Eat Healthy and Cheap
Parippu, Sri Lankan Red Lentils
Parippu is the everyday dal of Sri Lanka, usually loosened with coconut milk and finished with a temper cooked in coconut oil. Left coconut-free, it leans on what red lentils already do: cooked well past the point of holding their shape, then whisked hard, their starch emulsifies into a silk that reads as rich with no cream at all. Ceylon cinnamon, a knotted blade of pandan, and curry leaves perfume the pot from the inside, while the temper of mustard seed, onion, and dried chile is bloomed in a dry pan with splashes of water so it toasts instead of scorching. A squeeze of lime at the end does the work a heavy hand of salt would.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Red lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1 piece Ceylon cinnamon, one 2-inch (5 cm) stick
- 1 leaf Pandan leaf, knotted
- 2 sprigs Curry leaves, leaves picked, split between pot and temper
- 1 Red onion, small, thinly sliced, halved between pot and temper
- 2 Indian green chiles, slit lengthwise
- 1 tsp Brown mustard seed
- 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seed
- 3 cloves Garlic, sliced
- 2 Kashmiri chiles, whole, dried
- 1/2 Limes, juiced
Method
- Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear. This washes off the loose surface starch that would otherwise foam up and boil over.
- Put the lentils in a pot with the turmeric, the cinnamon stick, the knotted pandan, half the sliced onion, the green chiles, a few of the curry leaves, and 3 cups (720 ml) water. Bring to a boil, then drop to a low simmer.
- Cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils lose their shape completely and the pot looks like loose porridge. Add a splash of water if it tightens too far.
- Fish out the cinnamon stick and the pandan knot. Whisk the dal hard for a few seconds. The collapsed lentils give up their starch and turn silky, which is the body that coconut milk usually brings to parippu.
- Make the temper last, while the dal is hot. In a small dry pan over medium heat, toast the mustard seeds and fenugreek until the mustard seeds start to pop, about 1 minute.
- Add the rest of the onion, the sliced garlic, the whole dried chiles, and the rest of the curry leaves with a tablespoon of water. Cook, adding water a splash at a time, until the onion softens and turns gold, about 4 minutes. The water keeps everything from scorching where coconut oil would normally go.
- Scrape the whole temper into the dal and stir once, so the streaks of onion and mustard stay visible on top.
- Stir in the lime juice off the heat and taste. It should read warm, a little sour, and round. Reach for more lime before you reach for salt. Serve over an intact grain or with a whole-grain flatbread.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 210 calories, 13 g protein, 11 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
