Tawa Pulao Recipe

Tawa pulao is a popular street food from Mumbai, India. Made with rice, vegetables, ground spices and herbs, tawa pulao makes for an easy and quick vegetarian meal. Ranging from delicious beverages, snacks like pakoras & sandwiches to nutritious meal options like Pav bhaji, Misal pav and tawa pulao, Mumbai street food has everything delicious that you really need to satiate your food cravings.

With several hundreds of street food options in Mumbai, your taste buds literally sing out of joy. Tawa pulao is one of the popular meal options that’s spicy, flavorsome and simply delicious.

About Tawa Pulao

Tawa pulao is a rice dish made with precooked Basmati Rice, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, bell peppers, pav bhaji masala and coriander leaves. This Rice recipe is similar to a pilaf / pulao but is made on a large flat iron griddle known as tawa. So tawa pulao is a rice pilaf made on a griddle.

Usually a rice Pulao/ pilaf is a one pot meal where raw rice, spices, veggies and herbs are cooked together. But to make a tawa pulao, we first precook the rice separately and then the veggies are cooked with a masala on the tawa, to which the cooked rice is added later.

The street vendors make many kinds of dishes on a large iron tawa which imparts a unique flavor to the foods. The smoky flavor of the tawa adds a new dimension to tawa pulao as well. Since we don’t have such tawa at home, we make it in a regular pan. But If you have a cast iron or carbon steel pan, do use it.

The dish makes a complete meal on its own. But if you’re a side dish person then add a Raita or Vegetable Salad. In some eateries & restaurants it is served with papads, Lassi or Chaas.

My Recipe

This tawa pulao comes together in under 30 minutes and even faster if you have some cooked rice ready. This recipe shows you to make the dish in the simplest way using simple pantry staples. Here are some

Variations:
If you want to replicate the street style tawa pulao, use garlic chili paste. For this soak the deseeded red chilies in little hot water, until soft, then grind them to a smooth paste with few garlic cloves.

It is difficult to make this in smaller quantities so make it with at least 10 to 12 red chilies and store in a glass tight jar. Refrigerate and use little while making tawa pulao.

Another way to make tawa pulao is by using left over bhaji (Yes the same bhaji – Pav Bhaji). Since the bhaji is completely mashed, add some onions and bell peppers for a texture and crunch.

Photo Guide

How to Make Tawa Pulao (Stepwise Photos)

Prepare Rice and Vegetables

Cook the rice either on the stovetop, pressure cooker or Instapot. Make sure it is al dente (firm but tender) and not mushy and let it cool. For this recipe you will need half cup raw rice or 1 ½ cups cooked rice.

You will need
1 small onion – fine chopped
1 large tomato – fine chopped
¼ cup bell peppers (capsicum)
1 small potato – dice to ½ inch pieces
½ small carrot – dice to ½ inch pieces
2 to 3 French beans – chop to ½ inch pieces
¼ cup green peas
Steam or boil the potatoes, carrots, beans and green peas just until fork tender. I steam them in a cooker/ pot.

Make Tawa Pulao

Heat 1 tablespoon butter or oil in a pan. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.

Add chopped onions, and sauté until they turn transparent.

Now add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste, and pan fry for 1 minute until it turns aromatic.

Next add chopped tomatoes and salt as per taste (start with 1/3 teaspoon). Sauté the tomatoes until mushy, for about 5-6 minutes.

Sprinkle ¾ to 1 tablespoons of pav bhaji masala and ½ teaspoon of red chili powder or red chili paste (optional). Mix well to combine. If you prefer less heat, skip or reduce the amount of chili powder as the pav bhaji masala has enough heat.

It’s time to add capsicum and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoon of water to soften the capsicum and bring the out the masala flavors. Cook the masala with veggies until the liquid evaporates. Don’t use too much water or your pulao will get soggy.

Finally add steamed or boiled vegetables.

Stir well to combine.

Stir in 1½ cups of cooked rice after you’ve lowered the heat. Mix well. Taste test and add more salt if required.

Garnish with coriander leaves or roasted nuts, if you prefer.

Serve tawa pulao hot with sides of choice.

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Tawa Pulao Recipe first published in July 2012. Updated and republished in March 2022.