Creamy Kadala Parippu Dhal

Hello everyone! Welcome to my new website. It is fabulous to have everyone here, and I am so excited for you to explore all that I have to offer on here! In the meantime, here are all the recipes you know and love, all in one singular place. Pretty much all of these recipes are ones from my previous blogs, but I have neatened them up and given them a bit of a zhuzhj!

Kicking things off today is my classic dhal — this is crowd pleaser and whether you’re feeding a bunch of vegans or sworn meat eaters; this one always hits the mark and freezes fantastically well for leftovers.

Parippu as we call it in Sri Lanka, more commonly known as dhal, is a popular dish of the Indian subcontinent. Within Sri Lanka itself every household prepares this in many different ways and that’s the beauty of parippu; no two households will cook it exactly the same. Another curious thing is the expression is “parippu kanawa” which literally translates to ‘eating dhal’ and is commonly used to express the sentiment that one is having a rough or difficult time. Which is strange because a well made parippu is the highlight of a meal and nothing about eating it is difficult. Sri Lankans are an odd bunch 🤔

For me, Sri Lankan parippu manifests in two distinct types: The Mysore dhal (red lentil), which is quicker to cook as it is a smaller size, and the Yellow split pea or Chana dhal, which is more time consuming, but tastes creamier. The Mysore version I cook when I get nostalgic for my mum’s cooking — she used to cook up a version that is water based as opposed to coconut milk based when I was sick and it has lots of chili powder. It always reminds me of home and I will posting that particular recipe up in due course.

This recipe is for the yellow split pea version. It takes a bit of love and care, but it’s so worth it and you will forget all the effort you went to when a warm bowl of this is in your hands with a side of rice or bread, enveloping you in it’s sunshine yellow goodness. I cook dhal all the time and as such I do it without exact measurements. I have tried to get these measurements as close as possible to accuracy. Do keep in mind, this recipe serves 4-6 people. The good thing about cooking it in bulk is that you can freeze dhal for ages. With that being said… Away we go!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 3-4 cups yellow split pea dhal

• 500 ml coconut milk

• 2-3 tsp turmeric

• 1 large red onion

• 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 2 red or green scud chillies

• 1 sprig curry leaves

• 5cm Pandan leaf

• 3 tsp black mustard seeds

• 4-5 dried red chillies

• 3 cm piece cinnamon bark

• 2 tsp chilie flakes

• Salt to taste

• Oil

Method

Wash the lentils very well in running water until all the cloudiness has disappeared.

Soak the lentils in water. Leave aside to soak for at least one hour. This is important as you need to soften the lentils before they can be cooked. Use enough water to cover the lentils.

Next, prep the other ingredients. Slice the onion and red chili, slice the garlic and have everything redy to go. I personally prefer to use red onion or pink shallots — the flavour profile of white and brown onions are completely different and when it comes to tempering your aromas, this makes so much of a difference!

Drain the lentils. Place the lentils into a large pot and add enough water to cover the surface of the lentils.. Add in the turmeric, 2-3 tsp of salt, the cinnamon, sliced red chillies, half of the onion, curry leaves, pandan leaf and garlic.

Add in 1/4 of the can of coconut milk and give the lentils a good stir. Leave on a high heat to bubble and become gorgeous and wonderful.

The bubbly and frothy stage! The water has to bubble up and froth. You can lower the heat if it looks like the water might overflow. Once the bubbling and frothing is done, the water content will be reduced. This is what you want. The natural enzymes of the lentils tend do create this froth but once it’s bubbled off, the real deliciousness can begin! Keep the flame on high until the lentils have cooked through and they are soft to touch. At this stage, add in the rest of the coconut milk and lower the heat to medium.

Grab a small pan bring about 1 tbs of oil to temperature. Once the oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds and lower the flame immediately. These babies will splutter everywhere so if you have a splatter guard, this would be the most appropriate time to use it. They will start to smell toasty and that’s how you know you’re doing all the right things.

Proceed to add the dry red chillies AFTER the mustard seeds have started popping, the remaining pandan leaf, curry leaves, onion, garlic and chilli flakes. This is the flavour profile of the dhal and it’s imperative that you don’t let it burn in any way. Sometimes when I’m in the mood for it, I add whole cumin seeds, a small piece of Sri Lankan cinnamon and a teaspoon of finely diced ginger just to make a flavour profile interesting. This is totally optional but I like to mix things up.

This sauteed, fried mixture of goodness (themparaduva) needs to be added to the lentils that have been bubbling away and thickening up. The themparaduva is the life force of the dhal and it's what brings this entire dish to life. A dhal made with red lentils can be made without the themperaduva, however for the yellow split peas, it is a must.

And that’s it! You do need to check for salt and adjust for taste. I garnish mine with extra curry leaves, red onion and a touch of dark roasted Sri Lankan curry powder because that’s what my mum did and I don’t question her methods, but you can do whatever you like.

You can serve this with bread, rotis, chapattis, rice, whatever you wish! I’ve seen some what people eat this with a spoon like it was a stew and if you think about it, it kinda is.

Got any suggestions, feedback or comments? Shoot me a message on the comment section below!

Sav