Tomato Saaru / Saar

Tomato Saar / Saaru

Serves: 3

You will need

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

Other ingredients:

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 )

Seasoning:

2 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 spring curry leaves
2 red chillies, broken

Method

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.