Every time Mr R brings home the Waitrose Weekend magazine, I can’t resist but to try at least one of the recipes from the food & drink feature. Although neither of us are vegetarian we are cooking more and more meat free meals at home. We are both huge fans of paneer so wanted to try the paneer, coconut & split pea curry recipe in the latest issue. Needles to say it was easy to make and was delicious served with cauliflower rice.

The recipe serves 4

Ingredients

100g yellow split peas

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp fenugreek seeds or ground

200g Korma curry paste

2 tbsp. (approx. 24) curry leaves

400ml can coconut milk or reduced fat

226g pack paneer, cut into 24 cubes (I used Patak’s)

150g frozen peas

2 red chillies, sliced

2 tsp black mustard seeds

Rice, poppadums or naan bread to serve. I served ours with cauliflower rice

Method

1. Wash the split peas and put into a medium saucepan with 600ml cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the peas are just beginning to become tender and most of the water has absorbed (around 35-40 minutes). Skim off the foam with a spoon whilst simmering.
2. Whilst the peas are cooking, add 1 tbsp. of the vegetable oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Fry the onion for around 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the fenugreek and cook for 1 minute before adding the curry paste. Cook for a further minute, remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Once the peas are ready, add the onion mixture to the saucepan with half of the curry leaves, the coconut milk and the paneer. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water if needed.
4. Stir in the peas, bring back to the boil and then remove from the heat.
5. Heat a clean frying pan over  a high heat. Add the remaining 3 tbsp. oil, then the chillies and cook for 1 minute until soft. Then add the mustard seeds and remaining curry leaves. Fry for 30 seconds more and spoon over the curry before serving.