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It might come as a surprise to some cooks, but I do not particularly enjoy of dal. Only a couple of types that I liked, and both were prepared by my mum: one with lime and coconut, the other a long-simmered black lentils with rich cream. But now a new fast-cooking dal has made it into my favorites list. And the secret? Blitzing it until perfectly creamy, then topping with roast squash and addictive spiced nuts. It’s a revelation 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 butternut squash flesh, diced into 1cm pieces
One tablespoon light-tasting oil
Flaky sea salt
One teaspoon freshly ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
150g red split lentils, thoroughly washed
One clove of garlic, skin removed
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Lime juice from 1-2 fruits, to taste
One tsp dairy butter
Fresh cilantro leaves, to serve

For the Spiced Nuts

60g cashews
One tsp light oil, or olive oil
A quarter teaspoon red pepper flakes

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425°F/mark 7. Tip the cubed squash, oil, a tsp of sea salt, and the ground coriander and cumin into a baking tray big enough to hold all the veg in one layer, and mix well to cover. Bake for 25 to 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 and the turmeric spice, and bring to a boil. Cover partly, lower the heat and simmer, mixing now and then, for 20-25 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

Mix the cashews, cooking oil, chilli and a big pinch of sea salt in a small baking tray. When the squash has 8 minutes left, place the nut tray in the same oven; by the time the pumpkin is done, the nuts should be perfectly roasted.

Stir the lentils and season with lime juice and 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 salt!). Continue tweaking and tasting until you’re happy with the flavor, then add the butter.

My final step, which elevates this meal to the next stage, is to blitz the dal (and the garlic) in batches in a powerful blender. Sample once more – it should be just right.

Divide the dal between two dishes, cover with the baked pumpkin and spiced nuts, sprinkle with the cilantro and serve hot with rice and/or flatbreads.