Air-fried Cutlets made with leftover Pulao and Curry

Delicious Air Fried cutlets, crispy from outside and soft from inside, made with leftover Kala Chana Pulao, Aloo Matar and bread pieces.

Do you also have the problem of managing small small portions of leftovers which no one wants to eat the next day?? A bowl of leftover rice/pulao, a small bowl of curry, turned into something delicious that your whole family will enjoy!! And best part is no one will know that these are made from leftovers of the previous day!!

A perfect way to use left overs in your refrigerator, these delicious cutlets can be enjoyed like a snack with chutney or ketchup for Chai time or make patties for burgers and sandwiches.

Using leftovers

No matter how calculated amount we make for daily lunch or dinner, often we are left with small portions of leftovers that no one wants to eat. Throwing out food left overs is a bad idea and many times it's We moms who have to finish off the leftovers!! These are times when we all wear the creative hat and churn out something delicious with the leftover. Like Chapatis turned into cheesy quesadillas, rolls or wraps or chapati noodles(will be updated soon). Fried Rice/Lemon Rice/Tawa Pulao with leftover rice is a commonly made in many Indian homes.

Leftover Makeover

Leftover Makeover this interesting name is the is the theme for this fortnight in foodies Facebook group Healthy Wealthy Cuisine. The theme was suggested by Narmadha. She suggested us to make something with leftovers be any dishes , fruits/vegetables that are going waste.

Do hop onto Narmada's blog(Nam's Corner) for some delicious and easy to put together recipes from Indian as well as International cuisine. I want to try horsegram paratha(Gahat Ke Paranthe) which she has recently posted on her blog.

Do checkout what other bloggers have cooked up for the theme

Leftover Rajma Kebabs by Poonam

Leftover Upma Uttapam by Narmadha

Uttapam Using leftover Raita by Sasmita

Quick Fix Oats Banana Cookies by Seema

Spicy Rava Cutlets by Vanitha

Food Wastage and ways to minimize it

Food wastage is a big issue these days. Each one of us should take measure for avoiding any kind of Food and Water wastage. Buying only what we need according to our family's need and cooking the calculated amount are one of the few ways in which we can contribute at microlevel.

Whenever you have any of the leftovers like Rice, Dal, any curries with vegetables like carrot, peas, potatoes which can be mashed, make something creative. This way you will have a different snack and will also not waste anything.

Use leftover Dal to make Dal Paratha or these delicious pooris (Methi Dal Poori). Dry Subzis like Aloo Gobhi, Gajar, Aloo aur Methi ki Subzi can be used for making cutlets, pakoras with leftover rice/bread/semolina or as filling for paratha.

Idlis are another food item that you can give a makeover. Chilli Idli, Masala Idli, Fried Idli or Idli Upma are few of the ways you can make use of a day old idli.

Cutlets from leftover Kala Chana Pulao and Aloo Matar Curry

I had leftover Spinach Kala Chana Pulao and Aloo Matar. The recipe for the same is not on the blog but the recipe is similar to Palak Aur Kabuli Chana Pulao(Spinach and Chickpeas Pilaf). You can substitute Kala Chana(Black Chickpeas) for Garbanzo beans/White Chickpeas in the recipe. This Pulao recipe is also a good way to use leftover Chole Masala or Kala Chana Curry or Palak Paneer.

Kala Chana adds on to the protein in pulao. You can use another leftover pulao like Vegetable Pulao or Vegetable Biryani

Aloo Matar curry is one the most popular and common curry made in Indian homes. Many times whenever I have some of it left, I dry the extra curry, take some bread pieces mix it and make some small cutlets for snack and pack for kids lunch.

I have added bread pieces here. The thick bread and the sides of the bread that are usually left out as kids do not like to have it, can be used in making cutlets and tikkis(Aloo Tikki Burger). You can also pulse dry stale bread in processor to fine crumbs and store in freezer in a airtight container or ziplock. Use whenever you need breadcrumbs like in this Baked Pasta in White Sauce.

I have also added extra spinach leaves, garam masala, green chilli and red chilli powder for extra flavor. You can also add coriander/cilantro leaves, grated carrots or beetroot for more fibre rich and nutritious cutlets.

You can shallow fry, deep fry or bake these cutlets. I air-fried these.

Air Fried snacks

Air fried version is definitely low in oil and is a healthy version of the deep fried or even shallow fried patties. With the convenience of Air fryer I can make such guilt free snacks for my kids quite often. Checkout these air fried snacks-- Rajma Palak Tikki, Chinese Veg. Stir Fry and Crispy Masala Papdi

Let's see how I made these delicious cutlets and patties using leftovers

Dry extra curry from Aloo Matar.

Add all the ingredients(Pulao, Aloo Matar, bread pieces, green chilies, spinach leaves and spices). I did not use much of the spices here as pulao and curry already have spices.

Pulse to a coarse mixture.

Apply little oil to your hands, then shape in to the patties of the desired size.

Switch on the Air-fryer at 350F for 15 minutes. When it indicates ADD FOOD add the cutlets and cook till done. Once done patties with turn light brown. In between when it indicates TURN FOOD, turn cutlets, brush some oil and then cook for next 7-8 mins.

To shallow fry these, add some oil in a pan and shallow fry till done from both sides.

In case you do not have any of the leftover you can still make these patties with Boiled Chana and leftover steamed rice.

• Mix together boiled potato/peas or any other grated vegetable, poha/steamed rice(leftover), spinach /cilantro leaves.
• For gluten-free version add powdered /rolled oats/chickpea flour or poha for binding.

So do try these cutlets from leftovers. You and your family will surely love these.

Whenever you make it do give me your feedback in comments. You can post your feedback with the pic of on my FB page or tag me on Instagram(#foodtrails25). Pin the recipe for later use.

Say Hello!! and visit my social media accounts.. FB, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and You-Tube.

If you like my work, then do HIT the FOLLOW button and SUBSCRIBE to the blog to get notifications on new posts and share the blog with your loved ones.

Thanks for stopping by and keep coming back!!