Heat up oil and ghee in a pan along with whole spices listed above (clove, peppercorn, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, whole dry red chili).
Once starts to fragrant, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Once they start to pop, add a pinch of assafetida.
Immediately add chopped onions and minced garlic along with 1 tsp of salt. Saute until onions are completely translucent but not brown.
Add chopped tomatoes and saute till the tomatoes are all mushy.
Add all dry spices listed above (red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, cumin coriander powder and 1¼ tsp of salt). Mix well.
Cook the spice mix for 2-4 minutes on medium heat until the oil starts to separate.
Add the spice mix to boiled dal. Mix well. Bring dal fry to boil. If using IP, you can put IP on saute mode for the boiling/simmering part. If using Indian style pressure cooker, you can cook the dal in the cooker without the lid on medium heat for boiling/simmering part.
Once it comes to boil, add 1 tbsp of ghee (optional), chopped cilantro and lemon juice. Taste it and add more salt/spices if needed. Let it simmer for 2-5 minutes.
Serve it hot with some jeera rice and crunchy salad/kachumber along with papad!