Dahl. Basically mooshy, spicy, slightly soupy lentils, best served over fluffy basmati rice with tons of accompaniments. It’s soothing. Economical. Incredibly easy to make Just grab a bag of chana dahl (split chickpeas by any other name), rinse it off, boil it up, spice it up, then guzzle it up. So easy. Tizz it up too with roast pumpkin as we did here, adding papadums, boiled eggs and Indian chutneys to the side. While dhal is vegetarian and can, if you use vegetable oil instead of ghee, even be (gasp) vegan, we don’t see the point in mentally cataloguing food that way. It’s all just ‘food’, arewerite? We’re right. 

SERVES 4

550g (2½ cups) chana dahl (split chickpeas)

600g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2.5cm pieces

80ml (⅓ cup) vegetable oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 sprigs curry leaves

2½ tbsp finely chopped or grated ginger

5 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped

½ tsp ground turmeric

1½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, or to taste

large pinch asafoetida

1½ tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

steamed basmati rice, sliced fresh chilli, lime pickle, pappadums and quartered boiled eggs (optional) to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Rinse the chana dhal well, then place in a large saucepan. Add about 2.75litres (11 cups) of cold water, then bring to the boil over medium-high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to medium, then cook for 30-40 minutes or until tender, adding extra water as necessary to keep the split peas covered. 

Meanwhile, combine the pumpkin and 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil in a large roasting tin, then cook for 35 minutes or until very tender. Heat 2 tbsp of the remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and half the curry leaves, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, another 2-3 minutes until the garlic is softened and the mixture is fragrant. Stir in the turmeric, chilli powder and asafoetida, stir for 1 minute to cook the spices a little, then add the undrained, cooked split peas and stir to combine well. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the mixture has reduced and thickened to the consistency of thick porridge, stirring often to prevent it catching on the base of the pan and burning. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Just before serving, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan over medium heat, Add the remaining curry leaves and sizzle for about 30 seconds, then add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and cook for about another 30 seconds, or until the mustard seeds pop. Remove from the heat. To serve, stir half the roast pumpkin into the dhal, then divide among bowls. Top with the remaining pumpkin and spoon over the curry seed mixture. Serve with rice, fresh chilli, pappadums, pickles and boiled egg, if using.