Tehri (Or Luckhnowi Veg Biryani)

Every time I suggested khichdi to my husband, he would come up with the name 'tehri' - his fall back option when in doubt or when needing something light and something that doesn't require too much effort.

Since I had never heard of tehri, (tehri is more of a Uttar Pradesh dish), and since the husband kept demanding it, it meant calling up saasu ma for her recipe - which I did. 

Being a person, who has always had rice plain, except for salt and jeera in it (I wasn't a pulao person - because of the sheer amount of vegetables in it), this seemed like a dish I will just have to put up with since the husband loved it so much...

But to my utter delight, I actually found out, that I too loved tehri - I didn't mind the veggies in it at all. So it became, not just his, but our fall back option when we weren't sure what to cook, or were too tired to cook.

So, here's the mum-in-laws super easy recipe...

INGREDIENTS:

Potato 2 nos. large

Onion 2 nos. medium

Carrot 1 no. medium

Peas 1/3 cup

Elaychi 2 nos.

Tej Patta (Bay Leaf) 1 no.

Long (Cloves) 4 nos.

Dal Chini (Cinnamon) 1 medium piece

Oil 2 tbsp.

Salt to taste (I used 2 tsp.)

Haldi (Turmeric Powder) 1/4 tsp.

Rice 1 Cup

PROCEDURE:

1. Wash the rice, drain them and keep aside.

2. Wash and cut potato in to dices, onions long and carrots in small pieces.

3. In a pressure cooker, add oil and let it get warm.

4. Once hot, add crushed elaychi, tej patta, long and dal chini. Saute for about 30 seconds.

5. Add onions and saute for about 2 minutes or till onion turns translucent.

6. Add potato and carrot to the pressure cooker and saute for another minute and half.

7. Add peas and saute for half a minute. Then add salt and turmeric powder. Saute for another minute.

8. Add rice and mix well. Let it cook for another couple of minutes.

9. Now add about 2 cups of water and let it cook for about 3 whistles or it is cooked.

10. Transfer to serving dish and serve with curd or achaar and papad. 

ADDITIONAL NOTEWORTHY POINTS:

1. Instead of oil, you can use desi ghee for more flavor.

2. Use Basmati rice for best results.

3. You can add more spices like star anise (chakri phool) or badi elaychi (instead of small ones).

4. Do not let out the steam by removing whistle, it robs tehri of its flavors. 
5. You can also add cauliflower (gobhi) to the vegetable when you add potatoes and carrots.

Cook With Love...