Recipe
Dal Bhat Tarkari
The everyday Nepali plate, eaten twice a day across the country: steamed rice, a thin lentil soup finished with a sizzling tempering, and whatever vegetable is in season.
Published August 14, 2026
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
12 itemsBhat
- 400 gBasmati rice
Dal
- 250 gMasoor dal (red lentils) · rinsed
- 1 tspTurmeric powder
- 2 tbspGhee
- 1 tspJimbu · Himalayan herb; substitute chives
- 1 tspCumin seeds
- 2 piecesDried red chillies
- 4 clovesGarlic · sliced
Tarkari
- 500 gSeasonal vegetables · cauliflower, potato, beans
- 1 pieceOnion · sliced
- 2 piecesTomato · chopped
- 1 tspCumin powder
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Method
- 01
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then cook with 1.5 times its volume of water until tender. Keep covered.
- 02
Boil the dal with the turmeric, a pinch of salt and about a litre of water until it collapses into a thin soup, roughly 25 minutes. Whisk it smooth.
- 03
For the jhaneko (tempering), heat the ghee until it shimmers, add the cumin seeds, dried chillies, garlic and jimbu, and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- 04
Pour the tempering into the dal — it should hiss — and cover immediately for a minute so the aroma stays in.
- 05
For the tarkari, fry the onion until golden, add the tomato and cumin powder, then the vegetables. Cook covered with a splash of water until just tender.
- 06
Serve the rice with the dal poured over one side and the tarkari alongside, with pickle to finish.