Mushroom and Butternut Dhal

Hey Guys,

So after many recipes of sweets puddings and snacks, it was about time to write something savory, that can be made as an actual meal on this blog!
This is actually really nice and relatively simple to make, as long as you don't mind cutting up masses of onions, mushrooms and butternuts squash, but don't be put off! It serves four and is actually extremely healthy, as it's vegetarian and two of your five a day.

To make it particularly special and different to other dhal, this one has a poached egg on top of it per person, though with this removed it can make a delicious vegan dinner as well. If you want, instead of using butternut squash it's also possible to use a tasty substitute of pumpkin of sweet potato.
The spices from the curry paste tasted amazing with the red lentils and tomatoes, and for anyone who prefers their meal a little spicier or a bit less hot, it can be adjusted to taste by changing the amount of Keralan Curry Paste. It may take a while for the sauce to thicken, but have patience... It will all come together at the end wonderfully!

Serve this with some bread; like a naan maybe! Once again, I'm not entirely sure where this came from, as it's one of my clippings, though I'm sure it's from a Waitrose magazine!

Mushroom and Butternut Dhal With Poached Eggs - From a Waitrose Magazine

Prepare Time - 10 minutes
Cook Time - 25 Minutes

Ingredients -

• 1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
• 1 Large Onion, thinly sliced
• 300g Chestnut Mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 Small Butternut Squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
• 3-4 Tsp Karalan Curry Paste
• 6 Vine Tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 125g Red Split Lentils, washed
• 4 Medium Egg
• 28g Pack Fresh Coriander, leaves chopped

1. Heat the oil in a wide, shallow saucepan or sauté pan. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes until nicely browned.

2. Add squash, curry paste, tomatoes, lentils and 300ml water. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and the sauce has thickened.

3. Crack each egg onto the surface of the curry, replace the lid and cook over a low heat for 3-5 minutes until just set. Scatter with chopped coriander to serve.

Please enjoy!!!