Leftover Kedgeree Rice Pancakes

I am a big fan of cook once and eat twice kind of meals. They always taste better the second time! By that I don’t mean reheat and eat the same thing two days in a row. I change the leftovers a bit, and give them a new life. Our mothers have always taught us not to waste food. Most Indian cooks often use up leftover cooked veggies in roti wraps, pita pockets, sandwiches and parathas. Almost any leftover can go into the paratha dough, even rice and lentil. With rice it is actually very easy. You can reheat it for a different side next day or use for  fried rice, stuffed peppers, pudding, tart or piecrust, and all sorts of other dishes.

I made salmon kedgeree two weeks ago and had quite a bit leftover. Almost immediately, the thought of making pancakes popped up into my mind.  These tasty pancakes or cheelas as we call them were something that my mom used to make for us growing up when there was leftover khichdi. They are tasty, easy and pretty filling at breakfast, noon, and night. What I did here was combine kedgeree and flour with water to make the pancake batter. Though, I’ll be perfectly honest here, things will be easier if you add eggs to the batter. It just slipped my mind that my mother always added wheat flour to the khichdi and it has natural  binding qualities. The GF flour and the starch from the rice will  hold the pancakes together sufficiently, though not firmly. If you still want to make them egg free use chickpea or glutinous rice flour.

I threw in a cup of raw cabbage and spinach for extra fiber and flavor. Any odd bits of raw or cooked vegetable, meat or poultry that need to get used up are good to bulk up these pancakes on nutrients. The recipe is pretty adaptable and you can just play around with the add ins and spices to suit your preference. These could easily be rice, quinoa or khichdi pancakes depending on what is on the leftover shelf. You would need to make some adjustments to get the perfect spreadable consistency.

This recipe, simple as it sounds, offers soft, delicate and flavorful pancakes. They are perfect for serving at lunchtime at room temp. As for toppings and sides, I like to serve these pancakes with a smear of sun dried tomato pesto on top and a simple salad on side. You can even use them in place of English muffin for egg Benedict.

Give them a try and let me know what you think. If you like them, then be sure to try my savory mung sprouts pancakes as well!

I am bringing this pancake recipe to #Cookblogshare @ Monika’s Everyday healthy recipes and to Corina’s linky, CookOnceEatTwice.