Butternut squash & yellow split pea dahl

A rainy day in Algarve, so lets make a dahl. You can hear the rain in the background, my feet were soaked as I filmed next to the open door for optimum natural light.

For my dahl, I like to cook the veggies separately in the airfryer because they require less oil and they can be roasting on a high heat (check regularly) whilst I get on with the rest of the dish.

I also cook the split yellow peas separately, as I cook extra to use in other recipes. Once cooked, I keep surplus peas in the freezer in a bag.

Slice onion and butternut squash, drizzle over mustard oil, and roast on baking paper in airfryer for 20minutes on 200°C

Dahl ingredients

  • 1 large red onion – sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves – crushed
  • 1 thumb ginger – grated
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon black onion seeds
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 small butternut squash – cubed
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon veg stock powder or stock cube
  • 1 tablespoon mustard or coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree.
  • 2 cups cooked yellow split peas
  • 4 plum tomatoes chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • Pinch sea salt
  • To decorate
  • 1 diced mango
  • Coriander or chives

In a pan, put black onion seeds, grated ginger, crushed garlic, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, garam masala with a teaspoon of oil. Warm gently to release the flavours, it’s important not to burn the spices or the garlic. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, tomato paste, garlic powder, veg stock and salt. Cook for a few minutes before adding a cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the cooked yellow peas, roasted veg and the can of coconut milk. Gently heat again to simmer then its ready!