🔗 Share this article

It might come as a surprise to some readers, but I am not a fan of dal. Only a couple of versions that I liked, and both were made by my mother: one with lime and coconut, the other a slow-cooked black lentils with rich cream. But now a third fast-cooking dal has joined my favorites list. And the secret? Blitzing it until perfectly creamy, then serving with roast squash and moreish chilli cashews. It’s a revelation that’s now on my weekly rotation.

Lime Dal with Baked Pumpkin and Chilli Cashews

Prep 15 min
Cook 30 minutes
Serves two

600 grams butternut squash flesh, cut into 1-centimeter cubes
One tbsp light-tasting oil
Sea salt flakes
One tsp freshly ground coriander
One tsp ground cumin
150g red split lentils, rinsed well
One clove of garlic, peeled
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Juice of 1-2 limes, as preferred
1 teaspoon butter
Fresh cilantro leaves, to serve

For the Spiced Nuts

60g cashews
One teaspoon neutral oil, or olive oil
A quarter tsp chilli flakes

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425°F/mark 7. Place the diced pumpkin, cooking oil, a teaspoon of salt, and the ground coriander and cumin into a baking tray big enough to hold all the vegetables in one layer, and mix well to cover. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until cooked through and starting to catch at the edges.

At the same time, put the lentils in a large pan with 500ml recently boiled water, the garlic and the turmeric spice, and heat until boiling. Cover partly, lower the heat and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

Combine the nuts, cooking oil, chilli flakes and a big pinch of sea salt in a small oven tray. When the pumpkin has 8 minutes left, pop the cashew tray in the same oven; by the time the pumpkin is done, the nuts should be nicely toasted.

Stir the lentils and flavor with lime juice and salt to taste. You will need a good amount of each: consider the dal as a completely blank canvas (I added the juice of two limes and I hate to admit how much salt!). Continue tweaking and tasting until you’re satisfied with the flavor, then add the butter.

The last touch, which elevates this meal to the next level, is to blitz the dal (and the garlic clove) in portions in a high-speed blender. Taste again – it should be just right.

Portion the lentils between two dishes, top with the baked pumpkin and spiced nuts, sprinkle with the cilantro and enjoy warm with steamed rice and/or flatbreads.