~1586 cal · 39g protein · 230g carbs · 59g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Golden coconut dal beside bright red coconut sambol and rice
🇱🇰 Southern Province
Parippu is Sri Lanka’s most-cooked curry, its final act a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves crackled in hot oil. Pol sambol — coconut pounded with chili and lime — sits beside nearly every meal in the Southern Province, where the coconut groves meet the sea.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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1.5 cups red lentils, rinsed
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14 oz can coconut milk
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1 tsp ground turmeric
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2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
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1 tsp black mustard seeds
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1 + 1/2 red onion, sliced + finely chopped
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2 dried red chilies
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2 tsp chili flakes
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1.5 cups grated coconut (fresh or rehydrated)
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1 tbsp Maldive fish flakes (for the sambol)
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1 lime
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2 tbsp coconut oil
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4 cups steamed rice, to serve
Instructions
1
Simmer the lentils with turmeric and 2.5 cups water for 15 minutes until soft.
2
Stir in the coconut milk and cook gently 5 minutes; season with salt.
3
Temper: crackle mustard seeds, curry leaves, dried chilies, and the sliced onion in coconut oil, and pour it over the dal.
4
Make pol sambol: pound (or pulse) the grated coconut with chili flakes, chopped onion, Maldive fish (or miso), lime juice, and salt into a damp, brick-red relish.
5
Serve both over rice — creamy dal, then a small fierce heap of sambol.
Southern Province rice-and-curry tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Southern Province. Galle’s spice gardens and coconut-grove kitchens.
🗺️
Sri Lanka. The island of cinnamon, coconut, and fiery sambols.
🌍
Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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