Plantain Tamarind Dal (a.k.a Vaazhakka Puli Kootu)

Last night, I made this kinda' sour kootu for today's lunch. As the name implies the two main ingredients dominate the taste over the other things that go into it. I am sure kootu is nothing new in the blogosphere. Before the times of food blogs, I would have had to explain that kootu is an amalgamation of a veggie and a lentil together with a mild seasoning. It is more often the comfort food in most South Indian households. To me it is a cool dish because you can make it really low-fat by just reducing the amount of coconut or by omitting it altogether. Tamarind kootu is a sour variation of the original by adding some tamarind extract to it. The ground spice mixture added is a little different to make sure the flavors blend well together. There are a few different styles for making the spice mixture and in this post I write Amma's recipe. Since she and Appa (my f-i-l) are here now on a vacation, I don't have to bother wracking my brains each night to decide what to make and leave alone trying to figure which recipe to use. Now all I do is ask our walking culinary encyclopedia for the recipe and pat comes the reply. The thing I appreciate most is her recipes are really simple and the flavors very mouthwatering.
Now on to the recipe ...

Plantain Tamarind Dal on rice

Ingredients -
The main items -
1) Plantain - 1 medium sized
2) Yellow lentils (Toor Dal) - 1/2 cup
3) Bengalgram Dal (Channa Dal) - one handful, washed and soaked in water for 20 minutes
4) Tamarind - half a lemon sized (if you like it sour, you can increase it and vice versa.)
5) Salt to taste
6) Turmeric Powder - one pinch

For the ground mixture -
1) Red Chillies - 3
2) Blackgram Dal (Urad Dal) - 2 tspns
4) Coriander Seeds - 2 tspns
5) Asafetida - one pinch
6) Black peppercorns - 5-6
7) Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1.5 to 2 tbspns
8) Oil - half a tspn
9) Water - just enough for grinding

For the seasoning -
1) Oil - 1 teaspoon
2) Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
3) Curry Leaves - a few
4) Asafetida - a large pinch

Method -
1) Skin and chop the plantain into half-inch cubes. You can leave a little bit of the plantain skin on if you prefer it that way.
2) Soak the tamarind in sufficient water and microwave for about 30 seconds to shake up the stubborn flesh a bit. After it is cooled, squeeze and extract the tamarind flavored water and strain it to get rid of the rind and stones part.
2) In a microwave-safe bowl, add the soaked bengalgram dal and the chopped plantain pieces along with a pinch of salt. Add just enough water for them to be cooked and microwave on high until done. The dal need not be cooked to a mashy consistency as it will get cooked a wee bit more in the final dish while simmering.
3) Meanwhile, heat up the half tspn of oil in a non-stick pan and add the red chillies, blackgram dal, coriander seeds and asafetida in that order. (Make sure each gets fried before you add in the next.) Allow it to cool and grind it along with the peppercorns, coconut and water to a smooth paste.
4) Heat one tspn of oil in a pan and after is hot, dunk in the mustard seeds and cover the pan while they crackle and dance around unless you desire a messy kitchen counter.
5) Toss in the curry leaves with the asafetida.
6) Wait for 5 seconds until a asafetida-ish aroma starts emanating and then add the tamarind extract with enough salt and a pinch of turmeric powder.
7) After the tamarind water starts boiling a little, toss in the cooked plaintain and bengalgram dal mixture.
8) Wait for a couple minutes before adding the slightly mashed toor dal and ground mixture. Add a little bit of water if the concoction is too thick and reduce the flame to medium hot.
9) It will take about 5 minutes for the mixture to start gurgling and reduce heat and simmer for a couple more minutes if required.
10) Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice. (If you are a South Indian and not watching calories, you can drizzle a little bit of ghee on top for that added oomph.)