Chop the carrot and parsnip into small pieces
Chop the celery into thin pieces crosswise
Chop the tomato roughly
Strip the leaves off the stalks of nettles if using them
Peel and slice thin the shallots or brown onion
Grind coriander seeds roughly
Pound/grind the Maldive fish very fine if using
Add everything to the saucepan with the dhal except the shallot/onion
Add a pinch of salt to the saucepan
Let all of this boil for 15 minutes. The water should reduce down by about a third,if not boil a little longer
Add the coconut milk to the soup
Serve with a sprinkle of shallot/onion each on each plat of soup