The beginning of autumn means comfort food! Food that serves both to make me less depressed about the end of the summer, and to warm me up when it’s miserable outside (this morning it genuinely looked like a scene from a horror movie outside with all the mist). And what’s more comforting than a big bowlful of warm curry? (especially if you eat it on your lap on the sofa…)

This curried broccoli dal contains an entire head of broccoli, but it’s all blitzed up into the lentils, so you get all the nutrients without feeling like you’re eating a bowl that’s just full of veg. Comfort, but with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re being pretty healthy too – the best combination!

The broccoli looks so pretty when it’s all blitzed up…

…and even prettier when it’s mixed in with the lentils…

…and although it looks somewhat less attractive when it’s cooked (sorry about that), it does taste pretty amazing, so hopefully you’ll let me off that one. You only need a bit of curry powder and some garam masala to give it that amazing curried flavour. You could add some cumin or turmeric too if you like, but I wanted to keep mine fairly mild.

I served my broccoli dal with some brown rice, but I think a chunk of naan bread would be even better – perfect for mopping up the bowl afterwards. You can use this dal recipe either as a side dish or as a vegan main course – it’s delicious and versatile. Have I managed to convince you to look past its appearance yet…? How about if I tell you that it’s super cheap too?