As I have said several times before, I am always on the lookout for interesting dal recipes. I have tried many, but some of them are really not up to the mark. I do know of Sindhi cuisine, but have only tried a few of their dishes. My Sindhi friends keep urging me to try out more. So, I decided to jump right in to this lentil curry. It is made of pigeon peas which is my favourite lentil. I really needed no other motivation to try this. But it is also the satisfaction of documenting another traditional dish, made WFPB compliant. And if I find my readers, followers and friends preparing this recipe (or any other recipe from this blog), I will be particularly delighted. I am lucky since Hari invariably gets the recipe right the first time around. So he prepared it and it tasted wonderful. Without more ado, I am going to dive into it.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pigeon peas, washed and drained
1 tsp mustard seeds (sarson, kadugu)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (sabut methi, venthiyam)
1 tsp cumin seeds (sabut jeera, jeeragam)
2 sprigs curry leaves, washed and torn
3″ piece ginger, chopped fine
2 generous pinches of asafoetida (hing, perunkayam)
2 green chilis, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
11 1/4 cups water, divided
2/3 cup tamarind, soaked in hot water and juice extracted
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi, manjal podi)
Unrefined salt to taste
Method
Pressure cook the pigeon peas with 6 cups of water for about 6 whistles
Let the steam release naturally
Open the lid and mash the pigeon peas
Set aside
Heat a wok (medium heat) and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds
When they stop spluttering, add the ginger and curry leaves
Roast for about 5 minutes till the raw smell of the ginger has evaporated
Add the asafoetida and continue to roast for another 5 minutes (sprinkle a little water if necessary)
Add the green chilis and continue to cook for another2-3 minutes
Add the tomatoes and 1/4 cup of water
Mix well and cook on high flame till the tomatoes are mushy
Add salt, red chili powder and turmeric powder
Mix well
Measure 2/3 cup tamarind juice and add to the tomatoes
Add 5 cups of water to the cooked lentils
Add the tomato masala
Let this come to a boil
Lower the flame and cook for 10 more minutes on simmer
Remove from flame and serve hot with red/brown/millet rice
Enjoy!