A Fun Way to Have Leftover Roti

 The word রুটি, ruti, (Hindi: roti), I think, is people everywhere are now quite familiar with. It is the hand-made Indian flat bread, of whole wheat flour, baked on a hot flat pan. 

Though some Bengali people often have ruti for dinner (and not for lunch), it's often common to have it for breakfast. দুধ-রুটি, ruti torn with your hands into small pieces and soaked in milk with sugar added to it, was a common breakfast I saw in my childhood. I saw, never had, and always disliked it . And, now, I no longer consume dairy.

It's not common to have a few extra rutis prepared at night and keep it for the next morning, though I rarely have them at breakfast since I often skip breakfast. This is what I did one day, with the leftover ruti.

I baked it again. It became slightly drier. I shredded it with the kitchen scissors. Well, looks are not everything. 

I made some mug dal with cumin seed seasoning and added it on the ruti "spaghetti"! Et voila! That was my breakfast. You can sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice on it, fresh coriander leaves, shredded, and just a little fresh green chillies, also shredded, if you like it hot. 

Note: dal-ruti, literally, lentil soup with flat breads, just like dal-bhat, i.e. lentil soup with steamed rice, with a side dish of vegetables, is staple in India. 

I don't know if Bengali people still have milk and flat bread nowadays. Do they have ruti at all at breakfast? Or do they bread, butter and boiled eggs and some fruit juice in cartons and try to feel international? Our food habit is changing rapidly and so is our attitude to our traditional dishes. But my parents still soak some puffed rice or খই /khoi/, popped rice (?) or flattened rice to break their fast in the morning.