Tehri is the everyday one pot rice of Uttar Pradesh, the state that is home to the Buddh International Circuit. Basmati rice is toasted with whole spices in mustard oil, then cooked with potatoes, cauliflower and peas until the grains are fluffy, separate and stained gold with turmeric. Its roots run deep: Sanskrit cookery texts describe a dish of rice, vegetables and spices cooked in ghee under the name tapahari, from which the word tehri is said to come.

Across Uttar Pradesh it is a winter favorite, made when fresh peas and cauliflower crowd the markets, and it is comfort food in the most practical sense: one pan, forty minutes, very little washing up. Serve it with cool raita and a crisp pickle, and it will feed a hungry room through an afternoon race without anyone missing meat.

The tehri

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) basmati rice
• 3 tablespoons mustard oil or ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 small piece mace
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 green chili
• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 cups (200 g) cauliflower florets
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 3/4 cup (100 g) green peas
• 2 3/4 cups (650 ml) hot water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Quick cumin raita

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 g) plain yogurt
• 1/2 small cucumber
• 1/2 teaspoon ground roasted cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

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