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India is all set to welcome the 'festival of lights'. Traditionally, Diwali - which falls on October 24, this year - is celebrated to mark the homecoming of Lord Rama after 14 years in exile. People celebrate the day by offering puja, decorating their house with lights and diyas, dressing up, and feasting with their loved ones.
Diwali parties at home are also quite popular around time time. Family and friends get together and bond over delicious food and refreshing drinks. While some of the common appetisers on a Diwali party menu would be anything from kebabs, chaats, samosas, tikkis and tikkas, the main course may have your usual butter chicken, paneer lababdar, and so on, along with biryani or pulao. But have you ever tried going beyond that? Well, if you are someone who loves to explore new things, try this Tehri recipe.
Anyone who has stayed in Uttar Pradesh or belongs to the state would know of Tehri, or Tahiri, which may look like a vegetable pulao but several food experts and chefs have stated that it is different. It is often served with raita or a kachumbar, and is a simple and classic vegetarian rice dish, which is not the same as biryani or pulao, but draws many references from both.
In Tehri, the veggies are half-cooked with whole and powdered spices along with curd and fried onions. The soaked raw rice is added and mixed in with water and cooked over dum. This gives us a spicier veg version of an Awadhi-style biryani. This rich dish is actually said to have originated by the vegetarian Hindus, who were fascinated by biryani. And so, in the place of meat, they started using vegetables.
What we have for your Diwali feast is a unique sweeter version of the delicacy, made with litchi, khoya, and sugar. This version of meethe chawal is sure to give your Diwali menu an innovative twist. Here’s the recipe for Litchi Ki Tehri, by Art Of Dum.
Ingredients:
- 2 ltr full cream milk
- 150 gm basmati rice
- 250 gm sugar
- 50 gm khoya
- 20 canned litchis (or 30 fresh litchis)
Method:
- Grind rice coarsely and keep it aside.
- Boil milk in a heavy bottomed pan and reduce it to ¾ volume.
- Add grated khoya and continue boiling.
- Add the ground rice and cook for a while.
- When it thickens, add the sugar.
- Cook for 5 minutes and remove from fire. Cool it down.
- Drain a can of litchis and chop them.
- Add to the milk mixture and mix slightly. Serve chilled.
Note: If the litchis are available fresh and are in season, peel and deseed around 30 of them. Then, add 40 gms of sugar and cook them lightly. Cool them and add to the milk mixture in place of canned litchis.
