Before we get down to the details , go right away and soak 1/2 cup Toor dal and 1/4 cup Channa dal for two hours .
There are three steps and a finale'
step one :make the tamarind coconut paste
for this soak a small lemon sized piece of tamarind in some warm water (1/4 cup )and keep aside
dry roast a medium sized tomato and 5-6 shallots ,once they are reasonably cooked ,grind this to a pulp with 1/2cup coconut and a teaspoon of Fennel and Aniseed seeds each .
Now combine the tamarind extract water to this pulp and keep aside . step one is done .
step two : Add 2 tbsps of coconut to the washed ,soaked and drained Dals , also add 3 red chillies and teaspoon of fennel seeds . Now grind this to a coarse paste without adding any water . Now make small lemon sized balls out of this and keep aside .
Step three : In a kadai , add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and add mustard seeds , a tsp of urad dal , a few curry leaves , 10 shallots ,5 clovesof garlic ,two red chillies and some salt . Once the splattering and spluttering is over , add 3 tsps of coriander powder and 1 1/2 tsps of chilly powder , and add 3 cups of water , once the water comes to a boil add the balls from step 2 and boil for a good 20 minutes .
and now the finale'
Add the step one mixture to the above and bring to a gentle boil , add salt , a pinch of hing and 3 generous teaspoons of Sambar powder .
And we are done .
serve with hot steaming rice .
