts as that one reheating: eat what you make the same day and do not put it back in the fridge.

Leftover rotli

How long it keepsFine in a lidded dabba on the counter for the day. If they are to last into tomorrow, put the same dabba in the fridge, where they hold two days.

When to throw itGreen or black mould spots on a rotli, or a fermented smell when you open the dabba, and the whole lot goes — do not pick off the bad one and keep the rest.

Rotli roll with chhundo5 minutes

Warm the rotli ten seconds a side on a dry tava so it rolls without cracking. Smear ghee on one side, spread a spoon of chhundo or mango pickle, roll it up tightly and cut it across.

The two-minute answer when a child walks in from school.

Rotli nu churmu10 minutes

Break the stiff rotli up and pulse to a coarse powder in the mixer. Roast the powder for two minutes in two tablespoons of ghee, take it off the heat, and rub in grated gol, about half the volume of the powder, with a pinch of elchi. Shape ladu while it is still warm.

The oldest answer there is, and the right one once the rotli has gone hard.

Vagharel rotli12 minutes

Cut four rotli into small squares. Temper rai, hing and curry leaves in oil, fry onion, then add a chopped tomato with salt, haldi and red chilli and cook it down. Stir in the squares, sprinkle a quarter cup of water, cover and leave three minutes on a low flame, and finish with coriander.

For when there is no shaak and you want something to actually eat; serve it hot.

Rotli chivda15 minutes

Cut the rotli into thin strips and dry-roast them on a tava over a low flame until crisp. Temper rai, hing, haldi, peanuts and curry leaves in a spoon of oil, toss the strips through with salt, red chilli and a pinch of sugar, and box them only once they are completely cold.

For when three or four rotli have collected; it becomes a dry snack for tea.

A stiff rotli comes back crisp on the tava, never soft, so on the second day it is better to break it up than to reheat it. Microwaved rotli go leathery as they cool.

Leftover dal

How long it keepsTwo days in a lidded dabba in the fridge, and bring the whole pot to a proper boil when you use it. In summer it should go in within an hour or two of the meal — dal is not counter food until evening.

When to throw itFroth sitting on top, bubbles rising as you stir, a sour smell, or a thin tacky film on the surface all mean it goes — reheating does not repair it.

Dal dhokli30 minutes

Knead a slightly stiff dough from wheat flour with salt, turmeric, ajmo and a spoon of oil, roll it thin and cut it into diamonds. Add a cup of hot water, a little gur and lemon to the leftover dal, bring it to a boil, then drop the dhokli in one at a time and keep it covered on a low flame for ten to twelve minutes. Finish with ghee, chopped onion and kothmir.

The best thing to do with yesterday's dal — tempered again, it genuinely tastes good.

Dal paratha or dal na thepla25 minutes

To one cup of thick dal add one and a half to two cups of wheat flour, salt, turmeric, red chilli and chopped kothmir, and knead — the dal is already wet, so add water only if the dough needs it. Rest it covered for ten minutes, then roll and cook on a tava with ghee or oil on both sides.

This is the one for a tiffin, because it is dry and holds until midday.

Dal na bhajiya20 minutes

Mix three or four spoons of besan into a cup of dal with a pinch of hing, ginger-chilli paste, salt and kothmir, until the batter is thick enough to drop off a spoon. Fry small spoonfuls in medium-hot oil until golden, and do not crowd the kadhai.

A good use for dal that stayed thin, since the besan takes care of that; good with evening tea.

Thinned dal with a fresh vaghar10 minutes

Heat ghee in a kadhai and temper jeeru, a pinch of hing, crushed garlic, a dried red chilli and curry leaves. Tip the dal in, loosen it to the consistency you want with hot water, adjust salt, gur and lemon, and bring the whole pot to a boil.

Dal heated twice tastes flat — a fresh tempering is what brings it back.

Dal thickens in the fridge. Loosen it with hot water, never cold: cold water drops the temperature of the whole pot, so it takes much longer to come back to a boil.

Leftover shaak

How long it keepsTwo days in a lidded dabba in the fridge, and a dry shaak keeps better than one with gravy. In summer a gravy shaak belongs in the fridge within an hour or two of the meal, not on the counter until evening.

When to throw itA sour or fermented smell when you lift the lid, water separated right out of the gravy, froth or a thin film on the surface, or a tacky feel on the spoon: throw it.

Dry shaak toast10 minutes

Mash a dry shaak of potato, cabbage or peas fine with a spoon and season it with a pinch of salt, lemon and chopped kothmir. Spread it between two slices of bread, butter the outsides, and press it on a tava until both sides are golden.

A ten-minute job when someone is hungry in the evening, and children eat it.

Dry shaak paratha stuffing20 minutes

Mash the dry shaak — potato, methi, guvar or cabbage — fine with a spoon and work in a pinch of red chilli, coarse dhana-jeeru and, if it is at all wet, a spoon of besan, which takes up the extra moisture. Stuff it into a ball of dough, roll gently, and cook on a tava with ghee on a low flame on both sides.

The one for a quick morning tiffin, since the shaak and the rotli become one thing.

Frankie-style roll from gravy shaak15 minutes

Cook the gravy shaak down in a kadhai on a low flame, stirring, until it is thick, and crush the larger pieces with the back of the spoon. Spread it on a rotli or paratha, scatter finely chopped onion, green chutney and a pinch of chaat masala over it, roll it up, and give it a minute on the tava.

Do not add water to leftover shaak to make gravy again, because the flavour flattens — cook it down and use it as a filling instead.

Gravy shaak as a masala base15 minutes

Grind an onion-and-tomato gravy shaak to a coarse paste. Temper jeeru with ginger and garlic in oil, add the paste and cook it for five minutes until the oil separates, then add boiled potato, peas or paneer and enough hot water to make a fresh shaak of it.

Best with a ringna-tomato or onion gravy; not with a shaak that had curd stirred in at the end.

Bhinda nu shaak reheats slimy and stringy even when it is perfectly good, so it is not worth saving. And any shaak finished with curd, raw onion or coriander will not be the same thing tomorrow — it turns sour quickly.

Leftover bajra rotlo

How long it keepsWrapped in a cloth on the counter for the day. To use it tomorrow, put it in a lidded dabba in the fridge, where it holds two days.

When to throw itMould spots, or a fermented or bitter smell, and it goes.

Rotla no churo5 minutes

Crumble the rotlo coarsely into a thali with your hands. Pour two tablespoons of hot ghee over it, then add a tablespoon of grated gol and rub it through — with the ghee going in first the gol melts into the crumbs instead of sitting in lumps.

For a child in the evening, and enough on its own when one rotlo is left.

Rotlo broken into chhash15 minutes

Break the rotlo into pieces in a bowl, pour sour chhash over them and leave them to soak for ten minutes. Stir in salt, finely chopped onion and crushed jeera, and eat it as it is.

A summer afternoon thing, and the answer when the rotlo has gone rock hard.

Vagharelo rotlo12 minutes

Crumble the rotlo coarsely. Temper rai and hing in two tablespoons of oil, add a slit green chilli, crushed garlic and chopped onion and fry them. Stir in the crumbs with salt, haldi and red chilli, keep it on a low flame for four minutes, and serve with coriander on top and chhash alongside.

The most filling of the three at breakfast, if garlic and onion are eaten in the house.

A bajra rotlo turns hard as it cools, and that is not a sign it has gone off. The wheat rotli ideas do not transfer: a rotlo is broken up, not rolled.

Leftover puri

How long it keepsIn a lidded dabba on the counter they hold until the next day, though they go soft and oily as they cool. Any puri that has sat against shaak or gravy is a same-day job.

When to throw itThrow them if the oil smells rancid or there are mould spots inside the dabba.

Puri crisped on the tava5 minutes

Put the puri on a dry tava over a low flame for two minutes a side, without pressing them down. If they feel soft while hot, leave them; they crisp as they cool. Eat them with tea, chhundo or pickle.

When two or three puri are left, there is no need to do anything more than this.

Puri nu churmu10 minutes

Break the puri up and pulse them to a coarse powder. Roast the powder two minutes in a tablespoon of ghee, take it off the heat, and rub in grated gol, about half the volume of the powder, with a pinch of elchi.

For when something sweet is wanted; puri already carry oil, so this needs less ghee than rotli churmu.

Puri nu chavanu12 minutes

Break the puri into small pieces. Temper rai, hing, peanuts, curry leaves and haldi in a tablespoon of oil, add the pieces, then toss through salt, red chilli, a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Box it only when it is completely cold.

For when four or five puri have collected and are no longer crisp.

Do not deep-fry softened puri again. They only drink up more oil and stay limp; it is dry heat that drives the moisture off.

Leftover paratha or thepla

How long it keepsWell-roasted thepla and paratha, cooled before they are boxed, keep three days on the counter and a week in the fridge. Stuffed ones, potato or paneer, keep less: two days in the fridge.

When to throw itWhite or green mould spots, a rancid smell off the oil, or a sour note when you open the dabba, and the whole box goes.

Warmed on the tava, with chhundo and curd5 minutes

Twenty seconds a side on a dry tava over medium heat, with no fresh oil needed. Serve with chhundo, mango pickle and fresh curd, and a spoon of ghee on top in winter.

Thepla are genuinely good on the second day, so there is no hurry to turn them into something else.

Thepla roll10 minutes

Warm a thepla on the tava and spread chhundo or dry garlic chutney on one side. Scatter chopped onion, coriander and a handful of sev, roll it tight, and wrap it in paper if it is going into a tiffin.

A tiffin answer: a dry roll holds for the four or five hours a dabba sits.

Vagharela thepla12 minutes

Cut three thepla into small pieces. Temper rai, hing and curry leaves in oil, fry onion, then cook down a chopped tomato with salt, haldi and red chilli. Stir the pieces in with a splash of water, cover for three minutes on a low flame, and finish with coriander and lemon.

For when the thepla have stiffened and crack as you roll them.

Stacking hot thepla and covering them traps the steam, and by the next day they feel damp and tacky. Let them cool completely before they go in the dabba.

Leftover bread

How long it keepsTwo or three days on the counter with the packet closed, and less than that in monsoon damp. The fridge delays mould but dries the bread out, so use that bread in one of the dishes below rather than eating it as it is.

When to throw itOne slice with green, white or black mould and the whole packet goes, and the same if it smells fermented. Do not pull out the spotted slice and keep the rest.

Masala bread10 minutes

Mix chopped onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander in a bowl with salt, red chilli and a pinch of haldi. Spread it over each slice, put the slices masala-side down on a tava with a little oil or butter, then turn them and crisp the other side.

The quickest breakfast of the three, and it goes with tea.

Bread upma15 minutes

Trim the crusts off four or five slices and cut them into small squares. Temper rai, hing, curry leaves and peanuts in oil, fry onion and green chilli, then cook down a tomato with salt and haldi. Stir in the bread with two tablespoons of water, cover for two minutes, and finish with lemon and coriander.

For when four or five slices are left and you want a proper plate of food.

Bread na bhajiya20 minutes

Cut the slices into triangles. Make a besan batter with salt, haldi, red chilli, a pinch of ajmo and water, thick enough to cling to a slice. Dip and fry in medium-hot oil until both sides are golden.

For a wet evening; with potato masala between two slices they become stuffed bhajiya.

Dried-out bread works better than fresh in all three, because it drinks up the tempering and the batter instead of collapsing. Dry is the point, though, not mouldy.

Leftover boiled kathol

How long it keepsDrained, cooled and in a lidded dabba, two days in the fridge. They are not counter food — boiled chana or val start to ferment within a few hours in summer heat.

When to throw itBubbles on the surface, a fizz when you open the lid, a sour or yeasty smell, water that has gone slimy, or a thin film on top: throw it.

Kathol chaat10 minutes

Drain the boiled chana, chawli or mag into a bowl and add finely chopped onion, tomato, green chilli and kothmir. Season with salt, roasted jeeru powder, a pinch of chaat masala and a squeeze of lemon, and scatter sev or fine ganthiya over it only as you serve.

No stove at all; but eat it as soon as it is mixed, because the onion and tomato start giving out water.

Kathol tikki or vada20 minutes

Mash the kathol coarsely with a spoon — do not grind them to a paste in the mixer. To one cup add two spoons of besan or one boiled potato, ginger and chilli, dhana-jeeru, a pinch of garam masala and salt, shape into flat patties, and cook on a tava with oil over a low flame until golden on both sides.

The right answer when the kathol came out too soft in the cooker, since texture does not matter here.

Quick usal15 minutes

Temper rai, a pinch of hing and curry leaves in hot oil, soften finely chopped onion with ginger and garlic, then add chopped tomato, turmeric, red chilli, dhana-jeeru and a little gur. Add the boiled mag, val or chana with half a cup of hot water, cover, and let it come to a boil on a low flame for eight to ten minutes.

A whole meal with rotli or pav, and the fresh vaghar is what makes the difference.

Boiled kathol left standing in their own water ferment faster, so drain them before they go into the dabba. If you would rather not waste that water, use it the same day in a dal or a shaak gravy.

Leftover khichdi

How long it keepsCooled and in a lidded dabba, two days in the fridge, and like rice it gets reheated only once. Khichdi left on the counter is a same-day thing in summer and the monsoon, and khichdi that stood out all night goes in the bin.

When to throw itA sour smell, grains that feel slimy between the fingers, or grains sticking together into strings: throw it.

Vaghareli khichdi10 minutes

Heat ghee in a kadhai, temper jeeru, a pinch of hing, green chilli and curry leaves, then soften finely chopped onion. Break the fridge-cold khichdi up with your hands as it goes in, add salt, turmeric and two or three spoons of hot water, cover, and let it steam on a low flame for five minutes.

The easiest thing to do with khichdi, and with kadhi or chaas it is a whole meal.

Khichdi na pudla15 minutes

Mash a cup of khichdi with a spoon and mix in two spoons of besan or sooji, ginger and chilli, salt and kothmir, then thin it with a little water into a pouring batter. Spread thin pudla on a hot tava, drizzle oil around the edge, and cook until golden on both sides.

Works even when the khichdi has set solid; good for breakfast.

Khichdi na vada20 minutes

To one cup of khichdi add three spoons of besan, finely chopped onion, ginger and chilli, a pinch of turmeric and salt, and work it until it is as stiff as a dough. Shape flat vada by hand and cook them on a tava with oil over a low flame until crisp on both sides, or deep fry them.

For evening tea, and they crisp up on a tava if you would rather not deep fry.

Khichdi sets hard in the fridge. Leave it out for ten minutes, sprinkle hot water over it, and steam it covered on a low flame — on dry heat it sticks to the bottom of the pan.

Leftover pulao

How long it keepsCovered in the fridge, two days, and like rice it gets reheated only once — so take out only what you will eat and leave the rest cold. Pulao left on the counter is a same-day thing in summer and the monsoon.

When to throw itA sour smell, grains that feel slimy between the fingers, or grains sticking together into strings: throw it.

Pulao steamed back10 minutes

The grains go dry and hard in the fridge, so take the pulao out and let it stand for ten minutes. Sprinkle two or three spoons of water over it, add a spoon of ghee, put the lid on and steam it on a low flame for five to seven minutes. Turn it over once from the bottom with a light hand — stirring with a spoon breaks the grains.

If the pulao was good to begin with, it does not need changing, only its moisture back.

Tawa pulao15 minutes

Heat butter or oil on a tava or a wide kadhai and soften finely chopped onion, capsicum and tomato, then add a pinch of turmeric, red chilli and a spoon of pav bhaji masala. Break the cold pulao up with your hands as it goes in, add salt and lemon, toss it on a high flame for two or three minutes, and serve it with kothmir on top and pav alongside.

The one for pulao that tastes flat or dry, because the fresh masala makes it a different dish.

Pulao cutlets25 minutes

Mix a cup of pulao with one mashed boiled potato, two spoons of breadcrumbs or besan, ginger and chilli, a pinch of garam masala and salt. Shape flat cutlets, coat them in rava, and cook on a tava with oil over a low flame until crisp on both sides.

Best when small amounts of biryani or fried rice have piled up and you want to use them together.

Pulao does not get reheated twice, so take out only the portion you want. And making tawa pulao or cutlets from cold pulao counts as that one reheating.

Leftover chhole or rajma

How long it keepsTwo days in a lidded dabba in the fridge, and bring the whole pot to a proper boil when you use it. In hot weather it goes in within an hour or two of the meal, and if it stood on the counter all night it gets thrown away.

When to throw itBubbles on the surface, a fizz as you stir, a sour or yeasty smell, water separating out of the gravy, or a thin tacky film on top: throw it.

Chhole chaat10 minutes

Drain the chhole or rajma in a sieve to get the loose gravy off and press them lightly with the back of a spoon. Mix in finely chopped onion, tomato, green chilli and kothmir with a pinch of chaat masala and lemon, and top with sev or a spoon of curd as you serve.

For when only a little is left and reheating it is not worth the trouble; eat it as soon as it is mixed.

Chhole or rajma over rice15 minutes

Heat oil or ghee, temper jeeru with crushed ginger and garlic, soften finely chopped onion, and tip the leftover chhole in. Loosen the thickened gravy with hot water, adjust salt and a pinch of garam masala, bring it to a boil, and serve it over freshly cooked rice.

Yesterday's gravy tastes more settled after a fresh tempering, and with rice it is a full meal.

Chhole or rajma tikki25 minutes

Drain the chhole and mash them coarsely with a spoon, then bind with one mashed boiled potato, two spoons of breadcrumbs or roasted besan, ginger and chilli, a pinch of garam masala and salt. Shape flat tikki and cook on a tava with oil over a low flame until crisp on both sides.

The one for when there is more pulse than gravy left; good with green chutney.

Chhole and rajma thicken in the fridge and the oil sets on top of the gravy. Add hot water and bring the whole pot to a real boil — half-warm is the worst outcome.

Leftover kadhi

How long it keepsInto a covered vessel in the fridge as soon as it cools, where it holds two days and turns a little more sour with each one. Being made of curd, kadhi is the first thing to go off on the counter — in summer it should be in the fridge within about an hour of the meal.

When to throw itThrow it if cold kadhi throws up bubbles when stirred, if foam has settled on top, if the water has separated right out and left a slimy layer at the bottom, or if it smells sharp in a way that is not its usual sourness.

Reheated, with khichdi8 minutes

Pour the kadhi into a vessel and add half a bowl of water, because it thickens in the fridge. Warm it on a low flame, stirring without stopping, and stop when it steams — boil it hard and it will split. Finish with a fresh tempering of rai, methi, dry chilli and curry leaves in ghee poured over the top.

Day-old kadhi really does taste better; the fresh tempering is what makes it so.

Kadhi with bhajiya or gota15 minutes

Warm the kadhi on a low flame as above. Add the leftover bhajiya or gota only five minutes before serving — any earlier and they dissolve and cloud the kadhi. Serve hot with rice.

When bhajiya are left over too, both get finished at once.

Kadhi bhaat in one vessel20 minutes

Soak half a bowl of rice for twenty minutes and drain it. Put the kadhi and the same quantity of water in a vessel, and when it boils add the rice, then cover and cook on a low flame until the rice is done — it will need stirring two or three times. Finish with a ghee tempering.

When only a little kadhi is left and a whole meal has to come out of it.

Do not mix fresh curd or a fresh pot of kadhi into the leftover kadhi — they are different ages, and afterwards there is no telling how old the pot is. And reheat kadhi once only: take out what you need, warm that, and leave the rest cold in the fridge.

Leftover milk

How long it keepsBoiled milk, covered in the fridge, is a today-and-tomorrow thing, and bring it back to a boil once a day. Out of the fridge in summer it will not see the evening out.

When to throw itSplitting as you heat it is fine, that is how paneer gets made. But if the smell had changed before any heat, or the milk looks yellow or tastes bitter, do not make paneer either — pour it away.

Milk in the dough — puri or thepla15 minutes

Knead two cups of flour stiff with three quarters of a cup of the turning milk in place of water, plus salt and a teaspoon of oil. Rest it ten minutes, then fry puri or griddle thepla; the sourness does not survive the heat.

When only a little is left and the morning is short.

Paneer25 minutes

Boil the milk, and if it does not split on its own, add a teaspoon or two of lemon juice per litre off the flame. The moment it splits, strain it through cloth, rinse with cold water, tie it up and press it under a weight for half an hour. Use it the same day.

If the milk split while you were heating it, this is the only real answer.

Kheer45 minutes

A quarter cup of washed rice to a litre of milk, in a heavy pan, uncovered on a low flame for thirty-five to forty-five minutes, scraping the base. Sugar and elaichi go in only once the rice is soft; gol goes in off the heat after it has cooled.

For milk that is still good; milk on the turn splits as it boils.

Basundi1 hour

Reduce the milk by half on a low flame in a heavy pan, scraping the base every five minutes and stirring the skin at the sides back in. Once thick, add sugar, elaichi and slivered almonds and pistachios.

When more than a litre is left, basundi swallows the lot.

Do not pour away the whey from the paneer — knead your next rotli dough with it. And before fridge milk goes into kheer, boil a little on its own to check.

Leftover curd

How long it keepsFour to five days covered in the fridge, though it goes on souring the whole time. Out of the fridge in a Gujarat summer it oversours and separates within three or four hours.

When to throw itBitter rather than sour, pink or grey patches on top, a fizz when you stir it, or water separated out with an off smell: the whole pot goes.

Vaghareli chhash10 minutes

Whisk the curd on its own until completely smooth, then add three parts cold water to one part curd. Season with salt, roasted jeeru powder, ginger and chilli paste and kothmir. Crackle mustard seeds, jeeru, hing and curry leaves in a spoon of ghee and pour it over.

The fastest route, and the water takes the edge off the sourness.

Curd in the dough — bhakhri or thepla20 minutes

To two cups of flour add half a cup of sour curd, salt, turmeric and two teaspoons of oil, and knead it stiff, taking water only if you must. Rest it fifteen minutes, then griddle bhakhri or thepla.

When only a little curd is left and breakfast still has to happen.

Kadhi30 minutes

One cup of sour curd, three cups of water, two tablespoons of besan — whisk the besan right into the cold curd and water before any heat, and strain if you see lumps. Boil it on medium, stirring one way without a break, then simmer ten to fifteen minutes. Gol, and a ghee tempering at the end.

Sour curd genuinely makes better kadhi than fresh bland curd does.

A dahi marinade20 minutes plus an hour to sit

Drain a cup of thick sour curd in a sieve for half an hour, then mix in ginger and garlic, red chilli, turmeric, dhana-jeeru, a pinch of garam masala, salt and a spoon of oil. Turn paneer cubes or boiled potato through it, chill an hour, then cook on a tava.

The sourness works for you here; a bland-curd marinade tastes flat.

Use a clean dry spoon every single time — a wet spoon is what turns curd watery and off-tasting. Whey standing on top is normal; stir it back in.

Leftover paneer

How long it keepsTwo days in a covered box in the fridge, and being dairy, it is not worth stretching past that. Do not leave it on the counter for hours.

When to throw itA sticky or slimy surface, a sour or fermented smell, or edges gone yellow all mean it goes in the bin.

Paneer bhurji15 minutes

Fry jeeru, chopped onion and green chilli in oil, then add tomato, turmeric, red chilli and dhana-jeeru and let the masala cook down. Crumble the paneer in with your fingers — dried-out paneer is an advantage here — stir two or three minutes, and finish off the flame with kothmir and lemon.

The easiest way to rescue paneer that has gone dry and firm.

Paneer paratha25 minutes

Mix grated paneer with salt, red chilli, a pinch of garam masala, kothmir and finely chopped green chilli, and keep out raw tomato or onion, which release water. Fill the dough balls, roll them gently and griddle with ghee on a tava.

Goes into a tiffin, and children eat it.

Paneer in gravy30 minutes

Cube the dry paneer and soak the cubes ten minutes in hot water with a pinch of salt; they soften right up. Make an onion and tomato gravy, and once the masala is cooked, drain the cubes in and simmer only two or three minutes.

When the paneer has gone completely dry, a gravy is what softens it.

Do not simmer paneer long in a gravy — the longer it boils, the tougher and more rubbery it gets. And do not freeze it; paneer comes out crumbly.

Leftover dhokla

How long it keepsTwo days in an airtight box in the fridge, and firming up as they go cold is normal. On the counter in warm weather they are a same-day thing.

When to throw itAnything beyond dhokla's own mild sourness — a fermented or stale smell, a tacky surface, or a spot of mould — and the lot goes.

Vagharela dhokla10 minutes

Cut them into squares. In two teaspoons of oil add mustard seeds, sesame, hing, slit chillies and curry leaves, then a quarter cup of water with a pinch each of sugar and salt. Add the squares, cover, and leave on a low flame three or four minutes before finishing with kothmir and coconut.

The first answer for day-old dhokla that have only gone a little firm.

Dhokla crisped on the tava10 minutes

Cut them into slightly thick slices. Put a spoon of oil or ghee on a tava and griddle them on a medium flame until the edges crisp on both sides. Dust with a pinch of sanchal and serve hot with green chutney.

For when they have gone dense enough that softness is off the table.

A sev khamani style crumble20 minutes

Crumble the dhokla or khaman loosely by hand. Crackle mustard seeds, sesame, hing and chopped chilli in oil, add the crumble, stir on a low flame three or four minutes, then mix in sugar, lemon and salt to taste. The sev and coconut go on at serving.

When there is a lot left and nobody expects it to taste like dhokla anyway.

Dense dhokla do not come back soft in the steamer — three or four minutes of steam only helps the ones that are merely fridge-cold and still soft inside. Once the texture has gone, change the dish.

Leftover batter

How long it keepsFermented batter keeps three to four days in the fridge and sours a little more each day. Left out in summer it over-ferments and climbs out of the vessel within hours.

When to throw itIf the batter smells of alcohol it is no longer sour, it is gone — throw it. The same goes for pink or grey patches on the surface.

Uttapam20 minutes

Stir two tablespoons of fresh rava or besan and a pinch of salt into a cup of sour batter and leave it ten minutes; it holds the sourness down and gives the batter body. Spread it thick on the tava, press on chopped onion, tomato, chilli and kothmir, oil the edges, cover and cook on low, then flip.

Vegetables and a lid are the easiest way to keep the sourness in its place.

Appe20 minutes

Stir grated carrot, finely chopped onion, chilli, kothmir and two tablespoons of rava into the batter; it should be thick rather than pourable. Put a drop of oil in each mould, fill them, cover and cook four or five minutes on low, then turn them for two more.

Tiffin-friendly, and you are not standing over a tava for it.

Idli with a pinch of soda30 minutes

Stir a pinch of baking soda into very sour batter and pour it into the moulds straight away — the soda takes the edge off the sourness and gives them lift. Steam over boiling water ten to twelve minutes, then let them stand five minutes before spooning them out.

When the batter has to be idli; they still will not be as soft as day-one idli.

Take out of the fridge only as much as you need and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour — cold batter sticks to the tava. The rest goes straight back into the fridge.

Leftover mithai

How long it keepsDry mithai — mohanthal, magas, besan ladu, sukhdi — lives outside in an airtight steel box: eight to ten days in winter, four or five in the heat. Mava or chhena sweets get two days in the fridge, kheer is a today-or-tomorrow matter, sheero three or four days refrigerated.

When to throw itWith mava or chhena sweets, any sourness or fermented smell at all, a sticky or slimy surface, or the least thing off about the taste, and it goes straight in the bin.

Rolling broken ladu again15 minutes

Crumble the leftover churma ladu, or pieces of mohanthal or magas, by hand. Warm a spoon of ghee, add the crumbs, stir two minutes on low, and roll them while the mixture is comfortably warm to the palm. If a squeezed fistful holds its shape it will roll; if it crumbles, half a spoon more ghee.

Only for dry ghee-and-besan mithai; never do it with mava sweets.

Sweet puran poli from sheero25 minutes

Work the leftover sheero from the fridge, or crumbled dry mithai, into a filling with your hands. Stuff it into a ball of wheat dough, dust with dry flour, roll it out gently and griddle both sides on a low flame with ghee. Eat it hot off the tava.

For when a bowl of sheero is sitting there and nobody will eat it with a spoon.

Malpua from kheer25 minutes

Mix three or four tablespoons of wheat flour or rava and a pinch of elaichi into a cup of leftover kheer, to about the thickness of bhajiya batter, and leave it fifteen minutes. Heat ghee or oil to a medium heat and spoon in small rounds, frying them golden on both sides.

If the kheer has had one night in the fridge, do this today and no later.

The commonest cause of a bad stomach after a festival is penda, barfi or kalakand that stood out for two days. The moment mithai arrives, separate out anything with mava in it and put it in the fridge.

Leftover bhajiya

How long it keepsThe day they were fried, in a dabba with a lid on the counter. They will sit in the fridge until tomorrow, but they go soft and pick up the smell of the oil — onion and potato bhajiya are the first to go that way.

When to throw itThrow them if the oil smells stale and bitter, if they feel greasy to the touch, if there is any sourness, or if spots of mould have appeared.

Bhajiya chaat10 minutes

Crisp the bhajiya on a dry tava for two minutes, break them into large pieces and spread them on a thali. Scatter chopped onion, tomato and coriander over them with a pinch of salt and red chilli, spoon over green chutney and khajur-imli chutney, top with sev, and serve straight away.

For four or five leftover bhajiya; made and left standing, it goes soggy.

Bhajiya nu rasawalu shaak25 minutes

Heat oil and fry rai, jeera, hing, chopped onion and ginger-garlic. Add two tomatoes with salt, haldi, red chilli and dhana-jeeru and cook until the oil separates, then pour in two bowls of water. When it comes to a boil, drop the bhajiya in, turn off the flame and keep it covered for five minutes.

It becomes a proper shaak to eat with rotli, and the bhajiya drink up the gravy.

Kadhi with bhajiya in it20 minutes

Warm the kadhi on a low flame, stirring as it goes. Drop the bhajiya in only five minutes before serving — any earlier and they dissolve and cloud the kadhi. Serve hot with khichdi or rice.

When the kadhi is left over too, both get finished at once.

Do not fry them again — cold bhajiya drink oil and turn greasy. A dry tava on a low flame, or an air fryer, brings the crispness back. A microwave turns them leathery.

Leftover chutney

How long it keepsGreen chutney covered in the fridge for two or three days, khajur-imli chutney for a week, and dry garlic-chilli chutney in a dabba for months. Coconut chutney is the odd one out — a single day even in the fridge, and it turns sour within a few hours of being left out in the heat.

When to throw itFading colour is not the problem. White or green spots of mould on the surface, bubbles rising when you stir it, or a fermented smell, and the whole lot goes.

Chutney sandwich5 minutes

Spread butter on two slices of bread and a thin layer of chutney over that. Lay chopped onion, tomato and cucumber between them, scatter a pinch of salt and pepper, press the sandwich shut, and cook it on a tava in a little butter until both sides are golden.

For when only two spoons of green chutney are left.

Chutney bhaat10 minutes

Heat oil, crackle rai and jeera with curry leaves, then add two tablespoons of green chutney and fry it on a low flame for half a minute, just long enough to lose its raw edge. Break the rice up with your fingers, add it with salt and lemon, and stir for three or four minutes.

When both the rice and the chutney are left over, one dish finishes both.

Chutney na thepla20 minutes

Work four tablespoons of green chutney, a tablespoon of oil, a pinch of haldi and as much water as it needs into two bowls of wheat flour to make a soft dough. Rest it ten minutes, roll the thepla thin, and cook both sides on a tava with a little oil on a low flame.

The chutney is already spiced, so nothing else has to go in.

The spoon that goes into the jar has to be dry — a wet or used spoon spoils the whole jar in one go. And do not loosen a thickened jar by stirring water back into it; squeeze lemon only into the portion you are about to use.

Leftover salad or kachumbar

How long it keepsKachumbar with salt and lemon in it belongs to the meal it was made for; within an hour it has given up its water and gone limp. Cut vegetables with no salt on them keep covered in the fridge until evening, but what has been standing out goes in the bin by evening in summer.

When to throw itThrow it if the water pooled at the bottom looks cloudy or foamy, if the cucumber has turned soft and see-through, if the coriander has gone black and slimy, or if there is a sour smell.

Into today's vaghar5 minutes

Squeeze the water out of the kachumbar with your hand. Heat oil, add rai, jeera and hing, fry the squeezed onion-and-tomato kachumbar for two or three minutes, and start today's shaak on top of it. The kachumbar already has salt and lemon, so put less in the shaak.

The least work of the three — no second dish to make at all.

Kachumbar no sambharo10 minutes

Squeeze out a cabbage, carrot or cucumber kachumbar and tip it into a tempering of rai, hing, haldi and slit green chillies. Stir on a high flame for three or four minutes — it should stay a little crunchy rather than cook right down — and squeeze lemon over it.

With thepla or bhakhri; if there is a lot of cucumber it will throw water, so keep the flame high.

Kachumbar na thepla25 minutes

Chop the squeezed kachumbar fine and work it into two bowls of wheat flour with a tablespoon of oil, haldi, red chilli, a pinch of ajmo and as much water as the dough needs. Rest it fifteen minutes, roll it out, and cook both sides on a tava with oil over a low flame.

The cucumber, onion and coriander all disappear into it, and it holds up in a tiffin.

Do not eat leftover kachumbar raw the next day; all three ideas above cook it, and that is how it should be used. Squeeze the water out by hand first, or both the dough and the tempering turn watery. Cut fruit salad is not covered here — that is finished at the same sitting.

Leftover sheero

How long it keepsSheero made with ghee and sooji keeps covered on the counter for the day, and two days in a dabba in the fridge. Sheero made with milk is not a thing to leave out in summer — it should go into the fridge as soon as it has cooled.

When to throw itThrow it if it smells sour, if the ghee in it smells stale and bitter, if water has separated out, or if any cottony mould has settled on top.

Sheera slices crisped on a tava8 minutes

Press the cold sheero flat in a thali and cut it into squares. Put half a teaspoon of ghee on a tava and cook the slices on both sides over a low flame until the edges go crisp.

The quickest of the three, and crisp outside with soft inside stops it tasting like yesterday's.

Sheera na ladu10 minutes

Warm the sheero in a kadhai with a teaspoon of ghee over a low flame for two minutes, until it is soft enough to shape. Take it off, mix in two tablespoons of grated dry coconut and a pinch of elchi, and roll the ladu while it is still warm — once it cools it will not hold.

They go in a dabba and get eaten out of hand, which makes them easy for children.

Sheera bharelee poli30 minutes

Make a soft wheat dough and rest it covered for half an hour. Fill a small ball of dough with two tablespoons of sheero, seal the edges, dip it in dry flour and roll it out with a light hand, then cook both sides on a tava with ghee over a low flame.

For when a lot of sheero is left and you want a meal out of it.

Sheero goes hard in the fridge, and that is the ghee setting, not a sign it has gone off. Leave it out for half an hour or warm it on a low flame before using it. In a microwave it turns dry and rubbery.

Leftover vegetable water

How long it keepsCool it, pour it into a jar with a lid, put it in the fridge and use it by tomorrow. Vegetable water left standing starts turning sour within two or three hours of a summer afternoon, so it is not something to keep until evening.

When to throw itPour it away if it looks cloudy going out of the jar, has foam sitting on top, throws up bubbles when stirred, or smells sour.

Into dal, kadhi or a gravy shaak2 minutes

When dal has thickened or a shaak needs more gravy, warm this water and add it instead of plain water. Start with one bowl, and taste before you put any salt in. If it is going into kadhi, add it before the kadhi comes to a boil.

The least work — there is nothing new to make at all.

Hot tameta-lasan raso15 minutes

Heat a teaspoon of ghee, fry jeera, slit garlic and green chilli, then add two finely chopped tomatoes and cook them down until soft. Pour in two bowls of the vegetable water, add salt and a pinch of pepper, boil for five minutes, and finish with coriander and lemon.

For a late dinner; it can be drunk on its own or poured over rice.

Knead the dough with it20 minutes

Use it lukewarm — boiling hot and the flour goes sticky, fridge-cold and the rotli come out stiff. Add as much as two bowls of wheat flour need, bring it to a soft dough, oil the surface and rest it covered for fifteen minutes. Go easy on the salt, because the water already has some.

The rotli and thepla pick up a faint taste of the shaak, and the whole jar goes in one go.

Do not use the water from boiling karela, methi or brinjal — it is bitter. Potato, peas, cauliflower, cabbage and corn water all work well. And if the water was salted to begin with, remember to cut the salt in whatever you put it into.

Reheat it, change it, or throw it

Four questions, in order, and the whole thing takes ten seconds. First, how long was it out? Cooked food that sat on the kitchen counter for more than about two hours, or more than an hour in real summer heat, is not worth putting in the fridge afterwards. If it stood out all night, you already have your answer.

Second, lift the lid and smell it. A sour note, a faintly fermented smell, anything your nose objects to, and you stop there. Do not taste to check. Third, was it covered in the fridge, or under a plate on the counter? Fridge food is a today-or-tomorrow proposition; counter food is a same-day one. Fourth, is it milk-based? For kheer, basundi, shrikhand and dudhpak, halve every window above.

If all four answers are clean, you are choosing between two good options. If the texture survived, just heat it through properly and eat it. If the texture went, which is what fridge-cold rice, thickened dal and stiff rotli all do, change it into something else, because vagharela bhaat and dal dhokli need the texture changed anyway. One bad answer and only the third option is left.

The kitchen already knew this

Ghar nu khavanu was always built so that nothing sat around. Yesterday's dal got dhokli torn into it and became dal dhokli. Dry rotli was crushed with gur and ghee into churmu. Milk that split on the stove went through a cloth and came out as paneer, and the whey went into the next batch of dough. Curd that turned sour went into kadhi or into a khaman batter. Leftover bhaat became muthiya or a tempered plate of vagharela bhaat.

None of this was about thrift. It was technique. Dal dhokli exists because day-old dal genuinely tastes good once it has been tempered again, not because somebody felt guilty. What changed is only that nobody wrote any of it down. It was learned by standing next to someone, and that standing-next-to happens less now.

So this page is not a new idea. It puts in order what was ordinary two generations ago, so that someone with nobody to ask can still find out what leftover khichdi turns into.

The fridge, the heat and the rain

Gujarat's weather changes the answer. Between April and June, and through the damp of the monsoon, cooked food left out goes off far faster than it does in winter. In those months, work to this: whatever is left after a meal goes into the fridge within an hour or two, not after the dishes are done. Dal, kadhi, shaak with gravy, rice and anything made with milk all belong in there. Thepla, khakhra, dry bhaji and rotli are fine on the counter for the day.

How you cover it matters too. A plate over a plate always leaves a gap, so air, flies and damp come and go. A steel dabba with a proper lid actually closes, cools faster than plastic and does not hold smells.

Do not put a hot vessel straight into the fridge. It lifts the temperature inside, warms everything else on the shelf, and the middle of the vessel still takes hours to cool. Spread the food into a shallow dish, leave it uncovered under a fan until it stops steaming, then lid it and put it away, keeping the total time out under two hours.

Reheating without ruining it

Rice wants water sprinkled over it, a lid on, and low heat. The grains set hard in the fridge and dry heat only sets them harder; steam loosens them again. Dal that has thickened wants hot water, never cold. Cold water drops the temperature of the whole pot, so it takes much longer to come back to a boil and spends that time merely warm.

Rotli go on a dry tava, a few seconds a side. A microwave steams them soft and then they turn leathery as they cool. Anything fried, whether bhajiya, puri, patties or muthiya, goes on a tava with a little oil or into an air fryer. The microwave pulls moisture out of the middle and into the crust, which is exactly how a crisp thing goes limp; dry heat drives that moisture off instead.

Whatever method you use, heat it until the whole pot is actually bubbling or steaming through. Half-warm is the worst outcome of the three. And take out only the portion you are going to eat, leaving the rest cold in the fridge.

What is not worth saving

Cut fruit does not keep for the next day. Once cut it weeps, the surfaces are open to the air, and in humid weather it turns quickly, so fruit chaat and cut kalingar are a same-sitting job. Bhinda nu shaak reheats slimy and stringy. Any shaak finished with curd, coriander or raw onion stirred in at the end will not be the same thing tomorrow either.

Sweets made with mava or chhena, so penda, barfi and rasgulla, should not sit out in summer at all, and go the moment there is any sourness about them. Coconut chutney turns sour within hours in the heat. And rice that has already been reheated once does not get reheated again, which is why you take out only what you need.

The clearest rule of all: cooked food that stood out overnight in warm weather gets thrown away. Boiling does not repair it, and moving it to the fridge in the morning does not give the night back. Froth on dal or kadhi, bubbles rising when you stir, water separating out, a tacky film on the surface: none of these need thinking about.

A week that leaves almost nothing behind

Leftovers arrive in one of two ways. Either you did not plan and are now stuck with them, or you cooked a little extra on purpose. The second way makes the whole week lighter. Put slightly more dal on the stove on Monday and Tuesday's dal dhokli or dal paratha is half done before you start. One extra cup of rice buys you vagharela bhaat or bhaat na muthiya. Two extra rotli become churmu for a child in the evening.

The trick is in the quantity, not in extra cooking. What matters is that the extra goes into the fridge first, in its own dabba with a lid, instead of going round the table and coming back.

If you like deciding in advance, the weekly menu page (/en/menu/) helps: once the week is set, you also know where Monday's extra is going. And keeping the diary (/en/diary/) for two or three weeks shows you plainly what your house actually has left over, and how much of it.

Questions people ask

How long does cooked rice keep?

Covered in the fridge, today and tomorrow, so two days at the outside, and sooner is better. That assumes it did not stand around for long after cooking: get it into a dabba and into the fridge once it stops steaming. Rice left on the counter is a same-day thing in summer and the monsoon, and rice that sat out all night goes in the bin.

Is it safe to reheat rice twice?

No, reheat rice only once. That is why you take out of the fridge only the portion you intend to eat and leave the rest cold. Each round of heating and cooling takes the rice slowly through lukewarm temperatures, and that is the part you want to keep short. Making vagharela bhaat from cold rice counts as that one reheating.

What should I do with milk that has turned?

If it splits while you are heating it, make paneer there and then: strain it through a cloth, rinse with cold water, press it, and use it the same day, with the whey going into your next dough. But if the milk already smelled wrong before heating, or looks yellow, feels slimy or tastes bitter, do not make paneer from it. Pour it away.

Can I use curd that has gone sour?

Slightly sour curd is useful in cooking: kadhi, khaman batter, bhakhri dough, or thinned into chaas with a tempering. Heat takes the edge off the sourness. Stop, though, if the curd tastes bitter rather than sour, has pink or yellow patches on top, fizzes when you stir it, or has separated into water with an off smell. Then it goes out.

How long does dal keep in the fridge?

Two days in a lidded dabba in the fridge, and bring the whole pot to a proper boil when you use it. Do not leave hot dal sitting covered on the counter through the afternoon; in summer it should be in the fridge within an hour or two. If there is froth on top, bubbles rising as you stir, or a sour smell, reheating will not fix it.

Can leftovers go in a child's tiffin?

Yes, but choose carefully. A tiffin sits for four or five hours with no refrigeration, so dry things are the safe ones: thepla, paratha, or vagharela bhaat made fresh that morning from fridge-cold rice. Avoid yesterday's gravy shaak, anything milk-based, plain curd and cut fruit in hot weather. Whatever you do pack, heat it right through in the morning, cool it, and use a steel dabba with a tight lid.

How do I tell if shaak has gone bad?

Smell is the first and best test: lift the lid, and if there is a sour or fermented note, that settles it. Then look for water separated right out of the gravy, froth or a thin film on the surface, bubbles rising when you stir, or a tacky feel on the spoon. Do not taste to check. When you are unsure, throw it.

Can food be refrigerated or frozen again after it has been warmed?

Food that has already been reheated should not go back into the fridge or freezer. Every cycle of warming and cooling leaves it at lukewarm temperatures for a while, and that time adds up. This is the reason to heat only the portion you want rather than the whole pot. And food that stood out for hours is not rescued by chilling it: cold does not give the lost time back.