Soak toor dal in water along with red chilis for an hour.

Drain the water completely and pulse into a paste without adding any water.

Add salt and ¼ tsp of turmeric powder while grinding.

Wash the mixie jar with ¾ cup of water and keep the water for later use.

Soak 1 tbsp of tamarind in hot water.

We are going to take 1.5 cups of tamarind extract.

Puree 2 tomatoes.

In a pan add 1 tsp of oil and saute the ground dal paste.

Cook for 2 minutes.

Allow this to cool.

This step is optional. But this helps in the urundais not getting disintegrated in rasam while boiling.

Make them into gooseberry-sized balls and steam this on greased idli plates for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile in a vessel add the tamarind extract and pureed tomato.

Add 1 cup of water.

Add turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt, and sambar powder.

Add few torn curry leaves.

Let this boil in a medium flame for 7-9 minutes, till the raw smell of the tamarind goes off.

Now add the steamed paruppu urundais one by one.

Add the reserved water, which we kept after washing the mixie jar.

Now add in the pepper cumin powder.

Let this froth up.

Add finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Once this froths up well, switch off the flame.

Temper mustard seeds in ghee and add them to the rasam.

Paruppu urundai rasam is ready.

Serve with hot rice.