ARAITHTHU VITTA SAMBAR

Ingredients:

Lentils- 1/4 cup
Tamarind- a small lime size
Small onions- a handful
Chopped tomatoes- 1 to 2 cups
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Oil- 4 tbsp
Asafotida powder- 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander - 3 tbsp
Curry leaves- a handful

Roast the following ingredients in a spoon of oil and then grind them to a paste:

Red chillies-4, Bengal gram- 2 tsp, black gram- 1 tsp, coriander seeds- 3 tsp, fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp, shredded coconut- 3 tbsps

Procedure:

Pressure cook the lentils.
Soak the tamarind in enough water for an hour and then extract its thick juice. Heat a kadai and pour the oil. Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter, add the sambar onions with the A.Powder and fry them well. Add the tomatoes with the turmeric powder and fry them until the oil floats on the surface. Add the tamarind extract and let it boil for a few minutes. Then add the ground paste with enough salt and the cooked lentils and allow the sambar simmer for some minutes. Add the chopped coriander leaves and the curry leaves.