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Old Dhaka beef tehari
তেহারি (tehari): Old Dhaka's mustard-oil beef rice with small cubes of beef and whole green chillies
Tehari is the everyday cousin of kacchi, the rice that office workers queue for at lunchtime in the narrow lanes of Nazira Bazar and Bangshal, scooped from huge dented degs onto plates with a slice of cucumber and a green chilli. Instead of big pieces of mutton it carries small dice of beef, cooked down first in sharp mustard oil and then steamed with short-grain aromatic rice, so every mouthful has a bit of meat in it. The smell is the giveaway: mustard oil, bay leaf, a little kewra and plenty of slit green chillies that soften into the rice. Where cooks go wrong is adding the rice before the beef is truly tender, because the meat will not soften any further once the grains go in. Chef's tip: cut the beef no bigger than a sugar cube and use chinigura or kalijira rice if you can find it; basmati works but gives longer, drier grains.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 5
Ingredients
For the beef
- 1 ⅓ lb boneless beef (chuck or shin)cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- ½ cup mustard oil
- 2 onionsthinly sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp mild red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp saltdivided
- 1 ¼ cups hot water
For the rice
- 14 oz chinigura or kalijira rice (or basmati)washed and soaked 20 minutes
- 1 cinnamon stick5 cm
- 4 cloves
- 3 ¼ cups hot water
- 8 green chilliesslit
- 6 dried plums (alu bukhara) (optional)
- 1 /2 tsp kewra water (optional)
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Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Pat 1 ⅓ lb boneless beef (chuck or shin) dry. Heat ½ cup mustard oil in a heavy, wide pot over a high heat until it just smokes, then lower the heat to medium so the raw edge cooks off.
2 minStep 2: Add 2 onions and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until deep golden.
10 minStep 3: Stir in 1 tbsp ginger paste and 1 tbsp garlic paste and fry for a minute until the raw smell goes, then add 1 tsp mild red chilli powder, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp ground coriander with a splash of water.
2 minStep 4: Add the beef and 1 tsp salt and fry over a medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes until the meat has lost its red colour and the oil starts to separate around the edges.
8 minStep 5: Pour in 1 ¼ cups hot water, cover and simmer over a low heat for 35–45 minutes, stirring now and then, until a cube of beef squashes easily between your fingers. Add a splash more water if it catches.
40 minStep 6: Push the beef to one side, drop 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamom pods and 4 cloves into the oil and let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
3 minStep 7: Drain 14 oz chinigura or kalijira rice (or basmati) and fold it in gently with the remaining 1 tsp salt; stir for 2 minutes over a medium heat so every grain is coated in the spiced oil.
2 minStep 8: Pour in 3 ¼ cups hot water, add 8 green chillies and 6 dried plums (alu bukhara), and bring to a lively boil until the water drops just below the surface of the rice.
5 minStep 9: Sprinkle over 1 /2 tsp kewra water, cover tightly (a foil seal under the lid helps) and cook over the lowest heat for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 10: Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes, then fluff gently from the sides with a flat spoon and serve with cucumber, onion and borhani or a cold yoghurt drink.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 68 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does old Dhaka beef tehari take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 5 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ginger paste?
- Grated fresh ginger, same amount.
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