Pepper Water

Before you start

• Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes, then squeeze it out and strain. The fibres will ruin the texture otherwise.
• Crush the pepper and cumin together coarsely in a mortar. Shop-bought pepper powder is too fine and tastes dusty.
• If you are using the dal, boil and mash it before you start; it goes in at the end.

Method

1. Pound the black pepper, cumin seeds and 4 of the garlic cloves to a coarse, gritty paste.Coarse is the point. A smooth paste makes the broth cloudy and the pepper stops crackling on the tongue.
2. Bring the strained tamarind water, the remaining water, the chopped tomato, turmeric and salt to a boil in a wide pan.
3. Boil hard for 5 minutes until the raw, puckering smell of the tamarind has gone.This step is not optional. Under-boiled tamarind tastes green and metallic.
4. Stir in the pounded pepper-cumin-garlic paste and simmer 8 minutes.
5. If using, whisk the mashed toor dal with a ladle of the hot broth and stir it back in. Simmer 3 minutes more.
6. In a small pan heat the coconut oil, crackle the mustard seeds, then add the dried red chillies, the remaining bruised garlic and the curry leaves.Wait for the mustard to actually pop before the rest goes in, or the tempering tastes raw.
7. Stir in the asafoetida off the heat for 5 seconds and pour the whole tempering into the pepper water.
8. Cover at once and let it stand 2 minutes so the aromatics steep, then scatter the coriander leaves.
9. Serve very hot, either in cups on its own or poured over plain rice with a spoon of ghee.

Storage

Keeps 3 days refrigerated and the flavour deepens. Reheat only to a simmer; boiling it again dulls the pepper. Do not freeze.