VARAN BHAT RECIPE |MARATHI GODA VARAN ANI BHAAT | PLAIN MAHARASHTRIAN TOOR DAL RICE

Varan bhat is till date my favourite food.I like to have it with basmati rice ,ghee,lemon,red mango pickle & fried papad.I dont need any vegetable with this combination.

Varan (sweet dal) is a simple comfort food eaten on daily basis in all Maharashtra homes. It is a cooked with yellow split peas, mashed, and spiced with a bit of turmeric and asafetida with a tiny amount of Jaggery.

A traditional varan is called “gor varan” or “sweet varan”

 Traditionally varan is served on a mound of hot steaming rice (Ambemohar or Basmati variety) with a spoon full of ghee (clarified butter) along with lemon and salt on the left side of the thali (plate).This is also served as naivaidaya along with modak during ganesh chaturthi festival

Varan (Simple Dal)

During important functions and weddings it is an important starter for the main course and the rice is pressed into a flower shaped mould and inverted on the plate before varan and ghee is poured on top of it.

  

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal (arhar dal)

turmeric powder

salt

sugar

asafoetida

1 teaspoon oil

Method

1. Boil toor dal in cooker & Blend it with a hand blender until smooth.
2. Some people like it with a few pieces of daal still intact.
3. Add some water for desired consistency. Cook on high heat till you see bubbles on the top & then simmer for 1 minute.
4. Add ghee before serving
5. Serve with plain rice.

Tip :

1 Add a tspn of oil to dal while boiling in cooker. This helps the dal to cook faster

2 Keep toor dal immersed in water 1 hr before preparing dal . This helps the dal to cook faster  

PLAIN RICE

Ingredients

1 cup raw white rice (basmati /ambemohar rice)

2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt (optional)

Method

1. Rinse rice twice and add water and salt to it.
2. Keep it on medium to high flame. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer.
3. When most but not all the water contents are absorbed into the rice, cover with a lid and continue cooking until the grains are soft and well cooked.
4. Pressure cook method: Add water a little less than 1 cup, and pressure cook the rice until 3 whistles..

Tips:

1. Rice can be made very moist and mushy by adding more water.

2. Add less water for the  rice needed for pulao/biryani/fried rice ( 1 cup rice - 1& half cup water)