4 easy ways to use up leftovers from Eid

What is an Eid without a breyani? Picture: Pexels/Prabal Pratap Singh

What is an Eid without a breyani? Picture: Pexels/Prabal Pratap Singh

Published Apr 9, 2024

Share

Eid is a time of immense joy and celebration in the Muslim community, marked by gatherings with family and friends, prayers and feasting on delicious food.

The aroma of mouth-watering dishes fills the air as homes come alive with the spirit of Eid. With the focus of the festivities being on food, we often buy way more food than is actually needed.

Below are easy ways you can make your Eid feast go further so that nothing goes to waste and you have some easy and delicious meals in the days that follow.

Leftover roast meat is perfect for making sandwiches, wraps and tacos. Picture: Pexels/Valeria Boltneva

Roast meat

Roast meat, such as beef or lamb, is great for enjoying cold or reheated in a variety of tasty ways. Use leftover scraps of meat to make sandwiches or wraps, serve on flatbreads with any remaining dips, or go Mexican and shred it into tacos or burritos.

It is also great for adding to soups (along with any roast vegetables). And do not throw away the bones! They can be boiled up to make stock, perfect for adding heaps of flavour to future meals.

What is an Eid without a breyani? Picture: Pexels/Prabal Pratap Singh

Breyani

What is an Eid without a breyani? If you are tired of the rice dish as it is, an Italian appetiser like arancini (fried rice balls) can serve as inspiration for a transformation. Lightly mash the breyani to make the rice starchy and easy to roll into balls.

Stuff them with some of the shredded meat from the breyani and roll them into meatball-sized balls.

Dip them in a flour-water mixture and coat them thoroughly with breadcrumbs and then deep fry until golden brown and serve hot.

Mix your leftover meat with some roast vegetables to make a tasty soup. Picture: Pexels/The Castlebar

Roast vegetables

Roast vegetables of any kind are perfect for blending up into warming soups. They are also great for putting in quiches and pasta dishes, using them as pizza toppings, or just enjoying on their own with a side helping of some other leftovers.

If you are not going to get through them all, they also freeze well – just store them in a freezer bag or an airtight container.

Leftover kebabs are great in a sandwich but you can also chop them up finely and add them to your omelette or fried eggs the next day for a hearty breakfast. Picture: Pexels/Polina Tankilevitch

Kebabs

Leftover kebabs are great in a sandwich but you can also chop them up finely and add them to your omelette or fried eggs the next day for a hearty breakfast. This also ensures that your kebabs are not dried out and chewy.

The vegetables in your kebab platters can also be a great addition to the breakfast.

Add them to the eggs or chop them up and sauté them separately, and refresh their flavour with some fresh herbs and garlic.