The importance of food in our family is seen in the manner in which all of us revel in endless discussions about lunch at breakfast, dinner at lunch and breakfast at dinner. But no matter how big a foodie each one of us is, innovativeness in food has never been able to win over taste. However experimental a dish could be, if it doesn’t appeal to the taste buds, it’s a strict no-no in our house. Hence, while venturing into something drastically adventurous, I have to be extra careful about that one factor - will it go down well in the taste department?

Considering that, Chapati Chikoli has always been the safest bet. It’s innovative, convenient and, at the same time, the yummiest dish one can prepare in no amount of time. And what's even better is that all your leftover rotis can be utilised in the best possible way. Also, there are no special ingredients required apart from the regular masalas that we use everyday. Thus, Chapati Chikoli is undoubtedly the golden recipe for our family!

Chapati Masala/Chikoli

Ingredients

Leftover rotis            4-5

Onion (finely chopped) 1 medium-sized

Tomato (finely chopped) 1 medium-sized

Oil -     2 tbsp

Jeera -  1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon a small piece

Cloves -1 or 2

Garlic paste -            1/4 tsp

Ginger paste -            a pinch

Turmeric powder -             a pinch

Red chilli powder -            as per taste

Coriander powder -            1 tbsp

Mint leaves -            4-5

Curry leaves -            6-7

Salt - as per taste

Method

Heat oil in a kadhai. Put jeera, mustard seeds, cinnamon and cloves for tadka. Add onions to it. Once the onions become transparent, add the tomato to the mixture. Roast for a while and put the rest of the masalas too. Mix well. Add 1½ cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the leftover rotis (broken into small pieces). Add mint leaves and mix well. Let it cook for five minutes till the rotis become soft. Garnish with fresh coriander. Lime sprinkled while eating adds to the taste.

(You can use more water if required)

- Rashida Janjali

One slice, please

One day, as I was breaking my head over what to do with the leftover chapatis, my husband decided to help me out. What emerged had great resemblance to the regular pizza so my daughter simply loved it and I could also eat it because it had a wheat base! This is how we went about it.

Roti pizza

Ingredients

Leftover rotis - cut in 8 triangular pieces

Onion (chopped) - 2 big

Cheese cubes - 2

Butter - 1 tbsp

Tomato ketchup - 4 tsp

Chilli sauce - 2 tsp

Method

Dry roast the roti pieces till they become slightly hard. Use a napkin while roasting the roti so that all sides receive heat properly. Take the pieces off the flame. Apply butter, tomato ketchup and chilli sauce to each piece. Add chopped onions to each and grate the cheese on top of it. Now arrange the pieces in a plate to give it an effect of a cut pizza.

Note: If you wish to try this dish but don't want to use leftover rotis, you could use fresh chapatis but just roll out slightly thicker chapatis so that the crust is not too thin.

 Vrunda Juwale