Sri Lankan Parippu Curry
Creamy red lentils meet coconut milk and a crackling curry-leaf temper in one of Sri Lanka’s most everyday curries.
About this dish
Parippu is Sri Lankan dhal curry, usually made from red lentils cooked until creamy with turmeric and coconut milk. A separate tempering of mustard seed, curry leaves, onion, garlic and dried chile adds fragrance and textural contrast. It can accompany rice and curry, string hoppers, roti, bread and many other meals.
Why this dish matters
Sri Lanka Tourism describes dhal as one of the country’s most commonly consumed staple dishes and notes that it appears in milky, spicy and tempered forms, usually from red masoor lentils cooked with spices and coconut milk. The finishing temper is a defining household technique: hot flavored oil is poured or stirred into soft lentils at the end, giving an inexpensive everyday dish a fresh burst of aroma.
Sri Lankan parippu ranges from loose and milky to thick and strongly tempered. This version uses coconut milk and a final temper; households differ in fenugreek, pandan, cinnamon, chile and curry-powder use.
Preparation notes
Removing excess surface starch keeps the curry creamy rather than gluey.
Once coconut milk goes in, use gentle heat to keep the texture smooth.
Mustard seeds should pop and curry leaves should crackle, while onion turns golden rather than dark brown.
Ingredients & detailed method
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 green chile, split lengthwise
- 1 small piece cinnamon stick, optional
- 1 tbsp coconut or neutral oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 small red onion or 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 dried red chiles, broken
Method
- 1.Combine rinsed lentils, water, turmeric, salt, green chile and cinnamon if using. Bring to a simmer and cook 15–18 minutes until the lentils collapse easily.
- 2.Stir in coconut milk and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently 4–5 minutes.
- 3.Checkpoint: the dhal should be creamy and pourable, with almost no firm lentil centers remaining. Add hot water if it has become stiff.
- 4.Heat oil in a small skillet. Add mustard seeds and cover loosely until they begin popping.
- 5.Add fenugreek, curry leaves, onion, garlic and dried chile. Fry 3–5 minutes until onion edges are golden and the curry leaves smell toasted.
- 6.Immediately scrape the entire hot tempering into the dhal and stir once or twice.
- 7.Taste for salt and serve with rice, string hoppers, roti or other Sri Lankan curries.
Worth finding before you cook
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