Onion Sambar

Pressure Cook:

1 cup Toor dal

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

2-3 dried red chili

8-10 curry leaves

3 tbsp cooking oil

Water

Temper

3 tbsp cooking+ghee

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek

2 dried red chili ~ halved, deseeded

4 green chilies

20 small shallots

1 tomato ~ cut into small

Curry leaves

1/4 Hing/Asafetida

Sambar

Tamarind juice

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp sugar

3 tbsp sambar powder

Salt

Water

Directions/Instructions:

1. Pressure cook too dal adding all the ingredients mentioned under "Pressure Cook".  Pressure cook on low flame for one whistle adding enough water.  Open the lid and mash the dal well with a ladle.  Set aside.
2. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water.  Wash and peel the small onions, slit green chilies, and set aside.  Then extract tamarind adding 3 cups of water.  The extracted juice should be 3 cups in total.  Add sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt, and Hing to it.
3. In a wok, heat oil+ghee and splutter mustard seeds.  When it starts to crackle, add fenugreek/methi seeds, dried red chili and slit green chilies, small onions, tomato, and curry leaves.  Saute until the onion turns transparent.
4. Now add the tamarind extract mixture, sambar powder, and boil well till onions get cooked well yet firm without losing their shape.
5. After the mixture is reduced in quantity, add cooked Toor dal and sugar.  Add little water if necessary.  Boil for 2 mins, adjust the consistency.  Check for taste.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves, boil for few seconds and switch off the flame.  Transfer it to a vessel.  Add a tsp of ghee.  Cover it with a lid.  Give a standing time of 30 mins and then served.

Note:

• Adding ghee while tempering gives a nice smell to the sambar like in restaurants.
• Use sliced big onions in place of shallots, if don't have in hand but small onions give a nice flavor than the big one.
• Adjust the quantity of tamarind if add tomato else sambar will become tangy.
• If the sambar is tangy, add some plain red chili powder & allow it to boil for some time.  It helps to balance the taste.