Spicy Oily Toor Dal

Ingredients
Toor Dal 1 Cup
Tomato 1
Onion 1 Small
Ginger 1 inch Piece
Green Chiles 2 – 4
Tamarind 2 inch Sized Piece
Turmeric Powder a big pinch
Salt to taste
Oil 1 1/2 Tbsps

Method
Wash and chop the tomato into small cubes.
Remove stems, wash and slice the green chiles.
Peel, wash and grate the ginger.
Soak tamarind in half a cup of warm water and extract all the juice discarding any veins.
Peel and finely chop the onion.

Heat oil in a pan, add toor dal.
Fry the toor dal on medium flame till its light golden brown in color.
Let the dal completely cool down.
Pressure cook fried toor dal in 2 cups of water for 4 whistles or until dal is soft but not mushy.

Heat oil in a sauce pot, add all talimpu ingredients in order.
When mustard seeds start spluttering, add grated ginger, green chiles and chopped onion.
Fry till onion starts to change color, then add the chopped tomato.
Cook briefly, stir in cooked toor dal, tamarind extract, turmeric powder and salt.
Cook on low flame for around 5 minutes and remove from heat.
Serve spicy oily toor dal with steamed rice and crispy papad.
Notes: Make sure to fry the dal well and cook it right.

Suggestions: If the dal is not cooked well, put it back on heat and cook covered on low flame till done. Toor dal fried in oil also has a longer shelf life than the un fried version.