Seasoned Onion Rice (Vagharelo Bhaat)

Seasoned Onion Rice (aka Vagharelo Bhaat) is a practically effortless way to a quick lunch or snack. Like Fried Rice, this dish comes out best with some leftover rice. The few days old rice holds up better and has a different texture than fresh rice that adds to this recreation of this dish. Again, it’s lovely to be able to recycle leftovers, not have to waste food AND not have the family turn up their noses, it’s a win-win! In this amazing recipe, the crunch of the onions and the zest of the lime gives this rice such a fresh taste that you’ll never know it was left- and you don’t even have to mention it.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5-7 minutes
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:
Cooked Rice: 2 cups
Oil – 1 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds – 1/4 tsp
Whole Dry Red Chili – 1
Curry Leaves – few
Turmeric Powder – 1/8 tsp
Asafoetida – pinch
Green Chilies – to taste, finely chopped
Onions – 1/2 medium, sliced
Garlic – 2-3 cloves, finely chopped
Salt – to taste
Lemon/Lime Juice – to taste
Cilantro (Coriander) – finely chopped for garnishing

Method:

1. Heat Oil in a medium pan on medium heat.
2. Add Mustard Seeds and allow them to pop.
3. Add Cumin Seeds and allow them to turn golden brown.
4. Add Dry Red Chili, Curry Leaves, Turmeric Powder and Asafoetida.
5. Add Green Chilies, Onions and Garlic. Mix and cook until Onions are light golden brown but not over-cooked.
6. Add salt and Cooked Rice (pre-heat for 1 minute in the microwave) and mix well.
7. Add Lime/Lemon Juice to taste.
8. Garnish with Cilantro (Coriander) leaves.

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What to do with leftover rice, ideas for leftovers, leftover rice dish, gujju, leftovers guju rice dish

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0 thoughts on “Seasoned Onion Rice (Vagharelo Bhaat)

  1. Hi Hetal and Anuja!
    I wanted to say THANK YOU so much for sharing your recipes and technique! I was born and raised in the US and am 31 years old! My mom is an amazing cook but never lets anyone in her kitchen or shares her recipes. Your site has played a huge role in teaching me how to cook Indian Food! I really appreciate it!! I am no longer scared of cooking Indian meals, I just can’t stand washing dishes after wards lol 🙂
    I tried to Vagarelo Bhat recipe and LOVE IT!!!
    Thanks so much for everything!
    Warm Regards

  2. Hi Hetal & Anuja,

    I had a few questions about how a rice cooker should be used -:

    1. Does it work for basmati rice only or can it be used for par boiled rice, brown rice and red rice as well?

    2. I get a thin brown film of burnt rice at the bottom of the inner container. I have no idea why this happens.

    Would really appreciate it if you could help me out on this one.

    1. Hi Shauna,

      Though we have not tried it, you can definitely make any kind of rice in a rice cooker (brown, parboiled, etc). The only difference will be the amount of water you add. Brown and parboiled rice will probably take a little more water than plain white rice. The thin brown film of burnt rice is a result of leaving the rice in the cooker after its finished cooking (on the “Keep Warm” setting). To avoid this, just unplug or completely turn off the rice cooker once it has finished cooking.

  3. I cooked it for lunch today and it was delicious and the lemon juice made it even more tasteful.

    thanks a lot!

    I’ll definetely be recommending you to my friends.

  4. Dear Kitchen Princesses,

    I made last night an “Show me the curry” dinner for 8 friends at my place. I chose the menu from your website!
    I followed to the point your recipes via youtube with all you tips and advices….
    This was an amazing dinner!

    IBM Hungary is following more and more your website…
    We all love you

    Serge

    1. Hi Serge,
      Thank you and glad we were able to help 🙂
      Also, thank you for your email because it is emails like yours that keep us going and going….
      Cheers!

  5. I love the job u both do….i really depend on you, to try something new or even cook the regular stuff….appreciate if u share some cake or pastry making recipes…All of your dishes have turned excellent for me….

    keep up the good work guys……….

    1. Hi Archi,
      Thanks for the vote of confidence! We do have some of those things under way…little patience and you’ll be thrilled 🙂

  6. Hey guys am Ashini From Srilanka,,,
    Pls if you can…pls pls pls…
    teach us how to make LumpRice..
    Pls..it’s so yummy..but i want you guys to teach us the proper way to cook it…
    Love you guys

  7. Dear Hetal and Anuja,
    Hi guys am Ashini from Srilanka.I really enjoyed making this recipe at home many times,especially when i didn’t have much curries at home to eat,My mom loved it.I really love cooking according to your recipes.It’s simple and can understand without a hassle.By the way i really don’t know what “Asafoetida” means and i never found it in our supermarkets.
    Love you guys
    God bless you.

  8. Thank you so much for this quick but yummy rice dish.I made it yesterday for dinner with some left over rice and today I made rice just to make this dish 🙂 since it was so yummy!!!I added a little shreedded potato after adding the onions

  9. Hello, I absolutely love your website, I’m punjabi so learning all the south indian dishes is fabulous! I have learned to make yummy stuff for my family. Love your website, I’ve shared it with all my close friends and relatives.

    P.S. for this dish I added tamrid chutney……and it was soooooooo yummy ;)My favorite rice dish ever!

  10. Hi Hetal,

    Thank you for introducing me to so many gujju recipes…i am becoming a big fan of gujarati cuisine i have cousins who hail from the state but never knew about vaghrelo bhaath or vaghrelo bhaakri, all we knew was dhokla and khandvi. Last week i had vaghrelo bhakri for breakfast and vagh..bhaath for lunch,i enjoyed it. Do you know how to make Undhyo ( not sure if i spelt it right) its made only during winter, I guess? If you do know then can you feature that sometime?

    Keep Going!!!
    Shweta

    PS: I added dry roasted sesame seeds in the end to give a crunchy edge to this recipe. It tasted great!

    1. Hi Shweta,

      Thanks for the feedback! The sesame seeds sound yummy (coming from a SS fan!). The undhiyu recipe is in a R&D phase right now (trying to get the most efficient (read — easy) way of making it). 🙂

  11. This recipe is easy and oh so good. I make it at least four times a week for lunch. Curry leaves are a must to get that delicious flavor. Thank you Hetal and Anuja. I love the choice of recipes you have on your site.

  12. hi het_anu

    I really appreciate whatever u guys make, keep it up!!!

    Vagarelo bhaat joine mane India yaad avi gayu,jyare pan ghare kai function pachhi je pan leftover rice hoy ano vagarelo bhat banavata hata and then Me and my all cousins attacked the rice, weather its midnight or morning…

    I also add green chilies for spiciness.

    Thanks for sharing ur love wid us.
    Niky

  13. Hi Arpita,

    Sorry to disappoint you. We try to show recipes of all different regions and difficulty levels. Some things which are regular to some are a refreshing change for others.

  14. Hey I was expecting some new dish. This is regular dish, you can also add peanuts in this, it has a crunchy taste. Also you can add little sugar and serve it with grated or shredded fresh coconut.

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