Varan Bhaat
plain toor dal with ghee and a touch of jaggery over hot rice, the first course of every festive meal
Allergens in Varan Bhaat: milk.
Ingredients
Quantities for 4.
- 200g (1 cup) Toor Dal
- 300g (1.5 cups), short or medium grain Rice
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetidause compounded-free hing to keep this gluten-free
- 3 tbsp Gheehalf in the dal, half poured over the rice
- 2 tsp, grated Jaggery
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seedsoptional
- 1/2 Lemon
- 700ml for the dal, 600ml for the rice Water
- to taste Salt
Cookware
pressure cooker, stovetop
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Rinse the dal in three changes of water until it runs clear, then soak 20 minutes so it cooks evenly.
- Rinse and soak the rice 15 minutes as well; varan bhaat is eaten with soft, loose grains.
- Varan carries no onion, garlic or chilli by design. Do not be tempted to improve it.
Method
- Rinse and soak the toor dal 20 minutes, then drain.
- Pressure cook the dal with 500ml water and the turmeric for 4 whistles, or simmer covered 40 minutes, until it collapses at a touch.
- Cook the rice in the remaining water until soft, about 15 minutes, and keep it covered and hot.
- Open the cooker and whisk the dal smooth with a ladle, adding the remaining 200ml water until it pours easily.Varan should be thin enough to soak into rice, not thick enough to stand a spoon in.
- Bring it back to a simmer with the salt, jaggery and hing and cook 5 minutes.The jaggery is not there to sweeten it, only to round the edge. Two teaspoons is plenty.
- Heat the ghee, crackle the cumin seeds if using, and pour it into the dal.
- Squeeze in the lemon off the heat and taste for salt.
- Serve a ladle of varan over a mound of hot rice with a spoon of raw ghee on top, and eat it first, before anything else on the plate.
Storage
The varan keeps 3 days refrigerated and thickens; loosen with hot water and re-season. Cooked rice keeps 2 days. Steam it back to life rather than microwaving it dry.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Varan Bhaat (314 g) is about 538 calories, or 172 calories per 100 g.
Medium protein: 16 g a serving, 12% of the calories
| Per serving314 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 538 kcal | 172 kcal |
| Protein | 16.0 g | 5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 93.7 g | 30 g |
| of which sugars | 2.1 g | 1 g |
| Fibre | 7.7 g | 2 g |
| Fat | 10.9 g | 4 g |
| of which saturated | 6.2 g | 2 g |
| of which unsaturated | 3.9 g | 1 g |
Nearest database match used for asafoetida, jaggery. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Healthy Indian recipes · Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · No onion no garlic recipes · Maharashtrian recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.