Tawa Pulao Recipe

Updated: August 18, 2023, By Swasthi

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.

Tawa pulao made with rice, vegetables and spices



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.

fry cumin in butter for tawa pulao

Add chopped onions, and sauté until they turn transparent.

frying onions in pan to make tawa pulao

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

frying ginger garlic to make tawa pulao

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

frying tomatoes

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.

adding spice powders to make tawa pulao

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

adding capsicum

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.

adding water

Finally add steamed or boiled vegetables.

adding boiled veggies

Stir well to combine.

sauteing masala to make tawa pulao

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

adding rice

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

adding herbs to make tawa pulao

Serve tawa pulao hot with sides of choice.

tawa pulao is a popular street food from Mumbai

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

tawa pulao

Tawa Pulao Recipe

4.98 from 48 votes
Tawa pulao is a delicious and flavor packed street food from Mumbai. Made with precooked rice, pav bhaji masala and vegetables.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings1
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • ½ cup basmati rice (uncooked) or (1½ cups cooked rice)
  • 1 tablespoon butter or oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ¼ cup onions fine chopped, (medium size)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • cup tomatoes or 1 large, ripe , chopped
  • ⅓ to ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • ¾ to 1 tablespoon pav bhaji masala (adjust to taste)
  • ½ tsp red chili powder or paste (optional)
  • ¼ cup capsicum chopped
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves for garnish

¾ to 1 cup mix vegetables

  • 1 small potato (diced to ½ inch pieces)
  • ½ small carrot (diced to ½ inch pieces)
  • 3 green beans (French beans, chopped to ½ inch)
  • ¼ cup green peas (frozen or boiled if using fresh peas)


Instructions

Preparation

  • Wash rice well a few times until the water runs clear. Soak the rice for 30 mins and drain the water.
  • Cook the rice with 1 cup water in a pot, on a low heat until fully cooked – al dente. If you want you can also cook in a cooker. Cool the rice completely.
  • Wash and chop onions, tomatoes & capsicum. Set these aside.
  • Wash and cube potatoes, beans and carrots.
  • Boil or steam potatoes, beans, green peas and carrots until fork tender and not mushy. (Pour 1 cup water to a cooker or steamer, add the vegetables to a bowl and place them over a steel rack in the cooker. Cover and let steam for 15 to 20 mins)

How to Make Tawa Pulao

  • Heat butter/oil in a pan, add cumin and let them sizzle.
  • Add onions, fry them till transparent. Add ginger garlic paste, fry till a nice aroma comes out & the raw smell disappears.
  • Next add tomatoes and salt. Fry till tomatoes turn mushy. Add pav bhaji masala and red chili powder or chili paste.
  • Next add capsicum and saute for 2 to 3 mins. Pour 2 tbsp of water and cook the masala until water evaporates.
  • Add the boiled vegetables. Mix well. Stir in the cooked rice. Taste test and add more salt if required.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve tawa pulao hot.


Notes

  1. If you do not have the time to boil or steam the veggies, then you can skip using potatoes, just use peas and carrots without steaming them. Add them directly to the pan along with capsicum, but chopped small. Add 2 tbsps water more and just cook the carrots and peas in the pan itself. This simplifies the recipe and saves some time.
  2. Do not add too much water to the masala while cooking. It can make the rice soggy and sticky.

Video

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Tawa Pulao Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 215 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g20%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 918mg40%
Potassium 677mg19%
Carbohydrates 20g7%
Fiber 8g33%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 3247IU65%
Vitamin C 102mg124%
Calcium 104mg10%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

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

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Comments

Recipe Rating




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5 stars
This turned out delicious. So easy to make but I wish you cook include the instructions to cook basmati rice little elaborately. I am a newbie and don’t know how to do it on the stove properly. I finally went to your basmati rice post and made the rice. But it was worth the effort because my tawa pulao turned out super delicious.

5 stars
Thank you for the recipe. I followed this and made in the pressure cooker. Made the masala first and added uncooked rice to it. Pressure cooked for 1 whistle and released the pressure immediately. Came out fantastic.

5 stars
Wow! What a beautiful tawa pulao!!!! Had some left over rice and frozen veggies. Came out delicious and it just took me 15 mins. Will definitely make this again.

5 stars
I love this tawa pulao. Turned out just like on streets in India. Thank you.

5 stars
Can I use frozen peas carrots beans without steaming. They seem to cook faster right?

5 stars
You are a Great help Swati. I always look for your name when searching for a receipe. I find your receipe doable ?

5 stars
Pulao came out superb.thanks for sharing ur recipe.

N

4 stars
swathi just found your blog today 🙂 its really awesome im gonna try 2mrow the pudina rice u posted on other post that’s awesome

5 stars
ONCE AGAIN A 5***** RECIPE. The taste exactly tallied with the restaurant tawa pulao.

ONCE AGAIN SWASTHI. Thanks for sharing this 5 star recipe. AAP NE HAMARI LAAJ BACHAI IN FRONT OF MY GUEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My guest called me & informed me that they will reach to my place within 1 hour. So my self & my sis, we both again made a guts of serving this recipe in front of my guest which i have never made before.

This was unbelievable & Shocking for me also, we completed cooking 2 Biryani’s, before my guest reach at home(Within 1 hour) Even my guest were shocked that how can we make this 5star restaurant taste recipe so fast at home & at the same time very tasty also.

I prepared TAWA PULAO & EASY EGG BIRYANI for which I have already given 5*****.

BOTH THE RECIPES ARE EASY & QUICK TO MAKE, GIVES RESTAURANT TASTE WHILE EATING & ALSO A 5*****RECIPE.

The only addition i make to this recipe is adding little amount of amul butter, just as we do for pav bhaji. It tastes delicious

Nice recipe

yummy yummy and looks very colorful, ofcourse sounds really delicious!

Irresisble tawa pulao. Very neat documentation. Inviting colour.

Love the tempting recipe.. Tawa Pulao is a great Winter supper.

delicious and mouth watering pulao.

Bookmarked….yummy pulao with step by step….pics…easy to follow…..

pulao looks delicious….

wow.. tava pulao sounds very interesting swasthi..