I love a good dal, especially in the winter. It’s warming, nourishing and comforting, full of spice and just so tasty – basically everything you need to ‘stoke up your little fire’ as my mum would say on a cold day. Today is one such day, I’m sitting here in my slippers and dressing gown trying convince myself that I don’t actually need to leave the house (I do), but before I brave the arctic conditions outside I’m going to write this article and give the great outdoors a chance to warm up a little first.

But back to dal. I’ve already told you how much I love it, but sometimes I don’t feel like eating a whole bowl of lentils, so I wanted to come up with a legume-free version, especially as some of my family don’t eat beans or lentils at all and I wanted to create something they would enjoy too.

I also love my slow cooker. Like big time. And even more so since the arrival of baby H. The good thing about this is there’s literally 10 minutes of preparation which you can do at any point during the day, then chuck the food in the slow cooker, push on and get on with your day. Fast forward to dinner time and the crock pot will have worked it’s magic and all you need to do is a little mashing – it’s THAT easy!

I won’t waste any more of your time though (and I really do need to go out now, those groceries won’t buy themselves unfortunately) but I will say that if you’re in the market for a comforting and nourishing meal, this is just the ticket!

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 1 large white onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• A large butternut squash, peeled and chopped into chunks
• A large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
•  6 dried apricots, finely chopped
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 bird eye chilli
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 can light coconut milk
• handful of fresh coriander to serve

To make the paste, sauté the onion, ginger, garlic, chilli and spices on a medium heat for around 5 minutes or until the onion and garlic goes translucent, then pop this in your slow cooker with all the other ingredients except the coconut milk.

Cook on ‘high’ for 4 hours, then mash well (the veggies should be super soft so this should be really easy) and stir in the coconut milk. Leave to cook for another 10 minutes then serve in a bowl with some fresh coriander on top and a side of brown rice or quinoa – a winter warmer at its best!

Love, Mrs H xx