Tawa Pulao Recipe

Tawa Pulao is a tasty & famous Mumbai street food that is made by preparing bhaji masala & blending it with cooked rice. Tawa pulao is cooked on the same tawa, pav bhaji masala is made and is quite simple to make with leftover rice & bhaji. Tawa Pulao recipe is explained in this post with step by step pictures and video.

Tawa pulao is simple and easy to make if you have leftover bhaji & cooked rice. Tawa Pulao requires slightly more effort if you want to bhaji & rice from scratch – however it is worth the effort for its taste!

Tawa Pulao

Tawa means specifically here the concave big pan that is used for making pav bhaji in the chaat shops. Pulao means cooked rice seasoned with spices. Tawa Pulao is therefore the rice seasoned with pav bhaji masala & spices in a tawa.  Tawa pulao is a unique variation to the usual pulao and we totally loved the combo with onion raita. Tawa Pulao has become one of the weekend special that I make once in a month.

About Tawa Pulao Recipe

The star ingredient of this pulao is Pav Bhaji Masala Powder – so I posted Pav Bhaji Masala Powder recipe first. I was happy that it turned very homely & flavourful that tasted out of the world. Do try it when you have time & if you wish to explore and try experiments at kitchen. I could not hold myself further with the Tawa Pulao and here we go with the recipe that brings the street food memories at home from our kitchen!

Empty Tawa Pulao

Sounds weird? Yes – when I do not have veggies but crave for a masala rice – I go for Empty Tawa Pulao. Just skip the veggies in the recipe prescribed below for an Empty Tawa Pulao. Believe me, tawa pulao tastes good with the bhaji masala without veggies as well! Sometimes when we order Pav Bhaji from restaurants and leftover with the Bhaji, I mix them with leftover rice for Empty Tawa Pulao!

Ingredients

• Pav Bhaji Masala Powder & Spices : I have used homemade pav bhaji masala powder – you can use store bought pav bhaji masala powder too. I have tried tawa pulao with all desi brands and all turned out to be equally good. Additionally I have added chilli powder & pav bhaji masala powder which makes the masala more tasty & spicy. You can add turmeric powder, garam masala powder too.
• Veggies :  I have sauteed big onion, tomatoes & capsicum and blend it with the spices. I slightly undercooked carrot, peas & potato and simmered them with the cooked rice. Lemon extract gives a tangy taste to the masala, hence do not skip it. Garnish the pulao with coriander leaves. You can also use gobi, paneer, mushroom or leftover veggies for this pulao!
• Rice : Its Basmati Rice that is best when it comes to pulao, fried rice and dum biryani! However alternatively you can use Ponni Boiled rice or Sonamasoori. Slightly undercook the rice as it gets perfect when we simmer it again with the masala & veggies.

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How to make Tawa Pulao

Preparing the masala

1.Pressure cook the vegetables for just 2 whistles, drain water and keep aside. Heat butter+oil in a pan.

2.Add jeera allow it to crackle. Then add ginger garlic paste, saute till golden.

3.Then add onion along with salt saute until transparent.

4.Add tomatoes,capsicum saute for few mins.

5.Then using a masher mash it up.

6.Onion tomato should be slightly mushy and raw smell should leave completely.

Adding spice powders

7.Add red chilli powder , garam masala powder, pav bhaji masala powder.

8.Saute till the spice powder is mixed well.

Adding cooked vegetables

9.Add cooked vegetables.

10.Saute well until the veggies are coated well.

Adding cooked rice

11.Add cooked rice.

Tossing well

12.Mix well.

13.Be gently while mixing do not break the rice. Mix well until the veggies and masalas are evenly coated.

Garnish

14.Finally add coriander leaves and switch off.

Tawa Pulao ready!

Expert Tips

• Make sure the veggies does not lose its crunchiness which is the speciality of this pulao. Raita is the best combination for this tawa pulao – however you can use yogurt & pickle as well.
• The veggies can be pressure cooked in advance else you can add water and cook it in pan too.
• Pre-soak the rice for 15 mins then pressure cook the rice for 3 whistles with 1(rice):1.5 cups(water) so that rice is cooked with grains separated.

Variations

• You can add any leftover vegetables – few beans, little cabbage, mint leaves, corn, 2 green chillis leftover in refrigerator for this recipe. Remember to boil / cook them and use.
• This recipe is medium spicy, so increase the red chilli powder if you wish it more spicy
• You can skip the vegetables to make it Empty Tawa Pulao

Serving & Storing Suggestions

Tawa Pulao tastes best hot & with time! It is a good choice for lunch box and travel. Tawa Pulao can be refrigerated for use next day. Reheat and serve when you go for another round or use later.

Enjoy Tawa Pulao with any raita – onion, cucumber, pineapple,etc or plain yougurt! My friend enjoys it even with pickle so try it and continue if you like the combo!

FAQs

1.What is Tawa Pulao?

Tawa Pulao is a tasty & famous Mumbai street food that is made by preparing bhaji masala & blending it with cooked rice.

2.How do you make Tawa Pulao?

Pressure cook the vegetables for just 2 whistles, drain water and keep aside.

Heat butter + oil in a nonstick pan – add jeera allow it to crackle.

Then saute ginger garlic paste, onion along with salt, tomatoes, capsicum and mash it up.

Add red chilli powder, garam masala powder, pav bhaji masala powder and saute till the spice powder is mixed well. Add cooked vegetables.

Add cooked rice and toss well.

Cook in high heat for 2 mins, mix well then switch it off. Squeeze lemon juice and add chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot!

3.Can I use leftover Bhaji & rice for this recipe?

Very well -using the leftover bhaji & rice saves lot of effort & time.

4.Why is my pulao sticky / lumpy?

It means the pulao is over cooked – either the rice or vegetables or both. Slightly undercook them so that when we finally simmer, the pulao is perfect!

4.How do you make Empty Tawa Pulao?

Skip the veggies in the recipe prescribed above for tasty Empty Tawa Pulao!