A slightly stressed Fanny and more pumpkin – pumpkin coconut dal with a hint of sweetness

Hey there people!

Remember two weeks ago we were still eating dinner outside, lying in the sun and even swimming in the lake and now it is already comfort food season. Yummy stews, warming soups, spätzle with red cabbage and last but not least pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere. Not to forget deliciously sweet and juicy figs, eating chestnuts while having a stroll through the city, cuddling up in a blanket, holding a hot cup of tea and sitting on top of our wood fire stove. Well autumn doesn’t sound so bad anymore, does it?

Even I, the most faithful adorer of summer, have to admit that every season comes with its joys, even autumn the foggiest and rainiest one of all the four.

Today I won’t share my go-to red cabbage recipe, nor one containing chestnuts and not even one with figs. Well you would have guessed it by now (and seen it..), I am once again sharing a pumpkin recipe. Well pumpkin is one of the things I adore nearly as much as summer. Just thinking of roasted pumpkin makes my mouth water, mmmm delicious.

Let’s continue with talking about something else I love. I also love Indian food. It is probably one of my favourite cuisines, obviously after the Italian one. So in honour of this year’s autumn season I decided to combine those two things I am so fond of and create a delicious pumpkin coconut dal.

As I was coming up with this I was actually a tad stressed as I had just come home from the first semesters day at the university I’m going to spend my everyday life at for the next couple of years. I was completely overwhelmed with all the information they had bombarded us with and I couldn’t make a straight thought. I just wanted comfort food, I wanted pumpkin and I wanted Indian food. So I started chopping and somehow an apple made it into this scrumptious meal. – Wow the slight hint of sweetness, just wonderful!- Then later on the coconut milk, it was magically added. – Amazing, this creaminess, so delicate! – I honestly wasn’t expecting this to turn out as I usually don’t seem to be able to cook a decent meal whenever I am stressed out but somehow the university gods must have been with me and I created this heavenly delight which seriously makes the perfect meal after a stressful and even after a not so stressful autumn day.

• 1 onion
• 1 garlic
• 600g pumpkin (weighed deseeded)
• 80g red lentils
• 1 apple
• 500ml water
• 100ml coconut milk
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp cardamom
• 2 tsp garam masala
• salt
• rape seed oil
• rice for four people

1. Finely chop up the onion and the garlic and cut the pumpkin into bite sized cubes.
2. Deseed your apple and cut it into thin slices, which are about 1cm in diameter.
3. Drizzle some rape seed oil into a pan and add the chopped onion, garlic and all the spices. Fry over medium heat until the onion has softened.
4. When your onion has softened add the apple, pumpkin and the lentils. Stir it all up so the ingredients are distributed evenly amongst each other.
5. Pour in the water and let everything come to a boil. When you’re dahl is bubbling cover it with a lid and lower the heat to low. Let it cook for 40 minutes.
6. After 40 minutes your dahl will have thickened and it has turned into a yummy creamy deliciousness. To make this even creamier and more delicious pour in your coconut milk and season with salt to taste.
7. Serve alongside some rice and for some extra decoration sprinkle it with goji berries and shredded coconut.

Voila, that was it, dinner’s done! Please people, please give it a chance. You’ll be absolutely flabbergasted! I promise and you know what I always, always, always keep my promises. Does anyone disapprove? No one? I can’t hear you.

See, no one does, I do keep my promises, ALWAYS!

To pumpkin season

Bisous