Dhal fry

This recipe is from a book we bought from the lonely planet vegetarian restaurant, nothing to do with lonely planet tour guide books, that is situated in the back alleys behind Kovalam beach in Kerala.
We discovered the restaurant on our first visit to Kerala and returned regularly on every subsequent visit. The owner/chef was a gentle, positive happy man, T. Siva prasannan. He ran a small cookery course when the restaurant was closed so along we went. There were 6 or 8 people in the class and Siva taught us all how to make a Masala dosa, my idea of bliss and we obviously got to eat the results of our efforts, yum. What an amazing guy, he instructed us that cooking with love and a smile was the route to success and he was right. When his students had a frown of concentration, including me, he was smiling at your side reminding you to smile and relax and everyone produced a perfectly edible Dosa. What a brilliant experience, but unfortunately he died a few years ago and now it is run by his protégé, whose name I can't remember, but the food is still excellent making this a must visit if you are near Kovalam. At the back of the restaurant there is a small lagoon with king fishers darting about trying to catch the small fish, we saw a little water snake resting his head on a water lily leaf with the classic song of the Asian Koel echoing through the trees, paradise. So here is Siva's dhal fry recipe which is delicious.
This recipe is infinitely variable but this is my take on the original ingredients to make 4/6 portions. 

About 200grms boiled red lentils
4/5 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
about 10 curry leaves (fresh or frozen, dried have no flavour)
1 large or 2 medium onions chopped
2/3 tomatoes chopped
4/5 cloves of garlic chopped fine or crushed
about 1 inch piece ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
half teaspoon chilli powder or more to your taste
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
salt
water

Heat oil, add mustard seeds as they begin to pop and crackle add fennel seeds and curry leaves. Add onion straight away and fry for a minute or 2 then add garlic, ginger and tomatoes, fry for a couple of minutes.
Then add turmeric, chilli and salt. Stir well. Add boiled dhal and a little water if necessary to make it creamy and not too thick, cook for a few minutes and it is ready.
If you can, go to Kerala and eat it first hand it is a beautiful place and the food is amazing.