Recipe category

Dhal, Lentils and Beans Recipes

Creamy coconut dhal and protein-rich bean curries, the most-cooked dish in any Sri Lankan home.

Showing 4 recipes

Parippu

Sri Lankan Dhal Curry

Dhal curry is the dish Sri Lankan families cook most. At home we call it parippu. You simmer small red lentils until they turn soft and creamy, then stir coconut milk through them. Last of all you fry onion, garlic, mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil and tip the whole sizzling panful on top. That last bit is called the temper, and it is the part that makes everyone look up. If you only ever learn one Sri Lankan recipe, learn this one. You will see the name spelled dhal, dal or daal. It is all the same bowl.

35 minsServes 4BeginnerMild

Substitutes includedVegetarian

Mung Ata Curry

Green Gram Curry

Mung ata curry, as it's called locally, is whole green gram (whole mung beans) soaked and simmered until just tender, then finished in coconut milk with a temper of onion, garlic, mustard seeds, curry leaves and chilli. It's earthy and gently spiced, and it eats well with rice, bread or string hoppers. Unlike silky split-lentil dhal curry, these beans stay whole and have a satisfying bite.

55 minsServes 4BeginnerMedium

Substitutes includedVegetarian

Kadala Thel Dala

Sri Lankan Tempered Chickpeas

Sri Lankan tempered chickpeas, kadala thel dala, are whole chickpeas soaked and boiled until tender, then tempered with onion, garlic, mustard seeds, curry leaves and chilli and finished with a little freshly grated coconut. It's savoury, gently spiced and served dry rather than soupy, a beloved Sri Lankan breakfast and tea-time dish, eaten with pittu, string hoppers, bread or rice. Kadala simply means chickpea, and this dry, tempered style is different from the saucier kadala curry simmered in coconut milk. It takes well to add-ins too: a fried or boiled egg, or a handful of prawns, cuttlefish or dried sprats, turns it into a more substantial plate.

55 minsServes 4BeginnerMedium

Substitutes includedVegetarian

Sri Lankan kadala curry with tender chickpeas in a golden coconut milk gravy

Konda Kadala Curry

Sri Lankan Chickpea Curry

Sri Lankan chickpea curry, kadala curry, is tender chickpeas simmered in a golden, spiced coconut milk gravy with onion, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and roasted curry powder. You'll also hear it called konda kadala curry. It's the saucy cousin of dry tempered kadala. That one is dry and finished with grated coconut, while this one gets loosened with thin coconut milk and finished with thick coconut milk into a mild, rich gravy. It uses everyday pantry spices and either a tin of chickpeas or a pot of soaked dried ones. Spoon it over rice, string hoppers, pittu or roti.

55 minsServes 4BeginnerMedium

Substitutes includedVegetarian

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Before You Start Cooking

The technique behind this collection is in cooking with coconut milk the Sri Lankan way. You may also want our vegetarian rice and curry menu or red split lentils.

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Free: 5 Sri Lankan Recipes for Beginners

Dhal curry, pol sambol, yellow rice and the pantry checklist.

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