There is nothing we love more than a warm bowl of kheer. It is a perennial palatable delicacy. And what if you were told that this favourite delight can be turned into a nutritious one? This Leftover Chapati Recipe will do this for you. Chapatis – the proud Indian flatbread, are a staple food of every Indian household. Although they are nice, warm, fluffy phulkas cooked by mom, some rotis always remain in the casserole. So, why not attempt to make a further fun and delicious meal. This Chapati Payasa is an improvised version of rice kheer. It is a yummy sweet dish prepared by re-heating the leftover rotis. The rotis are first turned crisp and broken down into small pieces which are then combined with jaggery and lentil-based syrup. Homemade coconut milk and cardamom powder is added for the explosion of flavours. At last, the Chapati Payasa is garnished with cashews for a crunchy texture. Along with an overwhelming taste this
Chapati Payasa is healthy too, as it incorporates jaggery instead of sugar.
Payasa, is a Kannada term for Kheer. It is also popularly called Payasam is Karnataka. The word Payasa originated from ‘payas’, which literally means milk. The dessert was invented in South India and is usually made by boiling rice in milk and sugar. Payasa originated 2000 years ago in Odisha. The history of Payasa traces back to a long story titled “The Legend of the Chessboard". It is aka the queen of Indian sweets.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup Chickpea lentils (Chana dal)
- Water, as required
- 2 Chapatis (roti)
- 1 cup Coconut, freshly grated
- ½ cup Jaggery, crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Method:
- Take a bowl, add chickpea lentils and water. Rinse the dal well with your hands.
- Move the washed dal to the pressure cooker and add enough water. Cover with a lid and cook till 4 whistles (5 minutes) or until soft.
- Turn off the flame and remove the dal. Keep aside.
- Now, take 2 leftover chapatis and reheat them on a pan/tawa. Allow them to turn crispy. Break the rotis into small pieces.
- In a mixer-grinder, combine freshly grated coconut and water. Blend high to form a fine paste.
- Use a strainer to acquire the first coconut milk (thick coconut milk).
- Collect the leftover coconut and add to the blender. Blend again after adding 1 cup of water. Put this coconut milk through a strainer and into another bowl. This is thin coconut milk.
- In a heated vessel, add crushed jaggery along with some water. Let the jaggery dissolve in to form jaggery syrup. Bring it to a boil.
- Once the syrup is brought to a boil, transfer the cooked dal into it. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the thin coconut milk extracted and cook for a few seconds. Then added cardamom powder.
- Drop in the broken chapatis and let the payasa cook for 2 minutes.
- Now, add the thick coconut milk. Give a nice stir and let it simmer over low flame. It will thicken with time.
- Turn off the heat. Cover and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
- Place the Chapati Payasa into a serving bowl and add roasted cashews on top.
Relish this fully-loaded, creamy and milky dessert, Chapati Payasa. After savouring the sweet delicacy, you would want the chapatis to be the only leftovers.