Tehri Recipe (Tahri)

Updated: July 24, 2022, By Swasthi

Tehri also known as Tahri or Tehari, is a one pot yellow rice dish from Awadhi Cuisine. Though not as popular as the Biryani and Pulao, Tehri holds a special place in the hearts of the vegetarians of Uttar Pradesh, a North Indian state. Made with rice, spices and winter vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, peas and potatoes, this dish is delicious, hearty and comforting. In this post I share how to make vegetable tehri in a pot & pressure cooker.

About Tehri

Tehri is a vegetarian dish of North Indian origins but elsewhere in the Indian-subcontinent it is also made with meat. Minimally spiced, this dish is real big on flavors that comes from the fresh veggies & spices. Tehri is a close cousin of the popular biryani and pulao but tastes completely different from them.

A biryani is a dish essentially layered, is heavy on whole & ground spices and uses yogurt to tenderize the meat. Whereas, a pulao is a one pot dish, not layered & mostly uses only whole spices and is made with or without yogurt. A Tehri is in between a biryani & a pulao. It is a one pot dish, uses whole and ground spices, and is not layered.

All the three dishes can be made with vegetables or meat. Purists argue that a biryani cannot be made without meat and a Tehri cannot be made without vegetables.

However the truth is that, you will find biryani without meat known as Veg Biryani & Tehri with mutton known as Mutton Tahari.

So there is no one way these dishes are made. You will be surprised that no 2 restaurants serve the same tasting biryani or pulao. The same holds true and no 2 homes make the same tasting tehri and pulao.

Every home cook has their own way of making vegetable tehri with varying amount & kind of spices and veggies. Some make it with meat and some with veggies, for a vegetarian version.

About this Recipe

Making a vegetable tehri is simple & is cooked in a single pot. Enjoy it with plain Dahi/yogurt, Raita or a chutney to make a complete meal. My recipe is roughly adapted from the popular Indian Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. It turns out delicious every single time with perfectly cooked rice grains and veggies.

I have made this vegetable tehri with basmati rice but it can also be made with any aged short grain rice. No one likes sticky and mushy tahri, so use only aged non-sticky variety rice.

More Rice Recipes
Biryani Rice
Khichdi Recipe
Ghee Rice
Lemon Rice

tehri recipe

Photo Guide

How to Make Tehri (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Rinse 1 cup rice at least thrice. Drain the water. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Prepare the veggies as the rice soaks. When its time to add the rice to the pot, drain the rice to a colander.

2. Rinse the veggies well under running water. You will need:

  • 1 Medium onion thinly sliced or chopped
  • 2 medium to small potatoes (diced to 1 inch , for 2 servings)
  • 1 small to medium tomato (deseeded and chopped)
  • ½ cup cauliflower florets
  • 6 green beans (Cut to 2 inches long)
  • 1 small to medium carrot (peeled and diced to 1 inch)
  • ¼ cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 green chilli chopped or slit

Tempering Spices

3. Heat a pressure cooker or pot with 2 tablespoons oil or ghee. Add 1 bay leaf, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 4 green cardamoms, 2 inch cinnamon, 1 black cardamom (optional) and 4 cloves.

saute spices for tehri recipe

4. When the spices begin to sizzle, add chili & onions. Fry them until golden to light brown.

add chili & onions for tehri recipe

5. Add 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste. Saute for a minute.

Add ginger and garlic paste

6. Regulate the flame to low. Add all the ground spice –

  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ teaspoon jeera powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds powder (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon salt
Add all the spice powders

7. Saute just for a minute. Do not burn this.

Saute

8. Add all the veggies – tomatoes, potatoes, beans, cauliflower, carrots and peas.

Add all the veggie

9. Fry them on a medium flame for 2 to 3 mins.

Fry

Make Tehri

10. Drain the rice completely and add it. Fry stirring gently for 2 minutes. Do not over stir, the rice can break.

Drain the rice completely

11. Pour 1½ cups water. Mix and check the salt. Bring the water to a rapid boil on a high flame.

bring water to a boil to make tehari recipe

12. Regulate the stove flame to low. If cooking in a pot – Cook covered until the rice is fully cooked, not mushy.

Cook tahari covered until done

13. If cooking in a cooker, cover and cook for 1 whistle. (Medium flame).

cover and cook

14. When the pressure drops, open the lid.

tahiri after pressure cooking

15. Add 2 tablespoons coriander leaves. Fluff up the rice gently with a fork mixing the leaves. Keep covered for another 10 minutes.

tahiri in pressure cooker

Serve Vegetable Tehri with raita & papad.

veg tehri

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

veg tehri recipe

Tehri Recipe (Tahri)

5 from 38 votes
This one pot vegetarian dish, known as Tehri or tahri is a delicious and flavorsome meal made with basmati rice, spices and mixed vegetables. Serve it with plain yogurt, raita or chutney.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings2
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cup aged basmati rice (or any aged non-sticky rice)
  • 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
  • 1 medium onion (sliced or chopped)
  • 2 potatoes (small to medium) (cubed)
  • 1 tomato (small to medium)(cubed)
  • ½ cup cauliflower
  • 6 beans (cut to 2 inch long pieces)
  • 1 carrot (small one, cubed)
  • ¼ cup green peas
  • ½ teaspoon salt (use as needed)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • 1 green chili (slit, optional skip for kids)
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
  • cups water (for cooker, 2 cups for pot, 1 ¼ cups for IP)

Whole Spices

  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 inch cinnamon
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 4 green cardamoms

Ground Spices

  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder (roasted jeera powder)
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala


Instructions

  • Rinse rice well at least thrice. Soak for about 15 to 20 mins. Later drain it and set aside.
  • While the rice soaks, wash and dice the vegetables.
  • Heat oil or in a pot or pressure cooker.
  • Add cumin, bay leaf, green cardamoms, black cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. 
  • When the cumin begins to splutter. add onions and green chili. Fry until the onions turn golden.
  • Add ginger garlic paste. Fry just for a min.
  • Lower the flame. Stir in coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, cumin powder, turmeric and salt.
  • Add all the vegetables including tomatoes. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes on a medium heat.

How to Make Tehri

  • Add the drained rice and mix gently. On a slightly high flame fry the rice for 2 mins. Occasionally stir & do not over do else the rice will break.
  • Pour water and mix well. Taste the water and add more salt if needed.
  • Bring the water to a boil on a high flame. Reduce the flame to low. Cook covered until the rice is fully cooked but not mushy.
  • If using a pressure cooker, cover the lid and cook for 1 whistle. The flame has to be medium. When the pressure drops, open the lid.
  • Add chopped coriander leaves. Gently fluff up the rice with a fork and mix the coriander leaves. Keep covered for 5 mins.
  • Serve veg tehri with raita and papad.

Instant Pot Tehri

  • Perform all the steps on saute mode until you pour water to the steel insert of the Instant pot. Later cover the Ip and pressure for 5 mins. Release the pressure immediately after 2 mins. Fluff up with a fork.
  • If the rice is too dry on the top, fluff up well with a fork. Remove the steel insert from the Ip and keep covered for 5 mins.


NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Tehri Recipe (Tahri)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 229 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Trans Fat 0.1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 9g
Sodium 719mg31%
Potassium 535mg15%
Carbohydrates 20g7%
Fiber 6g25%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 964IU19%
Vitamin C 48mg58%
Calcium 94mg9%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Tehri recipe first published in March 2018. Updated & republished in July 2022.

About Swasthi

Iโ€™m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthiโ€™s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Recipe Rating




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5 stars
EXCELLENT ๐Ÿ‘Œ

5 stars
This was amazing. Came out perfect! Thanks so much for this recipe, brought me to memories of my Naniโ€™s cooking.

Thanks for this recipe.
Instead of adding raw rice and cooking it along with the spices and vegetables, can we add plain cooked rice after sautรฉing the vegetables and just mix? A bit like the way we make lemon rice or tomato rice.

5 stars
Turned out delicious. Thank you Swasthi

5 stars
Super hit recipe

5 stars
I tried this recipe it came out very well

5 stars
Hi. Made it for my family and they loved it. Thank you so much. I made the recipe in the instant pot. After the rice, I put the pressure for 7 mins and then natural released it. Taste and the look was wonderful

5 stars
Hi,
I would like to cook your vegetable tahari recipe in the Instant Pot. How long should I put it on pressure for? And would it be a natural release or quick release? Please explain the last step of your recipe using the instant pot. Thank you so much!

5 stars
Awesome

Do you need both coriander powder and coriander leaves or just one of the two

5 stars
Hi Swasti
I tried it. Was very very good. Thanks for the easy recipe.

Ok. Will try out.

Thankss…..

Dear Swasthi,

I have never added coriander powder in a rice recipe. Does it lend a good flavour??? Do u prefer to put coriander powder in ??