Spiced halloumi topped butternut dal
A creamy, coconutty red lentil dal with sweet butternut squash, topped with halloumi fried with fragrant Indian spices.
This is my favourite recipe I’ve made for a while. I love dal, it’s such comfort food for me, and obviously I love halloumi, so this was dreamy.
The halloumi topping is inspired by tadka dal. Tadka means ‘tempering’ and it’s where spices and aromatics are tempered in oil then stirred into/spooned onto the top of a dal. Here, cumin and mustard seeds and chilli are cooked with the halloumi.
Butternut squash works really well as the hero vegetable here, but you could swap it for any squash or sweet potato (or even parsnip in winter). I don’t bother peeling my squash - the skin is so tender when cooked.
Hope you love it, please let me know if you give it a go!
You’ll need (serves 2):
1 onion, peeled and diced
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
300g butternut squash, cut into small chunks (no need to peel)
2 tbsp medium curry powder
400ml tin coconut milk
140g red split lentils, washed
1 tbsp bouillon or 1 veggie stock cube
100g (about a handful) cabbage, shredded, or any leafy greens
1 block halloumi (approx 200g), cut into small chunks
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 small chilli, or less to taste, finely chopped
In a large, deep frying pan (preferably one with a lid) gently fry the onion in a little oil until softening, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger, butternut squash, curry powder, lentils, coconut milk and bouillon/stock cube. Half fill the coconut milk tin with water and add that too. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid if you have one, and cook for 25-30 minutes.
Add the cabbage/greens and cook for a final 5 minutes or so, until the lentils are cooked and you have a porridge like consistency. If it’s looking dry at any point, add a little more water (it will dry out quicker if you don’t have a lid). Taste and adjust salt to taste.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in another frying pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds, followed by the halloumi and chilli. Cook on a medium-high heat, stirring regularly, until the halloumi is golden and the spices are fragrant.
Divide the dal between two bowls and top with the spiced halloumi. Dig in.