First cook the plain basmati rice separately (or you can use around 4-5 cups of cooked rice) keep them aside to be used later in the recipe. Also boil the vegetables.
1.5 Cup Plain Basmati Rice
Add a little oil in a wide pan or kadai. Then add butter and melt it. The oil is added so that the butter does not burn.
2 Tablespoon Butter, 2 Teaspoon Cooking Oil
Add cumin seeds to the butter and fry then for a few seconds.
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
When the cumin seeds start to crackle, add thinly sliced onion.
1 Medium-sized Onion
Also add finely chopped green chillies, minced ginger and garlic to the pan.
1-2 Green Chillies, 1 Tablespoon Ginger Paste, 1 Tablespoon Garlic Paste
Fry the onions till they golden brown in color.
Add finely chopped tomatoes to the pan. Cook them till they become soft.
2 Small Tomatoes
Then add pav bhaji masala, turmeric powder (haldi), red chilli powder and salt. Mix and roast the masala for 2-3 minutes.
1 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder, 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder (Haldi), 2 Teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala, 1 Teaspoon Salt
Add finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper) to the pan. Mix and cook for 2 minutes.
1 Small Green Capsicum (Bell Pepper / Shimla Mirch)
Also add half of the chopped coriander leaves. The rest will be added in the end.
1/2 Cup Coriander Leaves (Cilantro or Dhaniya)
Mix well and cook for a minute.
Add the boiled vegetables to the pan. I've added around 2 cups of vegetables here which include potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans and cauliflower.
1 Small Potato, 1 Carrot (Gajar), 5-6 Green Beans, 1/4 Cup Green Peas (Matar), 1/2 Cup Cauliflower Florets
Mix the vegetables with the gravy. Some people also prefer to mash the vegetables similar to pav bhaji.
Add the boiled rice to the mixture.
Toss the rice to coat them evenly with the masala.
Add some finely chopped coriander leaves. Also sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice in the rice.
1/2 Cup Coriander Leaves (Cilantro or Dhaniya), 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Mix the coriander and lemon well with the rice.
Tawa pulao is ready. Serve it hot plain or with any raita.