Notes from a friend:
She's right, the amount of oil should not be scrimped on, if anything overdone! Same true with the tamarind. What I think is criminally wrong however is adding the tempering without oil to the dhal. I added a bit of sugar and lime juice to the onions after they'd softened a bit, then let them brown, then ginger+garlic, then add tomato puree to colour the oil, cook a bit more, then add the spices to flavour the oil. Adding a splash of water if anything sticks/browns too much, or adding more oil if it all drys out. Then add the lentils, the tamarind, let it stew, salt, then some crumbled kasuri methi, check all the seasoning, add more of any spices, salt, sugar, or extra sourness (a dash of lime, pomegranate molasses, tamarind or anything else you fancy, by this point).
