Name: Sri Lankan Coconut Dal
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 4-6
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1 fresh green chilli, halved lengthways; ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper; 600 ml water; ½ tsp chilli powder; 1 x 400 ml tin of coconut milk; 2 tbsp coconut or vegetable or rapeseed oil; 300 g red split lentils; 1-2 tsp salt, to taste; 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped; 1 small red onion, roughly chopped; 10 curry leaves; 7.5 cm (3 inch) pandan leaf, halved lengthways; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 heaped tsp Sri Lankan unroasted curry powder; 1 large tomato, diced

Preparation info

Serves
4-6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
35 min

Appears in

Chilli & Mint

By Torie True

Published 2021

About

This much-loved Sri Lankan dal is so delicious and simple; it literally takes care of itself once you have put all the ingredients in the pan. The only ingredient that may be tricky to source is the pandan leaves, but any Asian grocer will have them, or you can order them online. I buy a few, freeze them and cook with them from frozen. They bring a wonderfully distinct flavour to the dal, but don’t worry if you can’t find them as it will still taste great.