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Steamed rice topped with yellow toor dal varan and melting ghee, with lemon and pickle

Varan Bhaat (Maharashtrian Dal Rice)

Simple, soothing Maharashtrian toor dal with turmeric and asafoetida, served over steamed rice with ghee and lemon. Ready in about 35 minutes.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 3 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the varan (dal)
  • 0.5 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas) 100 g
  • 2 cups water 480 ml, plus hot water to adjust
  • 0.25 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) choose a gluten-free brand if needed
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp jaggery or sugar optional; a common Maharashtrian touch
For the bhaat (rice)
  • 1 cup rice 200 g; short-grain Indian rice or basmati
  • 2 cups water 480 ml; for basmati use 1 3/4 cups
  • 1 pinch salt
To serve
  • 2 tbsp ghee or more to taste
  • 1 lemon cut into wedges
  • lime pickle or thecha optional

Equipment

  • 1 Pressure cooker or heavy pot
  • 1 Saucepan for rice

Method
 

  1. Rinse the toor dal in several changes of water. Pressure cooker: cook with the 2 cups of water, turmeric and asafoetida for 4 to 5 whistles (about 12 minutes at high pressure) until very soft. Stovetop: simmer, partly covered, for 35 to 45 minutes, adding hot water as needed.
  2. Meanwhile, rinse the rice and cook it with the water and salt: bring to a boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes (12 for basmati). Leave it covered for 5 minutes.
  3. Whisk the cooked dal until smooth. Add the salt and jaggery and enough hot water to make a thick but pourable dal. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. To serve, put a mound of hot rice on each plate, pour the varan over it, and top with a generous spoonful of ghee. Serve with a lemon wedge and pickle.

Notes

Serve with: a spoon of quick lime pickle or thecha, and papad.
Make it a tadka dal: for more spice, try our dal tadka, which finishes the same dal with garlic, cumin and chilli.
Storage: the varan keeps for 3 days in the fridge; add hot water when reheating.
Outside India: toor dal is sold in Indian grocery stores. Red lentils from any supermarket work too and cook in about 20 minutes.