Sindhi Tahiri Recipe

SINDHI TAHIRI RECIPE

Sneha Vacchaney is a home chef who specialises in desserts and regional cuisines. She is passionate about her Sindhi – Punjabi roots and the cuisine. 

The Sindhi Tahiri is a traditional dish that’s made on special occasions, particularly on Chetichand (Sindhi New Year) but for us, it’s not just that. We make it for lunch on the weekends and it’s especially great during winters. It’s super simple and quick to prepare and makes for a great meal.

Ingredients

• 300 gm rice 
• 200 gm sugar 
• ½ ltr water 
• 1-2 tsp fennel (saunf) 
• 1 tbsp thinly sliced dry coconut (doongi) – thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp black raisin (daakh) 
• 2 tbsp ghee 
• 2-4 green cardamoms 
• handful roasted cashew 
• few saffron strands 

Method

• Soak saffron strands in a tbsp of milk so that it gets a nice colour.
• Soak rice for 30-45 mins before starting to cook. Drain the water and boil the rice with cardamom in an open pan. Don’t boil fully. Boil only till the grains are soft and they are little more than half cooked. If there’s any excess water left, drain it. Let the rice be in the same pan.
• Heat ghee in a pan and add coconut slices and black raisins and fennel seeds. Turn off the gas now and add sugar to this pan. 
• Pour this mixture over the rice. Mix it once very gently. Add the saffron milk. 
• Cover the pan, put some weight on the top and cook the rice on the lowest flame. Wait for the sugar to caramelise.
• Open the lid after 5-7 mins to check if the sugar has dissolved and the rice is a nice yellow in colour. 
• Serve hot as it is. Traditionally, it is eaten with Sindhi sai bhaji or boiled kabuli chana with some salt and red chilli powder.