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It might come as a surprise to some cooks, but I am not a fan of dal. There were just two types that I liked, and each were prepared by my mum: a citrus-coconut variety, the other a long-simmered black lentils with rich cream. But now a third fast-cooking dal has made it into my favorites list. And the secret? Pureeing it until perfectly creamy, then serving with baked pumpkin and addictive chilli cashews. It’s a game-changer that’s now on my regular menu.

Lime Dal with Roast Squash and Spicy Nuts

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Serves 2

600 grams pumpkin cubes, diced into 1-centimeter pieces
1 tbsp light-tasting oil
Sea salt flakes
1 tsp ground cilantro
1 teaspoon ground cumin
150g red lentils, thoroughly washed
One garlic clove, peeled
½ teaspoon turmeric
Lime juice from 1-2 fruits, to taste
1 tsp butter
Chopped fresh coriander, to serve

For the Spiced Nuts

60g cashew nuts
One teaspoon light oil, or olive oil
A quarter teaspoon chilli flakes

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan)/425°F/gas 7. Place the diced pumpkin, oil, a tsp of salt, and the ground coriander and cumin into a roasting tin big enough to hold all the veg in one layer, and toss thoroughly to cover. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until tender and beginning to brown.

At the same time, place the lentils in a large pan with 500 milliliters recently boiled water, the garlic clove and the turmeric spice, and bring to a boil. Partially cover, lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils have softened.

Combine the nuts, cooking oil, chilli and a big pinch of salt in a small oven tray. When the pumpkin has eight minutes left, place the nut tray in the same oven; by the time the squash is ready, the nuts should be perfectly roasted.

Whisk the dal and flavor with citrus juice and salt to taste. You will need a good amount of both: think of the dal as a totally neutral base (I added the juice from two limes and I hate to admit how much salt!). Keep adjusting and tasting until you’re happy with the flavor, then stir in the butter.

The last touch, which takes this dish to the next stage, is to blitz the dal (and the garlic clove) in portions in a powerful blender. Sample once more – it should be perfect.

Divide the dal between two dishes, top with the baked pumpkin and spiced nuts, scatter over the coriander and serve hot with rice and/or breads.