Of all the different styles of cooking dal, Varn is my favorite. As coconut is a staple part of the Konkani diet, we end up adding it to our dal too :) This is one of the most simple dishes to cook and for me its my comfort food.

In Mangalore, Varn is only made during mourning occasions but we have no such rules in North Karnataka where I come from.

This is the perfect comfort food for me and eating Varn with a spoonful of warm ghee and rice with some pickle makes my day. I am sure you will like it too. Very hard to go wrong with this recipe.

Here is my mom's Varn Recipe.




Ingredients
Toor dal  - 1 Cup
Coconut - 2 tbsp 
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chilly - 1
Turmeric - a pinch
Oil
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a sprig for seasoning
Salt

Method

1. Pressure cook Toor dal with turmeric and 2.5 cups water for 2 whistles. Remove from the gas and keep aside
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan. When hot, add Cumin seeds and chillies. When the cumin starts popping, remove it from heat and grind it with coconut  and little water to make a coarse paste.
3. Add the paste to the cooked dal (mash the dal if needed) and bring it to boil. Adjust the salt and turn of the heat.
4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a seasoning pan and when oil is hot, add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add curry leaves and let it splutter.
5. Add this to the dal and cover with a lid so that the aroma from the seasoning is absorbed well.
6. Serve hot with rice and add a dollop of ghee for extra flavor and richness.

This was a dish that my cousin sister taught me. It is a quick way to cook Dal and is ideal along with fish fry which is a staple in Konkani cuisine.

Method

1. Cook 1 cup Toor Dal with a pinch of turmeric and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker
2. Once the Dal is cooked, heat it on medium flame. Add salt to taste and mash the Dal. The consistency of Dal should be slightly thicker.
3. In a Chaunk/seasoning  pan add 1 tbsp ghee, Add 2-3 red chillies and 5-6 flakes of garlic mashed a bit. Fry till garlic is slightly brown and add it to the Dal and cover with a lid.
4. Serve hot with rice

Dal is one of the essentials of Indian cooking. However every different state has their own Dal version. Dalitoy is Konkani dal recipe and is a must in every Kokani festival or wedding menu. It is a quick non fussy recipe.

Method

1. Cook 1 cup Toor Dal with a pinch of turmeric, 2 green chillies (slit along the middle) and 1 inch ginger piece and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker
2. Once the Dal is cooked, heat it on medium flame. Add salt to taste and mash the Dal.
3. In a Chaunk/seasoning  pan add 1 tbsp ghee, Add 1 tsp mustard seeds. When they splutter, add  2-3 red chillies broken into 2 at the centre, a pinch of asafoetida and around 10 curry leaves.
4. Pour this on the Dal and cover with a lid. Serve hot with rice
5.  Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve

My mom also adds one tomato finely chopped in Step 2 and let it cook with the Dal and serves it with coriander garnishing. You can also add garlic to the seasoning.