Coconut Dahl with poached eggs, lime and chilli

comforting, cosy and cheap. This deserves a place on your kitchen table.

Right so we all know that I love a one pan supper. What’s not to love? They tend to be easy, there’s less washing up and I love it when it’s something I can bring to the table straight from the oven and serve it straight from the pan. I find the whole thing just immensely satisfying.

I’ve shared a Dahl recipe on Dinner Tonight before and I am sure I will share many more. There are so many variations, they are so quick and easy, Dahl is healthy, the ingredients are cheap too which makes it a fantastic week night supper. I love cooking big batches and having some in the freezer to defrost in a moment of need. My young daughters also seem to be really like it - yes of course they wrinkle their noses at first and take some coaxing but once they taste it they love it.

This particular version is a little different as you finish the Dahl off by poaching eggs in it, much like you would a shakshuka I suppose, and I can’t tell you how good it is. I can’t take credit for the concept, it’s a thing! But a thing for a reason as it’s utterly delicious. It works so well as a combination. Creamy from the coconut, rich in spices, and just so good. I love serving it with naan brushed with a little garlic butter for dipping in the runny yolks. Also lovely served on a bed of rice and I always love a dollop of chilli jam which my mum makes and I need to get the recipe off her. But failing that a drizzle of chilli oil, plenty of fresh herbs and supper is going to be on the table in less than 30 minutes.

I’ve always loved Dahl and we would have it often when I was younger but we went to Sri Lanka last year and my love evolved from a polite admiration to a really quite passionate love. We did several cooking classes when we were there and I was reminded of really how delicious it is and how easy too. Much to my husbands despair I bought a very beautiful ladle back with me to aid in my Dahl making….completely not necessary at all but something that brings me a lot of joy every time I use it. And I use it more than I probably would normally just to make a point of how absolutely necessary it was for me to squeeze into our suitcase.

This is actually a terrible picture and I apologise, every picture has come out a bit blurry - nightmare! But rest assured it’s far more delicious than my picture makes out.

Serves 4 with rice but 2 without rice