Tawa or Tava Idli is a delicious and quick snack – a medley of leftover idlis, some pav bhaji masala and basic spices, onion, tomato, and lemon juice. It takes all of 15 mins to make and tastes great as an evening snack with some tea or coffee.
By Nagalakshmi Viswanathan
I am usually lazy to cook for just myself and end up eating dosa for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on days like that. Since I also make idlis in bulk and store them, I rotate idli and dosa through all meals. Needless to say, this gets a bit boring, especially the idlis since I am not a huge fan of them. Dosa I can eat all day every day forever as long as I change up the side dishes. So yeah, what do you do when you get bored of idlis and don’t want to make anything else? You improvise with the idlis you have in hand and that’s exactly what I did. 
Leftover Snack – Spicy Tawa Idli
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
Tawa or Tava Idli is a delicious and quick snack – a medley of leftover idlis, some pav bhaji masala and basic spices, onion, tomato, and lemon juice. It takes all of 15 mins to make and tastes great as an evening snack with some tea or coffee.
Ingredients
- 4 idlis, cubed (here’s how I make idli at home)
- 1/4 cup of minced onions
- 1 small, ripe tomato, cubed
- 2 tsp of ghee or butter
- 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 tsp of pav bhaji masala (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
- 2 tsp of lime or lemon juice
- A fistful of chopped coriander leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the butter or ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the onions, turmeric and ginger. Saute until the onions turn pink and fragrant. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and saute until they turn mushy.
- Meanwhile, get out your pav bhaji masala and chop the idlis into small cubes. I like to cut them smaller than normal so the flavours will mingle better.
- Once the tomatoes are soft and mushy, add the pav bhaji masala and salt. Mix well and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the cubed idli and toss well to coat. Finally add the lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve spicy tawa idli hot with tea or coffee!
Notes
If the idlis are refrigerated, they behave better when cubing and tossing You can reduce the amount of pav bhaji masala and add 1 chopped green chilli
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Side
