One popular dish in any Marathi home is Varan Bhaat. Toor daal is pressure cooked and boiled after adding salt and a pinch of turmeric powder. The combination of varan bhaat toop loncha (Daal Rice Ghee Pickle) is delicious and comforting. The recipe below is a great variation to the varan. Chopped onion and tomatoes are added and cooked along with the toor daal. The mixture is then tempered with a common spices and chillies. After making this daal for the first time, I stopped making the traditional varan. I was not very fond of eating rice on a daily basis, until I discovered this daal.
Daily Daal
Serves: 3-4
(I have tweaked the recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor's Simply Vegetarian)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pigeon pea split(toovar daal or toor daal)
- 1 medium onion - finely chopped
- 1 tomato - chopped fine
- 2-4 cloves Garlic - peeled and chopped fine
- 2 green chillies
- 8-10 curry leaves
- Few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves
- 2-3 whole red chillies
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds or methi
- Pinch of asafoetida
- Oil
Method
- Wash and soak toor daal in one cup of water for an hour. Add the chopped onions and tomatoes and pressure cook the daal (2-3 whistles). Once done, mash the daal slightly with a spoon.
- Remove stems, wash, and slit green chillies. Break red chillies into two. Clean, wash, and finely chop coriander leaves.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida, red chillies, garlic. Fry for about 30 secs. Add green chillies, curry leaves and fry again.
- Now, add the cooked daal, 1/4 cup water, and salt to taste. Mix well and let it boil.
- Serve hot.
Verdict: Try it and tell me. Pair this hot daal with steaming plain white rice and mix up some mango pickle. I am off to Las Vegas tomorrow. See you next week! Taliiiiiiiiiii Ho!!!!!!!!!
