I absolutely love using butternut squash and coconut together so I thought why not try making a comforting dhal. The end result was just incredible. It’s packed full of flavour using and only needs 1 pot so it saves on the washing up.
This dhal is so simple to make, very family friendly and tastes absolutely amazing. It will quickly become one of your favourite recipes and in your weekly meal rotar.
Best of all it’s also super cheap to make costing only £1.50-£2.00 per portion! A delicious batch cooking comforting recipe, perfect for a cold or rainy day.
Always make extras as it tastes even better for lunch the next day. You can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze it down to have a healthy home cooked meal when short for time.
Butternut Squash & Coconut Dhal
Ingredients
- 1/2 large butternut squash (roughly 500g) peeled and chopped weight
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 3 small garlic cloves crushed
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 red chilli (deseeded and finely chopped) if you enjoy it hotter than add the whole chilli
- 1/2 juice Fresh Lime
- 1 cup red split lentils 180g
- 1 1/2 cans coconut milk
- 250 ml veg stock (I use Marigold)
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Peel and chop the butternut squash into small cubes along with dicing the red onion
- Heat a large pot on a medium heat with the coconut oil and add the crushed garlic, cook until the garlic is sizzling
- Add the red onion with a pinch of salt & pepper and cook for a couple minutes
- Add all the spices and fresh chopped chilli along with the juice of 1/2 a lime and mix thoroughly
- Now add the chopped butternut squash with a pinch of salt & pepper and fry for a couple minutes making sure to stir.
- Add in the coconut milk, stock and lentils making sure to mix thoroughly
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes.
- Stir every 5-10 minutes
- It is now ready to serve, I often have mine with a side of brown rice
Notes
Creating this dhal? Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @healthylivingjames Facebook @healthylivingjames or Twitter @healthylivingJW so I can see what you create! Want to save it for later then pin it on Pinterest @healthylivingJW .
On Pinterest? Why not save this photo below to your boards so you can come back and try it at another time!
19 comments
I love how easy this looks! I love the squash/lentil combination, sounds very satisfying. Can’t wait to try it.
Hey Sheryl,
Thank you so much for the comment, please make sure to let me know how it goes 🙂
Enjoy!
James
Hi James, this looks amazing and I will give it a try.
Thank you Beau!
Enjoy and please let me know how you get on with the recipe 🙂
James
Hi James,
I’ve made this for myself many times and made it for my friend last week and she loved it just as much as I do. I used sweet potato instead of butternut squash and it was delicious. I think I might make this every week 🙂
Hey Kimberley,
Thank you so much for the great feedback!!! I am so pleased that you and your friend love it and it’s definitely a great dish to make each week 🙂
I highly recommend giving my other 2 curries a try at some point: https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/sweet-potato-chickpea-curry/
https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/apricot-butternut-squash-cashew-curry/
James
Anytime!
Of course I’ve already made the sweet potato and chickpea curry, however that was a few months ago!! Just as delicious, which is why I made the dhal . I’ll definitely try the Apricot, Butternut Squash and Cashew Curry and let you know how that goes. I also love how easy the recipes are to follow so thank you!
Hey Kimberley,
I am so pleased you enjoyed the sweet potato & chickpea curry 🙂 I think you will LOVE the apricot and cashew one!!! Let me know your thoughts on it when you have tried it 🙂
James
Hi James,
Thank you so much for this recipe, it looks amazing!!! I was just wondering, could I use natural/organic coconut yoghurt instead of the coconut milk?
Thank you
Hayley
Hi Hayley,
Thank you so much for the comment and you’re very welcome!
As for the coconut yoghurt, no I don’t think that would work. I would stick to the coconut milk from a can.
Let me know how it goes.
Thanks,
James
I made a similar recipe with sweet potato instead of butter nut squash for a vegan guest. It was yummy, very filling but the sweet potato did not do well after freezing. Matter of taste I suppose, I do not like sweet potato mushy.
Hi Marie,
Thank you for trying the recipe and for leaving a comment! Really pleased you enjoyed the taste 🙂
Sweet potato goes much softer in this recipe, maybe give the butternut squash a try next time!
Thanks,
James
I made this for dinner last night and whilst it was easy to make and turned out well, it was rather too sweet for my tastebuds. Any suggestions please James on what I could add to tone it down a little? I have heaps still to get through!
Hey Annie, thats strange! You must have had a very sweet butternut squash 🙂 You could either add more coconut milk or spice to see if that helps!
I made this last night & while it was delicious (and I have loads for leftovers!) the Tumeric was too strong for me. I’d make again but with half the measure. Ems
Thank you for leaving a comment Emma, glad you enjoyed it and everyone is different on spice levels so halving should work perfectly for you next time.