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This could come as a surprise to many cooks, but I do not particularly enjoy of dal. Only a couple of types that I enjoyed, and both were prepared by my mum: one with lime and coconut, the other a long-simmered black dal with cream. But now a third fast-cooking dal has joined my hall of fame. And the secret? Blitzing it until perfectly creamy, then topping with baked pumpkin and addictive spiced nuts. It’s a game-changer that’s now on my regular menu.

Lime Dal with Baked Pumpkin and Spicy Nuts

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Serves 2

600 grams pumpkin cubes, diced into 1-centimeter cubes
One tbsp neutral or olive oil
Flaky sea salt
One tsp freshly ground coriander
One tsp ground cumin
150g red split lentils, rinsed well
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ tsp turmeric powder
Lime juice from 1-2 fruits, to taste
One teaspoon dairy butter
Fresh cilantro leaves, to serve

For the Spiced Nuts

60g cashew nuts
One teaspoon neutral oil, or extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Place the diced pumpkin, cooking oil, a tsp of salt, and the coriander powder and cumin spice into a roasting tin large enough to hold all the vegetables in a single layer, and mix well to cover. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender and starting to catch at the edges.

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 heat until boiling. Cover partly, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

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

Whisk the dal and season with lime juice and sea salt to taste. You will need quite a lot of both: think of the dal as a completely blank canvas (I added the juice of 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.

My final step, which takes this dish to the next stage, is to blitz the dal (and the garlic) in portions in a powerful blender. Taste again – it should be perfect.

Divide the dal between two bowls, cover with the baked pumpkin and chilli cashews, scatter over the coriander and enjoy warm with rice and/or breads.