• To make one cup of Tamarind water, soak tamarind in one cup of warm water for 15 minutes and then squeeze out the seeds and pulp with the help of a sieve to get tamarind water.
• In a pressure cooker, add washed and soaked dal, chopped tomatoes,ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder ,green coriander leaves and three cups of water.
• Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles till dal gets tender. Or cook for about an hr on low flame if not using pressure cooker.
• Mash this dal or blend it using a hand blender into a fine paste. Add 2 cups of water to facilitate the blending.
• Into this paste of dal, add two cups of plain water, tamarind water ,salt, a handful of curry leaves, chopped coriander and green chillies.
• Cook for 20-30 minutes on low flame till the raw smell of tamarind water disappears.

For Tempering

• Add oil into a frying pan and when the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, garlic (thinly sliced)and whole dry red chilies.
• When the garlic starts turning golden add a handful of washed and dried curry leaves and let them fry for 1 min.
• Temper the cooked lentil or daal and close the lid for few minutes so that the aroma remains in the daal.