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Chintakaya Chaaru

A zesty chaaru made from foraged young green tamarind, this is a seasonal, local delight.
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Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup toor dal, plus a spoonful more
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • A handful of tender/raw green tamarind, cleaned and stalks pinched off
  • 3-4 hot dry red chillies
  • 2-3 pods garlic [optional]
  • ¾ teaspoon rasam powder
  • ½ teaspoon jeera
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1-2 teaspoons of jaggery or to taste
  • Salt
  • Tender tamarind leaves to garnish

For the tempering:

  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon jeera/cumin
  • a broken red chilli
  • a pinch of hing
  • a sprig of curry leaves

Instructions
 

  • Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles or in a large heavy-bottomed pot by covering with 2 cups water and simmering until very soft. Use a spoon to beat the dal so it disintegrates and creates a thin-ish stock.
  • While the dal is cooking, prepare the raw tamarind “chutney” by breaking the tamarind and either pounding it with a stone or pulsing it in a blender jar until it’s a semi-smooth paste, along with the garlic (if using) and dry red chillies. A few chunks and a little texture are good things! Remove any visible fibres.
  • Once the dal is cooked, transfer to an eeya chombu or other heavy-bottomed pot. Add more water until the eeya chombu is about ¾ full [you should have ¾ litre of liquid, total]. Bring this to a boil on a low flame.
  • Add scant ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • Add the chutney paste. Wash the grinding stone or mixie jar with a little water and add this, too.
  • Roast the jeera and black pepper lightly, and crush into a coarse paste. Add this to the chaaru along with the rasam powder.
  • A generous chunk of jaggery goes in next, followed by salt.
  • Keep the heat on low and continue cooking until the chaaru begins to foam and froth.
  • Then work quickly to temper. Heat a spoonful of ghee in a small tempering pan. Once it’s very hot, drop in a ¼ teaspoon each mustard seeds and jeera, a pinch of hing, a broken red chilli. Let these splutter and pop. Follow with curry leaves for a few seconds, and pour this finishing oil directly on top of the foaming rasam.
  • Turn off the heat and mix well.
  • Garnish with a few tender tamarind leaves or coriander
  • Serve with a soft white rice and a potato or yam poriyal. Fried raw banana works well, too!