Madras Sambar

Ingredients:
Tomato 2
Onion 1
Ginger 1/2 inch Piece
Garlic 1 big Clove
Tamarind 2 inch Piece
Toor Dal 1/2 Cup
Madras Sambar Powder 1 Tbsp
Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp
Red Chili Powder 1 tsp
Sugar 1/2 tsp
Cilantro few Sprigs
Salt to taste
Oil 2 tsps

Talimpu:
Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida a pinch
Broken Red Chiles 3
Curry Leaves 6
Oil 1 tsp

Method of preparation:
Peel and chop the onion into big chunks.
Wash and finely chop the tomato.
Soak tamarind in quarter cup of warm water for sometime and extract all the juice discarding the veins.
Wash, separate leaves and finely chop the cilantro.
Grind ginger and garlic into paste.
Alternatively, grate both ginger and garlic and keep aside.
Wash and pressure cook toor dal in a cup of water for 3 whistles.
Alternatively, boil toor dal in around cup and half of water for around 40 minutes for it to soften.
Mash the dal with a masher and keep aside.
Heat a tsp of oil in a sauce pot, add chopped onion.
Fry till onion starts to change color.
Stir in ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell of the paste disappears and the onions turn golden brown.
Remove the pot from heat.
Heat a sauce pot on medium heat, add chopped tomato, tamarind extract, a cup of water, turmeric and salt.
Boil till the tomatoes turn extremely soft but not mushy.
Now add the fried onion to the pot along with mashed dal and around a cup of water.
Mix well and stir in sambar powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, sugar and salt.
Bring to boil and let the sambar bubble for couple of minutes.
Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add all talimpu ingredients in order.
When mustard seeds start spluttering and urad dal changes color, remove from heat and add to the sambar.
Garnish with cilantro and serve madras sambar with steamed rice or with idli, dosa etc…