Directions

• Wash & soak the toor dal in 2-3 cups water for at least an hour along with the 6 red chilies.
• Heat 5 cups of water in a pan along with the tamarind paste, turmeric, asafetida, salt & a few curry leaves.
• Coarsely grind the soaked toor dal, draining the water and adding very little water 2-3 tbsp in the blender along with the chilies and coconut. Also, add a pinch of asafetida & salt to add flavor to the lentil balls.
• Transfer the ground paste to a bowl and cook in the microwave for 2 mins to dry the mixture. If very little water was added while blending, 2 mins are enough or it may require a couple more minutes in the microwave.
• Give the dal blend a nice mix and roll into lime size balls and keep ready.
• Once the tamarind water starts to boil, add the sambar powder and allow to boil for a few minutes & add the lentil balls one by one in 2 to 3 batches to prevent the balls from breaking.
• When the balls are cooked, they will rise to the top of the stew.
• Check to see if the sambar is very watery and if so, it can be thickened by a paste with a little water & rice flour.
• In the end, heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle and also add the remaining curry leaves.