Do you have leftover rice? Give this simple tawa pulao recipe a try to transform it into a satisfying and delightful dish! Tawa pulao is a popular Indian street food of rice mixed with vegetables and Indian spices. This flavorful street-style tawa pulao often reminds me of asian-style fried rice, making it a delicious alternative.
This rice dish is a beloved street food in Mumbai and can be easily recreated at home. With the addition of green chilies, fresh herbs, vibrant vegetables, and pav bhaji masala, this simple recipe yields a delightful and speedy weeknight dinner, especially when you have pre-cooked rice ready to go!
I had the opportunity to try this dish while living in Pune for a few years. During those occasional weekend visits to Mumbai, I had my first taste. Spicy, aromatic, and brimming with unique textures, it was love at first bite, even though I am not a huge rice lover.
In my own version, I enjoy incorporating pan-fried paneer into the tawa pulao. While this may differ from the traditional recipe, I believe that creamy and crispy paneer definitely enhances the textures of the tawa pulao, resulting in a more delightful and satisfying dish.
About Tawa Pulao
Tawa style dishes are hugely popular in indian cuisine. Tawa is a flat and round griddle pan, which gives any dish its unique texture and taste. These tawa style dishes like tawa chicken and tawa egg fry have smoky and aromatic taste.
Tawa pulao is made by stir-frying cooked rice with a medley of colorful vegetables, fragrant and aromatic spices, and herbs(dried & fresh).
Indian tawa is made of iron and while making this dish, is a perfect choice for its heat retention properties. However, you could utilize the largest cast iron skillet or frying pan in your kitchen for this recipe. A wide and heavy iron kadai or carbon steel wok would work perfectly as well.
The objective is to cook everything on high heat, similar to the technique used for fried rice. Therefore, a wide cooking pan and pre-prepared ingredients are essential. The idea is to maintain a constant high heat, similar to stir-frying.
For this recipe, all you need is leftover rice and some blanched or steamed vegetables. My husband jokingly says that I added a Punjabi touch by incorporating paneer, but if you have leftover chicken tandoori or chicken tikka, you can shred or chop it and use those as well. Alternatively, you can skip the protein altogether and make it solely with vegetables.
The combination of spices, ginger-garlic paste, and pungent Indian green chilies imparts a smoky umami flavor to the rice, truly tantalizing the taste buds. Cooking on a hot tawa gives the rice a slight crispness while adding a charred texture to the vegetables. Overall, this Mumbai-style tawa pulao is a highly flavorful dish that is perfect for quick family dinners or packing for lunch boxes. Serve the pulao with raita, green chutney, and achar to complement the flavors.
Kind of Rice
- When preparing tawa pulao, I typically use long grain rice, which is our everyday basmati rice at home. If you prefer a fluffy pulao with separate rice grains, you can opt for sella basmati rice.
- Although I haven't used short grain basmati rice or short grain rice for making it myself, I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work as long as the rice is cold.
- If you prefer, you can also use brown rice for this dish. However, please note that the pulao may turn out slightly sticky in texture.
Spice It Up
Tawa pulao is known for its spiciness and street vendors often have their own special spice blends. When preparing it at home, the best way to add spice is by using a combination of hot red chilli powder + pav bhaji masala.
Ingredints
- Cooked Rice - You could use fresh cooked rice or use leftovers.
- Vegetables - I like using red or green bell pepper, corn, carrot and green peas.Add blanched green beans if you like.
- Spices - Pao Bhaji Masala, red chili powder, cumin seeds, garam masala powder.
- Other Ingredients - ginger, garlic, green chilies, butter, oil, fresh coriander, lemon juice
How to make Tawa Pulao
To prepare tawa pulao, you'll need a sturdy tawa. I prefer use my 12 inch griddle. Once you begin cooking, it's crucial to that you work quickly, so ensure that all the ingredients are prepared and ready to go.
Prepare by blanching the vegetables, and keeping the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, and chilies paste ready. We will add each component step by step (follow the instructions in the recipe card), and introduce the rice at the end for a final stir-fry on high heat. Maintaining high heat is important to prevent the rice from becoming mushy.
While a few rice grains may break during the cooking process, that's perfectly alright. It is essential to start with cold rice to prevent them from sticking together.
Recipe Tips
- Use cold rice. It is important to always use cold white rice for tawa pulao. You can utilize leftover rice or, if cooking fresh, allow it to cool down completely and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours before using.
- Use a wide and heavy tawa. A heavy tawa helps maintain the crispness of the rice grains and prevents them from becoming mushy. Using a wide pan ensures consistent heat distribution and avoids steaming of rice. Avoid non-stick pans as they can alter the texture of the rice.
- Prepare Everything - To achieve the desired texture without overcooking, it is essential to have everything ready to go before starting the cooking process. This pulao typically takes about 10-12 minutes from start to finish.
- Avoid chopping the vegetables too large and if possible dont use raw vegetables, except for those that cook quickly or can be enjoyed crisp, such as bell peppers or corn. Blanch the carrots and peas (if using fresh) or french beans (if using).
- Dont Skimp on oil and butter - To achieve that rich and buttery street-style taste, it's important not to skimp on oil and butter. Feel free to be generous with the fats when preparing the tawa pulao. This will enhance the flavors and add the desired indulgent touch to the dish.
- Shallow frying the paneer chunks before adding them to the pulao is optional, or you can use them as they are. It's a good idea to cut the paneer and vegetables into roughly the same size for even cooking.
- For an added layer of flavor, you can incorporate kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) into the dish.
- If you prefer a vegan version of tawa pulao, use plant-based oil or vegan butter as a substitute. Skip the paneer and focus on the vegetable components instead.
Paneer Tawa Pulao
Equipment
- Tawa Or Griddle
Ingredients
- 2-3 green chilies, roughly chopped , adjust to taste
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ inch ginger
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 3 tablespoon butter divided
- ½ cup paneer cubed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ⅓ cup chopped onion
- 1.5 cup vegetables (use vegtables that you like, I used blanched carrots & green beans, peas, colorful bell peppers)
- 5-6 tablespoon tomato sauce or simply blitz 2 small tomatoes in a grinder or use ¼ cup store bought tomato puree
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon red chili powder (hot) or cayenne, adjust to taste
- 1.5 tablespoon pav bhaji masala adjust to how strong you like the flavor
- 1.25 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 2 cup cooked rice cold
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
Preperation
- Using your mortar and pestle, pound together ginger, garlic and green chilies to a paste. Alternatively, you could use roughly chopped green chillies along with ginger garlic paste.
- Blanch vegetables like green peas or french beans if needed. Keep all ingredients ready.
Make The Tawa Pulao
- In a heavy bottom cast iron skillet or tawa (I use 12 inch), on medium high, heat up 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter.
- Carefully, slide the cubed paneer and let brown on one side. Flip the paneer after 2-4 minutes to brown on other side (it will splutter a lot, be careful). Once nicely browned, transfer to a plate (dont drain).
- Add the rest of oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the tawa and crackle cumin seeds. Add the green chillies, ginger and garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the onions next and cook for 4-5 minutes till onions are lightly browned.
- Then, add all the vegetables and sauté them till you see few of them starting to char. On medium high heat it takes about 2-4 mins.
- Then add the tomato sauce, red chilli powder & sugar. Cook for another 3-4 minutes untill you see oil starting to seperate but dont saute too much.
- Add the cold rice, shallow fried paneer. Sprinkle salt and pavbhaji masala. Stir fry everything on high heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Finish with remaining tablespoon of butter and chopped cilantro. Add few cherry tomatoes if you wish. You could also add a little bit of kasuri methi as a finishing herb.
Notes
- Use cold rice. It is important to always use cold white rice for tawa pulao. You can utilize leftover rice or, if cooking fresh, allow it to cool down completely and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours before using.
- Use a wide and heavy tawa. A heavy tawa helps maintain the crispness of the rice grains and prevents them from becoming mushy. Using a wide pan ensures consistent heat distribution and avoids steaming of rice. Avoid non-stick pans as they can alter the texture of the rice.
- Prepare Everything - To achieve the desired texture without overcooking, it is essential to have everything ready to go before starting the cooking process. This pulao typically takes about 10-12 minutes from start to finish.
- Avoid chopping the vegetables too large and if possible dont use raw vegetables, except for those that cook quickly or can be enjoyed crisp, such as bell peppers or corn. Blanch the carrots and peas (if using fresh) or french beans (if using).
- Dont Skimp on oil and butter - To achieve that rich and buttery street-style taste, it's important not to skimp on oil and butter. Feel free to be generous with the fats when preparing the tawa pulao. This will enhance the flavors and add the desired indulgent touch to the dish.
- Shallow frying the paneer chunks before adding them to the pulao is optional, or you can use them as they are. It's a good idea to cut the paneer and vegetables into roughly the same size for even cooking.
- For an added layer of flavor, you can incorporate kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) into the dish.
- If you prefer a vegan version of tawa pulao, use plant-based oil or vegan butter as a substitute. Skip the paneer and focus on the vegetable components instead.
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