After splashing out over Christmas, January is a time for tightening belts. That’s dispiriting, I know, and the dark evenings don’t help, either: yes, the days may be getting longer, but they still have a hell of a long way to go before we can skip home in the evening sun.

One thing is clear: food is the cure-all. First, you can save loads of cash by not ordering in a takeaway this month. Second, if mindfulness really is the key to happiness, perhaps a pot of comforting food is just the thing you’re looking for. And, finally, you can make much more nourishing food at home than you can buy.

So huddle up and make yourself something delicious: today’s dal, for instance, is inexpensive and tastes great; or some gorgeously scented and blissfully easy drop scones, packed full of protein and good to eat at any time of day.

Curried dal with fried egg and spiced chard butter

A comforting and earthy bowlful, with an injection of health from the chard and some welcome richness from the butter and egg. Serves four to six.

2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
½ cinnamon stick
500g red lentils, washed
1 heaped tsp turmeric
1 lemon, cut in half
100g butter
3 onions, peeled and finely sliced
600g rainbow or swiss chard, washed, leaves and stalks separated
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp nigella seeds
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
4 free-range eggs
Toasted coconut flakes, to garnish (optional)

In a dry pan, toast one teaspoon of the cumin with the coriander seeds and cinnamon until fragrant, then blitz to a fine powder in a spice grinder or food processor.

Put the lentils in a saucepan with double their weight in water, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until soft. Add the ground spice mix and turmeric, and carry on cooking until the lentils have absorbed almost all the water but are still on the soupy side. Squeeze in the juice of half the lemon, and keep warm.

While the lentils are cooking, melt 85g butter in a deep frying pan. Add the onions, season generously with salt and fry for 15≈minutes, until soft but not coloured. Finely slice the chard stalks, then add to the pan with the garlic and remaining teaspoon of whole cumin seeds, and fry for another seven to eight minutes, until the stalks have softened but still have some bite. Stir through the nigella seeds and keep warm.

Heat the oil in large pan or wok, add the chard leaves and, once they have wilted, snip them into ribbons with scissors. Season, and squeeze over the remaining lemon. In a frying pan, cook the eggs in the remaining butter until bubbling and crisp (or poach them, if you prefer).

Spoon the lentils into individual bowls and top with the onion mix, chard leaves and a fried egg each. Drizzle the butter from the onion pan all over the top of the eggs, garnish with coconut flakes, if using, and serve hot.

Winter drop scones with dried apricots, honey and saffron

Studded with chopped apricots and scented with honey and saffron, these spelt flour scones are mouth-watering and really rather healthy into the bargain. Makes about 12.

85g dried apricots
1 small pinch saffron threads
150g cottage cheese
150g soured cream
3 eggs
Vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp honey
165g white spelt flour
1½ tsp baking powder
40g caster sugar
1 pinch fine sea salt
Butter, for frying

To serve
Greek yoghurt
More honey to drizzle (optional)

Cut the apricots into small dice and put in a bowl with the saffron. Pour on just enough boiling water to cover, then leave to steep for 10 minutes while you get on with the drop scone batter.

In a large bowl, whisk the cottage cheese and soured cream, then gently beat in the eggs one at a time. Whisk in a couple of drops of vanilla extract, the lemon zest, honey and the drained plumped-up saffron apricots, then sieve in the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, and whisk gently to combine.

Put a heavy-based frying pan on a high flame and, once hot, turn down the heat to medium-high and add a knob of butter. When the butter melts and starts to foam, drop in three or four heaped tablespoons of batter, spaced well apart so the scones won’t run into each other. Cook for a minute or two, until bubbles start appearing, then flip over and cook on the other side. (If the scones still seem a little wet on top at this stage, don’t worry: being small, they’re easy to flip back over with a palette knife.) Keep the cooked scones warm in a low oven while you cook the rest of the batter in the same way.

Serve with dollops of yoghurt and an extra drizzle of honey, or with a touch of sugar and lemon.

And for the rest of the week…

Any lentils you don’t eat on the day can be turned into a warming bowl of soup: top them with a spicy relish made with fresh coriander, green chilli, lime juice and a crushed clove of raw garlic. Use any leftover chard as a topping for toast – it’s especially good with a fried egg, and finished with a few fried curry leaves and mustard seeds. Heat up any cooked, uneaten drop scones in the toaster, while excess saffron apricots are delicious simmered in a little water flavoured with vanilla essence and orange flower water, and blitzed to a puree. A dollop of that is lovely on your morning yoghurt.