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This could come as a surprise to many cooks, but I do not particularly enjoy of dal. There were just two versions that I enjoyed, and both were prepared by my mum: one with lime and coconut, the other a long-simmered black lentils with cream. But now a new fast-cooking dal has made it into my favorites list. And the key? Pureeing it until very smooth, then serving with baked pumpkin and addictive spiced nuts. 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

600g pumpkin cubes, cut into 1-centimeter pieces
1 tbsp light-tasting oil
Flaky sea salt
One tsp freshly ground coriander
One tsp ground cumin
150g red lentils, thoroughly washed
1 garlic clove, peeled
Half teaspoon turmeric powder
Lime juice from 1-2 fruits, to taste
1 tsp butter
Fresh cilantro leaves, to serve

For the Spiced Nuts

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

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan)/425F/gas 7. Tip the cubed squash, cooking oil, a tsp of sea salt, and the coriander powder and cumin spice into a roasting tin large enough to hold all the vegetables in a single layer, and toss thoroughly to cover. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until tender and starting to catch at the edges.

At the same time, put the lentils in a large pan with 500 milliliters recently boiled water, the garlic clove and the turmeric, and heat until boiling. Cover partly, 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 squash has eight minutes left, pop the cashew tray in the same oven; by the time the pumpkin is done, the cashews ought to be nicely toasted.

Stir the lentils and flavor with citrus juice and sea salt to taste. You will need quite a lot of each: consider the dal as a completely blank canvas (I added the juice of two limes and I hate to admit how much seasoning!). Keep adjusting and sampling 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 puree the lentils (and the garlic clove) in batches in a high-speed blender. Taste again – it should be perfect.

Portion the lentils between two dishes, cover with the roast squash and spiced nuts, scatter over the coriander and enjoy warm with steamed rice and/or flatbreads.