Dal with Tomatoes - Spicy

This dish is perhaps the most cherished in vegetarian Indian cooking. Its simple to make and tastes great.

Ingredients:

Toor dal/kandi pappu -- 1 cup
Tomatoes -- 2
Onion -- 1
Small Green Chilies -- 6-7
Turmeric Powder -- 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Tamarind -- cherry size / 1inch piece soaked in 1/4th cup hot water
Cilantro for garnishing

For Seasoning:

Oil -- 1 table spoon
Garlic -- 2 pods crushed
Dry red chili -- 2 no.
Curry leaves -- 5 no.
asafotida/inguva -- 1 pinch
black gram -- 1/2 tea spoon
Chana gram -- 1/4 tea spoon
mustard seeds/aavaalu -- 1/4 tea spoon
cumin seeds/jeera -- 1/2 tea spoon

Method of Preparation:

1. Wash the Toor dal/kandi pappu and add 2 cups water and keep it a side in a pressure cooker.
2. Chop the onion, tomatoes and cut the chilies into length wise and add them to the toor dal in the cooker with a pinch of turmeric and pressure cook until 3 wistles.
4. When it is cooled off, take the lid out and add the tamarind extract to it with required salt and cook for 5 minutes with occasional stirring.
5. In another little pan do the seasoning by adding little oil. When the oil is hot add all the ingredients under seasoning and turn off the stove.
6. Add this seasoning mixture to the cooked dal in the pressure cooker and garnish with cilantro.