Tawa Subzi/Vegetable

by Pradeepa Nair · Published January 6, 2020 · Updated April 22, 2020

All Mumbaikars might be quite familiar with this tawa bhaji or tawa subzi. It’s one of the most sought after vegetarian dish in any marriage function or party. As is quite evident from its name, this dish is an assortment of various veggies, fried separately, arranged in a huge iron tawa or girdle and then tossed in a spicy gravy. So, one gets to choose his or her favourite veggies 🙂 You can use any seasonal vegetables of your choice

like ladies fingers, brinjal, cauliflower, mushroom, coloccassia, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, baby corn, onion or shallots, bell peppers, big green chilies, paneer and so on. You can add or omit any vegetables and the dish will still taste good.

Traditionally, the vegetables are first deep fried in oil and then tossed in the gravy just before serving. But to make it less oily, I have simply sauteed the veggies in oil. In case, you are planning to make this for a party or get together, you can do this step and keep everything ready and simply toss it in the gravy just before you are ready to serve it to your guests. Please do try it and do not forget to tell me your feedback. It really matters a lot. Though the recipe looks long, but it’s actually very simple to make, so please do not get intimidated by the post. It pairs beautifully with phulkas and can be an excellent dish of your party menu 🙂

Ingredients:

Veggies:

Baby potatoes 10-12
Shallots 7-8
Paneer 100 gm
Lady’s finger/bhindi 8-10
Eggplant 5-6 small ones or half piece of a big one
Mushroom 5-6
Baby corn (optional) 5-6
Bitter gourd (optional) 1
Coloccassia/arbi 5-6
Cauliflower florets 7-8
Oil 1-2 tbsp

For the dry masala:

Salt to taste
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder 1.5 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Chat masala 1 tsp
Amchur 1 tsp

For the gravy :

Tomatoes 2
Curd 2 tbsp
Onion 1 big
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Ginger 1.5 inch piece
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Fresh cream 2 tbsp
Kasuri methi 2 tsp
Oil 2 tbsp

Method:

Preparing the veggies:

Wash and clean the veggies thoroughly. Wash the baby potatoes and parboil it. Cut the ladies fingers into 2 inch long pieces. Slit the eggplants and soak it in water. Separate the cauliflower into medium size florets.
Parboil the colocassia and peel the skin. Cut them into long wedges. Cut the mushroom and baby corn into quarters. Chop the paneer into long pieces.
Parboil the baby potatoes till they are half done.

Now heat little oil in a kadhai and shallow fry each of these vegetable separately till they are almost done.

Keep them aside separately. Your veggies are now ready to be coated with the masala.

To coat the veggies with masala:

Mix the spices under the dry masala category and sprinkle it on the sauteed vegetables and fry again for a minute.

To prepare the masala:

Chop the onion, ginger, garlic and tomatoes finely.

Heat oil in a flat heavy girdle or an iron kadhai and add the cumin seeds.
When they splutter, add the chopped onion and saute for two minutes.
Now add the finely chopped ginger and garlic and saute for two more minutes.
Take the curd in a bowl and add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, aamchur and salt. Whisk well.
Add this paste into the fried onion mixture. Cook for two minutes.
Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.

If the mixture looks too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water. You can add some fresh cream for an added flavour and creaminess. Finally, add some crushed kasuri methi leaves and garnish with coriander leaves.