Shital's-Kitchen: Tawa Bharwa Sabzi

When it comes to grilling or charcoal cooking, it is normal to feel overwhelmed, nervous, or confused. Do not worry, basically anything that can be cooked over heat or baked in an oven can be cooked over charcoal grill.

So while we had our grill and gazebo all set up last weekend, we had great time using it. I created my small backyard kitchen with my spice box and ingredients needed, and created a fun meal.

Not just Paneer tikka, kababs, corns, and yams...BBQ and backyard parties can be enjoyed with so many fun recipes!!

Tawa vegetable, or tawa bhindi (check my recipe here) is one of my husband favorite. So after slightly tweaking the recipe I created a fun meal that can be used for BBQ parties. Tawa (griddle) Bharwa (stuffed) Sabzi (vegetable) is a platter or veggies stuffed with spices and cooked on a griddle. This is perfect for serving crisp, cooked, and spices veggies as-is or with flat bread. And I love to use various veggies for this!! I can say use whatever you like. There are just no restrictions for creating something delicious.

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

Veggies:

4-5 medium to small potatoes

2 cups okra

3-4 round small eggplants

Yam

2-3 karela/ bitter melon

4-5 small onions

2-3 Anaheim peppers

2 cups button mushrooms

Wash and wipe veggies well.
Lightly scrape bitter melon/karela and slit it. remove large seeds from inside. Use around tsp. of salt and rub it well inside and out. Leave it aside for 10 minutes. Then wash bitter melon well and pat dry with paper towel. This will take away most of the bitterness still keeping the flavor of this veggie.
Peel yam or scrape the peel lightly. Slit and keep it aside.
Slit other veggies to stuff them.

For stuffing

1 cup oil

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1 tsp. cumin seeds

2 inch cinnamon stick

5-6 cloves

5 tbsp. coriander seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

2-3 tbsp. red chili powder

1 tsp. kasuri methi

1 tbsp. amchur powder (raw mango powder)

1 tsp. chaat masala

2 tsp. salt

1 cup besan/chick pea flour

1/4 cup grated jaggery (optional)

In a pan heat 3 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick. Fry for a minutes till mustard seeds crackle. Add coriander seeds and turn of the heat.
Let the fried spices cool for 5 minutes.
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, kasuri methi, chaat masala, amchur powder, and salt,
Mix well.
Grind the spices well in mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder.

Mix the spice mixture with 1 cup besan/chick pea flour and jaggery. Add 3 tbsp. oil and mix it well till spices, jaggery, flour, and oil mix well
Use this mixture to stuff into all the veggies.

Heat a large tawa/griddle or a pan.
Add 2 tsp. oil.
The veggies layered on tawa/griddles will be in the order of thei cooking time. Hard veggies or veggies that take longer time to cook will go first on the griddle and will be given 5 extra minutes to cook before adding the next stuffed veggie.

Here is the order in which I add veggies

1. Stuffed potatoes and Stuffed yam

2. Stuffed karela and stuffed eggplant

3. Stuffed onions

4. Stuffed okra/bhindi and stuffed Anaheim peppers

5. Mushrooms

Put some oil over the veggies to cook. If cooking in the pan, you can cover the pan with a lid, and allow veggies to cook while tossing them occasionally.
If using a grill, cover the grill and lover charcoal heat so that veggies cook in well. Veggies might appear charred from outside but are well cooked from inside.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe

4-5 medium to small potatoes

2 cups okra

3-4 round small eggplants

Yam

2-3 karela/ bitter melon

4-5 small onions

2-3 Anaheim peppers

2 cups button mushrooms

Wash and wipe veggies well.

Lightly scrape bitter melon/karela and slit it. remove large seeds from inside. Use around tsp. of salt and rub it well inside and out. Leave it aside for 10 minutes. Then wash bitter melon well and pat dry with paper towel. This will take away most of the bitterness still keeping the flavor of this veggie.

Peel yam or scrape the peel lightly. Slit and keep it aside.

Slit other veggies to stuff them.

In a pan heat 3 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick. Fry for a minutes till mustard seeds crackle. Add coriander seeds and turn of the heat.

Let the fried spices cool for 5 minutes.

Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, kasuri methi, chaat masala, amchur powder, and salt,

Mix well.

Grind the spices well in mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder.

Mix the spice mixture with 1 cup besan/chick pea flour and jaggery. Add 3 tbsp. oil and mix it well till spices, jaggery, flour, and oil mix well

Use this mixture to stuff into all the veggies.

Heat a large tawa/griddle or a pan.
Add 2 tsp. oil.
The veggies layered on tawa/griddles will be in the order of thei cooking time. Hard veggies or veggies that take longer time to cook will go first on the griddle and will be given 5 extra minutes to cook before adding the next stuffed veggie.