Hyderabadi khatti dal

Hello my readers,
  "Khatti dal" as the word literally means sour in urdu.It refers to the tangy taste which is essential to the dish brought about by adding tamarind.However if you dont have the tamarind you can also go with lime juice/lemon.
Khatti dal is a kind of lentil soup with a tangy flavour brought by the tamarind.

Ingredients:

For the Dal:
Tuvar dal/Yellow lentils – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Small green chillies – 4, roughly chopped
Haldi/Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
For Sourness:
Raw tamarind juice or tamarind concentrate – 2 to 3 tbsp or according to taste (if tamarind is unavailable, you can even add lemon/lime juice to taste for sourness)
For the Baghaar(tadka)/Tempering:
Canola Oil – 2 tsp
Garlic Cloves – 2, large, each cut lenghwise into two
Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
Dried Red chilliies – 2, each broken into two
Fresh/Dried Curry Leaves – 8
Fresh Cilantro – 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Method:

1.  Wash and soak the dal in surplus water for 2-3 hrs. Later, drain the dal and wash it in fresh changes    of water. Drain and add it to a pressure cooker along with 3 cups of fresh cool water, turmeric powder, chopped green chillies,chopped onion, chopped tomatos,curry leaves and pressure cook it  till the dal is very soft .Usually giving it 3-4 whistles.
2.  Pour the contents of the pressure cooker into a blender container and add salt and red chilli powder blend it till pureed. (My Ammi used a Dal Ghotni to mash the dal) Or you can even simply puree it using an immersion blender.
3.  Meanwhile in a small non stick frying pan at medium heat, pour oil and as soon as it gets warm, add the cumin seeds. As they begin to splutter, cover with a splatter screen and reduce heat to medium low, and throw in the remaining ingredients for baghaar/tempering and remove from heat.
4. Pour the contents of the blender container back into the pressure cooker add the tamarind juice (or lemon/lime juice), the baghaar, and stir to mix. You can add more water if you want to achieve the consistency you desire. Some people like a thin consistency and some prefer a slightly thick consistency. Adjust salt and serve warm.