Broccoli, channa daal & coconut milk soup

In my Nanni Mummy's home (my maternal gran), we always had a vegetable and lentil (daal) accompanying dish at every meal. This was probably due to her deep Punjabi roots coupled with her love for using her freshly home grown vegetables. I always remember either Kaddoo Daal (bottle gourd and lentil) or Karela Daal (bitter gourd with lentil) all make from seasonal fresh vegetables  which she lovingly tended to in her beautiful 500 sq feet garden surrounding her doubly huge house. A home where I grew up with reckless abandon - my memories of her garden are my sweetest ones. Climbing the mango trees, picking fruit of the chikoo trees, and hiding under the tamarind tree while secretly eating ripe imli. I can't think of one unhappy memory there - I am always filled with the thoughts of the warm yet overcast Karachi afternoons, right after a cup of dooth pati and plain cake, my Nanny Mummy would as one would attend to a religious ritual, be in the garden looking after her beloved petunias, azaleas and of  course picking ripe custard apples, mangoes and guavas off the trees while berating the mali (gardener) for not watering the plants correctly!  What a treat it was to be able to enjoy nature at it's best. I miss that - I specially miss my Nanny Mummy's very Punjabi vegetables - and I miss most the aroma of the stunningly heady motia  flower, whose buds bloom in the evening and fill the night with their scent. My Nanni Mummy would pick these at the end of her stint in the garden and place them in a bowl of cool water - her home would be engulfed with their essence. That and the smell of fresh vegetables on the stove are my memories of the best days of my life.In a nostalgic bittersweet moment I have created something with my Nanni's memory  in mind - a  combination of  seasonal veggies with lentil, in a soup form - and since broccoli is in full season in the UK and channa daal is my favourite,I went for this. I believe this combination works beautifully and blended in the end with coconut milk and Greek yoghurt, gives the soup a mouthwatering light flavour and texture. As this dish is a thick soup s,omething to mop up is needed and here I use a ready made paratha toasted and crisped out into a crostini style bread, and I drizzle the fantastic new culinary sensation Argan oil on top. With it's subtle nuttiness and sweetness a dash of Argan oil provides the balance for this dish. Here I have used the fabulous Arganic's organic Argan oil which is a sustainable company that provides this precious oil direct from the producer in Morroco to exclusive retailers in the UK and sells  online too. I am fortunate to know Dana, the lovely entrepreneur whose behind Arganic and she's introduced me to a treasure trove of possibilities by providing me with Argan oil -  which is not only internally beneficial but excitingly creative for the gourmand!Ingredients:1 large broccoli head, chopped1/2 cup channa daal, washed and soaked 1/2 hr before cooking1 tsp cumin seeds1 tsp mustard seeds1 small onion, chopped1 large garlic clove, chopped1 1/2 tbsp chopped tin tomatoes1 pinch of asafoetida (hing)1/4 tsp turmericsalt to taste1 long dried red chilli1/2 can of coconut milk1/2 cup of Greek yoghurt, whipped2-3 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking the broccoliAccompaniment:Pre-packed parathas, toasted and crisped out, what I call paratha crostini!2 tsp Argan oil (optional), you could substitute with some garlic tempered in some hot ghee and top with that.Method:1. Cook the channa daal separately first by boiling water in a saucepan and adding the drained daal to it and cook until soft. (approximately about 25 minutes)2. In another pan, heat the oil and add the mustard and cumin seeds, wait until they pop, then add the onions and fry just before they brown. Now add the garlic and fry for a few seconds, until the raw garlic smell dissipate, add the hing, salt, turmeric and dried red chilli. Fry for a few seconds and then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook again for a few minutes and then add the chopped broccoli and cook on high head for a few seconds, then lower heat, cover and add a few splashes of water and allow to cook until the broccoli is done.3. Once the daal and broccoli is done transfer into one of the pans and mix with the heat very low. Once all mushy, take off the heat and pulverize with a hand-held blender (if you want to avoid the heat, you can take the dried chili out before). Now stir in the yoghurt and stir. Next add the coconut milk and stir in until the desired consistency is achieved.4. Serve with some paratha crostini and drizzle with Argan oil, or garlic fried in ghee.