Tomato Charu

Ingredients

• Tomatoes- 2 or 3
• Tamarind- 3 or 4tbsp paste or juice
• Jaggery/Sugar .5 - 1tsp
• Curry leaves - a string
• Oil - 2tbsp
• Jeera/Cumin - .5tsp
• Mustard - .5tsp
• Dry Red Chilli - 1-2
• Hing - a pinch
• Turmeric - 1/8tsp
• Cooked Toor dal - 1 cup (not raw uncooked toor dal)

Optional

• Red Chilli powder - 1tsp
• Green Chillies - 1 or 2
• Garlic Cloves - 1 or 2 crushed
• Small Chipped Onions - 1 / 2cup

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil
2. Add half broken red chili, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon mustard seeds.
3. Once they splutter, add crushed garlic , green chilli(optional), curry leaves
4. After a min, add chopped onions (Optional) and let them cook till they are 30% done.
5. Add 1 to 1½ cups chopped or mashed tomatoes or pureed (about 2 to 3 medium tomatoes). Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
6. Add some salt and close the lid. Let the tomatoes cook on medium flame till they all turn mushy.Keep stirring in between so that they don’t burn. Add little water if required.
7. Once the tomatoes are completely cooked, add rasam powder, tamarind juice or paste as per taste, salt, Red Chilli powder(as per taste) and sugar /jaggery.
8. Add cooked Toor dal
9. Now add water till you get desired consistency.
10. Let rasam boil on medium high heat.

11. Add hing 
    

12. Taste and adjust rasam powder, salt red chilli powder, tamarind and sugar/jaggery as per taste.

Note:

1. Rasam powder doesnt have salt or red chilli. Please add per your taste.
2. All the above measurements can be adjusted as per quantity being cooked or your taste.
3. If the tomatoes are tangy, you can skip adding tamarind.
4. If you do not like tamarind, you can substitute with lemon. Skip adding jaggery/sugar if using lemon. This will give a different flavor.