Wash and soak split yellow mung dal for at least 30 minutes in the pot you are goin got cook the dal in. Once soaked, get rid of all the water and add in 3 cups of water. Warm tap water would be best. I do not like to use pressure cooker/IP for this dal, I prefer cooking it in a stove top pot.
Add in ½ tsp (¼ tsp if not adding sugar) of salt, ¼ tsp of turmeric powder and 4 large sliced garlic cloves. Bring it to boil.
Once boiling, bring the heat to medium and keep boiling for 12-15 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently during boiling step to ensure of even cooking of dal.
Once the water is reduced to half the amount and dal becomes almost twice in amount, add in another 1 tsp of salt, grated ginger, finely chopped thai green chili, red chili powder, cumin coriander powder and sugar. Stir very well, cover and cook more until the dal cooks to grainy consistency.
The water should be almost cooked away while dal amount doubles, giving a stew like consistency. Bring the heat to low, take some dal in a spoon and press it to ensure the cooking of dal through out while it still holds subtle crunch.
In a small sauce pan heat up 2 tbsp of oil, once hot add in 1 tsp of mustard seeds and wait until they pop. Once all of them pops, add in ¼ tsp of Hing/Asafetida and immediately add that tempering (tadka) into the cooked dal. Stir well.
Cover it while keeping the heat on low just for a minute or two. Turn the heat off, garnish it with finely chopped cilantro.
Simply serve it with plain green yogurt, bhakhri, onions and papad. It pairs well with plain rice as well. My family mixes yogurt into the dal once it is served, however you can serve the yogurt on side. I personally like to add small amount of greek yogurt in my dal and eat it like stew!