Vaghar
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Learn Bhatia cooking

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Vaghar

Vagharnu: tempering

Say it: vah-ghhar-nu · Hindi: tarka

Vagharnu is frying whole spices in hot ghee or oil. The hot fat draws out their flavour and aroma and carries it through the whole dish. Hing (asafoetida) and jeera (cumin) start almost every savoury Bhatia dish, which is where Vaghar gets its name. Some dishes begin with the vaghar; others finish with it, poured over the top, as in Tuvar ji Poath.

How to do it

  1. Get everything ready first: the spices measured and whatever goes in next chopped and to hand. A vaghar takes seconds.
  2. Heat the ghee or oil until it just smokes, then lower the heat.
  3. Add the seeds first (jeera, mustard or methi) and let them crackle or darken a shade.
  4. Add the hing, which needs only a few seconds, then the green chillies or curry leaves if the recipe has them.
  5. Straight away, add the vegetables or dal, or pour the vaghar over the dish.

You’ll know it’s right when

  • The seeds crackle and dance in the fat, and the kitchen smells of jeera.
  • Mustard seeds pop; methi seeds turn reddish-brown.

Watch out for

  • Fat that isn’t hot enough: the seeds soak up oil and taste raw.
  • Spices left too long turn black and bitter. If they burn, it’s best to start the vaghar again.

Tips

  • When you drop chopped or whole green chillies into the hot fat, press them down with the back of a spoon so they don’t sputter and burst.
  • A kevai (long, round spoon) is the traditional spoon for stirring a vaghar.

Practise it

On the path to learning Bhatia cooking.

Tuvar ji PoathPigeon pea (toor dal) curryStage 1: The everyday mealSaluraSpiced dry potato vegetableStage 1: The everyday mealNaram KhichadiSoft rice & split green gram porridgeStage 2: Sakhree classicsPan Gobi jo SaagDry cabbage vegetableStage 3: Dinner saagsMethi Batatay jo SaagFenugreek with potatoStage 3: Dinner saagsDhokraSteamed rice and lentil cakesStage 4: Nashto and breads

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