Maharashtrian Varan Bhaat
A wholesome Indian recipe crafted for health-conscious eating: nutritious, delicious, and easy to make at home.
Varan is the simplest Maharashtrian dal: soft toor, turmeric, a little ghee and asafoetida — poured over steamed rice as varan bhaat.
Varan bhaat is the first food many Maharashtrian children eat and the last thing many people want after a long day: plain toor dal, a spoon of ghee on hot rice and a squeeze of lemon. It is meant to be simple.
Ingredients
How to Make It
Cook dal soft with turmeric; mash smooth and thin slightly.
Add salt and optional jaggery; simmer.
Temper ghee with hing (and cumin); pour over. Serve with hot rice.
Nutrition per serving
* Approximate values per serving
Health Benefits
Minimal ingredients, easy digestion. Perfect reset meal with a salad on the side.
Dal and rice together give a complete mix of amino acids, and a single spoon of ghee on top is enough for the flavour. The turmeric and hing are cooking aids as much as spices.
Pro Tips
- →Should be silky and pourable.
- →Don’t over-spice — simplicity is the point.
- →Ghee on top matters.
- →Mash the cooked dal smooth, then thin it with hot water until it pours easily.
- →Add the jaggery only if you want the traditional touch, a pinch is plenty.
- →Pour the hot ghee tempering over the dal at the table so it sizzles.
A calorie note
Most of the calories in this dish come from a few ingredients. For reference, per 100 g: Ghee: about 876 kcal (about 40 kcal per teaspoon); Jaggery: about 380 kcal; White rice (raw): about 365 kcal. Measure these with a spoon or scale, because small changes here move the total more than anything else. Values are rounded from USDA FoodData Central and the Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT 2017), as of 13 Oct 2026, and vary by variety and by table. General information, not medical advice.
Variations
- 1Add garlic temper.
- 2Serve with lemon and ghee.
- 3Serve with a drop of lemon juice and a plain papad for the everyday Maharashtrian plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
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