What is it about and gloomy days and fried food cravings! This cloudy day with the slightest chance of rain, my mind immediately wants crispy snacks. So I made this snack/appetizer/tiffin whatever you’d like to call it.

I make it quite often because it’s a great way to use leftover or day old Rice. I’ve even tried it with other grains like quinoa or millets, works well too. The perfect accompaniment to chai or coffee. This is such a lazy recipe that I even boil the potato in the microwave (don’t judge me! ).

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked white rice (day old/leftovers)
1 large all purpose potato, boiled and peeled (should yield about a cup, mashed)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp red chilli powder (use 1/4 or 1/2 tsp for a milder spice)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (this is optional, but recommend)
For the crispy coating:
2 tbsp corn flour + 5 tbsp water
1 cup rava, or fine semolina (if you can’t find this, feel free to use bread crumbs)

Notes:
If your rice is on the wetter or mushier side, the nutritional yeast helps absorb any excess moisture to get a perfect consistency, in addition to some seriously delicious flavor. You can use bread crumbs as a passable substitute.

Method:
Place the potato in a microwavable dish, fill about halfway with water and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Mine was a large potato. Drain, let it cool, and peel.

Next, heat up your leftover rice in the microwave for a few minutes until it’s warm, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the warmed up rice to a large mixing bowl and mash as much as you can. Then also add boiled potato and continue mashing together. Use your hands if needed, but a soft mashed potato like consistency is ideal.

To this add measured salt, the minced garlic and ginger, along with red chili, garam masala and coriander powders. Continue mashing together until all the spices are mixed through evenly.

Next fold in all the nutritional yeast and mix until blended together completely. Let his mixture rest for at least 10 minutes, preferably 30 minutes so the flavors have time to meld with the rice & potatoes.

In the meanwhile in a small bowl, mix 2 tbsps corn flour with 5 tbsp water to make a slurry. In a separate bowl add the cup of rava and keep it handy.

Now back to the spiced rice mixture. Divide them into balls and roll them between your palms to make them smooth. This should yield about 10 balls.

Dip each ball into the corn flour slurry, then roll them immediately in the rava making sure they’re entirely coated and crusted well. Set on parchment paper, ready to fry.

Heat oil (just enough to shallow fry) in a pan. Preheat oil for about 5 minutes.

Then gently place the rice balls in the pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan, add just a few pieces. Keep a medium heat going throughout this process. Turn around the balls evenly every few minutes until you see a deep golden brown. Set aside to drain on a paper towel.

If airfrying, cook them at 380 F for 10 minutes. Then at 400 F for another 12 minutes.

Serve them piping hot with your favorite dipping sauce and pickled onions.