Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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Chicken Tawa Pulao

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Tawa Pulao is different than other pulaos in that it’s made with rice that’s been already cooked – just like fried rice!

You can put whatever veggies or protein you’d like in tawa pulao. For this recipe, I used boneless chicken, onions, carrots, bell pepper, and serrano peppers.

In the same steps you’d take to make fried rice in a wok, I basically sautee everything on high heat in separate batches. But instead of adding in soy sauce and oyster sauce, we’re using Indian spices and flavors here.

Additionally, instead of using regular chopped tomatoes, I took a short-cut with tomato paste which has the benefit of ensuring that the rice rice does not get mushy as it can with too much moisture from tomatoes.

For the rice, I use day-old basmati rice and to add a little extra kick to the tawa pulao, I combined in a little bit of my favorite lemon achaar.

This is an awesome week-night or meal-prep dish that never fails to disappoint!

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Chicken Tawa Pulao

An Indian version of chicken fried rice

Ingredients

  • 4 cups day-old cooked basmati rice
  • 1 lb boneless chicken
  • 2 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste (divided)
  • 2/3 cup onion
  • 1/2 cup bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup carrot
  • 2-3 serrano or jalapeno chilies
  • 3 Tbsp tomato paste (divided)
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp coriander
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp achaar (optional, use whatever brand or type you like)
  • salt to taste
  • 4-5 Tbsp oil
  • green onions or cilantro (for garnish, optional)

Instructions

  1. Add oil to a hot wok or pan. Begin by sautéing the boneless chicken (cut into bite-size pieces) in half of the ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric, and chili powder. (You will use the remaining tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste when sauteeing the rice.)

  2. Once the chicken begins to develop some color, add in the veggies – carrots, bell pepper, onion, green chilies (feel free to de-seed them if you want it to be less spicy.) Allow the onions to become translucent.

  3. Toss in the remaining spices – cumin, coriander, garam masala. Cook until fragrant.

  4. Add about half of the tomato paste (about 1.5 Tbsp) – the remainder will be used for the rice. Cook the tomato paste down until it starts to caramelize.

  5. Remove the chicken and veggies from the pan or wok. Add more oil (if necessary) and the remaining tomato paste and ginger-garlic paste.

  6. Now sautee your rice in the ginger-garlic paste and tomato paste. Gently break up the rice grains. (To ensure the fried rice doesn't get mushy, make sure to use rice that is at least a day old).

  7. Add the achaar and make sure it coats the rice evenly. (This is optional, if you don't want it spicy, leave it out.)

  8. Toss in the chicken and veggies that you sautéed earlier into the rice. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

  9. Top with green onions or cilantro.