Make Easy Tawa Pulao At Home

New Delhi: Tawa pulao is a popular Mumbai street food of rice and vegetables sauteed together with pav bhaji masala and other spices-herbs. It is a popular and tasty rice recipe.

Ingredients

For Cooking 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
• Other Ingredients For Tawa Pulao
• 1 medium green bell pepper (capsicum) – chopped
• 2 large tomatoes or 150 grams tomatoes – chopped
• 1 medium onion or 50 grams onions- chopped
• ½ inch ginger + 2-3 garlic – made into a paste in a mortar-pestle or 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder or add as required
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala or add as required
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons butter or oil or half-half of both
• 1 small to medium carrot – chopped
• 1 medium potato – chopped
• ½ cup green peas – fresh or frozen
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice or as required
• a few chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves) or parsley leaves
• salt as required

Instructions

Cooking Rice

1. 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.
2. Soak the rice in enough water for 20-30 minutes. Drain and then add the rice to a pot.
3. Pour 4 cups of water into the rice. Add salt and a few drops of oil.
4. Stir. Cover and cook the rice till the rice grains are cooked well.
5. The rice grains should be separate and also cooked well.
6. If the water begins to froth push the lid, then remove the lid or partly cover the pot with the lid and cook the rice.
7. Don’t cook the rice too much or make them mushy. This will spoil the texture of the pulao.
8. In a strainer, add the cooked rice and let all the water drain away.
9. Gently fluff the rice with a fork.
10. 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.
11. Let the rice cool and you can proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Making Tawa Pulao

1. Steam the carrot, potato and green peas till all of them are cooked well in a steamer, pan or pressure cooker.
2. Peel and chop the carrot and potatoes. Keep aside.
3. In a pan or Kadai/wok melt the butter. Add the cumin and fry them till they get browned.
4. Add the finely chopped onions and saute till translucent.
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw aroma goes away.
6. Then add the finely chopped tomatoes and bell pepper (capsicum).
7. Stir and add all the spice powders – turmeric, red chilli powder and pav bhaji masala.
8. Stir again and saute the whole mixture till you see butter releasing from the sides.
9. Add the chopped potato, carrot and peas. Sprinkle salt and stir.
10. Add the cooked basmati rice and gently mix the veggies with the rice.
11. Garnish with coriander leaves and sprinkle some lemon juice on the Tava pulao.
12. Serve Tava pulao hot with onion tomato raita or cucumber raita or plain yogurt accompanied with papad and pickle.