Super easy squash daal recipe! A delicious and wholesome recipe to keep you warm on a chilly autumn evening.
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Ingredients:

4-6 cloves of garlic

1 large onion

1 thumb size piece of ginger

1 butternut squash

2 tins of coconut milk

1 cup of red lentils

1 tbsp of turmeric

1 tbsp of cumin

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 tspn of cayenne pepper (add more if you like itspicier)

salt & pepper (season throughout to your taste)

Coconut oil

Optional:

a small bunch of fresh coriander (approx 30g)

a large handful of greens (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c gas mark 6 place the roasting tray in the oven, with 1 tbsp of oil to heat

2. Peel, remove seeds and chop the squash into approximately the same size cubes, remove roasting tray from the oven add the squash with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and roast for around 20 minutes

3. Meanwhile peel and dice the onion and add to the large pan with a tbsp of coconut oil to sauté for a few minutes at medium heat

4. Peel and crush the garlic, and peel and grate the ginger (finely) and add to the pan with a pinch of salt once the onion has softened

5. Add the spices into the small pan and warm them on a low heat for a couple of minutes to wake them up!

6. Then add the spices to the large pan coating the garlic/ginger/onion

7. Wash the red lentils using the sift for a couple of minutes, drain and then decant into large pan

8. Add in the coconut milk and mix well, turn up the heat until bubbles appear and then turn back down to a simmer, stirring occasionally. You can add water to loosen it a little if needed. The lentils should start to cook and soak up the liquid after 10-15 minutes

9. After approximately 20 minutes remove the squash from the oven, add to the pan and mix well. If necessary add some water to loosen slightly. I sometimes blend the daal a little with a hand blender so there are still some chunks of squash, but it is mixed throughout and becomes thicker.

10. Leave it to bubble away on low heat for 10 minutes or so then have a taste and season with salt and pepper if needed

 11. Finally, wash and chop the coriander and greens and add to the dhal before serving. The longer you leave the daal cooking down, the better it will taste- just add a little water if it becomes too dry. 

Serve with carb of your choice, dollop with coconut yoghurt, mango chutney, some more fresh coriander and Nigella seeds for optimum deliciousness