Dips don’t die: Creative ways to turn leftover dips into new dishes this party season

The festive season has just wrapped up and party season starts soon. It’s a good time to campaign against binning leftovers. We got chefs to suggest creative ways to transform leftover dips into brand new edible avatars

We partied hard this Diwali and dunked our chips into all types of delish dips, leaving our fridge stuffed with leftover bowls of cheesy jalapeno paste, basil pesto slurry, and a variation of hung curd mixes. The next day, it broke our hearts to bin them. We  vowed to become smarter.

To extend the shelf life of your dip, chef consultant Aditi Keni recommends you remove it from the container you served it in into a fresh one and either contact wrap it with cling foil or beeswax paper (the film should touch the dip; there should be no air in between) and store in the fridge for a day or two. 

Else, pour it into an air-tight container if you want it to last longer. She recommends you serve the dip in multiple small bowls at a party. This makes it easy to replenish as well as distribute across tables.

Home chef and baker Swheta Mutreja Aggarwal uses yoghurt-based dips in kadhis to make the dish even more flavoursome. Pic/Sameer Markande

To reuse leftover dips, here’s her hack: “Freeze the leftover dips in ice cube trays and pop one into any gravy  to amp it up or thicken it. Just heat a cube of frozen dahi-based dip with additional milk of your choice in the microwave and stir this into the boiled gravy for a quick-fix meal.”

Wholesome kadhi for family lunch

Home chef and baker Swheta Mutreja Aggarwal never wastes her dip. She turns it into kadhi for a family meal the next day. “Indian food uses yoghurt in so many ways. The easiest is to use it in a kadhi because all the leftover dip can be utilised at one go.” Use any leftover yogurt dip. This recipe suits dips with onion, garlic, shredded veggies like carrots flavoured with salt, pepper, green chillies and cilantro.

Dahi kadhi

Ingredients
300 gm leftover yoghurt dip
500 gm yoghurt
11/2 tsp heaped besan (gram flour)
100 ml water
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp ghee (twice)
1 tsp mustard seeds
A few curry leaves
1 tsp red chilli powder 
Coriander leaves for garnishing 

Method

Make a slurry with yoghurt, besan, water, turmeric powder and salt. Heat on a high flame for 10 minutes. Stir continuously. Add the leftover yoghurt dip and mix well.
In a tadka pan, add 2 tbsp ghee and heat. Remove from heat, and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour this into the curry. Bring it to a boil on a low flame. Once the colour changes, make another tadka, and add 2 tbsp ghee again. 
Heat and remove.
Add chilli powder. 
Add the tadka to the final curry. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Tea party with dahi ke kebab

A basic salt-pepper dip or one with flavours such as garlic, scallion or mint works well for dahi ke kebab. Chef-owner of Tamak restaurant, Vikram Arora, says, “Even a jalapeno dip will work wonderfully. Make sure you always use fresh and chilled curd to make hung curd. Refrigerate the mixture before making patties out of it as it becomes easier to stuff and shape,” he says.

Dahi ke kebab

Ingredients
1.5 cups leftover hung curd dip
1/4 cup paneer, grated
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder 
1/3 tsp white pepper powder
1/4 tsp black pepper crushed powder
1/3 tsp green cardamom powder
2 tbsp roasted chana dal powder 
2 tbsp bread crumb 
Oil for shallow frying
Chaat masala to sprinkle
Coriander sprig for garnish
Beetroot julienne for garnish
For the kebab stuffing 
1 onion, finely chopped
10 pieces raisins, chopped 
1 green chilli, chopped 
1/2 tbsp coriander, chopped 

Method
Take the leftover hung curd dip in a bowl and smoothen it with a spatula. Add paneer, salt, cumin powder, pepper powder and green cardamom powder. Mix well. Add honey to adjust the sourness. Follow this with the addition of roasted chana powder and breadcrumb to bind the kebab. Mix it well using a small whisk to remove lumps. Scrape the mixture using a spatula from the sides of the bowl to get it in the centre and then refrigerate for a couple of hours before forming them into patties. For kebab stuffing, in a bowl, mix all ingredients mentioned and refrigerate for an hour. Heat a non-stick pan and grease it with oil and keep the flame on medium. Now to make kebab, moisten both your palms with little water and take a small amount of mixture of dahi and make a hollow well in the middle to stuff the onion mixture. Seal and turn it into a ball. Flatten the ball to make a patty. Place dahi ke kebab on the heated pan. Let them cook to golden brown on both sides. Serve hot sprinkled with chaat masala on top, and with coriander mint chutney.

Dip infused naan for Indian dinner

Chef Devansh Jhaveri who runs a delivery kitchen and pop-up studio called Your Place or Mine loves to upcycle leftovers. “There is always a place for them on the meal table. Cheesy dips can be used in cheese balls, as pizza topping and even in pasta. The sky is the limit for yoghurt dips. Just make sure you use them within two days.”

Chef Devansh Jhaveri gives naan a flavour twist by using leftover cheesy dips in them. Pic/Atul Kamble

Naan

Ingredients 
2 cups maida
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp powdered sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup leftover yoghurt-based dip
Water as needed to make a pliable dough
*Note, you can also swap this with any dairy-based dip including a cheese-based dip

Method 
In two bowls, mix all the dry ingredients in one and wet in another. Mix both and knead for 8-10 minutes to form gluten strands for a springy naan. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes. You may add chopped garlic, and coriander to the mix if you like. Once done, make into large roti-sized balls and roll them out into naan shapes. Heat a tawa to medium hot and cook on both sides till brown spots appear. Use oil to grease the tawa if it’s not a non-stick one.

The easy way out

>> Use dips to make arancini (fried balls)
>> Spread it on a sandwich or use it as a base for crostini
>> Add to pasta sauce for a flavour punch
>> Toss into a salad or stir-fry
>> Use as a marinade for chicken roast
>> Make quesadilla with leftover roti

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