Fried Indian Rice, Tawa Pulao

 

 

This is my adaptation of Tawa Pulao, an Indian fried rice dish, made with vegetables and seasoned with the Pav Bhaji blend of spices. Pav bhaji is a vegetable (bhaji) street food, served with bread (pav), so the spice blend goes well with vegetable dishes. Tawa pulao is usually served as a light meal, or with dal, but I have added lentils to it, to turn it into a main-course meal. I cook the rice and lentils in the same pan and then add them to the almost-cooked vegetable. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s one of those that you can use for clearing out your fresh food locker. I suggest ‛typical’ vegetables, but I’ve found most things work in it. The ideal, however, is to have a little of several vegetables rather than a lot of one or two. I prepare about a cup and a half of diced vegetables, in addition to the onion. If you want to keep the recipe more like the street-style tawa, but still want a full meal, double up on the potato, increase the other vegetables and leave out the lentils.

To make the recipe accessible for those who don’t really want to deal with half a dozen or more different spices, I am suggesting you make it with a ready-mixed pav bhaji spice blend, the recipe for which you can find here and at the end of this recipe. You might be able to buy it online, if you don’t want to make it yourself. If all else fails, I suppose you could add curry powder, instead, although it will taste quite different.

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup basmati rice

1/2 cup small green lentils or mung beans

2 cups water

coconut oil, or oil of your choice

1 small onion, chopped

1 heaped tsp ginger paste

1 heaped tsp garlic paste

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp fennel seeds

1½ tsp pav bhaji spice blend (here)

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 medium tomato, chopped OR 2 tbsp tomato paste and 1/4 cup water

1/2 medium red and/or green pepper, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 small potato, diced

1/4 cup freeze-dried peas, if available, soaked in 1/4 cup of water

salt to taste

Method

• Add the rice and lentils to the water and cook until they are just softened.
• Heat some oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s translucent.
• Now add the ginger, garlic, cumin, and fennel seeds Mix everything well and cook for a minute.
• Add the pav bhaji and cayenne to the pan, mix again and cook for another minute.
• Stir in the tomatoes, pepper, carrot and potato. Stir to make sure everything is well combined. Lower the heat and cook until the tomatoes are completely softened and form a sauce.
• Now add the peas and their water, and salt. Combine with the other ingredients and lower the heat.
• Stir in the rice and lentils and gently mix everything really well. Increase the heat to medium-high.
• Cook until everything is heated through and softened. If the rice and lentils are not quite soft, lower the heat and cook under a lid until they’re done, adding a drop more water if necessary to stop them burning.

Notes:

• All the recipes that I’ve seen include tomatoes, peas and peppers, and usually potatoes and carrots, but if you don’t have them, the meal will still taste fantastic.
• Like most Indian food, the flavour improves with time. If you cook extra, you can use it to stuff samosa. I like the leftovers for breakfast.

Variations:

• Other vegetables such as finely chopped cabbage, sweet potato, green beans chopped root vegetables can be used instead of, or as well as the vegetables in the recipe.