Parippu

Ingredients

Lentils

• 250 gred lentils, masoor dhal
• 600 mlwater
• ½ tspturmeric
• 1 sprigcurry leaves
• 1 piecerampe, pandan leaf
• 1 stickcinnamon
• 2green chillies, slit

Coconut

• 200 mlthin coconut milk
• 200 mlthick coconut milk

Temper

• 2 tbspcoconut oil
• 1 tspmustard seed
• 1 tspcumin seed
• 1onion, sliced
• 3 clovesgarlic, sliced
• 2dried red chillies
• 1 sprigcurry leaves
• ½ tspfenugreek seed

Also

• salt
• 1 tspunroasted curry powder
• a squeeze of lime

To serve

• rice
• other curries
• pol sambol

Directions

1. Rinse the red lentils in several changes of water until it runs clear. Rinse them properly. Unwashed lentils give a scummy, muddy dhal, and it only takes a minute.
2. Put them in a pot with the water, turmeric, curry leaves, rampe, cinnamon and slit chillies. Bring to a boil and skim the foam that rises in the first few minutes.
3. Simmer 15 minutes until the lentils have collapsed completely. Now add the thin coconut milk and simmer 5 minutes more. Add salt and the unroasted curry powder. Heat the coconut oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds.
4. Add the cumin, fenugreek, dried chillies and curry leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds. Add the sliced onion and garlic and fry until deep golden and beginning to crisp, about 8 minutes.
5. Take the onions properly brown rather than just soft, because the temper is where most of the flavour comes from. Stir the thick coconut milk into the lentils and warm it through gently without boiling.
6. Pour the sizzling temper over the dhal and stir most of it through, leaving some on top. Pour it over while it is still spitting, which is what releases the aroma into the pot.
7. Finish with a squeeze of lime and taste for salt. It should be loose and creamy rather than thick, because it is spooned over rice as a sauce. Serve it as part of a rice and curry plate, alongside sharper and hotter curries and a pol sambol.

Technique

• Rampe, pandan leaf, is sold frozen in Sri Lankan and Asian shops and is worth finding.
• It thickens considerably as it stands and is loosened with water or thin coconut milk.
• Some households add a chopped tomato with the thin milk.

Substitutions

• Tinned coconut milk, using the thick top for the finish and the thin part for cooking.
• Any mild curry powder, or a mix of coriander, cumin and fennel.

Variations

• With spinach or drumstick leaves stirred through.
• Made hotter, with more chilli.
• With a chopped tomato cooked in.

History

Red lentil dhal cooked in coconut milk, the one curry present on nearly every rice-and-curry plate on the island.

Frequently asked questions

What is Parippu?

Parippu is a salad & side from Sri Lanka: creamy coconut-milk red lentil curry, the everyday companion. Red lentil dhal cooked in coconut milk, the one curry present on nearly every rice-and-curry plate on the island.

How long does Parippu take to make?

Parippu takes 10 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Parippu?

Yes, within limits. Tinned coconut milk, using the thick top for the finish and the thin part for cooking. Any mild curry powder, or a mix of coriander, cumin and fennel.

What is the most important thing to get right in Parippu?

Take the onions properly brown rather than just soft, because the temper is where most of the flavour comes from. Stir the thick coconut milk into the lentils and warm it through gently without boiling.