Spice Up Your Life

Creamy and comforting, hearty and healthy, veggie curries are bursting with flavour and surprisingly easy to make

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SLOW COOKER DHAL

Serves 4 - 300g yellow split peas - 1 onion, chopped - 200g chopped tomatoes - Thumb fresh root ginger, finely grated - 1tsp ground cumin - 2tsp ground turmeric - 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced - 10 freeze-dried curry leaves - 700ml hot vegetable stock - 1 green bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced - 2tbsp sunflower oil - 1tsp whole cumin seeds - Lemon wedges, to serve1 garlic clove, crushed

Place the split peas, onion, tomatoes, ginger, cumin, turmeric, crushed garlic, curry leaves and stock in a slow cooker.

Add most of the chilli and stir to combine. Cook on high for four hours, until the peas are tender. Season to taste.

Just before serving, heat the oil in a saucepan. When the oil is very hot, add the whole cumin seeds and the sliced garlic. Fry until the garlic is golden-brown and the cumin smells toasty and almost smoky.

Spoon the oil over the dhal, scatter with the remaining green chilli and lemon wedges for squeezing.

PALAK PANEER

Serves 4 - 500g spinach - 3tsp cornmeal - 6tsp sunflower oil - 400g paneer, cut into chunks - 1tsp cumin seeds - 20g fresh root ginger, finely grated - 20g garlic, finely chopped - 125g onion, finely chopped - 2-3 green bird’s eye chillies, chopped, seeds in - 1tsp ground turmeric - 2tsp garam masala

Tip the spinach into a saucepan and pour over 500ml of water. Bring to the boil and cook for 4-5 minutes until tender. Drain, reserving 50ml of cooking water. Transfer the cooked spinach to a bowl. Add the cornmeal and reserved water. Blend to a smooth purée. Set aside. Heat 2tsp of the oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the paneer chunks until evenly browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil. Add the cumin seeds. As soon as they begin to sizzle, add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the onion and chillies and cook for another 7-8 minutes until softened. Stir in the turmeric, garam masala and 1tsp of salt and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the puréed spinach, lower the heat and cover the pan. Cook for another 4 minutes, then add the cooked paneer and cook for 2 minutes.