Leftover rice is common to every kitchen, but when you know how to use leftover rice; then it is not at all an issue. For me and my family, leftover rice means something new and delicious recipe is on the line. When you have leftover rice, don’t let it go waste, as you can make various delectable rice dishes using leftover rice. Here I am sharing my favorite 5 recipes for leftover rice.

Fried rice
This is one of the most common menus which I frequently prepare with leftover rice. I generally use plenty of finely chopped vegetable like cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions to stir fry over the skillet by adding pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Sometimes I put a handful of prawns or shredded chicken to this vegetable mixture. Finally I add the rice to mix properly with the other ingredients.

Chicken rice soup
Occasionally I use my leftover rice to prepare this healthy and hearty soup. You can prepare or buy the readymade chicken stock and heat that over the stovetop on a saucepan. When the stock starts to boil add some amount of leftover rice and shredded chicken pieces. Let the mixture simmer for a while over medium heat. You may add your favorite steamed vegetables like carrots, broccoli, mushrooms or bell pepper to the soup. Remove the soup from heat when it thickens little bit. Add salt and freshly ground pepper before serving.

Rice stuffed tomato or bell pepper
This can be served as fabulous snacks to your guests. Use finely chopped garlic, onions and tomatoes to cook with minced meat. Allow all the water to dry away while cooking the minced meat. When the meat is done; mix same amount of leftover rice to it. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now take the tomatoes or bell peppers to make a slice at the top end. Save this slice as a lid. Use a spoon to bring out things from inside for preparing the space for stuffing. Fill the tomatoes or the bell peppers with the stuffing made from leftover rice. Use the sliced top part of the tomatoes or bell peppers to as a lid to cover. Now use a greased baking tray to bake these tomatoes or bell peppers for a while.

Rice pancake
This recipe is also another favorite for my kids. I usually take the rice to blend in the blender along with plain yogurt and egg. There can be two variations of this pancake, one is sweet and the other is savory. To prepare the sweet variation, add cinnamon powder and sugar powder to the batter to blend thoroughly. Use this batter to prepare your pancake and serve the pancakes with honey or fruit jam. For the savory version, I generally mix few chopped vegetables to the batter like onion, carrots, bell peppers, coriander leaves etc. Also don’t forget to add a pinch of salt to the batter. Prepare the pancakes and serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Rice pudding
To prepare the rice pudding you need to boil milk over a saucepan. When the milk blows up, lower the heat and add handful of leftover rice to this. Now allow the milk to boil until it becomes thick in consistency. Add raisins, chopped cashew nuts to the milk. Finally add sugar powder in proportionate amount. After putting off the flame sprinkle the cinnamon powder on the top. Cover the lid and allow it to cool down. When it reaches the room temperature; transfer the bowl inside the refrigerator. Allow the rice pudding to chill for 3-4 hours before serving.

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