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It might be unexpected to some cooks, but I am not a fan of dal. Only a couple of types that I enjoyed, and both were made by my mother: a citrus-coconut variety, the other a slow-cooked black lentils with cream. But now a new fast-cooking dal has made it into my favorites list. And the secret? Blitzing it until very smooth, then topping with baked pumpkin and addictive 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 min
Serves 2

600 grams pumpkin cubes, diced into 1-centimeter pieces
1 tablespoon light-tasting oil
Flaky sea salt
One tsp freshly ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
150 grams red split lentils, thoroughly washed
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ teaspoon turmeric
Lime juice from 1-2 fruits, to taste
One tsp dairy butter
Chopped fresh coriander, to serve

For the Chilli Cashews

60g cashews
One teaspoon light oil, or olive oil
¼ tsp chilli flakes

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/mark 7. Place the diced pumpkin, oil, a tsp of salt, and the ground coriander and cumin spice into a baking tray big enough to hold all the vegetables in a single layer, and toss thoroughly to coat. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until cooked through and beginning to brown.

At the same time, put the lentils in a large pan with 500 milliliters recently boiled water, the garlic and the turmeric, and bring to a boil. Cover partly, lower the heat and cook gently, mixing now and then, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

Mix the cashews, oil, chilli and a big pinch of sea salt in a small baking tray. When the pumpkin has 8 minutes left, pop the cashew tray in the same oven; by the time the squash is ready, the cashews ought to be perfectly roasted.

Stir the lentils and flavor with lime juice and salt to taste. You will need a good amount of each: think of the dal as a totally neutral base (I added the juice of two limes and I hate to admit how much salt!). Continue tweaking and sampling until you’re happy with the seasoning, then stir in the butter.

My final step, which takes this dish to the next stage, is to blitz the dal (and the garlic) in batches in a high-speed blender. Sample once more – it should be just right.

Divide the dal between two bowls, cover with the baked pumpkin and spiced nuts, sprinkle with the coriander and enjoy warm with rice and/or flatbreads.