Instant Pot UP Style Tehri is a one-pot rice recipe that tastes best when made with mustard oil, whole spices, potatoes, peas, and a few ground spices. My family loves Tehri, and I make it whenever we need comfort food, or I want to cook something very easy.

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What is Tehri?
A classic one-pot rice dish, popularly made in mustard oil, and whole spices, minimally spiced, and yet so delicious and comforting. Every family or region makes their version of this recipe. I like to make mine simply with potatoes and peas. There is no right or wrong in this recipe.
My friend's family added soya chunks, which was very intriguing!
You can make Tahri using the instant pot, traditional pressure cooker, or on the stovetop.
I know some people add carrots, beans, green peppers, cauliflower florets, and paneer too.
To me, UP-style Tehri is a recipe that is delicious, easy to make, and gives me a sense of satisfaction in every single bite.
I love to make Instant Pot Tehri because it is easy and gets ready in only 15 minutes. It is also easy to cleanup, and some days I like to get out of the kitchen as fast as I can.
Expert Tips To Make UP Style Tehri in Instant Pot
- Use Basmati Rice for this Recipe
- Soak the rice for 10 minutes only.
- You must cook the Tahri in mustard oil.
- Please don't add garam masala to this recipe. The beauty of this recipe is to spice it with whole spices and basic ground spices.
- Follow the instructions properly to cook the Tahri recipe.
Instant Pot Tahri
I love my Instant Pot, so much that I have rarely ever used the traditional Indian pressure cooker. The Tahri or some might classify this recipe as vegetable pulao, gets ready in the instant pot easily in under 15 minutes. The detailed recipe is in the recipe card below.
Ingredients to Make Instant Pot Tehri
- Rice - I like to use Basmati Rice for this recipe.
- Oil - Mustard oil brings the best flavor to this recipe. If you don't have mustard oil, use any other oil of your choice.
- Whole Spices - Whole Spices like dried red chili, black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, mace, black and green cardamoms along cumin seeds are used. Asafetida is also added to this recipe. If you wish to make it gluten-free, skip the asafetida.
- Aromatics - A delicious base for this one-pot rice is made, with onions, ginger garlic, green chilies, cilantro, and tomatoes.
- Vegetables - I like to add only potatoes and peas, and sometimes cauliflower. But you can add any veggies you like to this recipe like carrots, beans, or peppers.
- Ground Spices - Salt, Red Chili Powder, Turmeric, and Coriander powder are used to make this recipe
- Garnish - You can add finely chopped cilantro before serving!
Frequently Asked Questions
In a pressure cooker on a medium heat, add oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices, cumin seeds, and asafetida. Let the cumin seeds crackle, and add finely chopped onions, minced ginger, garlic, and slit green chilies.
Once the onions soften, add tomatoes, ground spices and salt. Mix well.
Now add the vegetables of your choice. Mix again.
Now drain the water from the soaked rice, and add the rice to the pressure cooker. Mix again. Add 2 cups of water, mix and close the pressure cooker lid.
Cook the Tehri on high flame for 2-3 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
Fluff the rice with a fork. Garnish with cilantro.
In a heavy bottom pot on medium heat, add oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices, cumin seeds, and asafetida. Let the cumin seeds crackle, and add finely chopped onions, minced ginger, garlic, and slit green chilies.
Once the onions soften, add tomatoes, ground spices and salt. Mix well.
Now add the vegetables of your choice. Mix again.
Now drain the water from the soaked rice, and add the rice to the pressure cooker. Mix again. Add 2 cups of water, and mix.
Now let the rice cook on high heat without closing the lid for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes close the lid and cook the Tehri for 2 minutes. Turn off the flame and done.
You should use long-grained basmati rice for this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
This UP-style Tehri tastes best when served with a dollop of ghee.
It is usually served with a side of plain yogurt, boondi raita, and pickle.
To make it more filling you can serve it with a side of salad.
Storage Instructions
The Tehri tastes best when served as soon as it is prepared.
It stays good in the refrigerator when stored in an air-tight container for 2-3 days.
Reheat the Tehri, in a microwave or a pan, with sprinkling water, to moisten the rice.
Difference Between Tehri vs Vegetable Pulao vs Biryani
Tehri is a simple, yet very delicious one-pot rice recipe, traditionally made using an Indian pressure cooker. This recipe is made with rice, whole spices, and a few ground spices and vegetables like potatoes and peas.
Vegetable Pulao is a one-pot rice dish, made with different vegetables, whole spices, and ground spices. However, vegetable pulao is a much spicier version of a Tehri. Garam masala, Kitchen Kind Masala, and Pulao masala are also added to this recipe. The vegetable pulao is also usually made in a stovetop Pot and not pressure cooked.
Biryani is a layered rice recipe, where the spice base for the rice is prepared separately, and rice is cooked like pasta - al dante. Once the rice and the spice base are ready, the biryani is layered, with a few other ingredients, and cooked using the traditional dum method.
More Recipes From The Blog
Instant Pot Tehri Recipe
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Basmati Rice
- 1.5 Tablespoons Mustard Oil
- 1 Dried Red Chili
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Inch Cinnamon Stick
- 2-3 Cloves
- 3-4 Peppercorns
- 3 Green Cardamom
- 1 Black Cardamom
- ยฝ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- โ Teaspoon Asafetida Skip if you want to make it gluten-free
- 1 Cup Onions Finely Chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Minced
- 1 Teaspoon Ginger Minced
- 1 Green Chili
- ยพ Cup Tomatoes Finely Chopped
- 1 Large Potato Cubed
- ยฝ Cup Peas Fresh / Frozen
- 1 Teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- ยฝ Teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Cups Water
Instructions
- Wash the rice, until water runs clear. Now soak the rice for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prep the veggies, and set them aside.
- Press Sautรฉ Button, and press ON.
- Once it displays Hot, add oil and let it heat up.
- Now add dried red chili, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves, mace, black peppercorns, black cardamom, green cardamoms, and cumin seeds.
- Let the cumin seeds crackle, and add asafetida. Now add finely chopped onions, minced ginger, minced garlic and slit green chili.
- Once the onions soften, add tomatoes, kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder and salt. Mix everything well.
- Then add the potatoes and peas. Mix again.
- Now drain the rice, and add rice to the instant pot, give it a good mix.
- Now add 2 cups of water.
- Close the Instant Pot lid, and make sure its pressure valve is secured in sealing position.
- Press Cancel.
- Now press Pressure Cook. Manually set the timer for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick pressure release after 5 minutes of cooling down.
- Fluff the rice using a fork.
- Serve hot with yogurt, or raita, pickle, and salad.
Neha
Thank you for the recipe. It is my favourite dish since childhood, and brings up so many memories! I tried the recipe and the tehri was yummy! Only, there was some burnt part stuck to the bottom of the pot. Any tips on how to prevent that from happening in an instant pot?
Aayushi Patel
Hi Neha,
I am glad you tried the recipe, and liked it. Try to add just a little more water next time. Sometimes the rice we use are different qualities, and they absord water in different ratios. I think it should prevent the rice from sticking to your pot.
Anonymous
Will do that. Thank you !
Anonymous
You wonโt believe what happened. This time, too much water !!!
Aayushi Patel
It took me a while to play around with ratios of water and rice in different recipes using the Instant Pot. I know people who have tried the recipe, and comes out perfectly. Is your Instant Pot 6qts. This meausurement works perfectly for a 6 qt Instant Pot.