One Pot UP Style Tahiri

One Pot UP-Style Tahiri (rice dish) is flavorful rice dish is perfect for busy weeknights or when you're craving a quick, comforting meal. Packed with aromatic spices and tender vegetables, it's a complete one-pot wonder that saves you time without sacrificing taste.

My roots are from Uttar Pradesh and if you dive into the culinary history of of UP you'll find Tehri a staple family meal. Tahari was often a Sunday special lunch at home. The whole house would be filled with the delightful aroma of this one-pot rice dish, full of vegetables and spices. I have fond memories of enjoying my Tahari was a dollop of ghee and some cheeni wala dahi (sweetened yogurt) on the side. I often asked my mom to pack this for my school lunch too. I hope you enjoy this comforting meal as much as I do.

What is Tahiri

Tahiri, also known as Tehri or Tahari, is a rice preparation originating from the Awadhi cuisine. Traditionally Tahiri is prepared with seasonal and locally sourced vegetables like potatoes, peas and cauliflower, rice and spices cooked on a heavy bottomed pot.

Is Teheri different from Biryani and Pulav?

Yes it is. Think of it as a middle sibling between Biryani and Pulav.

Tehri is a one pot spiced rice and vegetable dish, where the rice and vegetables are cooked together.

Biryani calls for marinated vegetables in richer spices like saffron, kewra the rice and vegetables are layered separately.

Pulav is a mildly spiced, one pot rice dish.

Ingredients

Tehri can be made with easily available ingredients at home. Below is just a gist of the ingredients, see recipe card for quantities.

• Ghee or oil for vegans.
• Rice
• Vegetables - cauliflower, potato and peas, onion & tomatoes
• Spices - bay leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, green cardamom, black cardamom, cumin seeds, green chilies, coriander powder, turmeric, cumin powder, red chili powder, garam masala
• Ginger Garlic Paste
• Yogurt
• Water

Instructions

This one pot dish is super easy to make.

• Wash rice until water is clear. Soak in 5 cups of water. We will use this water for cooking.
• Warm up ghee or oil in a pot.
• Put in whole spices like cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Cook until they are fragrant.
• Add sliced onions and cook until they're a bit see-through, but not brown.
• Put in ginger garlic paste and cook until fragrant.
• Add potato cubes (not bigger than an inch) and cauliflower pieces. Mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
• Mix yogurt with coriander powder, chili powder, cumin powder, and turmeric.
• On medium heat, add the spiced yogurt to the pot. Keep stirring until it bubbles.
• Put in green chilies, tomato slices, and salt. Mix well.
• Add peas and the soaked rice with its water. Stir and cook on medium heat.
• When water boils, cover the pot and cook on low to medium heat for about 20 minutes. Check if rice is fluffy.
• Let it sit for 5 minutes. Garnish with garam masala and cilantro on top.

Substitution

If you want to make Tehri Vegan, just substitute the ghee with oil.

Although traditionally Tehri is made with cauliflower potatoes and peas, feel free to use any other vegetables you might have at home for this preparation.

Serving Suggestions

To relish the Tahari UP style, garnish it with cilantro and add a dollop of yogurt.

Pairing Suggestions

To balance out the spices, it is typically served with a cooling raita with boondi or simple yogurt. I personally love it with sweetened yogurt. You can also pair it with a Cilantro - Tomato Chutney. On festive occasions like Basant Panchami, I pair it with Kadhi. Some lazy meals ae simply Tehri and Tomato Soup.

How to store Tahiri

I have my doubts that you will ever have any leftover Tahiri, unless you plan to make extra. To store Tahiri, allow it to complete cool down and then transfer it in an air tight container and refrigerate for upto 3 days. You can also freeze Taheri, although it's might not taste it's best once defrosted. To reheat, add a splash of water so that it doesn't dry out.

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with Tahiri:

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