tawa pulao recipe, how to make tawa pulao | pulao recipes |Cooking With Amanda

tawa pulao recipe – posting yet again an easy rice recipe which is a popular mumbai street food. tawa pulao as the name suggests is made on tawa – a flat concave shaped pan used in indian cooking for making chapatis, roasting as well as shallow frying.

the street side vendors have a huge tawa and they make pav bhaji as well as the tawa pulao on this huge tawa. for home cooks, this recipe can be made in a frying pan or even in a kadai (wok).

this tawa pulao recipe is a quick to make if you have leftover rice. you also need to steam or cook the veggies before hand. usually i make a not so spicy version, but you can spice the tawa pulao as per your taste buds just by increasing the quantity of red chili powder.

you will need pav bhaji masala to make this pulao. usually i buy pav bhaji masala and the indian brands which i have used are MDH, everest and badshah. i find all of them alright. i have not yet made pav bhaji masala at home.

amongst the special masalas that we use, pav bhaji masala and chaat masala are the only two masalas, i have never made at home. i have a mind block regarding these two masalas and thus never tried making them at home. its time i give a shot to trying both these masalas at home.

tawa pulao goes best with yogurt, raita or an onion-lemon salad or vegetable salad (kachumber). also accompany a roasted papad and a lime or mango pickle by the side.

lets start step by step tawa pulao recipe:

1. cook basmati rice first in water to which some salt and a few drops of oil are added. the rice should be cooked well and the grains should be separate.

2. drain the rice in a colander.

3. melt butter in a pan and saute the cumin till they get browned.

4. add chopped onions and saute till translucent.

5. add ginger garlic paste and saute till their raw aroma goes away. the ginger-garlic paste has to be sauteed well. otherwise the raw aroma is felt even later and might not go well with some folks.

6. add chopped tomatoes and capsicum (green bell pepper).

7. add the pav bhaji masala, red chili powder and turmeric powder.

8. stir and saute till you see the butter leaving sides of the pan. about 6 to 7 mins on a low flame. even if the capsicum has a slight crunch, they taste good.

9. add the chopped steamed veggies – peas, carrots, potato (you can even add french beans and cauliflower) and salt.

10. stir and then add the drained cooked rice.

11. stir and mix gently and uniformly.

12. garnish tawa pulao with chopped coriander leaves and drizzled with a few drops of lemon juice. serve tawa pulao with onion-lemon salad or yogurt or onion tomato raita accompanied with roasted papad and pickle.

if you are looking for more pulao recipes then do check peas pulao, choliya pulao, chana pulao, mushroom pulao, kashmiri pulao and vegetable pulao recipe in pressure cooker.

tawa pulao recipe details below:

tawa pulao recipe

tawa pulao - a popular mumbai street food of rice and vegetables sauted together with pav bhaji masala and other spices-herbs.

Author: dassana

Recipe type: main

Cuisine: mumbai street food, indian

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients (american measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

for cooking the rice:

1 cup basmati rice or long grained rice
4 cups of water for cooking the rice
2 to 3 drops of oil
salt as required

for the tawa masala:

1 medium capsicum/green bell pepper
2 large tomatoes - 150 gms
1 medium onion - 50 gms
½ inch ginger + 2-3 garlic , made into a paste in a mortar-pestle or 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
¼ tsp red chili powder or add as required
¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
2 tsp pav bhaji masala or add as required
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp butter or oil or half-half of both
1 small to medium carrot
1 medium potato
½ cup green peas/matar, fresh or frozen
½ tsp lemon juice or as required
a few chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta) or parsley
salt as required

Instructions

preparing the rice:

rinse the rice grains till the water runs clear of starch. rinsing for a while, you will come to a stage when the water will become transparent during the rinse. if there is starch in the water, then the rice becomes sticky.
soak the rice in enough water for 20-30 mins. drain and then add the rice to a pot.
pour 4 cups water in the rice. add salt and few drops of oil.
stir. cover and cook the rice till the rice grains are cooked well.
the rice grains should hold shape and yet be cooked well.
don't cook the rice too much or make them mushy. this will spoil the texture of the pulao.
in a strainer, add the cooked rice and let all the water drain away.
gently fluff the rice.
once all the steam has passed from the rice, cover the rice with a lid so that the rice grains on top don't dry out.
steam the carrot, potato and green peas till all of them are cooked well in a steamer, pan or pressure cooker.
peel and chop the carrot and potatoes. keep aside.
in a pan or kadai/wok melt the butter. add the cumin and fry them till they get browned.
add the finely chopped onions and saute till translucent.
add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw aroma goes away.
then add the finely chopped tomatoes and capsicum/bell pepper.
stir and add all the spice powders - turmeric, red chili powder and pav bhaji masala.
stir again and saute the whole mixture till you see butter releasing from the sides.
add the chopped potato, carrot and peas. sprinkle salt and stir.
add the cooked basmati rice and gently mix the veggies with the rice.
garnish with coriander leaves and sprinkle some lemon juice on the tava pulao.
serve tava pulao hot with onion tomato raita or cucumber raita or plain yogurt accompanied with papad and pickle.