Mix. Vegetable Tawa Masala

It's really interesting to watch those street chefs cook food on this Big tawa's. The tawa skill these artisans have is amazing- to stay by the side and cook bearing the steaming hot and entertaining the foodie's for a long time is something worth anyone's attention.

Huge Tawa for Tawa Pulao

I always used to watch them with a great appreciation- they make such a hearty fresh street food?!  It requires a lot of skills to be tawa cook--they move very fast around, keep on adding something or the other on the tawa  always, constantly stirring and they bang the spatula (long handled and flat towards the end) on the tawa every now and then to attract everyone who pass by!!! Ooohhh!!!

Shafeeq, busy making tawa pulao

 

 

What is Tawa (Tava) ???

Flat and round in shape and slightly concave in the center  varies in diameter, domestic kitchen uses comparatively smaller than the professional/commercial kitchen. Normally made of Cast iron or Aluminium. Moderate to high temperature are used for cooking through direct contact of metal-plate. Tawa may or may not have a handle.

The ingredients are subject to fire on the center of the tawa and the outer can be used to keep the food warm.

Very famous in South Asia--especially in India. People love tawa food all across India. In India tawa is a MUST in every household.

But I have noticed  one thing that- the tawa food culture changes depending on the location, what is famous in down south, may not be famous in up north India. In conclusion, it's a perpetual rage in North- Western part of India

I should say Tawa Pulao is the most famous amongst  all of the dishes cooked on tawa . If you ever travel to Delhi, should not miss the typical Tawa Pulao from the very own streets of Delhi, it's fresh, flavorful, hot -- Awesome!!! Don't ever miss a take on this.


I have just recently gone for a Tawa food festival in my home town--'the food was cooked straight out of the tawa'. I was inspired and my palate was teased by those dishes. But, the Mix. Vegetable Tawa Masala was something which stole the entire show.

Mix Vegetable Tawa Masala

The best thing about Mix. Tawa Vegetable is that , you can mix vegetables of your own choice. I like freedom, don't you? I was little bit confused as what vegetable should I be using for my special tawa vegetable in beginning , but I was very sure about the masala mix I needed.

Here comes the difficult part- the roasting and grinding of the whole spices. But then it's not all that difficult folks!!! Well, you want to go ahead buy the ready-made masala mix from the super market -why not?! Who likes roasting and grinding?


Ingredients for Tawa masala:

For 4-6 servings.  

2 Tbsp oil/butter.

2 Tbsp Coriander.

2 Tbsp Jeera.

2 Tbsp Saunff (fennel seeds).

3/4 Red chilli.

1 Tsp Black pepper.

1 Cinnamon stick.

2/3 Cardamom.

2/3 Cloves.

Roast all the ingredients on tawa using moderate heat. Let it  cool down. Grind to a fine powder and reserve.

Vegetables for Tawa Masala: 

1Tsp garlic(chop.)

1 Tsp Ginger(chop.)

1 cup Mushrooms.

1 cup Bell peppers.

3 medium sized Onion.

3 medium sized Tomatoes.(cut into small dices).

1 Colocasia

2/3 small Eggplant.

1/2 cup of Cauliflower florets.

1 Tbsp Cottage cheese, fresh.

2 Tbsp Honey.

Salt to taste.

Coriander leaves chopped for garnish.

Cut vegetables into medium sized cubes. Chop one onion and blend two tomatoes and keep aside.

Make the tawa hot and season with oil  and arrange all vegetables on tawa (except chop. onion). Flip over and cook the other side. For eggplant,extra care should be taken as it might take a little longer to cook. Remove and keep aside. 

Cooking the vegetables on the tawa is the key, as this gives the magical smoky flavor to the dish!!!

Add 2 spoonful of oil to the tawa and heat. Add chop.onion and saute for about 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and saute until you get nice golden brown color. Keep a bowl of water handy and sprinkle as necessary to control or avoid   burning or sticking. Add the powdered masala and cook. Add tomato puree now and continue too cook until you get cooked flavor. Season and add honey to balance the sourness. Add pre-cooked vegetables into the  masasala and sprinkle half of the chop. coriander leaves (reserve the other half for garnish) and mix well.

Transfer into a serving dish and garnish with fresh cottage cheese and coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Enjoy, HAPPY COOKING!!!