Tawa Pulao
Tawa Pulao is a popular street food style spicy pulao made with Basmati rice, veggies and Pav Bhaji masala. This dish is extremely popular in Mumbai, and takes it’s inspiration from another favourite dish among the locals – ‘Pav Bhaji’.
Tawa Pulao is a sibling of Pav Bhaji both in terms of the cooking style as well as the flavours. Tawa means a large flat pan which is traditionally used by the chaat vendors for making Pav Bhaji. This dish too is made on a large tawa, with a similar combination of veggies and spices, however the difference here being the use of cooked basmati rice instead of the Pav bread! Traditionally pulao is made in a handi or a kadi, however since this pulao is made in a large tawa, it derives it’s name as ‘Tawa Pulao’.
Pulao is generally made mildly spiced and gets the flavour from the whole spices that we add to the dish. Tawa Pulao on the contrary is a slightly fierce dish both in terms of spice levels and flavours. The unique thing about this Pulao though is that it does not make use of any whole spices (unlike the traditional Pulao). However I like adding a small pinch of stone flower/ pathar ke phool in this dish to enhance the flavour. This dish packs a punch from the Pav bhaji masala, the Kashmiri chilli paste, fresh coriander leaves and a generous squeeze of lime juice. The Kashmiri chilli paste adds a unique depth of flavour and colour to the dish.
Tawa Pulao makes use of pre-cooked basmati rice and it is pretty quick and easy to spin up this dish. It is a real ‘jhatpat’ dish which is synonymous to the fast pace life in Mumbai. This dish is also an excellent way to reuse the leftover cooked rice.
While the tawa pulao is traditionally made on an oversized tawa in a typical street style food, but it might not be a practical option to use such a large tawa at home! So I normally make use of a large 12 inch iron skillet for making my tawa pulao which works pretty good for making the dish for up to 3 people. If you do not have a skillet, you could also use a large shallow fry pan, and worst case even a kadai! So you can use any available cooking utensil at home, it would hardly make any difference in the taste.
Tips for making a perfect Tawa Pulao
The first tip is about the cooked rice. While you can use any rice of your choice, basmati rice works best for this recipe. It is important to cook the rice and cool it completely for getting a non-sticky Tawa Pulao. It is preferred to mix little oil in the cooked rice while cooling. Leftover cooked rice also works great for this recipe.
You could use any veggies of your choice for this recipe, but you would definitely require potatoes, green peas, onions, tomatoes and capsicum for this dish. However unlike Pav bhaji, it is important not to overcook these veggies or mash it, as it should have a crunch and bite to it.
Pav bhaji masala is the main ingredient that provides the unique flavour and taste to Tawa Pulao, so make use of a good quality and fresh Pav bhaji masala. I use Everest Pav Bhaji masala which tastes great.
In addition to the pav bhaji masala, a freshly ground masala paste using soaked Kashmiri red chillies, ginger, garlic and cumin seeds adds a wonderful colour and flavour to this dish.
This dish tastes best when made with butter (just like Pav Bhaji). Always finish off the Tawa pulao with grated paneer, generous squeeze of lime juice and fresh coriander leaves.
Serving Suggestion
Tawa Pulao is a complete dish in itself and just requires an accompaniment like raitha, salad or potato wafers. In Mumbai, this dish is typically served with potato wafers and is my personal favourite combination too.
Tawa Pulao
Ingredients
- 1½ cup Basmati Rice
- 1 Onion large sized
- 2 Tomatoes
- 2 Potatoes medium sized
- 2 Carrots
- ½ Capsicum
- ⅓ cup Green Peas
- 100 gm Cauliflower
- 100 gm Cabbage
- 50 gm Paneer
- 1 Green Chilli
- 2½ tsp Pav Bhaji Masala
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- 1 tsp Dhaniya Powder
- 1 tsp Kasuri Methi
- Stone flower/ Kadal Pasi/ Pathar Ke Phool a small pinch
- Juice of Half Lemon
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 3 tbsp Chopped Coriander Leaves
- Salt to taste
For Masala Paste
- 4 Kashmiri or Byadgi Red Chillies
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds or Jeera
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- Water for grinding
Instructions
- Soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes and cook with some salt till it is fully done. Cool the rice completely by spreading on a plate and mixing 2-3 tsp of oil. If you are using leftover rice, you can skip this step.
- Soak the Kashmiri red chillies in hot water for 15 minutes. Now blend the chillies with the remaining ingredients (mentioned in the Masala paste section) and little water to a smooth paste.
- The masala paste should look like this. Keep the masala paste separate.
- Chop the carrots, potatoes and cauliflower in florets. Boil them with some salt till they are 90% cooked. Cook the green peas also separately with some salt. Do not cover and cook the green peas, else the green colour would be lost. Reserve the vegetable stock.
- Heat a large skillet or Tawa, add 2 tablespoons oil, and add finely chopped onions and green chillies. Sauté for couple of minutes.
- Next add finely chopped capsicum and cook for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Now add the chopped cabbage and tomatoes and some salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes on high flame.
- Add the cooked cauliflower, potatoes and carrots. and toss well. Cook for couple of minutes.
- Now push all the veggies to the sides and create a small well in between. On a medium flame, add 2 tablespoons butter and add the stone flower, ground masala paste, kashmiri chilli powder, dhaniya powder, pav bhaji masala, kasuri methi and mix well.
- Add some the reserved vegetable stock to the centre and cook the masala on medium flame for around 5 minutes, or till the raw smell of masala and ginger garlic paste is gone.
- Once the masala is cooked, mix this with the veggies which were pushed to the side. Also add the cooked green peas at this stage.
- Push the veggies to the sides again. Add the cooked rice in between and some butter and fresh chopped coriander. Once the butter is melted, mix the rice with butter and then gently fold in the vegetables with the rice.
- Cook the rice on medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Finally add the lemon juice and some more fresh coriander leaves. Grate paneer on top and serve hot.
Notes
- Make sure that the cooked rice is cooled well and mix in couple of teaspoons of oil and separate the grains well.
- While a flat Tawa or Skillet works best for this recipe, you could use a normal wide bottom kadai too.
- Tawa Pulao tastes best when it is spicy, however you could adjust the spice level as per your preference. If you like it less spicy, you could reduce the amount of Kashmiri red chillies in the masala paste.
- Stone flower imparts a unique depth of flavour and fragrance in this dish, however use a small amount, else this could completely overpower the dish.
- Grated paneer as a garnishing tastes great in Tawa Pulao.
- Add the cooked green peas right at the end to preserve the bright green colour. It adds a good contrast to the dish and looks appealing.
- Be generous with butter for getting the maximum flavours in this dish.
- You could also add some garam masala right at the end for added flavour.
Tawa pulao looks very inviting with awesome click.
Thank you so much 🙂