Re-posting recipe: Today’s recipe is from my great-grandmother, as remembered and occasionally replicated by my mother.

Thuvaram Paruppu Koottu

Time taken: 1 hour, plus soaking time of dal about 3 – 4 hours

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Toor dal/ Thuvaram paruppu – ½ cup
• Onion – ¼ + ½
• Garlic – 2 + 2
• Cumin powder – ½ tsp + ½ tbsp
• Fennel powder – ½ tsp
• Asafoetida – pinch + pinch
• Salt – ½ tsp + more, to taste
• Oil – 1 tsp + for deep-fry+ 1 ½ tbsp
• Fenugreek – 1 tsp
• Tomato – 1 big or 2 small
• Dried red chillies – 3
• Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
• Grated coconut – 3 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½  tsp
• Pepper – 1 tsp
• Tamarind extract – ½ cup (thin)
• Water – ½ cup + ½ cup (optional)

Method:

1. Soak the toor dal for 3 – 4 hours.
2. Chop up ¼ onion and 2 garlic cloves and fry them in 1 tsp oil in a pan.
3. Add ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp fennel powder and a pinch of asafoetida to the pan. When the spices combine and their aroma starts coming out, add ½ tsp salt.
4. Add the toor dal to the pan and mix well and quickly remove from heat.
5. Grind the toor dal mixture, without water or just a little so that it can be made into a slab.
6. Steam the slab of spiced toor dal.
7. Cut the steamed block of toor dal into pieces and deep fry.
8. Make a spice paste by grinding the scraped coconut and chopped chillies with 1 tbsp coriander powder, ½ tbsp cumin powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp pepper powder and a pinch of asafoetida.
9. Heat 1 to 1 ½ tbsp oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion (½ onion), 2 garlic cloves and the fenugreek seeds.
10. When you get the aroma of the fried onion and garlic, add the spice paste, mix well and fry.
11. Add the chopped tomatoes and ½ cup of water and let the tomatoes cook.
12. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the fried pieces of toor dal chunks and ½ cup of thin tamarind extract.
13. Cook for about 10 – 15 minutes on low heat. If you prefer more gravy in your curry, add ½ cup of water.
14. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.