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Home » Recipes » Diet » Gluten Free » Tawa Pulao ~ Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices, An Indian Street Food

Tawa Pulao ~ Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices, An Indian Street Food

Published: May 22, 2016 · Modified: Mar 15, 2017 by Manju · This post may contain affiliate links · 18 Comments

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A vibrant Indian Street Food rice dish, that has fragrant basmati rice mixed with spice mixes and lots of vegetables. This can make a complete meal in itself, if you put together some raita or just plain yogurt and some crisped up pappadam. Its gluten free and vegan too!

Tawa Pulao - Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices - Vegan, Gluten Free, Indian Food - www.cookingcurries.com

Rice has always been a comfort food for me. I am sure you would have heard more about naan and chapatis associated with Indian food than rice. It is true to a certain extent, the regional variation being the reason. In the Southern parts of India, rice and various different kinds of breads made with rice is more of a staple than naan or chapatis. Growing up those were a treat! It was on one of those rare weeknight dinners or a weekend lunch that the chapati showed up at our table. Amma found it a lot easier to make some rice or dosas or idlis than making the dough for the rotis and rolling them out and then cooking them.

The variations in rice recipes were also very different from what you find in the Northern Indian cuisine. While most Indian food use real fresh ingredients in them and packaged food rarely find their way in, Southern Indian rice recipes are usually made with simple ingredients – like lemon rice ( turmeric+lemon) or tomato rice ( onions+tomatoes+ cilantro) or curd/yogurt rice (yogurt + chillies+curry leaves) as opposed to the pulaos which has a lot more spices added to it to give a depth of flavor to it. I love both kinds. I usually go for the lemon rice or tomato rice when I want comfort food and the pulaos and rich biryanis when I am looking for something more richer and celebratory.

Love #IndianFood ? Here is a simple rice recipe to try & add to your recipe book! Tawa Pulao #GlutenFree #Vegan http://wp.me/p6LVyh-BJ

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Tawa Pulao - Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices - Vegan, Gluten Free, Indian Food - www.cookingcurries.com (5)

Will you believe me if I said I did not know about something called Tawa Pulao till like a couple of years ago?!? I seriously did not! And the day I discovered this I just loved it! But then again I did not know that Pav Bhaji masala was what went into this. I very recently discovered that and ventured out to make this. It is super super simple to make and I wish I knew about this much earlier!

Note: Pav Bhaji masala is the spice mix that goes into making the mixed vegetable curry which is eaten with buttered pav/bun/bread (like dinner rolls). It is a very popular Indian street food.

This is one of those recipes that fall somewhere in between being a simple comfort food and a little richer vibrant food. I love it for that. It is also very simple to make, if you can get hold of the pav bhaji masala. If not, you can still make a close yet still tasty version of it with just garam masala.

Tawa Pulao - Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices - Vegan, Gluten Free, Indian Food - www.cookingcurries.com (2)

Tawa Pulao – The Recipe

Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor’s Tawa Pulao Recipe

Ingredients

  • Cooked basmati rice – 3 cups
  • Oil – 2 tbsp.
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp.
  • Crushed garlic – 1 tbsp.
  • Crushed ginger – 1 tsp.
  • Red Onion – 1, chopped finely
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.
  • Red Chili powder / Cayenne powder – 1 tsp.
  • Thai green chilies – 1, slit in half
  • Pav Bhaji masala powder – 2 tsp. (you can substitute garam masala, if required)
  • Carrots – 2 big, diced into small pieces
  • Frozen green peas – ½ cup
  • Green Bell Pepper – 1, diced
  • Tomatoes – 2, chopped
  • Some fresh chopped cilantro, more chopped red onions and juice of ½ limes – for serving

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the cumin seeds. Wait till they are aromatic and splutter a little. Add the ginger and garlic, give it a swirl and add the onions to it. Let the onions brown a little.

Add the green chilies, turmeric powder, red chili powder and pav bhaji masala. Sauté for a while. Add the tomatoes to this mix. Sauté till the tomatoes get cooked. Now add the carrots and bell peppers to it. Sprinkle a little water and close the pan to help cook the carrots. Once they are cooked, add the green peas, salt and the rice and mix well.

Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro on top for garnish and serve with more chopped cilantro, chopped onions and slices/juice from 2 limes.

Tawa Pulao - Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices - Vegan, Gluten Free, Indian Food - www.cookingcurries.com (3)

Tawa Pulao ~ Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices, An Indian Street Food
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Manju | Cooking Curries
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: Serves 2
A vibrant Indian Street Food rice dish, that has the fragrant basmati rice mixed with spice mixes and lots of vegetables. This can make a complete meal in itself, if you put together some raita or just plain yogurt and some crisped up pappadam. Its gluten free and vegan too!
Ingredients
  • Cooked basmati rice – 3 cups
  • Oil – 2 tbsp.
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp.
  • Crushed garlic – 1 tbsp.
  • Crushed ginger – 1 tsp.
  • Red Onion – 1, chopped finely
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.
  • Red Chili powder / Cayenne powder – 1 tsp.
  • Thai green chilies – 1, slit in half
  • Pav Bhaji masala powder – 2 tsp. (you can substitute garam masala, if required)
  • Carrots – 2 big, diced into small pieces
  • Frozen green peas – ½ cup
  • Green Bell Pepper – 1, diced
  • Tomatoes – 2, chopped
  • Some fresh chopped cilantro, more chopped red onions and juice of ½ limes – for serving
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the cumin seeds. Wait till they are aromatic and splutter a little. Add the ginger and garlic, give it a swirl and add the onions to it. Let the onions brown a little.
  2. Add the green chilies, turmeric powder, red chili powder and pav bhaji masala. Sauté for a while. Add the tomatoes to this mix. Sauté till the tomatoes get cooked. Now add the carrots and bell peppers to it. Sprinkle a little water and close the pan to help cook the carrots. Once they are cooked, add the green peas, salt and the rice and mix well.
  3. Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro on top for garnish and serve with more chopped cilantro, chopped onions and slices/juice from 2 limes.
3.5.3208

Tawa Pulao - Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices - Vegan, Gluten Free, Indian Food - www.cookingcurries.com (4)

Tawa Pulao - Basmati Rice with Vegetables and Spices - Vegan, Gluten Free, Indian Food - www.cookingcurries.com (6) TAWA PULAO ~ BASMATI RICE WITH VEGETABLES AND SPICES, AN INDIAN STREET FOOD - Vegan Gluten Free
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

    May 23, 2016 at 3:54 pm

    I just love all the flavors you get! This is delicious!

    Reply
    • Manju says

      May 23, 2016 at 5:37 pm

      Thank you Rebecca!

      Reply
  2. Jenn says

    May 23, 2016 at 8:37 pm

    I love rice dishes. My hubby doesn’t like potatoes so we eat a lot of rice. I’ll have to try this. It sounds delicious! Beautiful photos too!

    Reply
  3. Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy says

    May 24, 2016 at 2:55 pm

    I love different types of Pulao. This versions sounds delicious! Beautiful pictures!

    Reply
  4. Kelly @ TastingPage says

    May 24, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    I could see just eating this with a spoon straight from the pot. Looks delicious!

    Reply
  5. dixya @food, pleasure, and health says

    May 24, 2016 at 7:42 pm

    im horrible at making rice in a pot…its always rice cooker, so im very much in love with this version to challenge myself.

    Reply
  6. Mel @avirtualvegan.com says

    May 24, 2016 at 9:47 pm

    So many wonderful flavours! It looks delicious. I love the simplicity of street food type recipes.

    Reply
  7. Aimee / Wallflower Kitchen says

    May 25, 2016 at 2:59 am

    YUM! I love dishes like this. Sounds so flavourful 🙂

    Reply
  8. Uma says

    May 25, 2016 at 11:45 am

    Looks delicious . I like all versions of pulao, my all time favorite 🙂

    Reply
  9. Hauke Fox says

    May 26, 2016 at 5:53 am

    Woahh!! I’d lvoe to try this puloa. Anything that is street food style is my kinda food! Marco Pierre White calls it honest food. I like that term 🙂

    Reply
  10. Gin says

    May 26, 2016 at 11:12 am

    I just love the sound and look of this! I’m a big fan of Indian food and I could eat this all day.

    Reply
  11. Jamie says

    May 30, 2016 at 1:44 pm

    Rice is definitely a comfort food for me, as well. And I love the spices and flavors of Indian food! Yum!

    Reply
  12. linda spiker says

    May 30, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    So flavorful!

    Reply
  13. Healing Tomato says

    June 02, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    We make pulao so often but our recipe is always different. Your recipe looks so delicious. So happy to see that you used peas in it.

    Reply
  14. Lalaine says

    June 02, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    I need to try this, after awhile plain steamed rice like what I always have gets pretty boring 🙂

    Reply
  15. Rahila says

    August 24, 2016 at 6:31 am

    I tried this one it is AMAZING….loved it.I was searching for something truly spicy and got this one.REALLY GOOD<3

    Reply
    • Manju says

      August 24, 2016 at 10:47 am

      Thank you Rahila! Glad you loved it!??

      Reply
  16. Punam Paul says

    November 02, 2018 at 2:54 am

    Very nice flavor I was looking for this recipe for long. I first tasted in the streets of Mumbai It was delicious.

    Your recipe refreshed our taste. Very good recipe.

    Reply

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