Quick Tava Pulao

Over the period of time, one of the food habits in the urban Gujarati households  that hasn’t undergone any drastic change is their preference to have Dal-Bhaat-Rotli-Shaak (DBRS) for lunch. This wholesome meal is served with a variety of accompaniments like Chaash (buttermilk),  pickles, sambharo (stirfry), chutney, papad, pickle, etc. Mithai or sweet and farsan  (popular Gujarati snacks), though we never miss an opportunity to relish them any day of the week,  are normally reserved for holidays or weekends. Every morning the first thing a homemaker does on entering her kitchen is prepare tea, wash and soak rice and daal. After tea and a quick glance at the news paper, its kneading the dough, pressure cook dal – rice and chop the veggies. This daily prepping ritual has a definite rhythm to it, demonstrating old cooking wisdom, wisdom which is passed from one generation to another.  Soaking the lentils and grains meant less cooking time and saving fuel, dough that has rested well meant soft and fluffy rotis, chop and cook the vegetable immediately ensured there was no loss of nutrients. Rice and Roti are still everyday affair in the morning while for the dinner its normally some different cuisine (variety as it is usually called) or using the leftovers from lunch by changing their Avatar. Dal-Dhokli from the Dal, wraps from shaak/vegetable, pulao from rice the options are immense.

This Quick Tava Pulao is a perfect dish to make use of the leftover rice. Extremely simple to make it requires few pantry regulars and blend of vegetables of your choice. Here I have illustrated it with a simple Carrot Raita but a bowl of any raita of your choice is a perfect accompaniment to this masaledar rice. The yoghurt also aids in mellowing down the spices of the pulao.