Tehari is an authentic Bangladeshi aromatic rice that packs a pleasant punch contributed by green chilies and curried beef. There are many versions of tehari, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, in South Asia. However, Bangladeshi tehari is predominantly a rice dish that is always made with beef. Authentic old Dhaka tehari is cooked with mustard oil, but just like my mom, I have cooked tehari many times with only olive or canola oil when mustard oil is not available.
The difference between biryani and tehari lies in the cooking method and the fat content. For Biryani, rice, meat and potatoes are cooked separately mainly in ghee or clarified butter and then layered during cooking. On the other hand, tehari is cooked with oil and the cooked beef is added to rice and mixed together while cooking. Mom often adds tomatoes to the rice but I usually don’t.
Tehari is packed with flavors. Once you try, there will be no turning back. I don’t need special occasions to prepare this aromatic rice made with beef curry. Also, this is my go to rice item when I have visitors over in a short notice. Usually, I have shami kababs in the freezer and if I’m in luck, I’ll probably have some chutneys in the refrigerator. All I need is cook tehari, fry the kababs while the rice is cooking, prepare a simple salad and a grand meal is in front of you. I hope you’ll give it a try sometimes and savor the deliciousness.
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 2-3 stick of cinnamon, 2 inches each
- 3-4 green cardamom
- 5-6 black pepper
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon mace
- ¾ cup Mustard oil
- 1 cup Onion, sliced
- 2 lb Beef, small pieces
- 2 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 tablespoon garlic paste
- ½ cup yogurt
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cups basmati or kalijeera rice
- 8-10 green chilies
- Salt, according to taste
- Take cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, mace and grind.
- Wash the meat and drain all water.
- Take the pot where tehari will be cooked. Heat oil on medium flame.
- Add thinly sliced onion and sauté until fragrant and golden brown.
- Add meat, ginger and garlic paste, yogurt, 1-teaspoon salt, bayleaves and the ground spice.
- Cook in medium heat for about 25-30 minutes until beef is cooked and tender.
- Add a cup of water little by little and stir the meat occasionally.
- Separate meat keeping the gravy and spices in the pan. Set aside meat.
- Add remaining water and milk to the pan and bring to boil. Add salt.
- Add washed and drained rice and cover. Once the water boils again, add the whole green chilies and cook in medium heat.
- When rice is about 50% done, add the meat. Mix carefully so that rice does not become smashed and cook covered in medium-low heat.
- Turn off stove but keep lid on for 15-20 minutes before serving.
- Serve with salad, kabab and chutney.
Feel free to substitute mustard oil with canola or olive oil.
It’s best to use a cooking pot that has a tightly fitted lid for tehari.
The easiest way to grind spices is to use a coffee grinder.
You can cook tehari in 350 degrees Fahrenheit pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes after adding the green chilies.
[print_this]রেসিপি : তেহারী
উপকরন :
১ চা চামচ জিরা
১ চা চামচ ধনে
২-৩টি দারুচিনি, প্রতিটি ২ ইঞ্চি
৩-৪টি ছোট এলাচ
৫-৬টি গোলমরিচ
১/২ চা চামচ জায়ফল
১/২ চা চামচ জয়ত্রি
৩/৪ কাপ সরিষার তেল
১ কাপ পেঁয়াজ, স্লাইস
২ পাউণ্ড গরুর মাংস, ছোট টুকরা করে কাটা
২ চা চামচ আদা বাটা
২ চা চামচ রসুন বাটা
১/২ কাপ দই
২টি তেজ পাতা
৬ কাপ পানি
১ কাপ দুধ
৩ কাপ বাসমতি বা কালিজিরা চাল
৮-১০টি কাঁচা মরিচ
লবণ, স্বাদ অনুযায়ি
প্রস্তত প্রণালী:
১. জিরা, ধনে, দারুচিনি, এলাচ, গোলমরিচ, ও জায়ফল, জয়ত্রি গুড়া করে নিন।
২. মাংস ধুয়ে সমস্ত পানি ফেলে দিন।
৩. যে পাত্রে তেহারি রান্না করা হবে সেই হাড়িতে মাঝারি তাপে তেল গরম করুন। পেঁয়াজ দিন।
৪. পেঁয়াজ সুগন্ধি এবং সুবর্ণ বাদামী না হওয়া পর্যন্ত ভাজতে থাকুন।
৫. মাংস, আদা এবং রসুন বাটা, দই, ১- চা চামচ লবণ, তেজ পাতা এবং গুড়া মসলা তেলে দিয়ে রান্না করুন।
৬. গরুর মাংস নরম না হওয়া পর্যন্ত প্রায় ২৫-৩০ মিনিটের জন্য মাঝারি তাপে রান্না করুন।
৭. একটু একটু করে এক কাপ পানি দিন এবং মাঝে মাঝে মাংস নেড়ে দিন।
৮. মশলা ও ঝোল হাড়িতে রেখে মাংস তুলে রাখুন।
৯. হাড়িতে অবশিষ্ট পানি এবং দুধ দিয়ে ফুটান। লবণ যোগ করুন।
১০. ধোয়া চাল পানিতে দিয়ে ঢেকে দিন। পানি আবার ফুটে উঠলে কাঁচা মরিচ দিয়ে মাঝারি তাপে রান্না করুন।
১১. চাল প্রায় অর্ধেক সিদ্ধ হলে, তুলে রাখা মাংস যোগ করুন। খুব সাবধানে মেশান যেন চাল ভেঙ্গে না যায়।
১২. ১৫-২০ মিনিটের জন্য ঢাকনা দিয়ে রান্না করুন এবং চাল সিদ্ধ হলে চুলা বন্ধ করুন।
১৩. সালাদ, কাবাব ও চাটনি দিয়ে পরিবেশন করুন।
প্রয়োজনিও কিছু টিপস্ এর জনে্য দয়াকরে আটির্কেল অথবা ইংরেজি রেসিপির নোট সেকশন টা একটু দেখে নেবেন। [/print_this]
I want to try Tehari, absolutely. Sounds like something I can adapt easily to my vegetarian cuisine. I can replace meet with something different and – I believe – still enjoy the spicy aromas of this rice dish cooked with oil instead of ghee. A must try!
Beef gives the uniqueness to tehari. However, the aromatic spices can easily be adopted to cook a fragrant rice dish with oil. As for vegetables, I am thinking cauliflower, carrot and something along these lines. What were you thinking Dani? Thank you for stopping by and I hope you get to try the recipe soon.
You are better off making khichdi or khichuri as the protein in the lentils will more than make up for the loss of protein but yes Tehari requires the unique flavours or beef to infuse the rice dish!
Good God, this sounds divine! CanNOT wait to taste it!
What’s that red paste thing you have there as a condiment?
I hope you get to taste it soon, dear. The red paste is radish chutney. Thank you.
Nevermind about the chutney. I was staring at the pics so much I barely saw your link.
Hah!
Ha ha…glad you figured it out. Thanks my friend.
Love how your colors pop! That looks so so good. Can almost smell the fragrance of it all 🙂
Thanks Liz. Tehari tastes as good as it smells and look too. I hope you get to try out sometimes. Thanks a lot! Happy Friday.
Tehari looks and sound delicious. I suppose that I would love Bangladeshi food – these flavors are delicious and the meat looks so tender. 🙂
Aunty’s (and sometimes Shompa’s) tehari is AWESOME! (I always bring home leftovers :D)
Sounds lovely!
This is a hearty, complete meal… I would be happy to have it for both lunch and dinner.
Delicious but bloody spicy hot
Really depends on the type of green chili and their spiciness. The chillies I use don;t make this recipe “bloody spicy hot” lol. You can always accommodate the spiciness to your liking. Thank you for trying.
The flavours sound wonderful!
Yum! This dish has so much flavor packed in it. I am craving a dish like this! You can only hope there is left overs for the next day.
Looks totally delicious and comforting. There’s something similar in the Persian kitchen, and this just warmed my heart 🙂
Hello! I’ve never heard of tehari before, but if it’s anything like biryani then I’m sure I’d love it! Would love to give this a go!
This sounds wonderful! And I’ve not heard of this dish, but it looks terrific. So much flavor! And pretty easy to make. Thanks.
I am not familiar with Bangladeshi food but this has really intrigued me. Look a lot like biryani. Thanks for sharing!
It does look like biryani but it tastes lighter because of no use of ghee/butter. Absolute delicious, Meeta. Give it a try sometimes. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Ohhh this sounds heavenly!
I bet it smelled amazing in the house too!
What an aromatic and flavorful dish this is?!! Never heard of it before and would like to try soon.
This looks divine!
Tastes fabulous too, Jessica. Thank you!
I like this recipe. I will try it and send the photo. Thank you .
Thank you, Bonny.
Looks amaze! Cant wait to make.
Thank you Zareena. I hope you get to make the tehari soon.
I tried your tehari recipe today. It came out perfect and delicious.
Thanks a lot for trying. Also, thank you for letting me know. Chobi tulso?
Hi Lail, I’ve been looking for this recipe for a long time. I’m so glad I found your blog. I am going to be making this dish tomorrow. Could you tell me if I should use mace or nutmeg for this recipe. Your ingredients listed nutmeg but under steps it says mace. Thanks in advance!
Hi Nishu – Thank you so much for letting me know of the discrepancy. I actually use both mace and nutmeg. I have corrected the recipe.
I am glad to hear you find the blog helpful. I hope to see you around soon again. Thank you!
I tried your recipe and it is so tasty and authentic. The technique you described is spot on. Thank you for this! Ramadan Mubarak and have a blessed Eid!
Thank you for this! I wanted to learn how to make this dish after having it at a friend’s house. I didn’t know the name so I googled a description & found your recipe. It’s easy to follow & it was so good! This will be a favorite go-to dish in this non-desi home!
Hi Susie! Thank you for trying the tehari. I’m so glad to hear that tehari will be a favorite go to dish in your home. Hope you’ll find other recipes that you enjoy as well. Thank you for stopping by and hope to see you around.
A little late to the party, however I have tried this meal at a Drs association dinner in Brisbane with goat meat and it was fantastic! For 2 years I was enamoured with the idea of making it and wondered what this dish was called! Finally I can try it out myself at home, however I am a little scared as I have never attempted to make Bangladeshi cuisine, any tips for an Aussie?
Hi Chelsea – I’m honored that you are planning to try tehari. My only recommendation would be that you read the steps one time before starting to cook and keep all the spices ready. Happy cooking and let us know how it went for you.
Hi, first of all thank you for the great recipe. I tried making it today and it was delicious. However maybe the water from the beef is too much and it’s the first time me as a Malaysian trying this recipe with kalijeera rice. It got mashed because too much liquid. But fret not, I will try again next time with lesser liquid. My future soulmate is a Bangladeshi so I’m determined to make this dish perfect. Oh he asked me to eat with raw shallots and oh my Wish me luck and thanks again
Thank you for trying the Tehari recipe. I usually keep very low liquid for tehari beef. If you have too much liquid, measure it with a measuring cup and adjust the water accordingly. Happy cooking.