Tawa Pulao
Tawa Pulao is a street style rice dish made with basmati rice and veggies, cooked in a Pav Bhaji based masala
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.