Baked Rice

So now the BIG secret in my house is out! Baked Rice is my way of utilizing every morsel of left-overs in our house! There have been times when I have had surpirse guests, not enough food for everyone and no time to make anything…and I admit it, I have served this! The amazing part is that it has got rave reviews AND to top it all – requests (!??!!). And the other amazing thing about this awesome dish- it tastes different everytime you make it!
A dish made by anyone and everyone associated with the Indian Armed forces (I guess it has made its rounds), was passed on to me by my Mom. Enjoy!

Method:

1. Warm up all the leftovers , including the Rice.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
3, Spary an oven-safe deep dish with cooking oil.
4. Spread a layer of Rice to the bottom and gently press it in.
5. Spread a layer of dry Subzi/Vegetable dish and gently press in.
6. Sprinkle Salt and Chili Powder, to taste.
7. Repeat with a layer of Rice and press in and drizzle little oil.
8. Repeat with a layer of Subzi again and then Salt and Chili powder.
9. Repeat till the leftovers are finished or the dish is full.
10. Finish off with garnishings for the top layer. Options for the top layer – Chopped Onions, Tomatoes, Chutneys, Ketchup and Egg. Use a few or all of them.
11. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the dish has a little color on the top layer.
12. Serve hot with Raita.

Tips:

1. Have fun with this dish and experiment…add chopped onions and tomatoes after the Salt & Chili Powder, for an extra crunch.
2. The dry dishes go on the lower layers and the ones with gravy use on the upper layers.
3. Try to avoid very watery gravy dishes as they will just make the dish very soggy.
4. Also, try not to use too many gravy dishes…balance out between the dry and gravy dishes.
5. The top most layer, the Rice will get crisp and tastes wonderful. But if you prefer it soft, do not use egg and cover and cook the Baked Rice for 25 minutes and uncovered for 5 minutes.

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0 thoughts on “Baked Rice

  1. Wow, what a great recipe! One of the worst jobs when cleaning up after a dinner party is decanting the leftovers into boxes and then working out how to fit them all into the fridge…..I’m now tempted o make a bit more rice, and layer up all the cooked foods and leave in the fridge ready to top and bake for the next day’s meal. If I use a thick dhal, is there any reason not to do this?

    Can’t wait to invite people over for dinner now, just so I can try this recipe….!

  2. I love the innovation that you bring in your recipes!Kudos!
    Quick question: Can I use pressure cooker, the stove-top method?

    1. Hi Deepika,

      Thanks! Some people use a pressure cooker filled with a little sand (without the weight) to create a make shift oven. We have not tried it, but it may work.

  3. Hi
    i wanted to ask you about the daily sabzi do they stay good for week i was planning to make on sundays and use them for a week so should i just make them and keep them in freezer or refrigerator do i have to use some preservatives is it okay to store in plastic boxes

    1. Hi Soniya,

      Subzis will stay fresh in the refrigerator without any preservatives for at least 5-6 days provided you follow some important steps. First, store them in glass or plastic air tight containers. Second, if you have a big batch, either divide it into smaller portions that can be used up all at once or take out as much as you need to reheat and immediately put the rest back into the fridge. Avoid heating all of it and then placing the leftovers back into the fridge. If you have any leftovers after you have already reheated it once, do not mix it back into the original batch in the fridge…store separately. Storing food for more than a week in the fridge is not recommended. You can freeze it.

  4. Great recipe!

    My mom makes paranthas out of left overs. They taste different every time as well. So mashed sabzi, some ajvaayan, salt and chilli powder. If she wants to make it fancier, she adds finely chopped onions, green chillies, coriander and grated ginger!

  5. Wow!! what a fantastic way to use the leftovers.It’s like a quick taste recap of last few days food. I am going to be cooking more this week to have some leftovers ;-))

  6. Hi
    can we put glass bowl in oven? kindly write little bit about the glass bowl u used for baking. Which brand u use? Are they expensive.
    Thanks for the wonderful leftover recipe.

    1. Hi There,
      It is a “Pyrex” brand glass dish. You can any dish that is oven proof. We used it so it’s easier for folks to view what we were doing 🙂 …and it does look pretty!
      The pyrex dishes are not very expensive, I did buy a set so can’t say what the individual price would be and they are available at a lot of kitchen stores.
      Enjoy 🙂

  7. Hi Hetal & Anuja 🙂

    Unbeleivable!!! This is a way I never ever thought of using the left over. Amazing and interesting girls! I can’t wait to collect the leftovers to try it, but have to. I give you 5 stars for this one before even trying it as I know it got to be tastier than a biryani and less work required to make it.

    One more idea – You can use the Biryani masala too on top of every layer to give it mouthwatering flavour and aroma.

    Thanks a lot!

  8. Hi,

    Can you please tell me, the egg that we have to put, does it have to beaten…or do we have to break it upon the dish as such…

    Thanks,
    Neha

  9. Hey Anuja and Hetal,
    Thanks for this innovative idea. I tried this recipe with onion rice, tomato rice, methi aaloo, and pieces of cutlets. And needless to say, it was heavenly:) The best part is this is one dish that will give me a different taste every time I try it. I can’t wait to collect leftovers now:) Keep up the good work:)

  10. This was a fabulous and unique dish I’ve ever seen preparaed with almost no effort but tasting delicious at every layer!! Good job gala and please do keep posting such dishes! U absoluetely rock!!

  11. Thanks so much girls. This was the recipe I was waiting for… to use up, in a delicious way, the left overs that tend to accumulate in my fridge… by the way, most of those left overs come from your own website!

  12. Yes, you can use a microwave. However, a microwave tends to heat the dish thru while an oven helps to evaporate some of the moisture in the dish and infuses the flavours together.
    Another suggestion that might be better than microwaving it…do exactly as the recipe says but make the layers in a heavy-bottomed pan. Cover it with an air-tight lid. Put it on the tawa/tava, put it on low-to-med flame and heat the dish. This concept will heat the dish throughly, infuse the flavours and it will prevent the dish from burning at the bottom (as it is not on direct flame). The flame will heat the tawa that inturn will heat the dish. It is the same concept as making biryani on the stovetop.

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