Sambhar

Ingredients:

1 drumstick (or 1 zucchini or 1/2 a small squash)
2/3 cup red grams (toor dhal)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp tamarind
1 med. sized onion
1 large tomato
1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp black mustard seeds
3 dried red chillies
1 tsp ground cumin

Wash, peel and cut drumstick into 2-inch lengths. Wash the toor dhal. Peel and crush garlic. Place the toor dhal, turmeric and salt in a pan with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water. Cook half-covered for 10 minutes, then add the drumstick pieces and garlic to the lentils. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes (the dhal should be quite soft). Meanwhile, infuse the tamarind in 1/4 cup of hot water for 5 minutes. Strain and put the liquid to one side. Peel and slice the onion finely. Chop the tomato. In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the onion until soft. Add the mustard seeds and continue cooking until the seeds pop. Add the onion mixture, the tamarind juice, dried red chillies, cumin and tomato to the dhal mixture, and simmer for another 15 minutes. The sambhar should be a fairly thin sauce. Add water if necessary. Watch out for fibrous, stringy bits of drumstick.