Paneer Tawa Pulao ( Lunchbox special )

I love making various kinds of rice dishes for my kid. They are super easy to make and very much filling. Adding veggies, eggs, paneer, beans or even chicken boosts the overall nutritional profile of the dish. Plus there is the taste factor which is the ultimate clincher !

Tawa rice is a just another kind of pulao which is cooked on a shallow vessel which allows each grain/vegetable to get coated with the oil/ghee/butter and gives it a slightly burnt/smokey (depends on how long you prefer to cook) flavor .

This time I made Tawa pulao with some leftover paneer cubes and veggies. Used very less spices as per my kid's request so you will need to add more as per your taste. Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cups cooked Jeera rice 
• 100 gm paneer (cut into small cubes )
• 1/3 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 of an onion (chopped into small pieces)
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 inch long cinnamon
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 green cardamom
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 red chilli whole ( less spicy )
• a pinch of garam masala
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 tsp butter
• salt to taste
• cilantro for garnishing

Preparation - Put the paneer cubes into a bowl of warm water to which you have added sufficient salt. Let it soak for 5-6 mins.

Cooking - Heat the ghee in a skillet. Add the paneer cubes (drained on a kitchen towel) and fry on low heat to a golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

Add the whole spices and fry till fragrant. Now add the garlic and fry to a light brown. 

The onions go in next. They need to be fried till translucent .

Put in the veggies, sprinkle a bit of salt and turn up the flame a bit. Sprinkle water at regular intervals and let the veggie cook in the steam and brown up a bit at the same time.

The rice goes in at last along with the paneer cubes. Season with salt and garam masala. Turn up the flame as you toss the ingredients to distribute the flavour evenly. Garnish with chopped cilantro and remove from the flame.

Serve warm/hot with some kachumbar or even pickle.

Note - Have used a steel tiffinbox for the presentation to create an awareness about the need to ditch plastic. It is not only harmful for the environment but the chemicals leached when we put hot food in plastic containers are carcinogenic in nature. Let us join hands and make a pledge to reduce the use of plastic with this post !