Tomato saaru / saar

Name: Tomato saaru / saar
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: En
Ingredients: 1/2 cup ( 80 g ) tur dal; 3 cups ( 300 ml ) water; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder; 1/2 teaspoon oil; Extra 1 cup water; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste ( or 1/4 cup tamarind juice ); 1/2 teaspoon jaggery; 2 teaspoon MTR Rasam powder; 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida ( hing ); 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt ( or to taste ); 1 teaspoon lemon juice ( optional ); 1 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves ( optional ); 2 teaspoon oil; 1 teaspoon mustard seeds; 1 spring curry leaves; 2 red chillies, broken

Main Dish

Very Easy

40 min

Preparation

Preparation15 min

Cook time25 min

Wash and clean tur dal. In a pressure cooker, boil dal with 3 cups water, turmeric powder and oil ( reduce the heat to medium after 2 nd whistle and pressure cook for 20 minutes or till done and soft ). Allow to cool naturally.
Open the lid. Strain the dal stock / water through a strainer ( you can use 1/2 cup leftover cooked dal for dal fry or other dal based dishes ) and mix with extra 1 cup water.
In a bowl, mix dal stock with extra 1 cup water, jaggery, tamarind paste / juice, chopped tomatoes, MTR Rasam powder, asafoetida, pepper powder and salt to taste.
Cover with a lid and cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes or till done / fragrant.
Seasoning:
In a small pan, heat 2 teaspoon oil. Add mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add curry leaves and broken red chillies. Pour this seasoning over tomato saar / saaru and serve hot with rice. Add lemon juice ( optional - it will enhance the taste ) and chopped coriander leaves when serving.