Pressure cook 1/3 cup toor dal with, asafoetida, 1 & 1/2 cup water for 4-5 whistles.
Soak tamarind and extract tamarind juice. I usually cook tamarind along dal for easy extraction.
Total tamarind juice measurement 1 & 1/2 cup - 2 cups.
Slice an onion, slit 2 green chilli, chop 3 small sized tomato and crush 6 cloves of peeled garlic. Cook a sliced carrot in 1 & 1/2 cup water.
In a pan, heat 2 tsp oil, when hot, add 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard, a generous pinch of asafoetida.
Once mustard splutters, add chilli, curry leaves, onion and tomato.
Stir fry for a minute.
By now carrot would have cooked. Add tamarind extract, fried onion tomato to it and bring to boil.
Add turmeric, 1 tsp sambar powder, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, salt and crushed garlic.
Add cooked dal plus extra 1 cup water and boil well for 4- 5 mins or until thick.
As it cools down, gets slightly thicker, so off accordingly.
Garnish with coriander , curry leaves.