Tawa Pulao Recipe | Tava Pulao - Mumbai Street | Easy Lunch Box Recipe | Lunch Box Series : LBS#67

Many months ago, I came across an article that was featuring 40 different Mumbai street food you shouldn't miss eating. Knowing my penchant for street food, I clicked away hurriedly to check out what those 40 street food were and how many I have tasted till date. Very few that I know were actually listed in that article and that proved a very good starting point for me to know further.

I was already reading so much about Kathi Roll and how wraps are famous, then of course were the many chats. When it comes to street food, obviously you know there is no one original way to cook it. Each vendor might be adding their own usp to it. It is no wonder that when I embarked on a journey to know more about this tantalizing dish called Tawa Pulao, I couldn't find one similar recipe. Each one to himself, seems more the motto.

However one common masala that seem to be the one to be talked about was the usage of Pav bhaji masala. I can very well understand how this must have come about. The Mumbaikars are attached to their Pav Bhajis, since this must be a daily affair, they must have thought having rice on the menu would be a good choice. So they included rice, and now to make it different they ought to create a new dish. Seeing pav bhaji masala is always handy, this must have got added and there you have a new rice dish created!

It happens to be me all the time. I always stock Channa Masala, Pav Bhaji Masala, Kitchen King Masala. When I am in a mood for a different taste, I add these masalas to the subjis and end up with an awesome side dish. When I had taken the Rice dish for Kid's lunch box, I had done exactly the same for Konda's lunch Box dishes. When I eat with my colleagues at work, I always noticed that my colleague's side dish ends up being even more tasty. On asking she said she adds Chicken Masala. My other colleague who is a vegetarian was worried if chicken was added to the masala. We assured her that it wasn't so but the spices added to this will be more.

Anyway coming back to the recipe, I always love one pot meal as it's so easy to carry for lunch. I had used Pav Bhaji in Konda's Aloo Rice. But this time I wanted to make it more spicy and with more vegetables as it's typically made. The way this Tawa Pulao is made, makes it easy if you have leftover rice. Though I don't normally use leftover rice, I am sure it comes handy to know.

Tawa Pulao ~ Street Food


Ingredients Needed

Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Onions - 1 big
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Vegetables (Beans, Carrot, Peas, Potatoes, Cauliflower, Capsicum) - 1 & 1/2 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 3/4 tsp
Coriander Leaves - handful
Green Chillies - 2 medium
Salt to taste
Butter - 1 tsp

Whole spices

Cumin Seeds /Jeera - 1 tsp
Clove - 1
Cinnamon - 1"
Bay leaf - 1

Spice powders
Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric a pinch

How to make Tawa Pulao

Have the cooked rice ready. If you are cooking for this rice, then wash and soak rice for 15 mins. Either pan cook or pressure cook the rice till done. Make sure the rice grains are separate.

For making the tawa pulao, take a big wide pan. Since we will not be having those huge tawas as in the shop, you can use a wide pan.

Heat the butter, add all the whole spices and allow for the cumin seeds to crackle. Then add the onions, saute well till it turns colour.

Then add the ginger garlic paste, slit green chilies, cook for couple of mins. Next goes the chopped tomatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Simmer and cover with lid.

Once the tomatoes are soft, add the chopped vegetables. Cook on high. Sprinkle few drops of water for the vegetables to get cooked fast, keep stirring. Then cook in sim for 5 - 7 mins for the vegetables to get done.

Then add the cooked rice slowly and mix everything well. Finally add the pav bhaji masala, garam masala, coriander leaves. Cover with lid and simmer for 5 mins.

Serve with Raitha and papad.

Notes:

I added both whole spices and powders. This does tends to be spicy.

You can add any vegetable that you want to include to make it more healthy.

To get that authentic tawa fried, you can saute some rice on hot tawa and let it smoke for a couple of minutes. This adds very nice aroma to the entire dish.

Paneer Frankie Recipe for Kids | Paneer Wraps with Step by Step Recipe

When I announced Sandwich Mela, I had tall plans of making many of my to do items. As much clichéd I sound to myself, time did fly away and I find myself not having blogged even one for the event myself. This Paneer Wraps was something I should have posted many weeks ago. It is making it's presence only now.

Few years ago, during one of our air travel, I got to eat something called Malabar Paneer Roll. It was a Kati roll, stuffed with paneer masala. It was delicious to say the least. Back home I tried to recreate the same but with Aloo, though the entire thing came out well, the outer layer was little uncooked at the ends. I had packed the Kati roll with Aloo subzi for Hubby dear for his travel. He said it was delicious but I could try cooking it little more at the places where I folded.

Later I wanted to know more about Kati Roll and Frankie, so a little study on this, I came to know there is still so much one has to learn! The delicious Kati Roll, a famous Calcutta street food, are layered parathas, stuffed with different stuffing. Traditionally these were stuffed with Kebabs. Now even if they have deferred from using Kebabs in between, these still go by the name as Kati Roll.

While Frankie is famous in Bombay and is talked much about by CurryFusion in this interesting article. Frankie is supposed to be a staple fast food in Mumbai. The Frankie is an Indian version of a wrap or Burrito. Reading on Kati Roll and Frankie, I can find lot of similarities between Kati Roll and Frankie, as even a Frankie is a roti dredged in beaten egg, and griddled, then piled with variety of filling options.

So going by the assumption of fast food, there really may not be an authentic recipe for the stuffing. you can just do it on the go. Recently we had a Food bloggers meet, where Priya made some Frankie for us. It was a wonderful meet, where we could all taste the fellow blogger's food. As I was busy grilling the pav for the bhaji I took for the meet, I didn't pay attention to the recipe she was sharing with the rest. But it surely reminded me that I ought to post my version of Frankie / Warps / Kati Roll as you might want to call it.

When I had a huge portion of paneer that needed to be used up, this is what I ended up doing.

Step by Step Recipe with pictures for making Paneer Wraps

For the Filling

 For making the outer layer

 To assemble the Frankie

Paneer Frankie | Paneer Wraps
Makes : 10 - 11 wraps

Ingredients Needed to prepare Frankie

For the outer layer:

Whole Wheat flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Cold butter - 2 tbsp (appx, can be less if you want)
Salt to taste
Flour to dust

For the paneer stuffing:

Paneer - made from 1 & 1/2 liter milk.
Onions - 2 medium
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Spice powders to be added:

Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Roasted Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp
Amchur / Dry Mango Powder - 1 /4 tsp
Kala Namak - a pinch (opt)
Salt to taste

To assemble the frankie
Table butter
Rotis/ Outer layer
Stuffing

How to make Paneer Frankie

For the outer layer:

In a wide bowl, take equal portion of wheat flour and all purpose flour, add salt and cut cold butter. Crumble the butter into the flour and continue doing it till it turns crumbly. Then slowly add water and knead to a soft dough. Cover and leave it aside for 10 - 30 mins.

Pinch out small lemon size balls and roll out as you would regular do rotis, dusting with maida.

Heat a tawa, cook on both sides without adding oil.

Continue doing till you are done with all the rotis.

For the Paneer stuffing

Make paneer at home.

In a non stick pan, add oil and onion juliennes. Saute well till they turn brown. Then add ginger garlic pate. Saute well. 

then add tomatoes and continue cooking till the tomatoes done. Add all the spice powders, mix well. Simmer and cook for few minutes.

Add the cubes paneer pieces and combine everything well. The stuffing needs to be almost dry.

To assemble the Frankie

Take one roti, spread butter over it, spoon out the stuffing in the center. Then from one side, fold it over the stuffing and from the other side bring it forward. Close it tightly and cut in center for easy serving.

Cut and serve!

You can even wrap a tissue paper or aluminum foil to hold this in place.

Makes a great dish for carrying for light lunches or picnics. I sent this for Konda's lunch and she loved it so much.