Restaurant Style Beef Tehari with Homemade Spices







Tehari is a traditional aromatic rice dish from Bangladesh that has a nice kick from curried meat and green chilies.  In South Asia, tehari comes in a variety of forms, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian.  But the main meal in Bangladeshi tehari is rice, and the meat is always beef.  The traditional Dhaka tehari is prepared using mustard oil, but like my mother, I've made tehari numerous times with just olive or canola oil in the absence of mustard oil.hari with Spices Made at Home


The cooking process and fat level are what distinguish biryani from tehari.  Rice, meat, and potatoes are cooked separately for biryani, primarily in clarified butter or ghee, and are then piled while cooking.  Tehari, on the other hand, is fried in oil, and the cooked beef is combined with rice and cooked together.  I rarely add tomatoes to my rice, although my mother does.



Tehari has a ton of flavors.  It's impossible to go back after you give it a shot.  I can make this fragrant rice with beef curry any time of the year.  Additionally, this is my go-to rice dish for last-minute guests.  I usually have some chutneys in the refrigerator and, if I'm lucky, some shami kababs in the freezer.  All I have to do is cook the rice, make the kababs, make a simple salad, and voila! A delicious supper will be served to you.  I sincerely hope you will occasionally try it and enjoy how tasty it is.






  • 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


  1. Take cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, mace and grind.
  2. Wash the meat and drain all water.
  3. Take the pot where tehari will be cooked. Heat oil on medium flame.
  4. Add thinly sliced onion and sauté until fragrant and golden brown.
  5. Add meat, ginger and garlic paste, yogurt, 1-teaspoon salt, bayleaves and the ground spice.
  6. Cook in medium heat for about 25-30 minutes until beef is cooked and tender.
  7. Add a cup of water little by little and stir the meat occasionally.
  8. Separate meat keeping the gravy and spices in the pan. Set aside meat.
  9. Add remaining water and milk to the pan and bring to boil. Add salt.
  10. Add washed and drained rice and cover. Once the water boils again, add the whole green chilies and cook in medium heat.
  11. 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.
  12. Turn off stove but keep lid on for 15-20 minutes before serving.
  13. Serve with salad, kabab and chutney.
NOTES
Adjust chilies according to taste. Do not slit the green chilies. The green chilies should only add flavor to the rice and not make it hot.
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.