For preparing Traditional Dal Fry, first cook masoor / moong dal in a pressure cooker adding enough water, little ghee and a pinch of turmeric.
Mash the cooked dal and keep aside.
Heat ghee in a pan and splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add onion, green chilly, ginger, garlic and saute for a while. When a frying smell comes, add a pinch of asafoetida powder, sugar and required salt.
Add chilly powder and fry for a while. Add chopped tomatoes and fry well until tomatoes become pulpy.
Finally, add mashed dal and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove dal fry from flame and garnish with coriander leaves.
Traditional Dal Fry is ready and before serving you can add little butter too.
Tips:
1)You can use toor dal (tumara parippu) also instead of masoor dal.
Before adding butter, make sure that the curry is well heated.